My family lives on a rural farm in Kentucky. I have grown up getting involved in all hands on things. My father was an electrician who passed away when I was only 5 years old. It has been a challenge growing up in his footsteps as he was well loved by our whole community. I have chosen the welding trade as my field of study. After my first creation, I was hooked! I am an outside the box thinker often able to create solutions to problems other have never thought of. I am hyper focused when welding. It's not just some thing for me to do, I am truly passionate about it. When others are watching bloopers or reels on TikTok and YouTube, I am watching welding clips. I have always worked hard at whatever I set my mind to. I don't mind to be hot and dirty, which it takes a lot of to weld. The field interests me for many reasons. One, I find it fascinating that welding is in all aspects of our daily life. It is in buildings, infrastructure, our cars, and even technology. This creates endless opportunities to learn and try new things. I intend to start out as a pipeline welder and an underwater welder. If I want to change it up, I could create artistic structures, build roller coasters, build in robotics, or work for my local community building structures. This field even opens doors to the other trades; mechanic, machinist, construction, etc. Two, welding can be used to assist others in rebuilding. Neighbors need their tractors and farm implements welded. Those affected by hurricane Helene and Milton can be assisted in rebuilding their lives and communities. Third, this trade allows for the most travel. Not only can one travel the state or country they live in, welding is in all areas of the world. Certain specialty welders can go anywhere in the world and provide their service. Finally, money! Let's face it, in today's world every thing is expensive. Taxes are astronomical. Cost of living continues to rise with little relief on the horizon. The welding trade is job security. No matter where you go there is always an available welding job. Because of the supply and demand of it, the pay is very good. I would like to work with a union as well. This will further increase the income possibilities to where I will never have to worry where the next meal will come from or how i will pay the next bill.

Early in my life my parents noticed I was unique in many ways. I was always excited to try new things though I didn't always finish what I started. As an example, I have tried all kinds of sports (baseball, archery, football, basketball, etc.) and found aggressive competition has never been my thing. I was very strong even as a toddler, passing milestones much earlier than others my age. If I have an interest in learning something, I become passionate and hyper focused. I have always been an outside of the box thinker. In elementary school I would fail grammar tests. My mom would review the test results and questions with me. She would ask, "why did you chose that answer?" After I would explain, she would say she didn't know why those weren't the correct answers. It turns out I just understand things differently. There is more than one way to get to the same conclusion, but our society doesn't see it that way most of the time. I have been able to solve problems when I was a child that grown ups would struggle with. I recall one time when I helped my dad fix a tractor that wouldn't start because I saw the problem in a different way. I was able to fix it and that's when my family understood it wasn't that I was wrong, I just saw it differently. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 4, much earlier than most kids. Doctor said I would outgrow it quickly. I didn't. My mom homeschooled me through the middle school years so that I could continue to keep my character qualities. She was always worried that school kids would be mean to me because of who I was. I excelled at homeschool. I learn so much better with hands on real life experience. She sent me back to public school for my high school years. Then COVID hit. My grades never recovered after COVID. I find it hard to sit still in class and learn about things that either don't interest me or I would be considered wrong for because it isn't the right answer the school would have chosen. I was pretty good at math until COVID also. Many members of my family are diagnosed with different neurodiversities. I will be the second person to attend college in my family (my mom), unfortunately having a 0.8 GPA doesn't open many scholarship opportunities. I have been welding through my high school for the last three years. I am able to use my strengths of seeing problems in a different way to create solutions to difficult builds. I am passionate about the field and study all aspects of it. I truly enjoy it and if I am able to fund my college certificate in welding, not only will I play a vital role in society, I will be able to secure a good financial future for myself and my future family. I hope to use this college experience as a great career opportunity. I intend to be a pipeline welder, underwater offshore oil rig welder, and travel the world while doing it. Wouldn't it be great to say to those who thought I would never make it, that not only did I do it, I excelled?

My father always believed in the trades. He was an electrician and a power lineman. He passed away in 2013 to lymphoma cancer when I was only five years old. He knew being a power lineman was a dangerous and debilitating job and hoped I would find a different career path. I have chosen to earn a certificate in welding after having completed three years of welding through the vocational program at my high school. I truly enjoy welding and am told I am good at it. I Truly enjoy learning everything I can about the trade as it's my passion. I have since learned my great grandfather was a welder. Welding is the foundational fabric of America as it is throughout all aspects of building and technology. Attending welding college is an important goal for me since I will be the second one in my family to go to college. My mother was the first She had to do that after my father died so she could earn a better income. She was a stay at home mom before that when my dad died. We have struggled financially for as long as I can remember. Pursuing a career in welding will create a more solid financial foundation for myself and my future family. Learning this trade will help me be the most successful and will add to my family's history. More than this, I believe it would make my dad very proud that I have chosen for myself not only a trade but something I really like to do. My dreams are to be successful and travel the world, this would definitely help me achieve that. I have been accepted into Lincoln College of Technology. Not only is this an honor, it is also going to be a new and rewarding challenge as I have chosen to train at the Nashville, Tennessee campus. I have always wanted to go to Nashville and music city. While I like all music, good classic country is always fun. When I graduate with a certificate from Lincoln Tech, I will begin traveling the country as I choose to pursue pipeline welding. I also plan to become an underwater offshore oil rig welder. There are so many opportunities in this trade that are endless. I truly love helping people and the field is so versatile that I could weld on a farm and repair equipment or put together a roller coaster. The sky is really the limit.

I intend to study welding and earn my welding certificate from Lincoln College of Technology. I have been in my high school welding program for three years. I enjoy welding because it gives me an opportunity to solve many problems with outside the box thinking. Welding is challenging and offers something new every day. One reason I chose welding is because it can be a lucrative and stable career. My family has not had financial stability in my lifetime and this will secure my future as there is always a growing need for welders. In today's world there are fewer and fewer high schoolers going into the trades and more specifically, welding. This has created a shortage in welders thus creating job security for a good welder! I believe I will be successful in the welding trade for many reasons. First, welding is my passion. I enjoy not only doing it but learning about it as well. It is not often these days to hear of a welder who is consistently seeking deeper knowledge of the trade. I consider myself to be obsessed with learning about it. Second, I live in a rural area where we have ten acres. My family and I have always done some sort of farming. I also work for a large neighboring farm as a farm hand when I have spare time. There is almost always something to weld on a farm. This trade then makes me valuable wherever I am. Third, this is a career that I can build a solid foundation on, not only for me and my family now, but my future family. This trade will allow me to provide stability and enjoy freedoms that a good career can. In general, my successful life will be stable and fulfilling. I will never have to worry about where the next meal will come from or how to keep the lights on. Instead, I will be an asset to my country and community. Being a welder will mean I am an integral part of the fabric of this society whether I am pipeline welding or underwater welding. Furthermore, welding is lucrative so that I can travel the country and world. I will be able to take my family on vacations and provide for my future wife and children. I expect welding will be a promising and provide life long enjoyment in my future endeavors. It will be successful because I will give it my all and because I am passionate about it. When someone is passionate about what they do, they will never work a day in their life.

My father passed away when I was 5 years old. He was diagnosed with non Hodgkin's lymphoma. Doctor's said it was curable, though after 11 months my 45 year old father passed away. It's difficult wondering every day, "what would my father tell me?" or "what would my father think about this?" I wish he were here for all life events; homecoming dance, prom, and my future family. Living in rural Kentucky, my mother was a transplant from Florida. She had no other family in Kentucky. In 2019, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Obviously I was much older when my mother's cancer came along. She had good days and bad days between chemo, surgery, and radiation. I watched her lose all her hair, have her body changed forever, but continue to do things to the best of her ability. After my father had passed, she had to make a back up plan to earn a decent income. She never gave up and continued to pursue a college degree while ill so that she could provide for me and give me the best future possible. Cancer has tormented my family as long as I can remember. The struggles both my parents faced were vastly different. Having lost my father, I was very fearful of the outcome with my mother. My mother homeschooled me for a few years in order to continue to instill strong values in me and closely support me through the biggest issues our family has ever faced. While my father lost his battle with cancer, he put up a brave fight and taught me never to give up. My mother's experience taught me to take struggles one step at a time and give it all you've got. Most importantly the loss of my father instilled in me a deep understanding to live every day to the fullest and take nothing for granted. It taught me to tell those I love, how much I love them daily, because every moment counts. I wouldn't be who I am today without each life event that brought me to this point. While I wish my father were still alive to guide me, I am also grateful for my stepdad. He has been there to guide and protect me in each stage of life over the last few years. While there are times when things are difficult to overcome, I believe each day's events bring on new challenges to take on and provide another chance to do amazing things.