I hesitated ,for a moment, when I came across this scholarship. Am I really a candidate for a faith based scholarship? I took a deep dive into my faith journey. Although non-traditional, my faith is unwavering and has undoubtedly been my beacon driving my every achievement and enveloping my every fall since I can remember. I had a pastor, at Spring Branch Community Church in Virginia Beach, who changed my entire life. He explained that acts of service don't always need to be performed at church. He would give examples of helping in the community as a faith based activity. He also explained faith is a state of trusting in a higher power, God , to be in control of the outcomes. My job is to believe in him and to have faith in his plan. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 12 and in the ICU the doctor asked me if I was angry, as there was no cure for the disease. I was not angry , and I knew it was God's plan. It has changed my life. I am insulin dependent , and I have to be on an insulin pump 24 hours a day seven days a week. I have other physical limitations, but God does not make mistakes. Every day, I know this disease also gives me a platform to help others overcome physical limitations with their faith. I chose exercise science as my major to further develop my platform utilizing one's faith to overcome physical limitations. God gave me an opportunity that day when I was 12,. My faith was critical in launching my track success , as I also joined a faith based track team where prayer was at the center of our practice. We prayed before and after every practice. We knew our successes on the track were by the grace of God. This coach and his children were top national athletes, and were training on an old concrete track with minimal resources. There were no fancy trainers, locker rooms, or facilities. The only outlier for this group of young athletes was faith and prayer. Grace comes in all shapes and forms. I believe every success has come through faith and even those obstacles through faith transformed into opportunities. I know faith is the way I overcome my physical limitations, and I will continue to use faith and my studies in physical therapy to help others . My pastor instilled in me spreading faith by showing what believing has done in your life can be a way of reaching even greater heights. This award would mean everything to me. I have been blessed to be part of a small christian university in Virginia. I share my story, and I apply for scholarships every year as a needs-based 3 season NCAA track athlete with type 1 diabetes. I have a unique profile with unique financial demands. I have faith in God's plan and I hope his plan is to share this scholarship award with the world!

I will never forget the day I accepted the symbol of my faith in front of the Spring Branch Community Church congregation. The shiny white marble stone engraved with the cross sat on the stage, and the only thing between me and this gift was my mother's heavy words "If you have accepted Jesus as your savior, then you may take a stone". I was seven and had been attending confirmation classes. I did not know what my mom meant, but I did know I wanted a stone. I knew Jesus was there with me in that decision-making moment due to the difficulty I was having deciphering if my belief in Jesus and my mother's words were synonymous. At the last minute, I ran past the seated parishioners, stood on my tip-toes, swiped a sacred stone off the stage, and hurried back to the seat next to my wide-eyed mother. Walking to the car after the service, my mother nonchalantly commented how proud she was I had accepted Jesus as my Savior. I took my stone, proudly displayed the symbolic treasure, and said "Mom, What's Jesus's last name again?". This is my mother. She led by example. She knew including church and Jesus in my life was a foundation I would rely upon for my entire life. She also knew I would not always make the right decisions; however, I would always have Jesus and a community to be my guardrails in life if I was a believer. She never told me what to believe, but showed me how life could be with Jesus in my life. Early on, I was making decisions based on whether Jesus would approve and this was the best gift my mom ever gave me. Through high school, I ran track and spent hours with athletes outside of the classroom. This can be a challenge when your social life is very different from your peers. My mother was relentless in trying to find a team with the right social platform as well as an adequate coaching staff and facilities for my development. The miracle appeared my Junior Year when a team named F.I.A. Ambassadors accepted me and everything became clear. F.I.A. stood for Faith In Action. The coach was a Christian pastor and prayed before and after every practice. Jesus had answered my mother's prayers, and I was spending 2-4 hours a day building my sport and my faith. What kept showing up for me was not only how through perseverance and belief Jesus continues to show up in your life in the most unexpected ways. My mother was the room parent in the classroom, volunteered at track meets, painted faces for charity at Halloween, volunteered for class field trips, donated to local food banks, invited all the neighborhood children to parties, and was the driver to out-of-town sporting events. She was selfless and loved every single minute of putting smiles on the faces of the less fortunate. My life is forever changed by the faith, grace and benevolence of my mother. Growing up with a mother who accepted everyone and embraced the differences in others is something I will never take for granted. It is a gift I will treasure, employ in my own life, and bestow upon my children in the future.

No pancreas, no problem! I was 12 when my life changed forever. I was the usual socially awkward pre-teen striving to meet the standards of the world around me. I ran for SCA President, tried out for sports teams, applied to elite academy programs, and went to my first dance. Most of these attempts ended in rejection and highlighted my shortcomings more than my strengths. I was that girl when cut from the sports team, and asked the coach if I could be the manager to learn more about the game. I was always striving to be in the pack and to fit in. I didn’t want to stand out, and I did not want to be different. On January 27, 2017, I became so unique that less than 10% of the world’s population was like me. My pancreas decided to stop working, and I was rushed to the ICU with blood glucose levels over 800. Shortly after, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a disease that requires constant and ever-changing management. Though this management is a science, factors such as stress, exercise, and diet can produce dangerously high or low blood glucose levels that can be life-threatening. Now I was told that I was not only different, but disabled; however, I was 12, and I felt anything but disabled. The very definition suggests I was “NOT abled”, so there must have been a mistake. Throughout the diagnosis process, nutritionists, cardiologists, and endocrinologists repeatedly inquired if I was angry about the disease, but to their surprise, I was not angry. In my mind, I felt anger would be a useless emotion. I knew I had to educate myself about diabetes and conquer the knowledge to optimize the management of my new normal. Instead of diabetes being a disability, I wanted my malady to fuel me to not only become stronger than I was before my diagnosis but also to surpass the expectations placed upon me. It was a hard few years rejecting the crutch and trying to embrace the platform of the disease. When most kids were trying to figure out what to wear on the first day of high school, I was counting carbs, calculating correction factors, pricking my finger 6 times a day, and administering insulin to take my next breath. I strived to make my goals a reality, and after many trials and tribulations, I became a hyper-abled student, leader, and athlete despite my disability. My motto is “No Pancreas, No Problem!” Even when faced with trying to disclose who I am and why my unique character traits contribute to any community in this very essay, my first thoughts were not to base anything on type one diabetes. Since the day I was diagnosed, I promised to not let my disease be a crutch to blame for my flaws. I am proud to say that I have not fallen to meet the expectations of one with a disability, rather, I have used my disability to further develop who I am. Diabetes and I are together 24/7, and we are extraordinary together. I no longer desire to be among the masses because soaring above is a better view.