During middle school I dealt with someone who was in lack of a better words a terrible person. He made me doubt myself in every aspect of my life and lead me into a dark mindset and period of my life. Going into my freshmen year I wanted to help others but didn't make myself a priority and never truly let others in. I learned over time that helping others was great and all but the real problem I needed to face, help, was myself. I wouldn't learn this until my junior year a while after the first bad guy. I learned this harsh truth when I broke up with my first boyfriend. We dated for a year and a few months and it was in the moment an amazing relationship. But then I realized he didn't respect my boundaries and didn't really care about how I felt. He didn't like the same hobbies or things I did and instead of being okay with that or supporting me he took it personally and didn't like me doing my hobbies or made me feel bad about doing so. I realized he didn't really have my interests really in his heart. For my own mental and emotional health I broke things off with him and took time to work on myself. This was incredibly hard at the time but I realized it was the best thing for me to do and oddly enough I don't regret it, as much as I thought I would. I took time for myself and realized how real friends should treat you, partner or regular friend, with respect. Taking time for my physical health came twice. First after realizing my knee was bad and for the betterment of my health I should stop dancing. I took ballet classes for years and loved the things I learned but as I advanced I started to fall behind my peers and eventually realized my knee was weaker than it should've been and would fall out of place. The next time was after my breakup where I started to work out more and explore. Things that I couldn't do I was finally able to do and explore on my own freely. I learned from all these experiences that I can be a stronger and more independent person. It has shaped the way I think about life and my future in all aspects. I want to be a kinder person who helps people and does their part to better society. I also hope that at least one person whether it's a stranger or a family member can be helped by me to avoid similar issues in the future in their own relationships.

I'm a member of Hope Squad, now this might sound off topic but if you're familiar or not familiar I'll give a quick explanation. Hope Squad, is a peer to peer suicide prevention squad that advocates for teen mental health. Last year, my junior year, I served as the vice president and through that saw many mental health struggles and found ways to help those in need. During this I learned I loved helping people and how to be a better listener. My personal experience with mental health was a roller coaster of emotions. In middle school after coming out of COVID which didn't seem to help anyone socialize, I found myself in a parasitic relationship with someone who I thought was my friend. He manipulated me into thinking I wasn't good enough, that I was ugly, stupid, and an overall waste of space. I being the naive and caring person I was allowed him to say these things because I knew he had things going on in his own home life. During this time my mental health struggled and I had a point where I was incredibly sad. I finally built the courage to tell him to stop and blocked him from doing or saying these hurtful things to me. Going into my freshmen year I promised I'd never let that happen again and that I'd work to help others that's when I joined Hope Squad. I never felt like I could talk about what happened with other people and only wanted to focus on helping others. But throughout the years of being apart of Hope Squad I realized I could be open and it made communication easier and it helped people understand my view points better. My experience with mental health influenced my belief that nobody is truly evil or out to harm you but it also taught me there are genuine good people willing to help and listen. Relationship wise after my interesting time in middle school I was extremely and am slightly still afraid of letting people in or fully trusting them. However, I've gotten way better at it so I'll let myself off the hook for that one. As far as it affecting my aspirations it made me want to help people more whether physically as a nurse, doctor, or some other medical professional, or mentally as a therapist, counselor, or school advisor. I'd say overall my experience with mental health as made a stronger person who is better at regulating my emotions and slowly is getting better at letting people in a realizing, I need to help myself first, before helping others.

Being Gen Z is possibly one of the strangest and amazing generations to be apart of. I know many generations probably have this idea but I'd say as far as technology goes Gen Z has gone through many drastic changes very fast. Growing up buying DVDS and going to Red Boxes outside of Walgreens was wrapping up, things felt more physical and the internet was a balanced place. Now as a teenager going into my senior year everything I do from work, to school, to planning social hangouts is done online. I've even found myself bonding with people through Instagram reels. I feel connected and disconnected to people more than ever. Disconnected because digital communication lacks physicality but closer and connected because I feel as if I can find someone's personality through their Instagram story or a photo dump. Personally, I got into social media later than everyone else and made my account at the end of middle school. When I got it I realized how much it means to people to maintain an "image" or idea. I also saw how it can be used for good by posting missing posters for pets or people who usually are found in a few days since most people at my school have many mutuals. Being in Gen Z is also good as it allows me to talk to people who are far away. For example during the summer my boyfriend goes to Canada which is around a twenty-four hour drive from where we live. Having the ability to send each other reels, messages, and FaceTime makes the distance better as we can share each other photos and stories from our perspectives in real time. Being Gen Z is amazing as it allows me to connect with people no matter where I am.

As a first-born, first-gen, wasian, white and asian person, I've learned to be a giver to my family and my community to make my family proud. I am a caretaker of my sister, mother, and father. With my sister I make sure to help her with her schooling and help her socialize. She struggles to socialize and get along with other people so helping her is crucial to avoid her being judged. With my mother I help her around the house and teach her how to use modern technology as she sometimes struggles with it. Finally with my father I try and hang out with him when he's not at work which can be hard as he's gone for long periods of time. Recently, my dog passed away. Charlotte, my French bulldog, was my everything and for seven years I took care of her. Through thick and thin I wanted her life to be the best it possibly could. I cleaned her, fed her, bathed her, and when she started to get sick went with her to surgery and other procedures. I was more than her owner or person but I was her parent. She was the light of my life and the day I lost her I lost a part of myself. Caring after people has shaped me to be a more empathetic person who knows how to read people physically and emotionally. There are unspoken things that are signs someone needs help or a shoulder to cry on and I've learned to master that talent of picking up the signs. Caring for Charlotte, who suffered with bad vision, allergies to every medication I got, and lengthy battles against poor genetics was rough. I learned how to be gentle to someone in recovery and I learned how to try and be happy even in terrible circumstances. The day she passed I made sure that the last thing she saw would be me happily holding her. When I cried from falling, or breaking up, or fighting with family she knew I was sad and would stay by my side. I knew I had to be by her side in her final moments and that was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Receiving this scholarship would help me pay for college and allow me to make better circumstances for my own future and my kids futures. I need this scholarship and anything else I can get especially as my parents told me my college funds have changed drastically to practically zero. I want to pursue a higher education and be the first in my family to graduate and pave a road for my sister and make my family proud.

Mr. Poleski, my freshmen AP Human Geography teacher. I know I'm not alone in admiring how amazing he is as a teacher and confidant. He was my introduction into high school and as a head of the AP team at my school a person I'll wave goodbye to as I graduate. He made learning more than sitting in a classroom, he made it an experience that used teamwork and creativity to accomplish. He helped push kids to things they'd never imagine accomplishing. He also helped chaperone one of the first field trips I went on and gave me a new sense of freedom. Even though he's a freshmen instructor he's still someone everyone on campus can come to for advice or help. He genuinely cares about his students and makes sure everyone is well physically and even more so mentally. I remember during our freshman year that a student in our class passed away from suicide. He was crushed but even though that was the case he made sure other students were okay and allowed to process it. From my own personal experience to the things I hear from other students he's amazing through and through. Mr. Poleski changed how I approach life in two ways. Firstly, that teachers can and should be a safe space to talk to, but more over he changed how I view myself. He helped us build confidence to take AP exams, while being realistic about our strong suits. He made sure to help us at our lows and remind us to come down to earth if we were getting ahead of ourselves. I remember in his class he would outline for everyone areas they excelled at and needed to improve on. In a world full of teachers who throw a textbook at you and rush off without answering questions having him as one my first instructors in high school gave me hope for the future. Hope that even though these exams were tricky and sometimes I'd get a question I didn't understand, I'd have the confidence to try any idea and work through it. I hope that one day I can be a teacher in a way, someone who helps others grow and learn and feel confident about their abilities even in stressful situations like an AP exam. Mr. Poleski allowed me to view the world as a more empathetic and understanding geographer, that is educated about the world but also the people in it.

Success is subjective, someone who has never achieved greatness may deem success as simple as making lunch. For some people getting out of bed in the morning is a great success or having the ability to sleep that night. For me someone I look up to in my life that embodies pure success is my father. He works a regular job as a car salesman and clocks in early and comes home late. Even though it's not the most exciting or high paying he enjoys his work. His family came from North Korea, his father escaping at a young age and eventually made enough to allow my father and uncles come to America. The place of opportunities and fresh starts. Since this scholarship is about music I think it's critical to bring up music. I've played the viola for seven years and it has taught me so many things being apart of orchestras for a decent chunk of my life. Having to take responsibility with showing up to rehearsals, concerts, and out of school trips. Making sure to raise funds for the groups trips and overall expenses. Similar to my father I feel like success comes from hard work as a group. Without his team my dad wouldn't be able to sell cars as successfully and without my orchestra group I doubt we would be as coveted and successful. Just last year our top group went to Carnegie Hall and it was due to the support of the entire orchestra program that it was possible. I know some people deem success as how much money someone makes, how nice their things are, how popular they appear, even to who they surround themselves with. But, I believe that success is in the eye of the beholder. It comes with being able to be happy with what is happening in that moment at that moment. When my dad has his occasional day off or manages to come home before everyone is asleep he always shares how "blessed" he feels. Even though we all make jokes at how corny it is, he makes himself and others feel a bit more positive even after a grueling day of work. I hope that one day when I'm older and hopefully with a quote on quote successful job, I'll not only be financially well off to help my parents live peaceful lives in retirement but also to feel "blessed" even after a long day, content with my work.

Work ethic is important to me because of my family background. Similar to Mr. Monachino my grandfather was an immigrant who had to deal with a challenging situation, leaving North Korea. My grandfather or as I called him, hal-abeoji, also passed away from cancer, leukemia, when I was seven. However, that fueled my passion to help people even more and remember where my family came from. Thus far, my educational journey has been pretty good. I'm going to be a senior and currently I have taken 6 APS, 8 Honors classes, 1 Dual Credit class, and have played an instrument for 7 years, and I plan to take more. From all these challenging courses I learned to never back down and to never give up. No matter how many all nighters I had to do or exams I had to study for I never gave up on trying to do my best even when I knew the odds of success were low. Connected to my educational journey, but that I'd argue made a larger impact on me was my extracurriculars. I've been in my school's musical that won state competition (2023), on my school's Hope Squad for three years, on my school's Key Club (service club) for three years, on my school's Varsity Quiz Team, FMP Club, and Archery Team for three years, plus one year on NHS. Out of these easily my most impactful experiences come from Archery, Hope Squad, and FMP. Through archery I found a team that allowed anyone from expert to beginner to try and shoot. Going to competitions as a team allowed me to cheer on my teammates, practice good sportsmanship, and learn a useful skill. Hope Squad, our school's suicide prevention team, has impacted me heavily. Helping my peers deal with their mental health and on occasion bringing them away from the edge of potential suicide is something that feels so minuscule in the moment but afterwards your hit with the reminder that was a human life you saved with words. Mental health in Nevada was a low priority but with the introduction and popularization of mental health support more lives are being saved. Finally, FMP, the Future Medical Professionals club. Since freshmen year I've been helping the Blood Drive team, a smaller branch of FMP, run blood drives. Next year, as a senior I'm taking over as Blood Drive Coordinator, the highest rank within the blood drive branch. Blood drives, are where we ask for donations from students and the community to donate blood. We have four blood drives during the school year and three during the summer. Each blood donation saves up to three human lives, and that's why it is easily the most impactful experience I've had. Being able to help run these events where we usually get 80-100 donations a drive is so impactful not just to me but to the community. My plan for the future is simple, to help as many people as possible. Currently I'm thinking about becoming a nurse. This would be a blend of who I've become a person who helps the community and has a passion for medicine. This scholarship is important to me as it would help pay for college, I have a blessed life and know how lucky I am. My parents want me to fund college on my own so I know the value of money, meaning I desperately need every scholarship I can get. I would be a first generation student as neither of my parents finished college and would be proud to lead the way for my younger sibling.

Cancer sucks. No real way to sugar coat that especially when you lose someone close to you. When I was seven years old I lost my grandfather to leukemia, blood cancer, and it was really difficult. I wish I could've spent more time with him or gotten to know him better. There was always a language barrier between us. He spoke Korean and I spoke English. However, this didn't stop us from hanging out in the summer eating warm peaches by the pool, we'd count bugs and let cicadas and beetles have the leftovers. Those warm memories will always be a reminder of how gentle and kind he was and that no matter how good a person or how bad a person is, it won't determine their outcome. Losing a family member to cancer influenced my career aspirations, making me want to be in a way a cure. Helping people is something I feel good about whether through volunteer work or just being a friend to lean on. I feel like in my generation it can seem like everyone is out for themselves to make the most money, be the most influential, show off the nicer things in life. While I understand that, it doesn't mean helping people isn't possible. I hope to study medicine and help those in need. I would love to be the person who can tell family members of a loved one something can be done to heal or at least extend their mother, father, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, or grandfathers life. Time is so precious and having good health can make or break how much a person has. Other than medicine I've also learned from his death that there are bigger things is life than work. My grandfather was an incredibly hard worker, he defected from North Korea with his father and with some luck and hard work made a better life for my father and eventually moved to the United States of America, a place of opportunity. Even with the struggle of war service, defecting from one of the most, if not the most, dangerous places on the planet, he was still a family man who raised three sons and took care of his wife, my grandmother. He paved their futures and in a way paved mine to be able to have all the opportunities I could possibly have. So not only does his life and his death influence my career aspirations and goals but it affects how I perceive life as a whole.

Being a biracial student, is like being a hotpot. A collage of different traditions and cultures, good and bad from each. It didn't feel like a big deal until high school. It was easier before clicks started to form between asians who could speak the language, those born in the "homeland", and those who looked more the part. As a half Korean and half White student who has more tan skin and is often confused for being Hispanic, Filipino, or something completely different it can be tricky fitting the "classic" mold. Something that added to this pressure was religion and how it felt to be possibly judged for it. In my high school the mormon population is high and sometimes it can affect relationships by not having the same faith or practices. Everyone gets along, and I have plenty of friends no matter belief or race. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel left out when it came to certain things. Sometimes, I felt ignorant for not understanding different religions and I still hope to improve on that by widening my horizons. This hasn't changed my faith though, attending church and being with a community with open arms helps a lot. Even if I'm not among my peers at church I'm among a blessed family that I've been lucky enough to meet. Being biracial is a curse and a blessing. You get the benefits of mixed cultures which opens plenty of doors, but you also have the issue of being "too white" or "too asian". My father was born and raised for a decent part of his life in Korea. I don't speak the language, and I've never actually been. However, that doesn't stop me from practicing traditions in Korean life. When meeting other asian or biracial asian students this can be tricky as some, in a way, whether on purpose or not, find it taboo to not speak the language fully. Another blessing though, is having the ability to relate to my mother's side as well. Dinner is always interesting in our home, sometimes it's traditional meals with rice or kimchi on the side, and on the other side it can be home cooked spaghetti with warm bread. I want to pursue a career in medicine for two reasons. Firstly to help those in need and give to the people. Secondly, for the security of my family so my parents can enjoy life without worries. That is how being a biracial student is and how my relationship with God is still just as strong as it would've been without those hurdles.