The realization of my dream to work as a civil engineer began in the 5th grade. I became interested in engineering when my school had a “Career Day” with guest speakers to come and speak about their occupations. As one of the speakers gave a description of his job duties and responsibilities I began to listen carefully and enjoyed his knowledge about this career. I recall him telling my class that he plans, creates, and designs different things like roads, railroads, bridges, tunnels, power plants and facilities. He also discussed how his work included evaluating the production of products and coming up with ways to better improve the environment. My attention was truly captured, and I was inspired when he told the class that becoming a civil engineer required being good in math and science because the career will require a lot of both. The good thing for me is that I love math and science and I am pretty good in these subjects. It was then that I made the decision and told my parents that I wanted to be an engineer. My plan is to make a difference by becoming a Civil Engineer and have a positive impact on society. Civil Engineers work to improve the quality of life for people in our communities. Civil Engineers design and build bridges, highways, airports, railways, water systems, public transportation, and tunnels to improve our communities. Civil Engineering shape the environment with its designs and the impact of energy consumption and emissions. My contribution as a Civil Engineer would be to include renewable energy (solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy) and ensure these designs are created at a very high standard to ensure safety. I am currently enrolled at the University of South Carolina Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering program, with a 4.0 GPA. The journey needed to acquire this degree will not only allow me to learn and gain skills about Civil Engineering but will also give me an opportunity to pay it forward in our community. I am involved with community services clubs, organizations, and volunteer as much as possible to serve the community. The career I have selected will allow me to impact our community in major ways that will further develop it. Upon completion of BS degree in Civil Engineering I will work as a Civil Engineer in my home community Aiken, South Carolina.

What made me want to get involved in community service is my mother and father. We are Christians and strongly believe in serving others. As I am involved in my church and have served as a junior usher, choir member and media ministry specialist. We love serving and seeing my parents not only serve in church but also in our community deeply affected the way I wish to serve. They both have left a great impact on me as they work in fields that serve others. My dad being self-employed as a heating and air mechanic serve individuals all day and every day. He ensures that even the less fortunate and elderly are able to get cool in summers and heated in the winter. My mother has served disabled high school students and now serve disabled veterans. I have had the opportunity to be able to witness my mother, a civic minded participant in all types of community service programs and projects. She holds a master’s degree, and it has been enabled her to make a positive impact in our local schools and community. My mother has served on the Aiken County Public Schools Advisory council since I was in elementary school. In addition, she served on the PTO boards as president and vice president at the middle school and high school level. My passion to serve my community comes from enjoying being able to help others and seeing the difference that I can make in helping. Seeing my parents in action is also how I learned to always help others and give back to the community. My community service include back to school drives, hydration drives, track coach assistant for hurdles, media ministry, shoutfest festival setup and kid zone attendee. I have been accepted to the University of South Carolina in Columbia and will be attending in Fall 2024. While there, I will earn a Bachelor of Science degree with a major concentration in Civil Engineering. The journey needed to acquire this degree will not only allow me to learn and gain skills about Civil Engineering but will also give me an opportunity to pay it forward in our community. I will get involved with community services clubs, organizations, and volunteering as much as possible to serve the community. The career I have selected will allow me to impact our community in major ways that will further develop it. As a Civil Engineer I will be able to build bridges, roads, railways, tunnels, power plants, and develop a multitude of facilities all to better our communities. As a Civil Engineer I would also be responsible for ensuring these designs are created at highest standard to ensure the safety of the community. After completion of my degree, I aim to secure a job in Columbia, South Carolina or anywhere within the state. My goal will be to work and gain experience as a civil engineer. After gaining work experience for two to three years, I would like to return home to Aiken, South Carolina, and work at the Savannah River Site as a Civil Engineer. With dedication and hard work, I will obtain my degree and cultivate a successful life-long career of service to my community.

I am dedicated, consistent and demonstrated commitment to success in whatever I do in the classroom and on the field. I am a team player who motivate and support others as much as I can. I am unemployed and hope to work part-time while in school. This scholarship would be used to help in achieving my goals by studying engineering at The University of South Carolina. Estimated expense to attend USC is around $39,000 (tuition, books, fees, housing, transportation). My goal is to try and attend college and focus on my classes and hope not to worry about paying for school. My hope is that this scholarship will help with tuition, books, fees, food. My interest and career goal is engineering. In the 5th grade I became interested in engineering. My school had a “Career Day” with guest speakers to come and speak about their occupations. As one of the speakers gave a description of his job duties and responsibilities I began to listen carefully and enjoyed his knowledge about this career. I recall him telling my class that he plans, creates, and designs different things like roads, railroads, bridges, tunnels, power plants and facilities. He also discussed how his work included evaluating the production of products and coming up with ways to better improve the environment. My attention was truly captured and I was inspired when he told the class that becoming a civil engineer required being good in math and science because the career will require a lot of both. The good thing for me is that I love math and science and I am pretty good in these subjects. It was then that I made the decision and told my parents that I wanted to be an engineer. In planning for this career, I have taken a pre-engineering class in high school. This has helped me to have a better understanding of civil engineering. I have job shadowed engineers at the Rolls Royce Solutions Plant and the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Site. I have been accepted and will attend this Fall 2024 at the University of South Carolina Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering program. While in college I plan on getting involved on campus and volunteering to help others in the community. In four to five years, I hope to have earned the BS degree in civil engineering and to secure a job in Columbia, South Carolina to work and gain experience as a civil engineer. After gaining work experience, I would like to come back home to Aiken, South Carolina, and work as a civil engineer. This work will allow me to best use my God given talents to plan, create, design roads, railroads, bridges, tunnels, power plants and facilities in my community.

I am a proud student-athlete I am dually enrolled at Aiken Technical College, taking five college classes. Through hard work and discipline, I am an Honor Roll Student with a 4.60 GPA and will be graduating #12 of 144 students. For the last four years I have participated in JV & Varsity Football, JV & Varsity Basketball, Track and Field. I have found that leadership starts with the desire for success and a willingness to work hard. Leadership is consistently demonstrating an unwavering commitment to excellence in whatever you do. A leader set goals, and consistently works toward meeting them with a positive attitude. I see a leader as having a strong and outstanding work ethic, accountable, educated, self-willed, strong-willed and takes initiative. A leader also has an overall commitment level displayed at any task or goal, and an inspiration to his peers. Good leader qualities include leading by example are focused and driven. A leader motivates and supports others which foster positive and a collaborative environment. A leader also remains calm under pressure and perform at a high level during crucial moments with exceptional mental strength. I feel I have many of the above leadership skills and have demonstrated excellence in leadership as a student volunteer and mentor for the Successteam Youth Council. I have been able to volunteer at annual youth festivals, annual trunk or treat, hydration drives and at my church as a media specialist. The impact of the volunteering at the youth events are lasting impressions. I know for a fact that the impact are long lasting because as a youth of these events I looked forward to seeing the high school students helping and playing with us. As a student athlete I am also a role model and volunteered at the elementary schools to open car doors in the morning as they are dropped off at school. The faces of the students are that of pure excitement and joy. My leadership skills will be developed more as I move forward with my career plan to become a Civil Engineer. My goal is to make a difference by becoming a Civil Engineer and have a positive impact on society. Civil Engineers work to improve the quality of life for people in our communities by designing and building bridges, roads, airport, railways, water systems, public transportation, and tunnels. As a Civil Engineer I would be responsible for ensuring these designs are created at a very high standard to ensure safety. In planning for this career, I have taken a pre-engineering class in high school. Taking this class has increased my understanding of Civil Engineering. In addition, I participated in a job shadowing opportunity that allowed me to observe engineers at the Rolls Royce Solutions Plant and the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Site. This fall I will attend the University of South Carolina to start the journey toward obtaining a Bachelor of Science, in the Civil Engineering Program. The journey needed for this degree will not only allow me to learn and gain skills about Civil Engineering but will also give me an opportunity to pay it forward in our community. I will get involved with community service clubs, organizations, and volunteering as much as possible to serve the community and continue to build my leadership skills. Upon completion of BS degree in Civil Engineering I will work as a Civil Engineer in my home community Aiken, South Carolina. This work will allow me to best use my leadership skills and talents to lead, plan, create, design roads, railroads, bridges, tunnels, power plants and facilities in my community.

My name is Gerald Lark and I attend Silver Bluff High School in Aiken, SC. I am currently enrolled at Aiken Technical College as a Dual Enrollment student taking 5 college classes. Through hard work and discipline, I am an Honor Roll Student with a 4.60 GPA and will be graduating #12 of 144 students. The realization of my dream began in the 5th grade. I became interested in Civil Engineering when my school had a “Career Day” with guest speakers to come and speak about their occupations. As one of the speakers gave a description of his job duties and responsibilities I began to listen carefully and enjoyed his knowledge about this career. I recall him telling my class that he plans, creates, and designs different things like roads, railroads, bridges, tunnels, power plants and facilities. He also discussed how his work included evaluating the production of products and coming up with ways to better improve the environment. My attention was truly captured and I was inspired when he told the class that becoming a Civil Engineer required being good in math and science because the career will require a lot of both. The good thing for me is that I love math and science and I am pretty good in these subjects. It was then that I made the decision and told my parents that I wanted to be an engineer. A personal challenge that affected my achievement happened when I was in middle school (8th grade) and my great grandmother (Nana) died from cancer and my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Before this challenging time, I was an honor roll student focused and determined to become a Civil Engineer. I was a student that always did his work and paid close attention in every class. However, during this time, I became very sad, distant, and just stopped paying attention in class. All my energy and efforts were centered on my mom health and loss of my Nana. I did not want my mother to die. I couldn’t focus on much else. However, my mom began to get very concerned about me and my decline in school work. She began to have deep discussions with me on the importance of my education and participating in extracurricular activities. She knew I loved sports specifically football and basketball. She said it makes her happy and helps her fight harder in her treatment to see me happy making good grades, involved at school, and moving toward my goal of becoming a Civil Engineer. So, I got involved in sports, again and pulled up my grades to the honor roll. I am currently an scholar student athlete and have participated in JV/Varsity football, JV/Varsity basketball, track/field. She knew my involvement in extracurricular activities, volunteering would all help in my personal growth and teach me some very valuable lessons. Today I am a proud student-athlete at Silver Bluff High School and for the last four years I have participated in JV football, Varsity football, JV basketball, Varsity basketball, track, and field. She knew after this difficult challenge I needed to move forward to achieve my goals. She helped me realize that playing sports, awesome coaches and teammates and volunteering in my community would teach me some very valuable lessons. This all sparked and renewed my passion for Civil Engineering, personal growth and a new understanding of myself and others. My plan is to make a difference by becoming a Civil Engineer and have a positive impact on society. Civil Engineers work to improve the quality of life for people in our communities. Civil Engineers design and build bridges, roads, airport, railways, water systems, public transportation, and tunnels to improve our communities. As a Civil Engineer I would be responsible for ensuring these designs are created at a very high standard to ensure safety. The characteristics I believe I have and that will help me to achieve my college dreams and goals include being dedicated, consistent and I have demonstrated commitment to success in whatever I do in the classroom and on the field. I am a team player who motivate and support others as much as I can. To achieve my dreams, I had to set goals. My plan started with me maintaining my grades/gpa and to stay on the honor roll. At an early age my parents made sure I understood the importance of getting good grades and staying focused. In high school I knew my goal was to work as a Civil Engineer and I researched and found what it takes to work in the field as a civil engineer. I quickly found I needed a college education. This education is needed to achieve my goals in life to give me skills and knowledge needed. I worked with my mom and guidance counselor to take classes to get me ready and prepared for getting accepted into college. In planning for this career, I have taken a pre-engineering class in high school. Taking this class has increased my understanding of Civil Engineering. I have job shadowed engineers at the Rolls Royce Solutions Plant and the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Site. This fall I will attend the University of South Carolina to start the journey toward obtaining a Bachelor of Science, in the Civil Engineering Program. The journey needed to acquire this degree will not only allow me to learn and gain skills about Civil Engineering but will also give me an opportunity to pay it forward in our community. I will get involved with community services clubs, organizations, and volunteering as much as possible to serve the community. The career I have selected will allow me to impact our community in major ways that will further develop it. Upon completion of BS degree in Civil Engineering I will work as a Civil Engineer in my home community Aiken, South Carolina.

As my senior year is coming to an end, I would title the next chapter in my life “A New Beginning.” The New Beginning for me is significant as I am ending my 12 years of education and starting a whole new chapter of my life. As I get ready to step into the unknown, I am both nervous and excited. I will be 18 soon after I graduate high school and will be considered an adult. I have been so eager to graduate and to turn 18 but I question, am I really ready for this new beginning. I have been telling myself that I will not fear this new beginning but will embrace it. I feel prepared, I attend Silver Bluff High School in Aiken, SC. I am currently enrolled at Aiken Technical College as a Dual Enrollment student taking 5 college classes. I am also an Honor Roll Student with a GPA of 4.60, top 10% of my class and I am considered a Scholar-Athlete, playing three sports, football, basketball, and track. I am an active member of the Silver Bluff National Beta Club, Silver Bluff National Honor Society, and Silver Bluff Future Christian Athletes. Other extracurricular activities I am involved in are Successteam Youth Council Scholar and Greater Young Zion Media Specialist/Photographer. As a Successteam youth council scholar, I have been able to gain experience in community outreach, volunteer opportunities, public speaking, and development of soft skills. Also, as a volunteer Media Specialist, I assist in providing the technical needs of my church. These opportunities have helped to prepare me for life after high school, my new beginning. I have enjoyed every bit of my high school career, from doing school work and talking with teachers and with my classmates to complete the work assigned, to being in the hallways socializing with my friends and teammates. The experiences and things that happened to me in high school are the things I am going to share with my kids and grandkids one day. In preparation for this New Beginning I will graduate top of my class from Silver Bluff High School and will attend college and major in civil engineering. I have passion and am very determined to work hard to achieve my goal as a civil engineer. I have taken a pre-engineering class in high school. This class helped me to have a better understanding of civil engineering. I have job shadowed engineers at the Rolls Royce Solutions Plant and the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Site. I have been accepted to the University of South Carolina and will be attending in the Fall of 2024. My major will be a Bachelor of Science degree, with an emphasis in civil engineering. After completing the BS degree in civil engineering, I plan to secure a job in Columbia, South Carolina to work and gain experience as a civil engineer. After gaining two to three years of work experience, I would like to come back home to Aiken, South Carolina and work at Savannah River Site as a civil engineer and enjoy these ~ New Beginnings.