Hello, I'm Emmie Gabler and currently a senior at Lake Central High School. I enjoy volunteering, reading, tumbling, and cheerleading. I'm on the varsity competitive cheerleading team and we practice 4 days a week, plus take a tumbling class. We have won the Indiana State championship title the last 4 years; as well as, the regional title and we have came in 3rd at nationals the last two years. I have been cheering competitively for the last 8 years, but do not plan to cheer in college as I want to focus on my classes. When I'm not practicing or competing I like to volunteer at our local animal shelter. I help feed them, walk them and play with them. It's so important that shelter have volunteers to help with the daily activities because there are so many animals to care for. I run donation drives at school to collect items needed for the shelter such as food, toys and blankets. I also pet sit for my neighbors and friends when they are on vacation or gone for an extended amount of time. I have watched an array of animal including dogs, cats, fish, hamsters and bearded dragons. I plan to attend college for business management. My goal is to open my own mobile grooming business. There are many individuals who are physically unable to take their pets to a store to have grooming done or their pets have too much anxiety to be transported. The need is growing rapidly in my area and I want to close that gap. I will offer a wide variety of services at an affordable price. I will also volunteer my services to those in financial need such as veterans and the elderly. I'm hoping that one day my business will generate enough income that I can also donate some of the proceeds to my local animal shelter. It's safe to say that if I could start my own charity it would be to focus on helping rescued animals. The charity would promote adoption of those rescued and help anyone who needs it with the process of obtaining one of these pets. Rescued animals need extra care and love because most were previously abused. They need medical care, shelter, food, and homes with loving and patient individuals. The volunteers I would recruit would be those who love animals and their best interest. They would be "go getters" that would help spread the word of what we would be doing. They would also help care for the animals until they are adopted. Starting a charity like this in my home town is definitely another goal I plan to achieve and with lots of hard work, focus and support I have no doubt I will do just that!

I want to be an entrepreneur to help animals and their owners live a better life. I'm currently taking all the business classes my school offer's while in high school. Once I graduate, I will then pursue my business degree to further educate myself on how to run a successful business. While in school I will also work at a pet store that allows me to learn the pet grooming trade; as well as, take classes to earn my vet tech certification. My aspiration is to own my own mobile pet grooming company. I love animals and want to help owners with the flexibility they need to be able to easily take care of their pets. The world is getting busier everyday and it is becoming harder for pet owners to bring their animals to the vet and the salon. With a good portion of the general population getting older, it is also harder for them to physically bring their pets for their appointments. Since I also plan on earning my vet tech license, I will be able to not only offer grooming services such as hair cuts, bathing and nail trimming onsite at their homes, but I will also be able to deliver deliver medicine and give an initial wellness examination. I will also offer a dog walking service and and daily visits for individuals that my be away for the day or overnight. These services will only add to the much needed demand of pet owners. More and more people are becoming pet owners and they treat their pets as family. The industry is growing rapidly and my business will not only allow me to serve a need, but work with my number one love, animals! I will work with smaller animals such as dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs, bearded dragons, etc. My mobile van will be equipped with everything that a brick and mortar salon would have. Owners just need to bring their pet to their driveway! I will work with a few local veterinarians, so that if after an examination a more thorough doctors visit is need I can give a referral. After doing initial research in my geographic area; there is not only a need for these services, but a growing demand as well. I recently met and interviewed one mobile groomer who stated she could not keep up with the high demand of her services. This is a very exciting time in this industry and I can't wait to be a part of it and show the world what I have to offer!

I plan to study marine biology in college. I have always been fascinated with the ocean and marine life. My main focus will be on research mammalogy. This will allow me to better understand how the species behave and how they react to different situations, including how they react to each other. It is imperative to continuously monitor these animals for different behavior patterns as it correlates to our environment. Without healthy marine life, our world would not be able to function properly. My family and I live in the Midwest close to Lake Michigan. We visit the lake several times a year and as much as I enjoy it, it is not the same as when we visit the ocean. The smell of the salt in the air, the seashells in the sand and of course the sea life! I love to snorkel and look at all the different sea animals. The bigger the better! Even though the ocean does not scare me, I know there are many dangers and am always cautious. I decided at an early age that I wanted to study ocean animals when I was older. I have already read many books on many different types of marine life, their behaviors and their existence. The ocean itself is a mystery. Since it makes up most of our planet it only makes sense to understand it and to understand the organisms living inside it. From the very large whales to the coral reef, it is captivating. I can completely understand how overwhelming it is for some and why some would not want to explore it; however, I am excited to learn as much as i can about the ocean and the life inside it. Taking college courses will only be the beginning of my journey. I hope that my research endeavors not only help marine life to continue to grow and prosper but that it also helps the human race better understand how we as a society can move forward to respect the ocean, its animals and its reef. Without a healthy ocean, we can not have a healthy planet. I appreciate your consideration in choosing me for this scholarship. It will greatly help with pursuing my college education if received and I will make everyone proud who helps me make my dream a reality of becoming a marine biologist. The ocean is our friend and we need extraordinary people to protect it! I want to be one of those people!