My journey to college has been difficult and non traditional as I have had to overcome some hard personal struggles in my life to get to where I am today. During the isolation and idle time of Covid coupled with my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), I began to struggle with mental health issues which ultimately led to a substance abuse addiction during a portion of high school years. My grades, my goals, and my relationships with friends and family deteriorated. While I had always been studious, my grades began to plummet along with my desire to be in school or do school work. In essence, I had given up. Organized sports had always been so important to me, but I lost interest in those activities as well. Nothing seemed to matter to me anymore. With the assistance of my family, I voluntarily sought treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation facility where I worked diligently to get to the core of the mental health issues and developed the tools needed to battle the substance abuse addiction. After graduating recovery, I finished the last month of the school year plus the following year at a post-recovery high school because it offered continued support for sobriety and good mental health. During this time, I continued to hone my basketball skills playing in various Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) leagues because the recovery school did not offer organized sports. As I continued to get my life back on track, my desire for playing organized sports also returned threefold. My passion became basketball and I desperately wanted to play on a high school team; therefore, I transferred and finished my senior year at Queens Grant High School. I am now proud to say I have been clean and sober for two years with no relapse, and I have been and continue to be committed to strong mental health, sobriety and clean living. Through these struggles, I discovered that my passion for basketball became one of the keys to my success on this journey. I learned to transfer all my frustrations, excess energy and struggles in life into my tenacity for excelling on the basketball court. In my senior year of high school, I was named co-captain and a starter of the basketball team where I am currently ranked first in our conference and nationally in many stats such as points per game, assists and field goal percentages. I also able to play baseball for my high school as well and succeeded in that as well. Sports has always been a huge part of who I am. While hard to recognize at the time, I now realize that these struggles have given me the opportunity to become a better and more focused person...I am working everyday to take advantage of this opportunity. I cannot thank my parents and friends enough for helping me to overcome all of this. I know I would not be on the same path if it had not been for them. After all the success I have had my senior year athletically, I have so much regret for the choices I made. But ultimately the choices and mistakes form who you are today. I have learned to look forward and focus on what is coming not what is behind me. Fortunately for me, I was able to be recruited and plan to pursue my dream of playing basketball at the collegiate level. Because I was late in the game so to speak, my options for playing are going to be at Division 3 schools that cannot offer money in athletic scholarships. I am committed to play at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The tuition will be more expensive for me as I will be considered out of state. Receiving this scholarship would hugely benefit me and my family. I appreciate your consideration for this award and thank you for your time.

I have had to overcome some hard personal struggles in my life to get to where I am today. During the isolation and idle time of Covid coupled with my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), I began to struggle with mental health issues which ultimately led to a substance abuse addiction during a portion of high school years. My grades, my goals, and my relationships with friends and family deteriorated. While I had always been studious, my grades began to plummet along with my desire to be in school or do school work. In essence, I had given up. Organized sports had always been so important to me, but I lost interest in those activities as well. With the assistance of my family, I voluntarily sought treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation facility where I worked diligently to get to the core of the mental health issues and developed the tools needed to battle the substance abuse addiction. After graduating recovery, I finished the last month of the school year plus the following year at a post-recovery high school because it offered continued support for sobriety and good mental health. During this time, I continued to hone my basketball skills playing in various Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) leagues because the recovery school did not offer organized sports. As I continued to get my life back on track, my desire for playing organized sports also returned threefold. My passion became basketball and I desperately wanted to play on a high school team; therefore, I transferred and finished my senior year at Queens Grant High School. I am now proud to say I have been clean and sober for two years with no relapse, and I have been and continue to be committed to strong mental health, sobriety and clean living. Through these struggles, I discovered that my passion for basketball became one of the keys to my success on this journey. I learned to transfer all my frustrations, excess energy and struggles in life into my tenacity for excelling on the basketball court. In my senior year of high school, I was named co-captain and a starter of the basketball team where I am currently ranked first in our conference and nationally in many stats such as points per game, assists and field goal percentages. While hard to recognize at the time, I now realize that these struggles have given me the opportunity to become a better and more focused person...I am working everyday to take advantage of this opportunity. I have everything to prove.

I have had to overcome some hard personal struggles in my life to get to where I am today. During the isolation and idle time of Covid coupled with my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), I began to struggle with mental health issues which ultimately led to a substance abuse addiction during a portion of high school years. My grades, my goals, and my relationships with friends and family deteriorated. While I had always been studious, my grades began to plummet along with my desire to be in school or do school work. In essence, I had given up. Organized sports had always been so important to me, but I lost interest in those activities as well. With the assistance of my family, I voluntarily sought treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation facility where I worked diligently to get to the core of the mental health issues and developed the tools needed to battle the substance abuse addiction. After graduating recovery, I finished the last month of the school year plus the following year at a post-recovery high school because it offered continued support for sobriety and good mental health. During this time, I continued to hone my basketball skills playing in various Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) leagues because the recovery school did not offer organized sports. As I continued to get my life back on track, my desire for playing organized sports also returned threefold. My passion became basketball and I desperately wanted to play on a high school team; therefore, I transferred and finished my senior year at Queens Grant High School. I am now proud to say I have been clean and sober for two years with no relapse, and I have been and continue to be committed to strong mental health, sobriety and clean living. Through these struggles, I discovered that my passion for basketball became one of the keys to my success on this journey. I learned to transfer all my frustrations, excess energy and struggles in life into my tenacity for excelling on the basketball court. In my senior year of high school, I was named co-captain and a starter of the basketball team where I am currently ranked first in our conference and nationally in many stats such as points per game, assists and field goal percentages. While hard to recognize at the time, I now realize that these struggles have given me the opportunity to become a better and more focused person...I am working everyday to take advantage of this opportunity. I have everything to prove.

I have had to overcome some hard personal struggles in my life to get to where I am today. During the isolation and idle time of Covid coupled with my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), I began to struggle with mental health issues which ultimately led to a substance abuse addiction during a portion of high school years. My grades, my goals, and my relationships with friends and family deteriorated. While I had always been studious, my grades began to plummet along with my desire to be in school or do school work. In essence, I had given up. Organized sports had always been so important to me, but I lost interest in those activities as well. With the assistance of my family, I voluntarily sought treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation facility where I worked diligently to get to the core of the mental health issues and developed the tools needed to battle the substance abuse addiction. After graduating recovery, I finished the last month of the school year plus the following year at a post-recovery high school because it offered continued support for sobriety and good mental health. During this time, I continued to hone my basketball skills playing in various Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) leagues because the recovery school did not offer organized sports. As I continued to get my life back on track, my desire for playing organized sports also returned threefold. My passion became basketball and I desperately wanted to play on a high school team; therefore, I transferred and finished my senior year at Queens Grant High School. I am now proud to say I have been clean and sober for two years with no relapse, and I have been and continue to be committed to strong mental health, sobriety and clean living. Through these struggles, I discovered that my passion for basketball became one of the keys to my success on this journey. I learned to transfer all my frustrations, excess energy and struggles in life into my tenacity for excelling on the basketball court. In my senior year of high school, I was named co-captain and a starter of the basketball team where I am currently ranked first in our conference and nationally in many stats such as points per game, assists and field goal percentages. While hard to recognize at the time, I now realize that these struggles have given me the opportunity to become a better and more focused person...I am working everyday to take advantage of this opportunity. I have everything to prove.

I have had to overcome some hard personal struggles in my life to get to where I am today. During the isolation and idle time of Covid coupled with my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), I began to struggle with mental health issues which ultimately led to a substance abuse addiction during a portion of high school years. My grades, my goals, and my relationships with friends and family deteriorated. While I had always been studious, my grades began to plummet along with my desire to be in school or do school work. In essence, I had given up. Organized sports had always been so important to me, but I lost interest in those activities as well. With the assistance of my family, I voluntarily sought treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation facility where I worked diligently to get to the core of the mental health issues and developed the tools needed to battle the substance abuse addiction. After graduating recovery, I finished the last month of the school year plus the following year at a post-recovery high school because it offered continued support for sobriety and good mental health. During this time, I continued to hone my basketball skills playing in various Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) leagues because the recovery school did not offer organized sports. As I continued to get my life back on track, my desire for playing organized sports also returned threefold. My passion became basketball and I desperately wanted to play on a high school team; therefore, I transferred and finished my senior year at Queens Grant High School. I am now proud to say I have been clean and sober for two years with no relapse, and I have been and continue to be committed to strong mental health, sobriety and clean living. Through these struggles, I discovered that my passion for basketball became one of the keys to my success on this journey. I learned to transfer all my frustrations, excess energy and struggles in life into my tenacity for excelling on the basketball court. In my senior year of high school, I was named co-captain and a starter of the basketball team where I am currently ranked first in our conference and nationally in many stats such as points per game, assists and field goal percentages. While hard to recognize at the time, I now realize that these struggles have given me the opportunity to become a better and more focused person...I am working everyday to take advantage of this opportunity. I have everything to prove.

I have had to overcome some hard personal struggles in my life to get to where I am today. During the isolation and idle time of Covid coupled with my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), I began to struggle with mental health issues which ultimately led to a substance abuse addiction during a portion of high school years. My grades, my goals, and my relationships with friends and family deteriorated. While I had always been studious, my grades began to plummet along with my desire to be in school or do school work. In essence, I had given up. Organized sports had always been so important to me, but I lost interest in those activities as well. With the assistance of my family, I voluntarily sought treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation facility where I worked diligently to get to the core of the mental health issues and developed the tools needed to battle the substance abuse addiction. After graduating recovery, I finished the last month of the school year plus the following year at a post-recovery high school because it offered continued support for sobriety and good mental health. During this time, I continued to hone my basketball skills playing in various Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) leagues because the recovery school did not offer organized sports. As I continued to get my life back on track, my desire for playing organized sports also returned threefold. My passion became basketball and I desperately wanted to play on a high school team; therefore, I transferred and finished my senior year at Queens Grant High School. I am now proud to say I have been clean and sober for two years with no relapse, and I have been and continue to be committed to strong mental health, sobriety and clean living. Through these struggles, I discovered that my passion for basketball became one of the keys to my success on this journey. I learned to transfer all my frustrations, excess energy and struggles in life into my tenacity for excelling on the basketball court. In my senior year of high school, I was named co-captain and a starter of the basketball team where I am currently ranked first in our conference and nationally in many stats such as points per game, assists and field goal percentages. While hard to recognize at the time, I now realize that these struggles have given me the opportunity to become a better and more focused person...I am working everyday to take advantage of this opportunity. I have everything to prove.