It was a bitter January afternoon when I first opened my copy of Principles of Information Security. The pages were crinkled, and the cover was creased, but I didn't mind. I flipped through the pages, oblivious to the wind howling at my window, and the dogs barking in the distance. I was immersed in the fascinating, albeit frightening, world of cybersecurity. I quickly learned about the functions of firewalls, IDPS systems, and proxy servers. More importantly, I learned just how delicate our illusion of security really is. I have experienced this frailty firsthand in the past year. In January, my grandmother's banking information was stolen from a gas station pump, and everything was taken from her account. Then, just one month later, my mother's banking information was leaked in a cybersecurity breach, and everything was stolen from her account. It took weeks for that money to be returned, and put my family under a great deal of unnecessary stress. As such, I am now very passionate about cybersecurity, and I hope to be able to make a difference in this field upon graduation. I also strive to be able to provide for my family, and to make a difference in my community. While everyone says this, I mean it. I have seen, and personally experienced, the pain and fear that people live in. This troubles me deeply. Sometimes, I feel as if I am living in Pottersville, as depicted in the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. It seems like, more than ever, people are without hope or faith. Yet, I know that all hope is not lost. Everyday, simple acts of kindness and care, and one little book, can make a bigger difference than one could ever truly know. When I was 12 years old, we finally bought a real, rather than reel, push mower. I wanted to do everything I could to keep it nice. After a few weeks, I decided that cleaning the deck and air filter would suffice. This went better than one could expect, and no fingers were lost in the process. But, it still left me covered in dirt and grass. This was when our neighbor, an older lady, walked over from her garage and introduced herself. She said she had seen how hard I had been working, and gave me some old rags for working on the mower in the future. Then, to my surprise, she gave me a $20 bill. This was quite a shock to me, and I initially said I couldn't accept it. Yet, she insisted, and my day was made. That evening, my Mother walked over and thanked her, and the rest is history. She and her husband were always very kind to us, and would help us with the yard or give us little gifts from time to time. That help, while seemingly small on the surface, made a world of difference. It inspired me to take on more yard projects, and, more importantly, to help others. But, that is not the most important lesson I have learned. The most important lessons I have learned have come from the Bible. This unassuming little book has changed my life, and the lives of people I know. From it, I have learned that all are helpless sinners, but that Jesus loves us, and has died for us. He guides us, and has a plan for us. I hope that in my life, I will be able to help many people, and to show them the one true way, which has changed my life for the better.

I have always been fascinated by technology. As a child, I would puzzle over old circuit boards to try to understand how and why they worked. I would take apart old clocks and phones, and then try to put them back together again (with varying degrees of success.) I always wanted to understand how a cell phone could transmit audio from all around the world, or how a camera could capture a hyper-realistic image. Eventually, this curiosity turned into a passion. I began to repair old devices, such as our family laptop. Our laptop is a 17 year old Dell Latitude D620, and I just couldn't bear to see it go. By replacing the laptop's failed hard-drive and upgrading the ram, I have been able to continue to use this laptop for school. This experience was very rewarding, and I wish to continue to do this type of work by assisting people with their technology. Assisting people is actually one of my favorite parts of my current seasonal job as a gardener II. At the Washington Park Botanical Garden, I enjoy teaching people about horticulture. I often answer questions that patrons or other workers might have about plants as I work outside in the flower beds, or inside of the greenhouses or conservatory. Outside of my duties as a gardener, I enjoy solving problems at work. Last summer, I especially enjoyed troubleshooting printer issues for my manager. Thus, I would use this scholarship to continue in my pursuit of knowledge. I feel that my education will be the key to finally gaining generational wealth for myself and my family. Having a stable career would enable me to buy my family a house, and open many new doors for my siblings. I plan to do this by achieving a computer science degree at Lincoln Land Community College. My main focus is cybersecurity, with minor focuses in networking and criminal law. I have had an excellent experience so far, and I am excited at the prospect of continuing my education. I appreciate the personal attention that I receive at my college, as well as the care that is put into each course. I especially appreciated the computer programming course that I took during my second semester. So far, one of my favorite courses at Lincoln Land has been my Programming Concepts class. I really enjoyed learning about how modern websites, applications, and games are actually created. I particularly appreciated our Commodore 64 lab. It was fascinating to see how programming (as well as computing as a whole) has evolved over time. This class also helped to reinforce some of the programming concepts that I had learned in more modern programming languages, like Java and C++. I am excited to continue in my pursuit of a computer science degree. Having the ability to do what I love while also being able to give myself and my family a better life would be incredible. I would no longer have to worry about what would happen if someone broke a bone or got sick. Your generosity would allow me to continue to go to school full time for the fall semester. This would allow me to complete my degree faster, start my career sooner, and spend more time with my family. My family is very important to me, so I would consider any aid to be an incredible blessing. Thank you for your time, consideration, and generosity!

I have always been fascinated by technology. As a child, I would puzzle over old circuit boards to try to understand how and why they worked. I would take apart old clocks and phones, and then try to put them back together again (with varying degrees of success.) I always wanted to understand how a cell phone could transmit audio from all around the world, or how a camera could capture a hyper-realistic image. Eventually, this curiosity turned into a passion. I began to repair old devices, such as our family laptop. Our laptop is a 17 year old Dell Latitude D620, and I just couldn't bear to see it go. By replacing the laptop's failed hard-drive and upgrading the ram, I have been able to continue to use this laptop for school. This experience was very rewarding, and I wish to continue to do this type of work by assisting people with their technology. Assisting people is actually one of my favorite parts of my current seasonal job as a gardener II. At the Washington Park Botanical Garden, I enjoy teaching people about horticulture. I often answer questions that patrons or other workers might have about plants as I work outside in the flower beds, or inside of the greenhouses or conservatory. Outside of my duties as a gardener, I enjoy solving problems at work. Last summer, I especially enjoyed troubleshooting printer issues for my manager. Thus, I would use this scholarship to continue in my pursuit of knowledge. I feel that my education will be the key to finally gaining generational wealth for myself and my family. Having a stable career would enable me to buy my family a house, and open many new doors for my siblings. I plan to do this by achieving a computer science degree at Lincoln Land Community College. My main focus is cybersecurity, with minor focuses in networking and criminal law. I have had an excellent experience so far, and I am excited at the prospect of continuing my education. I appreciate the personal attention that I receive at my college, as well as the care that is put into each course. I especially appreciated the computer programming course that I took during my second semester. So far, one of my favorite courses at Lincoln Land has been my Programming Concepts class. I really enjoyed learning about how modern websites, applications, and games are actually created. I particularly appreciated our Commodore 64 lab. It was fascinating to see how programming (as well as computing as a whole) has evolved over time. This class also helped to reinforce some of the programming concepts that I had learned in more modern programming languages, like Java and C++. I am excited to continue in my pursuit of a computer science degree. Having the ability to do what I love while also being able to give myself and my family a better life would be incredible. I would no longer have to worry about what would happen if someone broke a bone or got sick. Your generosity would allow me to continue to go to school full time for the fall semester. This would allow me to complete my degree faster, start my career sooner, and spend more time with my family. My family is very important to me, so I would consider any aid to be an incredible blessing. Thank you for your time, consideration, and generosity!

I have always been fascinated by technology. As a child, I would puzzle over old circuit boards to try to understand how and why they worked. I would take apart old clocks and phones and try to put them back together again (with varying degrees of success.) I always wanted to understand how a cell phone could transmit audio from all around the world, or how a camera could capture a hyper-realistic image. Eventually, this curiosity turned into a passion. I began to repair old devices, such as our family laptop. Our laptop is a 16 year old Dell Latitude D620, and I just couldn't bear to see it go. By replacing the laptop's failed hard-drive and upgrading the ram, I have been able to continue to use this laptop for school. This experience was very rewarding, and I wish to continue to do this type of work by assisting people with their technology. Assisting people is actually one of my favorite parts of my current job as a gardener II. At the Washington Park Botanical Garden, I enjoy teaching people about horticulture. I often answer questions that patrons or other workers might have about plants as I work outside in the flower beds. Outside of my duties as a gardener, I enjoy solving problems at work. I especially enjoyed troubleshooting printer issues for my manager. Thus, I would use this scholarship to continue in my pursuit of knowledge. I plan to do this by achieving a computer science degree at Lincoln Land Community College. My main focus is cybersecurity, with minor focuses in networking and criminal law. I have had an excellent experience so far, and I am excited at the prospect of continuing my education. I appreciate the personal attention that I receive at my college, as well as the care that is put into each course. I especially appreciated the computer programming course that I took last semester. Last semester, one of my favorite courses was my Programming Concepts class. I really enjoyed learning about how modern websites, applications, and games are actually created. I particularly appreciated my Commodore 64 lab. It was fascinating to see how programming (as well as computing as a whole) has evolved over time. This class also helped to reinforce some of the programming concepts that I had learned in more modern programming languages, like Java and C++. I am excited to continue in my pursuit of a computer science degree. Your generosity would allow me to continue to go to school full time for the spring semester. This would allow me to complete my degree faster, start my career sooner, and spend more time with my family. My family is very important to me, so I would consider any aid to be an incredible blessing. Thank you for your time, consideration, and generosity!