Golf has impacted my character because before my senior year, I had only played basketball my freshman year and I stopped playing so I could work. Working and making money was fun and all but I felt like I was missing something or bored in my free time. The summer going into my senior year I started to pick up golf. I would try and get out to the course at least twice a week to get better. The beginning of senior year rolled around and my family said I should go out for the golf team. I was a little skeptical at first but then realized maybe this was a good opportunity to get better at something I truly love and enjoy doing. I made the varsity golf team at my highschool and got to play some really cool courses I probably never would have played on my own. One of my favorite courses was the Mark Bostick Course. This is a private course in Gainseville Florida that the Florida Gators College Golf team plays and practices at. Although I didn't have my best day it was still a really meaningful and eventful experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. As the season came to an end I had to get my wisdom teeth out. Before my surgery was the best I had ever been at golf and I was playing really well. A few days after surgery I went back out to practice and it felt like I had never hit a golf ball in my life. I had to completely change my swing and find new things that worked. As this made me very frustrated I still kept going and decided I wanted to at least get back decent so I could enjoy golf for the rest of my life. Now that my highschool career is over, I still enjoy playing golf with my friends and family. I try and get out to the course at least once a week and have some competitive matches with my dad and even my grandad who used to play semiprofessional. Golf has changed my life in many ways. I still love working and making money but a lot of money goes towards funding my passion and joy for golf. Golf has given me something to do during my downtime and made me realize that there is a lot more to life then just work.

Golf has impacted my character because before my senior year, I had only played basketball my freshman year and I stopped playing so I could work. Working and making money was fun and all but I felt like I was missing something or bored in my free time. The summer going into my senior year I started to pick up golf. I would try and get out to the course at least twice a week to get better. The beginning of senior year rolled around and my family said I should go out for the golf team. I was a little skeptical at first but then realized maybe this was a good opportunity to get better at something I truly love and enjoy doing. I made the varsity golf team at my highschool and got to play some really cool courses I probably never would have played on my own. One of my favorite courses was the Mark Bostick Course. This is a private course in Gainseville Florida that the Florida Gators College Golf team plays and practices at. Although I didn't have my best day it was still a really meaningful and eventful experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. As the season came to an end I had to get my wisdom teeth out. Before my surgery was the best I had ever been at golf and I was playing really well. A few days after surgery I went back out to practice and it felt like I had never hit a golf ball in my life. I had to completely change my swing and find new things that worked. As this made me very frustrated I still kept going and decided I wanted to at least get back decent so I could enjoy golf for the rest of my life. Now that my highschool career is over, I still enjoy playing golf with my friends and family. I try and get out to the course at least once a week and have some competitive matches with my dad and even my grandad who used to play semiprofessional. Golf has changed my life in many ways. I still love working and making money but a lot of money goes towards funding my passion and joy for golf. Golf has given me something to do during my downtime and made me realize that there is a lot more to life then just work.

Olivia Rodrigo’s songwriting resonates deeply with the chaotic transition into adulthood, particularly the tension between insecurity and the desire for confidence. Lyrics like "I know their beauty's not my lack, but it feels like that weight is on my back" from "Jealousy, Jealousy" and "I made the jokes you tell to her when she's with you" from "deja vu" perfectly encapsulate the agonizing comparison and insecurity I faced during my late teens and early twenties. These songs transformed private anxieties into shared anthems of growth.The primary challenge these lyrics mirror is the crippling, relentless nature of social comparison. The line, "I've made some real big mistakes / But you make the worst one look fine" from "logical" brings back memories of staying in a situation—whether a friendship or a relationship—while knowing it was harmful. Rodrigo’s honesty about "making it weird" or "stumbling over words" in "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" captures the profound social awkwardness I often felt, where my internal, overthinking monologue didn't match the social grace I wanted to project."Jealousy, Jealousy" particularly hits home regarding the impact of social media on self-worth. In my journey, I often found myself feeling like I was behind, watching others live seemingly perfect lives while I was struggling to define my own path. The lyric "all your friends are so cool / you go out every night" feels like a direct window into the imposter syndrome I experienced in college, where I doubted my own achievements because I was too busy looking at someone else's.However, there are triumphs in this emotional journey. The relatability of these lyrics is a comfort, showing that insecurity is universal, not a personal failing. Singing along to "good 4 u" was a cathartic release of repressed anger, helping me move past scenarios where I felt overlooked. The ability to look back on these painful moments of awkwardness or insecurity and find humor in them, as Rodrigo does, is a major victory in self-acceptance.Ultimately, navigating these feelings allowed me to move from being "so emotional" to recognizing that my emotions are not "wounds in salt," but valid experiences. I now prioritize authentic, slow-burn connections over the fast-paced "rollercoaster" described in "1 step forward, 3 steps back". The ultimate triumph is accepting that my, as well as Olivia's, "thorns with my petals, too," are just part of the overall experience of becoming. I believe this scholarship will help me fund my college career. Thank you.

As special as finding the Lord is, I don't mean to downplay on that at all. I just don't have a really special story mine is more basic. I've always attended church and have grown up in it. When I was 7 I told my parents I wanted to be baptized and saved. We waited almost a whole year just so they could make sure it was real and that I was serious. After all the months of questioning and making sure I had it for the right reasons. I was baptized along with my brother when I was 7 or 8. Since then I kind of just really lived a normal life and not really fully devoted to Christ. One church camp I felt a call back to him and decided I wanted to live for him for real. I even questioned my faith from when I was younger but eventually realized that I wasn't not saved but I was convicted to come back and live my life for him. That's when I kind of change how I was acting and talking and my emotions. This past summer I went on a mission trip to Riga, Latvia. Our whole goal there was to spark conversations with people and offer to pray for them and if it led to the point maybe even sharing the gospel with them while we were there. This trip was amazing and really opened my eyes when we read Matthew as a group. The Great Commission is God commanding us himself to go Spread the gospel to all the nations. He isn't giving us a choice with that. This isn't an option and in fact it's also an act of obedience, and so what really convicted me hard was the fact that if we don't share the gospel, that we are disobeying the Lords command. Coming home from this mission trip, I told myself that I couldn't just leave this mindset across the country. I had to bring this back to the people in my home we call little ole Lake City. I was able to share this conviction with my church and explained to them that you don't have to go on a mission to trip to share the gospel. I told them that it isn't "missions" it is mission, there is only one mission, and that mission is to share the gospel. I asked for my pastors permission to call them to action which I'll explain now. We all know we won't spread the gospel unless we are kind of pushed into it because the reality of it, is that it can be scary. But after I was done talking to them, I asked for them to pull out their phones, and to scroll down their contacts list. I told them that I bet more then half of them needed to hear the gospel and went on to tell them to pick a single person on that list and to text them right now and just say, "Hey can we talk sometime this week." The reason I did this was so that they basically had to have a conversation with them at some point. After high school I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College to pursue a career in welding. I believe that this scholarship will not only help me but help with my school which I can then hopefully spread the gospel around the country as I'm traveling for work. Thank you.

Being right-handed but choosing to reel with my left hand while fishing has always made me feel a little awkward compared to other people. Most right-handed fishermen use their dominant hand to reel because it feels more natural and comfortable. However, I have always done the opposite. Even though it may seem unusual, I reel with my left hand because I believe my right arm is stronger and better suited for holding the fishing rod steady. What feels strange to others has become a habit and a skill that makes fishing easier for me. Fishing is something I have always enjoyed because it takes patience, focus, and strength. When holding a fishing rod for long periods of time, especially when fighting a large fish, your arm can get tired quickly. Since my right arm is stronger, I naturally feel more comfortable using it to support and control the rod. This gives me better balance and allows me to react faster when I feel a fish bite. By keeping the rod in my stronger hand, I can maintain more control over the movement of the fish and avoid losing it. At first, people would notice the way I reeled and ask questions about it. Some would laugh or tell me I was doing it backwards. Their reactions made me feel awkward because I realized I was different from most other right-handed fishermen. I started wondering if I should switch hands and fish the “normal” way. However, every time I tried, it felt uncomfortable and unnatural. My casting, balance, and coordination were not nearly as smooth. I eventually realized that just because something is different does not mean it is wrong. Over time, I learned to embrace this unusual habit because it actually benefits me while fishing. Using my right arm to hold the rod allows me to have more strength and endurance when handling larger fish. At the same time, my left hand is perfectly capable of reeling. Fishing is not about following everyone else’s style; it is about finding the method that works best for you. Once I understood this, I stopped feeling embarrassed and became more confident in the way I fish. This experience has also taught me an important lesson about individuality. People often assume there is only one correct way to do something, but everyone has different strengths and preferences. What works for one person may not work for another. Even though my fishing style may seem awkward to others, it suits me perfectly. In a way, it reflects my personality because I am willing to do things differently if it helps me succeed. Today, I no longer see my fishing style as something embarrassing. Instead, I view it as a unique quality that makes me stand out. Being right-handed but reeling with my left hand may seem unusual, but it has helped me become a better fisherman. More importantly, it has reminded me that being different is not something to hide. Sometimes the qualities that make us awkward are also the qualities that make us unique.

My name is Grayson Roberts, I will be attending Big Bend Technical College to pursue a career in welding. Mathematics is often viewed as an abstract, academic subject, but I love it because it is the ultimate language of logic and tangible structure. It offers a clear, black-and-white framework for solving complex problems, transforming chaotic scenarios into orderly, solvable solutions. The thrill of breaking down a challenging equation—or a real-world design—into smaller, manageable parts is incredibly rewarding. Whether it is calculating volumes or understanding structural patterns, math provides a reliable, consistent, and creative way to interact with the world. This passion finds its most practical application in welding, where math moves from the textbook to the shop floor. Welding is not just fusing metal; it is precise engineering that requires strong arithmetic skills. Every day, I use fractions and decimals to read blueprints and measure materials accurately, ensuring that joints fit perfectly to avoid wasting expensive materials. Geometry is crucial for calculating angles, radii, and circumferences when preparing joints or working with pipe, ensuring the structural integrity of a weld. Furthermore, trigonometry allows me to solve for the hypotenuse in complex joint setups or determine the exact bevel angles needed for a full-penetration weld. Beyond fitting and layout, math is involved in setting parameters. I use basic algebra to adjust welding travel speed and calculate voltage settings to prevent heat distortion. Whether calculating the pounds of filler metal required for a large job or analyzing the heat-affected zone, math is the foundation that turns a simple welder into a skilled fabricator. For me, math is the essential tool that makes welding both functional and precise.

As special as finding the Lord is, I don't mean to downplay on that at all. I just don't have a really special story mine is more basic. I've always attended church and have grown up in it. When I was 7 I told my parents I wanted to be baptized and saved. We waited almost a whole year just so they could make sure it was real and that I was serious. After all the months of questioning and making sure I had it for the right reasons. I was baptized along with my brother when I was 7 or 8. Since then I kind of just really lived a normal life and not really fully devoted to Christ. One church camp I felt a call back to him and decided I wanted to live for him for real. I even questioned my faith from when I was younger but eventually realized that I wasn't not saved but I was convicted to come back and live my life for him. That's when I kind of change how I was acting and talking and my emotions. This past summer I went on a mission trip to Riga, Latvia. Our whole goal there was to spark conversations with people and offer to pray for them and if it led to the point maybe even sharing the gospel with them while we were there. This trip was amazing and really opened my eyes when we read Matthew as a group. The Great Commission is God commanding us himself to go Spread the gospel to all the nations. He isn't giving us a choice with that. This isn't an option and in fact it's also an act of obedience, and so what really convicted me hard was the fact that if we don't share the gospel, that we are disobeying the Lords command. Coming home from this mission trip, I told myself that I couldn't just leave this mindset across the country. I had to bring this back to the people in my home we call little ole Lake City. I was able to share this conviction with my church and explained to them that you don't have to go on a mission to trip to share the gospel. I told them that it isn't "missions" it is mission, there is only one mission, and that mission is to share the gospel. I asked for my pastors permission to call them to action which I'll explain now. We all know we won't spread the gospel unless we are kind of pushed into it because the reality of it, is that it can be scary. But after I was done talking to them, I asked for them to pull out their phones, and to scroll down their contacts list. I told them that I bet more then half of them needed to hear the gospel and went on to tell them to pick a single person on that list and to text them right now and just say, "Hey can we talk sometime this week." The reason I did this was so that they basically had to have a conversation with them at some point. After high school I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College to pursue a career in welding. I believe that this scholarship will not only help me but help with my school which I can then hopefully spread the gospel around the country as I'm traveling for work. I say all this to say. Yes this scholarship would be nice to have. But I'd also like to tell the person reading this right now to pull out their phone and find someone on the contact list that they know doesn't know Jesus and doesn't have a relationship with them. Ask them to meet up this week to catch up and try a share the gospel with. Don't be intimidated because at the end up the day, you are obeying God's command so nothing else matters. Thank you.

My name is Grayson Roberts. I am a senior in high school and plan to attend Big Bend Technical College when I graduate. I will be attending the welding technology course which is a two year program, I will also be attending during the summer to try and get out earlier and hit the road. All four years of my high school career I have been in the welding program. During my first two years I didn't take it too seriously because I didn't know all the avenues it would provide for me later in life. Coming into my junior year I told my instructor that I wanted to earn all three AWS certifications including Stick, MIG, and flux core. As I am a senior about to graduate I have done just that. I plan to make a positive impact in the world by bringing my hard work ethic and just my willingness to work. I have always wanted to work with my hands and I love doing it non stop. Some obstacles I might face at school are being stuck on different positions. I will overcome these obstacles by just pushing myself harder and counting to practice and perfect my craft. Nothing is impossible in my eyes, it's only impossible if you let it be in your mind. I believe that if you put the effort and time into something that you will be rewarded. During the past two years I have really gained a passion for welding and just working in general. this past year I even started my own business which was mainly mowing grass but I picked up big jobs on the weekend including, bushoogging, Land clearing, and even construction jobs. The main goal I had for my business was to bring affordable prices to my customers. I always made sure to make my work perfect and affordable for my customers. People will charger ridiculous amounts of money to do things in todays world and my goal was to help my less fortunate customers. I believe welding will be a great fit for me because whenever I'm behind that hood, all the noise around me goes away. It's almost like a peace comes over my body. After a few years of welding on the road, I'd like to come back and try to expand my business to help others in the world out more. This scholarship would help me do so by helping my way through college, thank you.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to high school I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of high school I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my high school career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish high school with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to high school I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job. It's really hard to pick just one, and I say that because I have so many I could pick from, I really enjoy just helping the young kids out. I've done lots of umpiring for our local little league, and have also done basketball for our church here in town. I love both and really can't pick which sport I like better. I love giving back to my community and helping out but I also really enjoy making relationships with the kids as well. I love helping the pitcher warm up when the catcher isn't ready and love giving pitchers tips because I was a pitcher growing up my whole childhood. Basketball as well, I love giving tips because I played for the high school team for a couple of years. I am very familiar with both sports and regret quitting both of them. But I love being able to umpire and ref because it brings me back to the game even though I might not be playing. All of the kids have such a good time and some are really fun to ref a game for. I loving throwing the ball with them in between innings. Umpiring and Reffing are for sure something I want to stay involved in. Thanks.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills and my teacher Mr. Thomas has been a huge impact in my life, he has taught me so much and is the main reason I want to pursue a career in welding. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to high school I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job. I've also been taking a Financial peace class at my church, the Dave Ramsey one and his main thing is to live like no one else so one day you can give like no one else. I'm excited to be able to give back to my community and church and being able to help the church out. I started my own business a while ago because I love working and helping others. Through my business I offer customers a very affordable price because I absolutely love helping others out that are in need and might not be in a Financial situation of having to pay some of the big prices that some of these company's quote. I have found such a passion for welding over the last few years and I am really excited to see what it holds for me in the future. I hope one day I'm able to give back to my family, school, church, and my community not just with money, but with time and hard work and just helping those I need who are less fortunate then I am. I have always believed in helping others and doing it out of the kindness of my heart and not expecting anything in return. For example my Pappaw, he has made such a big impact in my life, basically teaching everything I know and know how to do. He is always willing to help me with bigger jobs and never lets me pay him. Just the other day I had to replace my brakes and rotors, and he payed for everything and wouldn't let me pay him back. I hope one day I'm financially in this situation to help anyone in need and to just do it willingly and out of the goodness of my heart and not expect anything in return.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills and my teacher Mr. Thomas has been a huge impact in my life, he has taught me so much and is the main reason I want to pursue a career in welding. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to highschool I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job. This scholarship would help me financially with school to earn all of my certifications.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills and my teacher Mr. Thomas has been a huge impact in my life, he has taught me so much and is the main reason I want to pursue a career in welding. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to highschool I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be the type of guy to obsess over pop music, but Sabrina Carpenter just hits different. It all started when "Nonsense" popped up on my FYP and I couldn’t get that outro out of my head. Since then, she’s actually had a huge impact on my life, mostly by just making me chill out. Before I got into her stuff, I was always stressed about school and trying to overthink everything. Then Emails I Can't Send dropped, and it was a reality check. She’s super witty and the lyrics are actually smart, but she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Songs like "Feather" taught me that if people are toxic or annoying, you just gotta let them go and not care, which is a major vibe. Her new stuff, especially "Espresso," just brings this crazy energy. It sounds corny, but listening to her music puts me in a better mood before a test or a soccer game. She basically showed me that you can be confident, work hard, and still have a laugh about the "nonsense" in life. Sabrina is basically the queen of not stressing, and that’s helped me a lot. She has made a great impact on my life.

Growing up my parents would always argue and I knew it was getting to that point. They just weren’t happy anymore. They split for a while and then eventually got back together hoping to try again. But it did not work. They then divorced and my dad has been single ever since. I would say that this was his obstacle and that also finding a new home and providing for me and my brother was too. He has shaped my family’s journey by showing me how to work hard for what I want and how to provide for your kids. One lesson that my dad taught me before I entered highschool is that you can not take back something you say. Once you say it, it’s out there. Some memories I have with him are working to remodel our new house and his bedroom especially. My dad has taught me pretty much everything I know and he is also where I get my hard work ethic from. We always go on Christmas trips and summer vacations. One special memory is when I was little and I was scared of the dark but he was working night shift so when he would come home early or in the middle of the night I would see his lights and be comforted by the fact that he was home. Being raised by has influenced my dreams because he has taught me that anything you dream for is possible as long as your willing to put in the time and effort to achieve it. He has taught me to value love over money and also has taught me to be a faithful man. My dad has worked so hard to get to where he is today and I thank him so much for being a huge huge impact on my life and others around us. Without him I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t act the way I do. I wouldn’t talk the way I do and I definitely wouldn’t see the world the same. He has always taught me to be patient with the world and to be slow to anger and to never just assume the worst. My father has been one of the biggest role models in my life and I hope some day I can be half the man he is. I hope I can provide for my kids the way he does and also raise them in church the way he did me. Thank you.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills and my teacher Mr. Thomas has been a huge impact in my life, he has taught me so much and is the main reason I want to pursue a career in welding. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to highschool I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to highschool I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to highschool I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

My name is Grayson Roberts. I am a senior in high school and plan to attend Big Bend Technical College when I graduate. I will be attending the welding technology course which is a two year program, I will also be attending during the summer to try and get out earlier and hit the road. All four years of my high school career I have been in the welding program. During my first two years I didn't take it too seriously because I didn't know all the avenues it would provide for me later in life. Coming into my junior year I told my instructor that I wanted to earn all three AWS certifications including Stick, MIG, and flux core. As I am a senior about to graduate I have done just that. I plan to make a positive impact in the world by bringing my hard work ethic and just my willingness to work. I have always wanted to work with my hands and I love doing it non stop. Some obstacles I might face at school are being stuck on different positions. I will overcome these obstacles by just pushing myself harder and counting to practice and perfect my craft. Nothing is impossible in my eyes, it's only impossible if you let it be in your mind. I believe that if you put the effort and time into something that you will be rewarded. During the past two years I have really gained a passion for welding and just working in general. this past year I even started my own business which was mainly mowing grass but I picked up big jobs on the weekend including, bushoogging, Land clearing, and even construction jobs. The main goal I had for my business was to bring affordable prices to my customers. I always made sure to make my work perfect and affordable for my customers. People will charger ridiculous amounts of money to do things in todays world and my goal was to help my less fortunate customers. I believe welding will be a great fit for me because whenever I'm behind that hood, all the noise around me goes away. It's almost like a peace comes over my body. After a few years of welding on the road, I'd like to come back and try to expand my business to help others in the world out more. This scholarship would help me do so by helping my way through college, thank you.

Growing up my parents would always argue and I knew it was getting to that point. They just weren’t happy anymore. They split for a while and then eventually got back together hoping to try again. But it did not work. They then divorced and my dad has been single ever since. I would say that this was his obstacle and that also finding a new home and providing for me and my brother was too. He has shaped my family’s journey by showing me how to work hard for what I want and how to provide for your kids. One lesson that my dad taught me before I entered highschool is that you can not take back something you say. Once you say it, it’s out there. Some memories I have with him are working to remodel our new house and his bedroom especially. My dad has taught me pretty much everything I know and he is also where I get my hard work ethic from. We always go on Christmas trips and summer vacations. One special memory is when I was little and I was scared of the dark but he was working night shift so when he would come home early or in the middle of the night I would see his lights and be comforted by the fact that he was home. Being raised by has influenced my dreams because he has taught me that anything you dream for is possible as long as your willing to put in the time and effort to achieve it. He has taught me to value love over money and also has taught me to be a faithful man. My dad has worked so hard to get to where he is today and I thank him so much for being a huge huge impact on my life and others around us. Without him I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t act the way I do. I wouldn’t talk the way I do and I definitely wouldn’t see the world the same. He has always taught me to be patient with the world and to be slow to anger and to never just assume the worst. My father has been one of the biggest role models in my life and I hope some day I can be half the man he is. I hope I can provide for my kids the way he does and also raise them in church the way he did me. Thank you.

My name is Grayson Roberts. I have really enjoyed all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to highschool I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to highschool I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to highschool I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

My name is Grayson Roberts. My freshman year of highschool I started in our welding program. I have really enjoyed it and have took it all four years of my highschool career. During my first two years I didn't take it very seriously mainly because I didn't know what I could get out of it and how many careers I had the opportunity to pursue. Going into my Junior year I told my teacher that I wanted to pursue welding and finish highschool with my AWS Stick, MIG, and Flux Core welding certifications. With senior year coming to an end I will graduate with all three of those certifications. Along these four years I've learned a lot of basic life skills. Welding taught me how to be a leader during projects and how to problem solve when we ran into trouble during any projects. It has also taught me how to work well with other students. We have done a lot of fabrication projects where we worked on things for days and weeks at a time with groups of people. One of our biggest projects was a project for our principal. This project taught me time management because our principal gave a few other students and I an SSA all day and gave us a time he needed it done by. During this time we put our hoods down and got to work on the project and ended up finishing early. I was almost always in class and tried not to miss too many days because I generally love to weld. We even have a competition I will be participating in Tallahassee coming up for Skills USA. I want to pursue a career in welding because I've always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. Once I got to high school I kind of realized a big university was out of the window for me because I wasn't a great test taker. Once I realized the career opportunities welding has for me I decided it was something I wanted to pursue. I haven't really decided exactly what I'm going to do yet, but I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College and even plan on starting in the summer to get ahead and try and get out on the road early. With all this being said, Welding has really brought a whole new meaning to my life and has given me something to be passionate about and make money loving my job.

I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College in Perry, Florida. I started my own business about a year ago which was mainly lawn care and as I moved into the colder months, more land clearing and constructions jobs. Big Bend is a two year program and I hope to get out a little early so I can hit the road and make money sooner. I would like to weld for a few years and eventually come back and grow my business even further. I enjoy helping others out so I never charge people crazy numbers. I believe I will be successful because I know a lot of people and have learned a lot of skills from the time I was little. I have always been a hard worker with an incredible work ethic. I almost never turn down any work and I am always willing to lend a helping hand in a time of need. I love helping my customers with fast and very affordable service. I've always had the knack of running my own business one day. A successful life to me looks like a life full of service to people, The Lord and to my family. I want to be successful so in return I can bless my community and bless my church. My faith is the most important thing in my life and I love trying to spread the gospel through the work that I do. That is the whole reason I believe in affordable prices because I know a lot of people can not afford some of they help that they need. But I believe that the Lord blesses people who help each one another out. This scholarship would mean a lot to me and help me pursue my dreams. I dream of having a family that is raised in church and raised to do the right thing no matter the circumstances. I have always believed in sticking to my word and if I tell someone I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it. I also believe in always being on time. I've always told myself that if you're not early, you're late. My Pappaw has always pushed that on me. I believe this world would be a better place if people would stick to their word and respect others as well. I would love the opportunity to get this scholarship to help pursue my dreams. Thank you.

After high school, I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College in Perry, Florida. The trade I plan to pursue there is welding. I am interested in welding because I have been in my high schools welding program now for all four years of my high school career. This program is one of the most prestigious in the state and dare might a say the country. This program continues to grow every single day. Some recent examples of projects we have done are fire pits, smudge pots, we have reinforced a cop cars bumper which is our town pit maneuver car now. We make things out of horseshoes, we even made a deer blind. Just recently my principle gave a few buddies and I a SSA for the day so we could finish his smudge pot because he wanted it that night because it was going to be freezing cold. My first two years in this program, I didn't really take it too seriously, mainly because I didn't know how many gateways and opportunities were involved in this kind of skill. I came to my teacher at the beginning of my junior year and told him that I wanted to earn my AWS Stick, Flux Core, and MIG certifications before I graduate. Now I am a senior and have all three and a whole lot more experience. For the past couple of years we have sent plenty of former students to Big Bend, which is where I plan to attend. Big Bend will be coming to our school in March for a competition and to sign us up for school, and even a chance at some scholarship money. It is a two year program, but I plan on starting this summer to get ahead and get on the road faster. The instructors there also will help you find a job as long as you are a hard worker and show up everyday. If I were to call an adult in my life, It would be my Pappaw. He has been such a blessing in my life and has taught me pretty much everything I know. He's also taught me how to be a Godly man, husband, and dad. He is such a special person in my life. He never asks for anything in return. He has also helped me make money doing jobs and he won't ever let me pay him. He would recommend me because of how hard of a worker I am. I never turn down work and I'm always looking to fix something or learn something new. Anytime I have a problem, he is always the person I call. I would love for a chance at this scholarship because it would help me with my college career and hopefully one day into my actual career. Thank you.

As special as finding the Lord is, I don't mean to downplay on that at all. I just don't have a really special story mine is more basic. I've always attended church and have grown up in it. When I was 7 I told my parents I wanted to be baptized and saved. We waited almost a whole year just so they could make sure it was real and that I was serious. After all the months of questioning and making sure I had it for the right reasons. I was baptized along with my brother when I was 7 or 8. Since then I kind of just really lived a normal life and not really fully devoted to Christ. One church camp I felt a call back to him and decided I wanted to live for him for real. I even questioned my faith from when I was younger but eventually realized that I wasn't not saved but I was convicted to come back and live my life for him. That's when I kind of change how I was acting and talking and my emotions. This past summer I went on a mission trip to Riga, Latvia. Our whole goal there was to spark conversations with people and offer to pray for them and if it led to the point maybe even sharing the gospel with them while we were there. This trip was amazing and really opened my eyes when we read Matthew as a group. The Great Commission is God commanding us himself to go Spread the gospel to all the nations. He isn't giving us a choice with that. This isn't an option and in fact it's also an act of obedience, and so what really convicted me hard was the fact that if we don't share the gospel, that we are disobeying the Lords command. Coming home from this mission trip, I told myself that I couldn't just leave this mindset across the country. I had to bring this back to the people in my home we call little ole Lake City. I was able to share this conviction with my church and explained to them that you don't have to go on a mission to trip to share the gospel. I told them that it isn't "missions" it is mission, there is only one mission, and that mission is to share the gospel. I asked for my pastors permission to call them to action which I'll explain now. We all know we won't spread the gospel unless we are kind of pushed into it because the reality of it, is that it can be scary. But after I was done talking to them, I asked for them to pull out their phones, and to scroll down their contacts list. I told them that I bet more then half of them needed to hear the gospel and went on to tell them to pick a single person on that list and to text them right now and just say, "Hey can we talk sometime this week." The reason I did this was so that they basically had to have a conversation with them at some point. After high school I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College to pursue a career in welding. I believe that this scholarship will not only help me but help with my school which I can then hopefully spread the gospel around the country as I'm traveling for work. I say all this to say. Yes this scholarship would be nice to have. But I'd also like to tell the person reading this right now to pull out their phone and find someone on the contact list that they know doesn't know Jesus and doesn't have a relationship with them. Ask them to meet up this week to catch up and try a share the gospel with. Don't be intimidated because at the end up the day, you are obeying God's command so nothing else matters. Thank you.

Over many years of my life, I have participated in many service projects. Wether small or big projects, I love helping people out even if its not a delegated thing. I've always been the person to stop on the side of the road to help someone or if I see someone in a parking lot struggling with grocery's or even materials, I always lend a hand. For example just the other day someone from my school was pulled over on the side of the road and I got out and asked if they needed help. His driveshaft had come loose so I offered to go home grab a trailer and give him a tow. Another example, I was in the home Depot parking lot watching a gentleman try and load something way to long into the bed of his truck without straps or rope. I gave him both of my straps so he could secure his materials safely. Safe to say I never got those back not that I was expecting to though. I've always enjoyed helping with our pumpkin patches and foster dog give events. Anytime any of the staff members at my school need something done, I always offer a helping hand. After high school I plan on attending Big Bend Technical College in Perry. It is a two year program and I plan on getting all of my certifications and getting out of there early to hit the road. Now I know your thinking how does this have anything to do with serving others. I believe that with the skills I will learn I can not only serve people but also the Lord. I will be all over the place welding which is going to allow me to spread the gospel all over. This past summer I went on a mission trip to Riga, Latvia. It was until then that I realized that we are commanded to spread the gospel and that it wasn't really an option. I was heavily convicted by this and even shared it with my church when we got back and also at an FCA service one morning before school. Not only will I be able to spread the gospel, I will be able to give very generously back to my church. I've been at this church for about 10 years now and I wouldn't trade it for another. This place is like a home to me and the family I have made there is amazing. With all this being said I absolutely love serving others and my community and do think that I will be able to use my education to embody a life of service and a good well rounded Christian.