My name is Hudson Lindsey and I am a senior at Flippin High School in north central Arkansas. For the past several years, ALS has been an unwelcomed cloud that has remained over my family. Our family's experience with ALS started around six years ago when my then 65-year-old grandmother began experiencing difficulty swallowing her food. Unfortunately, because my grandmother suffered from host of health issues, her diagnosis very delayed. She would soon lose her ability to eat even soft foods, requiring nutrition through a feeding tube. Not long after grandma lost the ability to eat, she also lost the ability to speak. Around that time, a specialist ran some genetic testing and found that she had the C9orf72 gene mutation which led to the dual diagnosis of ALS and FTD (frontotemporal dementia). These two disorders are both neurodegenerative and often overlap with this specific gene mutation. Grandma's last year was extremely hard to watch. She could still communicate via text on most days but became a prisoner in her own body. She passed away two years ago. Grandma's doctors informed my dad, my aunt Blaire, and all ten of us grandchildren that they recommend we be tested for the gene mutation in order to determine if we will eventually develop these terrible diseases. Two of my grandmother's sisters have passed away of the same diseases in the short time since her death. My parents have yet to make an appointment for the genetic testing in St. Louis or even really discuss having the testing done. Grandma's death was hard on my dad. Most days I try not to think about possibility of either my dad, myself or any of my siblings having the gene mutation, but there are times when the fear is nearly suffocating. I do believe that most of us will eventually choose to get the testing, but for now, I have used my involvement in the American Junior Golf Association's Leadership Links to fundraise for the ALS Association and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. I was able to make a fundraising page and tell the story of my grandmother's struggle. This scholarship would be a huge blessing to both me and my family. Ours is a large family with 6 children. I already have one sister in college and a brother that will be a year behind me. My dad is a pastor in our small town and has taught each of us children to work hard and to take joy in serving others. He has made a huge impact on my life, but his income is not near as big as his heart. Therefore, my educational cost will fall almost solely to me. I have received some academic money, as well as a partial golf scholarship, but still have a significant amount of money to come up with before August. Your scholarship would help me tremendously by covering almost half of my remaining balance. I would be very honored to be considered.

Competition runs deep in my family. Being one of six children, we compete at everything from card games to who gets the last roll at Texas Roadhouse. Although each of us kids participate in multiple competitive sports, we have always been encouraged to not have our identity wrapped up in a sport. While golf is something I am passionate about, I also am very invested in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and our church youth group. My faith in Christ is extremely foundational to my identity. Through these two ministries, I have grown tremendously in my faith and willingness to serve others. I have been privileged to attend multiple mission trips, serve in a homeless shelter, help facilitate sports camps for inter-city youth, visit and encourage those in the nursing home, and do yard work and handiwork for elderly widows. These have all been a part of my Christian walk and putting feet to my faith. As I prepare to transition from high school to college, my desire is to study physical therapy. This past semester I have been blessed to participate in a “white coat” program at our local hospital. As part of this program, select students spend two mornings a week at the hospital rotating through a host of different disciplines within the medical field. While I had no previous experience with Physical Therapy, I really enjoyed my time spent in that rotation. I would love to be able to help people regain their strength, freedom and range of motion after devastating injuries or necessary surgeries. I truly believe that I could make a difference in this capacity. As mentioned previously, I really do love to serve and give back. During high school, I have had the opportunity each summer to volunteer as basketball instructor in a local sports camp for children. I also spend a week each summer teaching in our church’s Vacation Bible School and another on a Mission Trip. I have also helped host a golf camp each of the past couple summers to try and introduce kids to golf and create interest as they progress towards high school. We have even gained enough publicity from these to generate donations and get several kids set up with their own golf clubs. Looking toward college and the next chapter of life can be both exciting and intimidating. While I am super elated to continue my competitive golf career and to start my journey towards physical therapy, I also worry about finances. While my parents work hard to provide for our family, we live very modesty on my dad’s salary as a pastor and some help my mom is able to give through cleaning VRBOs. Each of us kids are expected to work to pay for our car, insurance, phones, gas and any extracurricular money. While I have been able to do this for these matters and maintain my academic studies and the demands of my athletic schedule, I cannot see how I will be able to add a significant amount of money for room, board and books on top of everything else. My hope is to receive enough scholarship money to make chasing my dreams possible without crippling myself financially as I look to the future. Your scholarship would be a wonderful blessing towards making this a reality. Adversity is defined as resilience in the face of difficulty. My experience has been that moments of difficulty in my life have been the fertile soil where I later experienced the most growth. While I could share numerous examples of this from my life, I will share one from my golf journey. Winning a state championship with my high school team has been a dream of mine for the past 7-8 years. My sophomore year, I was part of very young team (3 freshman and a sophomore) that was very talented and took our state tournament competition by surprise. We walked away from state very satisfied to be Runner-Up. Nevertheless, the goal for the next two years was going to be nothing short of bringing home two state titles (the first in our school’s history). Fast forward a year… I am standing on the 17th tee and the tournament is very close for both the team and individual titles. The hole was a risk/reward drivable par 4 with trouble everywhere around a very shallow green. Believing I needed to take a calculated risk for our team to win, I pulled driver and went for the green. I rope hooked my drive into chest high grass, couldn’t find my ball, had to re-tee and took a devastating triple bogey. Our team finished third, two shots behind the state champions. I was devastated. A simple par would have won state and I blew it for everyone else. I spent the next twelve months working diligently on my game and preparing for my final shot at a state title. We won our conference title, and get back to state on the same course where my meltdown happened. I got to that hole and wisely hit an iron down the fairway, knocked a wedge close and made birdie rather than a triple. Both my brother and myself finished the tournament in the top 7 and were named All-State. However, my growth was not demonstrated in the difference between a triple and a birdie, but in how I responded to a teammate. As Peyton stood on his 17th hole, our school was winning by one stroke. He then proceeded to duff two consecutive shots and make a double bogey. When the scorecards were tallied, once again we finished in third place two strokes from being state champions. Although devastated, I knew the pain that my teammate Peyton was feeling in that moment. Because of my experience, I was able to focus my words constructively on encouraging my friend in his weakest moment. While that was not the same as a state trophy, I believe the lessons I learned were just as valuable.

Thank you so much for an opportunity to talk about my faith and spiritual journey. My name is Hudson Lindsey. I am a senior in high school in a town called Flippin, Arkansas. Yes, it is a very real place. My dad is actually the pastor of First Baptist Church in our small town, which obviously makes me a P.K. (preacher's kid). Our family has six children, four boys and two girls. One of the realities of a big family living on the modest income of a pastor, is that hand-me-downs are a fixture. While secondhand clothes or jackets work well, secondhand faith does not. Being a pastor's kid, you feel as if you live in a glass house where someone is always watching. There is an expectation that you always make the right decisions and reflect the love of Christ. Unfortunately, there was a long period of my life where I was more concerned about maintaining the expected appearance, than embracing a relationship with Christ and allowing it to transform me. Jesus spoke critically about the religious leaders of His day who were far more concerned about the outside of the cup than what was on the inside. He says in Matthew 15:8 that these leaders “worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” Two years ago, God used His Word to get ahold of my heart. The book of James compares Scripture to a mirror that, when looked into, will reflect back to us an accurate picture of our spiritual condition. As I looked into that mirror, I saw a young man who was striving to please people and not God. I saw a fraud, desperately in need of the freedom and rest found in Jesus. In my desperation, I found salvation. Real, authentic, live giving, relational salvation. I do not believe that my calling is to follow in my father's footsteps and be a pastor. Public speaking actually terrifies me. But I do believe that the greatest calling of my life (and any Christian's life for that matter) is to serve Jesus and make Him known wherever God's plan takes me. My plan is to attend William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri where I will play on the golf team. At Jewell, my plan is to be a pre-physical therapy major. My hope is to use physical therapy and helping people both young (athletes) and old (rehabbing after surgery) in their weakest moments to find encouragement and hope in Christ. Higher education will be a challenge for our larger family with six children in close proximity age wise. While my academic and athletic scholarships cover a little more than half of the cost of Jewell, I am left to come up with the remaining half on my own. Receiving this scholarship would be an immense blessing in my quest to be able to graduate free of debt. Either way, I hope that sharing my story will inspire someone in the midst of their own spiritual journey.

My name is Hudson Lindsey and I am a senior at Flippin High School in north central Arkansas. For the past several years, ALS has been an unwelcomed cloud that has remained over my family. Our family's experience with ALS started around six years ago when my then 65-year-old grandmother began experiencing difficulty swallowing her food. Unfortunately, because my grandmother suffered from host of health issues, her diagnosis very delayed. She would soon lose her ability to eat even soft foods, requiring nutrition through a feeding tube. Not long after grandma lost the ability to eat, she also lost the ability to speak. Around that time, a specialist ran some genetic testing and found that she had the C9orf72 gene mutation which led to the dual diagnosis of ALS and FTD (frontotemporal dementia). These two disorders are both neurodegenerative and often overlap with this specific gene mutation. Grandma's last year was extremely hard to watch. She could still communicate via text on most days but became a prisoner in her own body. She passed away two years ago. Grandma's doctors informed my dad, my aunt Blaire, and all ten of us grandchildren that they recommend we be tested for the gene mutation in order to determine if we will eventually develop these terrible diseases. Two of my grandmother's sisters have passed away of the same diseases in the short time since her death. My parents have yet to make an appointment for the genetic testing in St. Louis or even really discuss having the testing done. Grandma's death was hard on my dad. Most days I try not to think about possibility of either my dad, myself or any of my siblings having the gene mutation, but there are times when the fear is nearly suffocating. I do believe that most of us will eventually choose to get the testing, but for now, I have used my involvement in the American Junior Golf Association's Leadership Links to fundraise for the ALS Association and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. I was able to make a fundraising page and tell the story of my grandmother's struggle. This scholarship would be a huge blessing to both me and my family. Ours is a large family with 6 children. I already have one sister in college and a brother that will be a year behind me. My dad is a pastor in our small town and has taught each of us children to work hard and to take joy in serving others. He has made a huge impact on my life, but his income is not near as big as his heart. Therefore, my educational cost will fall almost solely to me. I have received some academic money, as well as a partial golf scholarship, but still have a significant amount of money to come up with before August. Your scholarship would help me tremendously by covering almost half of my remaining balance. I would be very honored to be considered.

Thank you so much for an opportunity to talk about my faith and spiritual journey. My name is Hudson Lindsey. I am a senior in high school in a town called Flippin, Arkansas. Yes, it is a very real place. My dad is actually the pastor of First Baptist Church in our small town, which obviously makes me a P.K. (preacher's kid). Our family has six children, four boys and two girls. One of the realities of a big family living on the modest income of a pastor, is that hand-me-downs are a fixture. While secondhand clothes or jackets work well, secondhand faith does not. Being a pastor's kid, you feel as if you live in a glass house where someone is always watching. There is an expectation that you always make the right decisions and reflect the love of Christ. Unfortunately, there was a long period of my life where I was more concerned about maintaining the expected appearance, than embracing a relationship with Christ and allowing it to transform me. Jesus spoke critically about the religious leaders of His day who were far more concerned about the outside of the cup than what was on the inside. He says in Matthew 15:8 that these leaders “worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” Two years ago, God used His Word to get ahold of my heart. The book of James compares Scripture to a mirror that, when looked into, will reflect back to us an accurate picture of our spiritual condition. As I looked into that mirror, I saw a young man who was striving to please people and not God. I saw a fraud, desperately in need of the freedom and rest found in Jesus. In my desperation, I found salvation. Real, authentic, live giving, relational salvation. I do not believe that my calling is to follow in my father's footsteps and be a pastor. Public speaking actually terrifies me. But I do believe that the greatest calling of my life (and any Christian's life for that matter) is to serve Jesus and make Him known wherever God's plan takes me. My plan is to attend William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri where I will play on the golf team. At Jewell, my plan is to be a pre-physical therapy major. My hope is to use physical therapy and helping people both young (athletes) and old (rehabbing after surgery) in their weakest moments to find encouragement and hope in Christ. Higher education will be a challenge for our larger family with six children in close proximity age wise. While my academic and athletic scholarships cover a little more than half of the cost of Jewell, I am left to come up with the remaining half on my own. Receiving this scholarship would be an immense blessing in my quest to be able to graduate free of debt. Either way, I hope that sharing my story will inspire someone in the midst of their own spiritual journey.

The car ride home after golf tournaments used to be rough. When I say rough, I do not mean like Jason Day’s experience with his abusive father. Rather, I mean that there was mutual frustration for both me and my dad who has been a constant support throughout my golf journey. I would perform poorly and react emotionally in disappointment, while my dad would try to speak truthfully to me about my results being a product of my poor work ethic and practice regiment. After playing competitive golf consistently from ages 7 to 11, my dad informed me that we were going to step back from tournament golf for a time. He said that he did not want to become more of a coach or critic than a father. He said he wanted me to follow my athletic passions and not his. He said he would only sign me up for golf tournaments again when my passion for the game was evident through my practice schedule. I wish I could say that I immediately dedicated myself to the game of golf, but I did not. It would be roughly two years before I approached my dad and asked for a junior membership at our local municipal course. I started going with him, then with friends, and then by myself. One summer, I went nearly every day, all day. One day toward the end of that summer, my dad joined me out there after not having seen me play in months and I beat him (he played college golf years ago). He was not mad; he was proud and impressed. Riding a wave of confidence, I asked if I could play in a few tournaments that were coming up. Since that moment I have not looked back. This year was my senior year; I finished my high school season with a scoring average of 72.54 over 22 tournament rounds and accepted a partial golf scholarship to William Jewell College, an NCAA Division 2 school. I won a big regional golf tournament and finished high in a few national tournaments. Golf has become my passion, and my dream of playing in college is now a reality. The opportunities before me are not a product of luck or destiny, but rather the time, work, and effort that I have put into my game when no one else is looking or willing to be out on the course. Golf has taught me to appreciate the people I have in my corner. People like my parents, my coaches and teammates and all those who have helped me along the way. Golf has taught me that results are the product of dedication and effort far more often than random luck and good breaks (although that happens in golf too). Golf has taught me that consistency is built through character. I do not know how long I will be able to play golf competitively. But what I do know is that car rides home are amazing when you have given everything you can to reach your goals. That is what golf has taught me and what I intend on giving back to the game. Whether on the course or pursuing a career, I want to be a guy who excels because he gives his very best. And every once in a while, our best efforts lead to magical results.