When I was six my mother was diagnosed with stage four Colon cancer. At the time I was too young to realize what this meant for my future. I could not grasp that my mother, who raised me and my sister all by herself, may be taken from me. Two years later it happened. My mother died on November 30th 2014. I was eight and the most important person in the world to me was gone. I had never lost anyone before, the first funeral I would ever attend would be my own mothers. I vividly remember sitting in the back of the cold dark church, feet aching from the stiff black flats I was forced to wear. I didn't understand what was going on. Everyone around me was so caught up in their own sadness it was as if I had disappeared. I sat in the back row, away from the crowd for almost an hour. Finally one of my moms best friends noticed my tiny body curled up on the church bench. She came and sat next to me placing her hand on my lap. I could not tell you what we talked about that day, my focus was on the pink coffin in the front of the room, but I know that at that moment that's all I needed. I needed someone to talk to, someone to listen. I was so devastated but too young to know how to deal with the emotions. I wouldn't learn how to deal with the passing of my mother until years later. This resulted in years of bullying for being "the weird" kid. Elementary school and middle school were full of name calling, dirty looks, and rumors. All the other kids cared about was being the most popular, all I cared about was getting my mother back. Eventually with some therapy and self growth I learned to cope with the loss. I will never fully be over the death of my mother, and I don't try to be. I embrace the emotions as they come; the sadness when she misses a birthday, the anxiety when I think about my future without her, and the subtle relief in knowing she is no longer in pain. I now turn these emotions into passion. passion to do better for myself. I watched my mom struggle financially as a kid and even more after her diagnosis. I want to do well for myself so I will never have to be stressed over finances, I want to build a good career so my future kids will not know the stress of not knowing what is for dinner. I thank my mother for all the strength and resilience she has taught me. She is in everything I do, every decision I make is in her honor. carrying on her legacy in the best way I know how.

When I was younger my future career aspirations changed every year. I went from wanting to be a hairstylist, a professional dancer, a police woman, the list could go on forever. There was only one aspirations that I kept throughout my childhood into adulthood. I wanted to help people. I grew up helping out at community events, church events, and at my local senior center. Helping others has always been a big part of my life and I thank my mother for instilling this value in me. My mom loved to give back and saw it as her doubty to teach me an my sister the same. She always pushed us to find a way to help someone else, to not be so self obsessed that we forget about the less fortunate. I am truly thankful for her and her kind heart that she gifted me with. Very tragically when I was eight years old my mother died of Colon cancer. My mom was truly my inspirations for everything, and she still is. I always knew I wanted to continue to give back to my community as that is what my mother would have wanted but I didn't realize until recently how I would accomplish this goal. towards the end of my Junior year for High School I decided to run to be a State Officer of New Hampshire Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). With this rule I had to come up with a state project for NH FBLA to complete. This opportunity allowed me to highlight my mother's battle and share her story with the over 500 NH FBLA members. My project "Hope For a Cure" is aimed at helping NH Cancer patients financially and emotionally as they embark on the toughest battles of their life's. I wanted to help those who were in similar situations as me. After graduation I want to turn my project into a non-profit, spreading my moms story and passion for helping others across the nation. I want my non-profit to help cancer patients be able to afford their treatments and all other costs that come with a chance diagnosis as well as raise money for further colon cancer research. My passions for helping others has been with me since I was a child, though I didn't know at the time how I would implement my passion into my work, through NH FBLA and finding a way to honor my mother legacy "Hope for a Cure" will one day help thousands of Colon cancer patents.

My name is Emma Micklon and I am a senior at salem high school. When I was young I used to tell anyone who would listen that I was going to be President of The United States. This probably sounded hysterical coming from a 5 year old little girl with dyslexia and a speech impediment. I thought the idea of helping others and making a real impact on the world was inspirational. Growing up I was constantly around the politic scene. My grandparents were both heavily involved in local politics and would constantly be bringing me to different events. By the age of 10 I'd meet countless political figures, each one inspiring me to chase my dream of being president. I saw these powerful women speaking so confidently and that's all I wanted to do. As I have grown up the difficulties of becoming President have become more clear to me, but I still believe I will one day be President. Not for your typical obsessed with power reasons but because I truly believe I can make a good impact on our nation. I want to use my political power to fight for equality, lower the cost of living, and ensure our planet will heal for the next generations. I have so many aspirations and goals for my life it is daunting at times. To combat the inevitable stress of trying to live out a life goal I have continued to plan and research how I will make a good impact on our nation regardless of it I am lucky enough to become President one day. I plan on majoring in Business Management and Political Science in college as it is important to have a good understanding of the business world if I wish to go into politics. Once out of college I will start my business career ensuring my financial stability before establishing my political presence. I want to start at the bottom and work my way up, starting as a State Representative then Governor, then Senator, then finally President. By working my way up I will show my constituents that I have a deep understanding of how our system works and have been at all levels of government. Outside of politics I plan on starting a non-profit. Throughout my senior year of high school I have been running a State Project for New Hampshire Future Business Leaders of America. My project is called "Hope for a Cure" named after my late mother Hope Micklon who passed from colon cancer. My project is aimed at helping cancer patients financially and emotionally during their battle. I wish to turn this project into a national non-profit after graduation and continue to help those going through a tough tie in their life and supporting further research on colon cancer.

To sum up my mother in 400-600 words is impossible. Though I only knew her for 8 years I have made it my mission to learn everything I can about her through her friends and my family. She was truly an incredible person. She was filled with so much love and light that it was impossible to not be happy around her. Her passion for life and adventure was contagious. My mother, Hope, grew up a dancer. Hope competed all her life dancing on stages across New England. Her grace and beauty stunned audiences. In college she continued her love for dance and even got her dance teachers certificate. Though my mother was heavily dyslexic, as am I, she graduated college with a degree in early education and went on to inspire hundreds of little preschoolers, dancing through life a she put me and my sister in dance classes as soon as we could walk. Though my personal love for dance has faded and I no longer compete, I cannot watch a performance without thinking of my mother. It's a way for me to connect with her and feel her presence. If I had to pick my favorite quality about my mother it would be her compassion for others. it is truly fitting that her name is Hope as that is what she was for so many people. She was their Hope in dark times, helping everyone she knew no matter what. Even during her battle when things weren't looking too good she still had a smile on her face and knew that everything would be okay. From a very early age my mom instilled in me a love for helping others. She would take me and my older sister to different events to help those in our community. Whether it be the local food bank or a church event my mother was always the first to volunteer and be truly happy to help. Though I was young, this lesson of helping others is something I strive to continue. I wish to always be volunteering and helping those less fortunate than me as I know it is what my mother would have wanted. She was always thinking about how she could help others and enjoyed being there for people during their tough times in life. It truly makes me happy being able to help others as it continues my mother's legacy and keeps her memory alive for those who were fortunate enough to know her and the wonderful woman she was.

Finances have always been a stressful topic in my family. When I was young I remember watching my single mother calculate every item we bought at the grocery store trying to not go over our small budget for the week. My dad had left my mother when I was 3, leaving her with two young girls to support and forcing her to work multiple jobs. Even with my mother working multiple jobs there was not enough money for my family. We were forced to go to food banks and receive help from our church. My mother was extremely thankful for all the help she got and was adimit on teaching me and my sister to give back to our community. We would spend our free time helping out at local food banks and animal shelters trying to repay those who had helped us in the only way we could. When I was 8 my mother passed of stage four Colon cancer. This was not only emotionally devastating but also another financial blow to my family. Medical bills and legal bills piled high on our kitchen table. Me and my older sister moved in with my grandparents and watched them now fight to be financially secure. Watching the adults in my family's stress over finances and the struggle to pay for basic needs has resulted in me being well aware of the reality of money. I got my first job when I was 15, as soon as I was able to work I wanted too. I wanted to no longer be a financial burden on my grandmother, I wanted to be able to pay for my own groceries, clothes, and all other needs so my grandmother would be able to put her money towards more important bills. I quickly begin learning as much as I could on finances. I wanted to ensure that my future family would not know the struggles of not having enough money. I wanted to set myself up for financial success and started saving as much as I could for college and future expenses. working a part time job well being a highschool student and apart of several clubs at my school has taught me endless lessons on responsibility and time management, I truly believe having a job at such a young age has made me more financially responsible and more prepared for my future. I hope to someday be able to be financially free and be able to teach other kids how to set themselves up, especially if they too come from a low income household.

when I was 8 my mother, Hope Micklon, sadly passed away from stage four colon cancer. This event forever changed my life and continues to impact me. During her battle with cancer my mom went through countless procedures, surgeries and chemo treatments. These all created a giant medical bill that my family was burdened with. The financial difficulties that come with a cancer diagnosis are truly devastating. Having to watch my single mother work three jobs well being in and out of the hospital was heartbreaking, though at the time I did not fully understand the situation, now looking back upon it I can see how strong and resilient my mother was. She put her needs a side in order to provide a good life for me and my older sister, until finally the cancer became too overpowering for her. my sister, and my mother and I were forced to move into my grandparents home as my mother was no longer able to take care of me and my sister. Shortly after in the fall of 2014 my mom lost her battle to cancer. My family was emotionally destroyed. My mom was truly the glue that kept my family together, she was a light during all of our dark times and no one knew what to do without her. Unfortunately our financial difficulties did not end, a long custody battle over me and my sister ensued between my mother's parents and my deadbeat father. This battle caused a huge stack of legal bills that resulted in my grandparents losing their retirement fund all in hopes of getting custody of me and my sister, I can truly never thanks them enough for the sacrifice they made for me. As I got older and gained more of a sense for the world around me I quickly noticed that my family was not like others. My grandparents struggled to pay bills, to get food on the table, and to hide their financial difficulties from me. This struggle has made me extremely financially independent. I got my first job at 15 and have continued to work hard ever since to save up for college and all expenses I have. Being so young and paying for everything on my own has taught me endless lessons on responsibility and time management as working a part time job well going to school can be chaotic at times. academically losing my mother has inspired me to be the best version of myself. I feel obligated to carry on my mother's incredible legacy of being kind, brave and determined. I wish to do this through getting a higher education and using my degree to help others. I want to go into business and politics to make changes in our country so no one going through cancer treatment will be financially struggling. I want to help those who are going through similar situations that I was.

when I was young my parents got divorced, I was too young at the time to realize the impact this would have on me and my financial life. Unfortunately the next year of my life was filled with deviations as my mother, a caring kindergarten teacher was diagnosed with cancer. watching her fight for her life is something I will never forget, she is truly the inspiration for all I do and all I wish to accomplish. my goal is to be successful for her, to complete all the milestones that were stolen from her. watching a parent die is the most heartbreak event anyone can go through. this event, though devastating, has instilled me with a great sense of persistence. I have chosen to use all my anger from losing my mother as a passion to be the best person I can be. I want to go into business to be able to one day start my own nonprofit to support other in similar situations that I was in and fund research to hopefully find a cure for cancer so no one else has to go through the tragedy of losing someone. ive started my business journey by becoming a Future Business Leaders of America New Hampshire State Officer. in this role I've learned countless business skills including advancing my public speaking, continuing to grow as a communicator and learning the critical skill of working with a team to complete a mission. this role has also given me the rare and amazing opportunity to run a state project that all of NH works to complete. My state project it called "Hope for a cure" named after my mother, Hope Micklon. my project is surrounded by helping NH Cancer patients and their families, through monetary donations, physical donations and awareness. running this project has allowed me to see what running a nonprofit is truly like. it had given me the opportunity to speak to some incredible people already in this field fighting to help thoughts with cancer. I want to take what I have learned in my role as a NH State Officer and continue my project " Hope for a cure" on a bigger scale after college, eventually I would love to have a national organizations all aimed at helping thoughts with cancer, specifically Colon cancer a that is what my mother suffered from. this goal of mine though daunting is something I am excited to embark on and passionate about.