Empowerment is a word often used to boost confidence. Many authoritarian individuals use it to tell others to "empower themselves". Boost confidence and work effort. However, to me, empowerment should be used as a word for both ourselves and communities. We should empower each other and ourselves, as a few words go a long way. I was raised by a family of hard workers. We often avoided our feelings and worked until the job was done. Most of us were often tired and grumpy. As much as we liked to have our fun, if there was a job to be done it would get done. If you couldn't boost your own confidence, pick up work effort, and understand what you needed to do, that was mostly your own issue. My mom however, is a bit different. She showed me my own life and feelings matter just as much as hard work and getting the job done. There's a balance. She also showed me, nobody should have to keep themselves in high spirits alone. In reality, it's much harder to keep pushing and be happy with yourself alone. She showed me, well, people should empower each other. She is a great female leader in my life. She would give up everything for me to have a better future. She has shown me that I can take care of myself, and have confidence to get up and work for a better future, and to better myself in reaching my goals. We check in on each other, where we are, the progress we've made, and how we are going to continue. She is one of the greatest female leaders in my life, and I am so grateful for everything she has shown me and taught me. I carry on this leadership and empowerment she has shown me in my life. I use it to teach and empower others. I help girls at school feel better about themselves, how they are exactly how they need to be, and if they are really that unhappy with themselves that they have the power to change it. I help any student with their academic goals if I can. Nobody should struggle in class just because they need extra help, even if it's simple. Finally, I empower myself and others in athletic goals. Athletics have always been important to me just as much as they are my teammates. I may not be the best, but if they want to do the best and achieve their goals my teammates need empowerment to achieve them. They need to believe they have the physical and mental ability to allow themselves to do so. With many sports, the block isn’t physical, its mental. Empowerment to many and others has always been a large part of my life. I always love cheering people on and helping them accept themselves as well as others. I will forever keep in mind my mothers advice and empower myself as well. I’m grateful for others who empower me, and will continue to empower others throughout my whole life. Empowerment will always be a huge part of my values, and I hope to share those values with others too, and create a positive community everywhere I go. Therefore, the word empowerment to me, reminds me of my mom, and how the world could be a great and positive place if we all empower each other. All it takes is a choice.

I was never one to watch movies as a child. The TV wasn't my domain, and I had interest in other things. However, around the age of 13, my life began to change a lot. If I had to put it in words, I'd call it survival of the fittest. I wasn't put in a life threatening situation, but I was lost and couldn't trust anyone. At 13, I wasn't sure how to take care of my mental and emotional health, or in a way myself, but I wasn't helpless. I was more of a reader myself, and read to get away from the tough times. However, when I read S.E Hinton's "The Outsiders", I loved it and knew I had to watch it. I loved the movie almost as much as the book. I couldn't stop talking about it. The more I talked about it though, I began on reflecting the life and the road I was going down. Now, I didn't commit a crime to run away to try start a new life in an abandoned church, and my parents weren't killed in a train wreck, but as a character Ponyboy and Johnny reflected me a lot. He was young, with little guidance on where to go or what to do. He wanted to keep his friends, which were like his family safe. At the time, my friends were mostly what I had. Most of my friends did not have a good home life. I always offered my home, even though at the time it wasn't much better, as a place to take refuge. They did the same for me. That's what Johnny did for Ponyboy. He might've done wrong, he killed the guy, but the guy was also trying to drown Ponyboy. Much like Johnny and Ponyboy have each others backs, me and my friends did as well. The largest way these two characters impacted my life, was their character themselves. They reminded me a lot of myself. They seemed lost, even afraid. These two still, despite everything, kept their spunk and kindness to show that they weren't done fighting for a better life yet. Even on his death bed, Johnny still had it. I was much like this. I acted as if nothing was bothering me, and I wasn't afraid of anything. Although deep down, I was lost and terrified. I didn't know what to do. This part impacted me the most. The conclusion I found from these characters and the series of events, is that mistakes happen. They happen even with guidance. I also found, however, that consequences are part of your actions. These consequences need to be understood and I would need to hold myself responsible. The final thing I took from the movie to reflect on, is everything happens for a reason. Ponyboy had left home to be with Johnny that night for a reason. Johnny had murdered the Soc for a reason. They had went to Dallas for advice and to that church for a reason. They were at that church when it caught fire for a reason. The same, even if not as drastic measures, applies to me and my life. I'm where I am for a reason and represents growth. The Outsiders continues to be my favorite book and movie today. To me, it represents how far I have grown since that time and how I will continue to grow, no matter how lost and stuck I feel. One bad day doesn't mean a bad future, and I believe in that wholeheartedly.

When it comes to hardships, I often don't remember them or brush them off once there over. There are three hardships however, that I'll never forget that have made me who I am today. The largest hardship, which me and my family have not and probably never will fully overcome, is money. My parents made sure I never fully understood the situation, however my mom has told me some parts about our situation. I understand the struggles and must make some sacrifices in order to save. Despite this, my parents have made sure I don't have to sacrifice my education and extracurricular for money. Due to this issue with money, my parents also have many hardships about money. This often turns into fighting and many emotions bottled up within the house. On top of this, I was getting out of a very toxic relationship at the time. While that does not sound terrible, I had been damaged emotionally from the things he had done. I had been drained as well, and I felt lost. I did not know what I was to do or how to get help and carry on with my life. With this, I got professional help. Now, all this going on did not get me into STEM. However, it did make my find my passion for learning and caring for others. I used this passion, and my love for the outdoors and wildlife, to find my career in STEM. I want to help the natural world which I love, and work as well as learn within it. This, brought me to Field Biology. My goals are to share my love for the natural world. With technology advancing, there is no doubt that every career and life is becoming more technological. However, this technology makes people forget to interact and connect with the real world. Not just nature, but any part of the real world. I grew up exploring our property with my father. It was all overgrown farmland, with a creek. I found life and fun climbing trees, wading in the creek when it was hot out, finding deer rubs and sheds, or just exploring all times of the season. I want people to reconnect with nature and the outside world, rather than glued to a screen. I am also guilty of it, but I am working to not be as much and have hopes that others will too. This scholarship will simply push me forward towards my goal and career in field biology without having to worry as much about students loans and tuition. I want to be as debt free as I possibly can, and this scholarship would get me there. I have high hopes for the future and one day, that I could work in the field I dream to and make an impact on other lives.

Even as a young child, I was always fascinated by our surrounding forests. I had grown up in a place where forests and farm fields were abundant. I loved going out to go on walks, climb trees and study the life within these forests. These were the areas I grew to love and know, and both of my parents had a love for nature as well. I was very passionate about it, and I had seen it as some magical land. It was my safe space, and my area as a kid to play. As I got older, I got to see the changes of my old environment. More people were moving to my area, logging forests and building houses. I couldn't blame these people, but at the same time, I wondered and wished they would choose from some of the existing houses before destroying the area they had moved to see. I was never excited to see what the built houses looked like unlike others. The more people also meant more litter. Living on a more main intersection, the ditch became littered with trash. our own yard even, began to litter with trash, which we now clean up. Although it wasn't many houses, the area around became significantly worse. Although now it calmed down a bit and not many houses were built, it was my first taste of what was happening at a much faster pace around the world. While I am still young, I have begun making more mindful decisions on my carbon footprint. I choose to walk or bike to closer places when I can, rather than driving. If I have the chance I will recycle, and I choose to donate clothing and items to thrift stores rather than throw them away. This is not only helping the environment but also families in need. While I give these examples to family members on what they can do, the only thing they seem to agree with is donating and recycling. They disagree on walking, however I see it was quite fun and enjoyable. It decreases greenhouse emissions, and increases mental health. My studies will help combat climate change by working on protected lands. I also plan to help protected lands stay protected. In the future, I plan to work in conservation and biology. I want to protect the lands that haven't been touched majorly by deforestation. While my future career is not clear, I know I want to work in the environmental studies. I want to help protect our natural habitats and decrease carbon footprint. The ozone layer is a must for proper survival, and even if individuals cannot see the damage, they can even feel it. Summers begin to get hotter, and there is a major change in weather patterns. I am going to be studying field biology in college to have a better understanding of the natural world and what I can continue to do to help preserve it.

Change for our planet needs to begin now. We are beginning to see the effects human damage does full force, and there is no telling what could happen if we don't act now. We are extincting species, burning fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases, and sea levels rise. We are reducing and damaging habitats for animals, and damaging this worlds balance it needs to function properly. There is no telling what may happen if we allow the steep decline to continue. Inaction would cause our beautiful environment to become a foreign wasteland. The emission of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, manure from over farming, deforesting, etc. damage our ozone layer and create smog, that harms any organisms lungs and create breathing issues and even in some major cases, can suffocate young birds and animals. We need this layer. Not only this, but our fossil fuels will soon be completely depleted. Waste from littering creates a dangerous environment for many animals. These organisms can eat this trash and get stuck in it, causing harm and even eventually killing these creatures. We need these animals for food and to keep homeostasis in certain environments. Without balance, we could cause a an ecosystem to disperse. As of now, we are already part of a mass extinction. Action as an individual can have substantial consequences. These could be as simple as throwing out recyclable items in a recycling bin, or riding a bike to short distances on nice days. To create the largest change, a vast majority worldwide will need to agree to protect our ecosystems. Many today re in denial, but the proof of needing change is evident. This world cannot be renewed, and we need to treat it as such. There is only one Earth, and we much protect it as so.

I have had two personal challenges in my life. The first one, was a lot of family issues during my sophomore year of high-school. While these issues never amounted to much for me, they did impact my mental health and education. I never knew when I'd be home, or which family member would be home. If they were home, I never knew what kind of mood they would be in or if I'd have time to complete schoolwork before going up to my room or hear fighting. As vague as this challenge is, all families fight and this was no exception. However, this did do quite the damage on my education. I couldn't focus toward the end of the school day and some days I was exhausted. I wasn't prepared to go home or to extracurricular activities. I was upset all the time and let that influence my day-to-day, including my effort socially and educationally. Some days, I would be rushing to get my schoolwork done because I hadn't the night before due to staying at a friend's or other family members. The fighting eventually did fade and our family went back to normal enough and happy. It majorly shaped my personal growth outside of school, but also did inside. I learned how to manage time and what was most important. I started keeping a planner so I could write down what I needed and to stay focused on what I needed to before it became lost in the worried thoughts in my head. I wrote down due dates, so I knew what came first, and learned to keep in mind which classes were early and which assignments would take the longest so I understood the order of importance, and I didn't have to rush to finish right before class began. I even used time at friends as a good time to study and relax, instead of worrying about the next day. While this did teach me time management, what the argument was about is what made me want to continue my education. It was about money. That is when I knew if I wanted to stay out of that kind of situation, I would need to further my education along with choosing a job I would enjoy. I wouldn't have to, of course, but with the career I chose it would be very wise to further my education. This all influenced me to have the motivation to further my education, and motivated me to learn, to educate myself. While I can't know everything, intelligence is a great resource that learning can provide. While my future career would provide me learning more about nature and the organisms that are within it, that is only part of what I want to use it for. I want to teach others how to keep the world clean a better place for all to live, as well as be kind to it. I also want to teach others how and why to be smart with their money. How not being smart with it, can cause a lot of issues to a family. I want to educate others on my experience, and I want to learn myself on how to be smart with my own. I am not alone in my family on this experience, and I know I got the better version of it compared to some of my other young family members and their parents. I want to lessen these experiences so parents can focus on their kids. I would like to start with my own future family, all by furthering my education.

I grew up surrounded by farms and agriculture fields. My family was no exception to that. Except, instead of having cows, pigs, goats, or sheep, we had pheasants. Along with this, instead of having fields of farmland, we had 26 acres of overgrown forest that had once been farmland. That, is where my love for animals all began. I had friends who had farms as well as family and any chance I got I would go to their houses. My uncle had a larger farm, and he would let me bottle feed the calves when their mothers didn't accept them. I always thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Along with this, we always hatched our chicks. I learned the way these chicks are born and raised, and how to properly handle them from baby to adult. I learned how to potentially fix swimmers legs, like tying a small rubber band around their legs when they first hatch. Of course, it doesn't stay there for more than a couple of days and doesn't always work. I learned why they need blindfolded as well as what happens when you don't and they're put in small confined temporary areas. This, was only small things. With wooded areas, always comes with wildlife and a perfect place for people to drop off unwanted pets. Me and my mom could never turn away a stray, let alone abandoned babies. We would always have strays in our area. Now, we couldn't keep them all, so we would bring them down the road to one of my closest friends house. There they would stay on there farm until they could be fixed and they could be sent to rescues. On multiple occasions, especially cats, they would have kittens. Some of these occasions the moms no longer wanted the kittens, and we would bottle feed and raise them. Raising kittens is a lot harder than it should be, and obviously not all of them made it. The ones that did went to loving homes though. On top of this, the wooded area provided many young animals I would watch grow up, right next to my home. My main spark, to wanting to work with animals though? Was a flying squirrel we named Eddie. We were cutting down some old trees, and Dad happened to cut down a whole nest in the process. Out of six only one baby remained, and he felt bad so he picked it up and brought it to us. We raised the baby, not expecting it to survive. I learned so much about flying squirrels through him. He was yes, destructive, but also very social and friendly. He ate many different foods and had plenty of outside time. He lived for 3 short years, but I'll never forget him. He was when I made up my mind about working with animals. For college, I am going for a course for conservation and field biology. I want to one day have my own or at least work at a rehabilitation center to give these amazing creatures a second chance at life, especially if their cause of injury or abandonment is human centered. I am aware not all of them will make it, but when they do that is what makes it rewarding. I would also like a job within the sciences and conservation. I in general have always been nature lover, and working with the animals and plants within it has always been a dream of mine. It would be a very rewarding career, and one I will continue to pursue.

My school is a small school in the middle of nowhere. The two closest towns are twenty minutes away. However, this never stopped our school being active within both communities. My school is a very active school altogether. Like most of my senior class, I am very active within the school. I do sports year-round, with little break. For a summer sport, I run cross country. I'm not the best at it, but what I enjoy about it is the team. Helping my teammates and supporting them to run just a bit harder. A team like that, all running the same amount and going through the same race and weather conditions becomes very connected. We support each other, and has been a large part of my caring personality. During the summer I also marched in marching band. Dual timing both of these were difficult at times, however I enjoyed the times I spent with others. During winter, I lift in power lifting. Personally, it is my favorite sport. The community is so kind and supportive. If anyone becomes injured, everyone is reaching out a helping hand. Individuals are also friendly, always talking to one another despite competing against each other. Additionally I played in the pep band during basketball games. Within spring, I run track. Not my favorite sport, but it is fun. The team isn't as connected though, but we do all get along well. Even with all this, I still had a large amount of community involvement. I am in National Honor Society through the school. This has given me great opportunities, like volunteering at concessions during games, volunteering to work at school craft shows, and volunteering for bake sales at games. This also gave me the opportunity to wrap gifts for nursing home individuals. I spent many hours wrapping, but it was worth it. Seeing the elderly individuals happy when family can't come around made the hours very good ones. On my own accord, I volunteered to work pit gates at the Morrow county fair. I have done this for seven years in a row. I also volunteered through my church to make gift boxes for families in need. We did these boxes on all occasions. Holidays, birthdays, and just to see them happy. These boxes contained food, clothing, drinks, and even toys for younger children. We would drop these boxes off to the families or individuals. I loved doing these boxes and painting the church before I had to move churches. Seeing the families and kids happy was all worth it. I did this for four years and if I could, I would go back to that church so I could continue it. Post high school, I plan on going into the Air Guard. On top of this, I'm also going to a four-year college for Field Biology. I enjoy helping others, but also have a great passion for nature, and if I can I am going to try to put these two ideas into one. If I had a charity, it would be much like the churches. The mission would be to give to individuals in need who need a little help until they get back onto their feet. I hope I will be available to give to others in my future, much like today.

What I am passionate about in the degree I'm pursuing is, all of it really. To me, there is something very interesting about nature and the organisms that live within it. I have always been an animal and nature lover. Ever since I was young. The first animal, or insect for that matter that fascinated me was butterflies. The pretty colors on their wings had always fascinated me, and I was always curious about how they got these colors. As a child, I grew out of this fascination pretty quick and have yet to get my answer. I kept skipping from my fascination of different animals before I finally landed on one that had started me really learning and leaning into my passion. This animal was wolves. As childish as it seems and while I did admire their beauty and strength, that wasn't what pulled me into it. Their behavior, specifically pack behavior, is what dragged me in. The way they communicate with different pack members, and the categories each pack member falls into. How with being in a pack they can bring down large prey and how they teach their young. Or how a young wolf leaves, typically males, leave their pack around two years to start their own. This, turned into me learning how territories and pack rivalries worked. I went so far down this learning, I began learning how their coat patterns worked and how conservationists name each individual wolf. This spread to different animals, then to plants, then to wanting to learn about this beautiful planet. I understand we need land, but nature also needs land. If nature does not, then perhaps this world wouldn't be so beautiful. Not only that but there would be no balance, and with no balance, no earth. Another thing that has made me so passionate about this field I honestly blame my Mom for. I have always been a helper along with an animal lover. We raised pheasants my whole life, and I had always enjoyed helping as well as watching it. Along with this, almost any baby animal my Mom would try and save. Cats, dogs, squirrels, I mean any animal. We would succeed, most times. Not all, of course. This has not only pushed me toward my career, but I also would like to volunteer or work at a wildlife rehab at some point in my life. Works well with being a Field Biologist, and I believe this small goal of mine could help me learn and work better in my field. What fully sold me on my field however, was my college visit. The professor began talking about the research they were doing within pathogens in snakes. I found this very cool, and wanted to learn more. While it didn't take much to get me sold, it was enough to make sure that this was the field for me. Or at least, something I would enjoy specializing in and doing most of my life. On top of all this, my family has always been big into nature. It is something we respect and adore as we are aware that is what gives us the resources we need to live as comfortable as we do today. All of these ideas are what brings me to my field in STEM, as well as my passion for it. I want to learn more, and how we humans can coexist with nature and other organisms. It is, after all, where we get our resources and many, myself included, argue it's where we came from.

Being a student athlete has shaped my future career goals in some ways. I want to help others, which is something I did a lot. All sports come with injuries, and I was always there for a injured teammate. I never belittled them for being injured. That applies to the rehab part of my future. The other parts of being a student athlete apply to my character where I can use it in my field. Determination is a large part of my field. Physical as well as mental strength from my sports have given me that. In high-school, I ran Cross Country, Track, and competed in Powerlifting. I also did other extracurriculars such as concert, pep, and marching band. I only did jazz band for one year. The determination from these sports allows me to learn how to use complicated machinery and equipment, as well as never give up even if I'm not getting any leads. Other than that, my sports have given me the physical strength to carry the equipment and long hikes. While sports don't apply to my career goals well, they do give me the ability and characteristics to thrive in that field. They also have given me something that is very virtuous to me. My health. To further this, working on my strength and occasional mobility. I work out 5 days a week, eat proper meals and occasionally, a treat. I've learned to listen to my body when too much is too much. This has driven me to be a hard worker, and if I had not been in sports I may have never had this outcome. I owe this trait to my teams, coaches, and sports all around. I enjoy living to become the best version of myself, and exercise has been and will continue to be a huge portion of my life. Outside of sports and exercise, I enjoy many different hobbies and interests. I love learning new things, and have always been eager to be taught. I enjoy hiking, fishing, atv riding, mudding, biking, camping, reading, gardening, cooking, kayaking, and so much more. My favorite sport my school did not provide is badminton. I often play the game with a small setup net at home with friends and family. Even cleaning can be enjoyable for me. My favorite thing to do, however is hangout with friends. Often in the summer, large groups of us go out to fairs and watch the shows, or go to someone's place and have sleepovers, or even sleep outside and have a huge bonfire and hangout. I love getting involved, and every time together is a new story as well as memory made. While being with them takes up a lot of our time. With a lot of us enjoying the simple things and most hobbies, its easy to find something to do. The time spent with them is worth it. ' The time I've spent with friends, time on the lake, time at fires, time reading in my bed, and time out on the field or in the course has made it all so worth it. I can't wait to go to the next level of education and learn about the world I love.

I am a high school student graduating in 2025. I have ran cross country, as well as track for 6 years. I also threw shotput for 3. I have been apart of my schools band for 8 years, as well as part of the Marching Band and pep band for 4. I also recently joined Jazz band. I have powerlifted for 6 years, and I've been a member of the National Honors Society for 3. Running and weighting continue to be a large hobby of mine, and I still continue doing frequent community service. Some examples of my service are working at the Morrow county career expo, Morrow county fair pit gates, and wrapping Christmas gifts for the elderly in nursing homes. I have done various community service activities through church, like making boxes for families or individuals in need. These boxes would be seasonal and holiday themed. I did those for several years, before I switched churches. Other service would all be for the school. I am very active within the school, like working concessions at games and working spirit-wear craft show stands. I love going out with friends and I'm very family oriented. Most of my friends are like family to me and if one of them needed something or was in trouble I'd drop almost anything to go and help them. Same with close family. I am a very reliant person and hope to have a successful future to provide for my future family and others. Besides this, some other hobbies I have are hiking, fishing, cooking, and reading. I love to learn, and I always find pride in learning new things. This scholarship will help me achieve my goal in Field Biology. I have always had a passion for agriculture, nature, and animals and I believe this field is the right one for me. I have high respect for the world we live in and what we have been given. I believe we should preserve it in any way we can to continue being allowed to live off the land. I wish to achieve this goal, and have recently been accepted into one of my dream colleges. I will be a first generation college graduate. However, my family is not wealthy by any means. We aren't poor, however we have had to make sacrifices to live a comfortable life. College, especially for my major, is quite expensive. We worry if we can make the expenses. I plan on working to help make ends meet, however I'm still worried it won't be enough. This scholarship will help me achieve my Bachelors' degree in Field Biology. I am hopeful that I have a bright future ahead of me, and I can achieve my dream future.

This year, to become more involved in my community, I have began volunteering more outside of my high school. Typically, when I would volunteer, my volunteer hours would be within the school. This would typically be working concessions for games and meets or playing within the pep band for basketball games. This year, my volunteer work also involves helping 2nd graders with their math facts. This was a big step for me, because not only does this volunteer work involve small conversations with many students, these students are younger so I have to I am directly looked up to, as well as help the student and correct them if they answer incorrectly. I have to be a teacher myself, be a good influence. I still get nervous sometimes, but I am glad I took the step. Beyond helping with school concessions, craft show, games, and the second graders, I have also become directly involved this year. I volunteered at the Morrow County career expo, which involved taking a group of freshman of intermixed schools around to career tables to learn more about different careers and paths they could take. Within this, I also had to answer different questions from these freshman if I could. This was a learning experience for me. There was so many people, 7-9 groups of freshman not including other volunteers at stations or walking around. I also had to talk to my group and other volunteers, and verbally tell the freshman if I didn't know something and direct them to someone who could. It was one of my first leadership experiences, which continue to mount as my senior year goes on. Another small step I took was wrapping gifts for the elderly in nursing homes. While this experience wasn't really challenging for me, it was still a proud step I took to give back to the community outside of school boundaries. Thirdly, over the summer, I volunteered at Morrow County's fair. Most of this involved working the pit gates, giving people wrist bands and in return they paid for them. It was a hot job, and long hours, however this plus was watching the shows. The most challenging of this job was stopping people who were trying to sneak in without paying for wrist bands and were not in the shows. Many people complained about this and the prices, which made it difficult to stay firm and tell them they had to pay. This volunteer work improved my skills though, and I don't regret it a bit. I hope to continue doing volunteer work. So far, the work has improved my social skills and I feel good about myself because of that. I enjoy doing the work, and meeting the new people who come with it.

I show spirit of excellence in many ways, such as working hard to keep my grades up. I work hard to get good grades, especially A's. I finish my work completely and do homework. I do similar things, like finishing all my sets or miles in the gym or in sports. I work to better myself, whether that's learning or physical activity. When someone drops something, I'll pick it up for them. I will also help anyone, friends or not, with their homework. Anything really. I'm a very reliable person, and if someone calls I'll be one of the first there to help them. I'm also a really determined person. If I have a goal, I won't stopped until it's complete. I do anything to the fullest so I don't let others down. I'm grateful for the people around me, and want to give back to them like they have me. Even if it isn't much, I'm loyal to my close friends and family to a fault. Those people are some of the greatest people I have in my life, and I would do almost anything to keep all of them safe and happy. I cherish every moment with them and create my story how I want it to go. I chose family, God, and happiness. I am determined to create difference in my community. I have a close relationship with God, and did much community service within my church. The community service I was most involved in with my church was creating gift boxes for families in need. We created these gift boxes for most holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Easter, and boxes as well as gifts for Christmas. We would also create gift boxes for some seasons, such as harsher winter months. During the winter season, my church partnered with the Iberia fire dept. would host a Sunday Funday. We would have food and activities. Within these activities, I would usually explain them or sometimes even play, partnering with kids who didn't have a partner. I have done other community service outside of church. I have done a lot of community service for National Honors Society. These community service hours would include working concessions or craft show stands, volunteering at the Morrow county Career Expo, helping 2nd graders consistently day by day learn their math facts, and wrapping gifts for the elderly in nursing homes. Outside of these volunteer hours every year I also work Morrow County pit gates. Here, I give people who go into the pit wristbands so everyone volunteering knows who has paid and who hasn't. Helping others is a large passion I have. Even if most of those hours go to National Hours society, they mean more than a couple hours. Those hours are an effort to give to others. To help out those around me, and to make a difference in my community. I wouldn't be who I am now without doing those hours, and I want to continue making a difference and giving to others.

I am a high school senior looking to graduate and move on to college into the major of Field Biology. I have always loved doing outdoor activities, whether that's hiking, fishing, hunting, or just a simple walk at a park or reservoir. Beyond this, I enjoy cooking, gardening, hanging out with friends, reading, or working out at the gym. Working out is a close second in my hobbies list, and I try to work out 5 times a week. I have always loved learning, and enjoy doing so. Here recently, I had an opportunity to work and see around a small family farm over the summer. This brought a large fascination in farming and it's processes. Within further research, I learned why I respected and loved these ideas so much. These ideas were related to what I wanted to do as a career. Over the summer, and learning how hard these workers do and how they love their job and have fun with it, brought large respect for these workers. Any workers in the agricultural field, to be exact. However, this did not change my love and what I want to do. If anything, it only greatened it. My passion for animals started very young. I had always loved and been obsessed with animals. Occasionally, my mom would bring home young or small animals that she would raise and foster. I loved helping with bottle feeding these animals and caring for them. The last one we adopted, who passed away recently sadly. With these animals, we also lived on a small pheasant farm. I loved taking the chicks out of the incubator and putting them into cages, as well as feeding them and transferring them cages. There isn't much to do with pheasants, especially with their erratic behavior, however I always thought their behaviors and looks were fascinating. My childhood friend lived on a relatively bigger farm, and I spent much time there taking care of the cows and calves. Occasionally they had orphaned calves or kittens I would help raise, and my help was greatly appreciated. I plan on fostering in the future, an hope to have a small farm or wildlife sanctuary of my own some day. I plan to learn more within college. I am excited to go to college and learn hands-on about different organisms and their environment and ecosystems. Currently in High School, I am taking an online class to learn more about Agriculture, Food Processing and Natural Resources. This class is only a bit of the principles, however I have thoroughly enjoyed the class. I hope to further my education, and one day work with any animal or plant. For my career, I have hoped to go into a high position in Conservation. I feel it would be the right career for me, and I am excited to start my journey toward my goal.

I've chosen my specific field of interest due to my love of helping, animals and nature. I find the anatomy, behaviors, and the way nature works fascinating. Along with this, I also have respect and pride within the agricultural career cluster, and have chosen a specific field to make an impact within. I have a huge respect from nature in general. I want to learn about how behavioral pattens of animals work and why animals act how they do, how they communicate, how different species live along with each other and how they survive in their habitat, and how their bodies work to live in even some of the harshest and bizarre situations. I have a passion to help keep what the world has given us safe, and to create a balance between what we have created and what is already there. I want to create an impact on two ideas which I have already stated; I want to keep natural resources and organisms safe, all the while trying to find a relatively good balance between what we have created to live comfortably and what we already have. I want to be able to preserve natures beauty, even if it's not the same type of beauty as we in humanity has imagined. Preserving this world is just as important as using the resources we have. These ideas both go hand and hand, especially in the agriculture and sciences world. Creating a balance is how we keep this world as it should be with humanity's survival, even if that balance is difficult to achieve. The largest personal reason is to protect organisms that to us are bizarre and scary. To me nature seems magical, due to everyone being used to large towns and cities. We still haven't discovered all species that are on this earth, and these species are dying out as we speak. I want to learn and educate myself as well as others about these species. I want to show the importance of preserving this world and balancing agricultural ideas. I respect and live for these ideas, and I want to educate myself the best I can to contribute learning more about how we can create a balance and bring back what we have lost. My pride and respect drives me, and I wish to continue educating myself not only for a degree and money, but to contribute to the ongoing issues in this field.

Education is important to me so I am not only intelligent, but I can also teach the younger generation so they are intelligent. Education is the backbone to society. Without it, humanity would not have the technology they have today. I hope that the future generation decide to have a fulfilling life to become educated, and to create education that is fun and resourceful. I hope to leave a legacy of my family becoming college-degree students. For as long as I can remember, many of my family members had not gone to college. I want to break that chain, and become successful. I want to show my children what its like to be successful and why its important and why education is important, no matter their strengths and weaknesses. I want to leave the importance of education on my friends, kids, and my friends kids. I want my kids to go to college and learn well what this world has to offer, before settling with a job they don't like and minimum pay. Intelligence is important, and as I discussed earlier is the backbone to society. If there is no education system, complex jobs we have today could be no more and we'd lose the technology and resources we have at our hands. Improving these technologies are important, as these could save our planet or make life more comfortable, or prove to live comfortably and be productive. Improving these technologies can even improve human health. Technology has a great impact on human life, as well as achieving the goal of comfortable, healthy, and balanced living. Balanced living could save our Earth and ecosystems. With all this in mind, educating future generations to contribute to these technologies could mean a clear and hopeful future. I believe education is the future for society and leaving a legacy of educated generations could create a flourishing future for humanity and this world. This education can lead to happier lifestyles for the generation if applied correctly, and create a safe environment for the Earth and people alike. Education keeps society alive, creates better health for humans, and ways to create a more comfortable yet busy lifestyle for people. I wish my children to follow my lead, and use education available to their advantage to create a well-rounded lifestyle as well as help others. More importantly, I hope my peers follow my lead and provide this standpoint to their children as well. Showing the importance of education to future generations, while that be my kids, family, peers, or friends, is something I aspire to do and allow everyone to become the best version of themselves for society and the individuals around them.