When I reflect on my community, I think about how it has always served as a driving force to do great things. I see community as a team; one that looks to uplift and drive others to strive for greatness. A powerful community strengthens in the face of opposition, prays together in times of need, and most importantly, they keep the faith. I have been blessed to grow up surrounded by a powerful community that has rallied behind me. My church had a very powerful influence on my expression. From a young age, I was given the opportunity to spread the gospel through the youth groups, and when I was 7 years old, they put me front and center to lead the youth choir. It was the biggest opportunity I had ever gotten and I was eager to prove to my superiors that I could handle the task. In short, I took this task very seriously and worked very tirelessly with the other children to make sure we presented ourselves well in front of our congregation. And to this day, I believe being given that opportunity has resulted in my ambition to perform. Through working with my church, I was able to discover a passion for the arts, specifically music and theatre. Over the years, I have been able to participate in many concerts and productions and in every single one of them, I have always worked my hardest to make sure my cast alongside myself has been able to give the very best performance possible. With every group I have worked with, we have built a community: one that sticks together in the time of need and works to preserve the nature of the circumstance. Alongside working in groups, I have been driven to strive for perfection when working by myself. In high school, I was a part of the Honors Choir which would compete in festivals for titles. Our group was a community, cheering each other on as we worked to compete. My sophomore year was the first time I competed as a soloist. While they loved my vocals, they believed I needed to work on my techniques, which had never been mentioned to me up until this point. I took this to heart and spent my junior year working with my teacher on perfecting my musical technique, driving to qualify for the state competition. Eventually, I went to compete at the district level again with my new training, which led me to qualify for the state competition, where with my community accompanying and rallying behind me on this trip, I not only received the 1st place medal in the competition, but also became the first vocal soloist in my school’s history to receive a gold medal. Throughout my life, my community has pushed me to go for what I want and has stood behind me every time, whether the outcome was positive or negative. Upon entering college this fall, I plan to study Music Production with an emphasis in Songwriting. If I was blessed to receive the Jacob Irven Johnson Scholarship, I will obtain the assistance necessary to attend school, work hard, and obtain knowledge and insight about the music industry. I will work to build a resume and pursue my goals to become a singer-songwriter and producer. My hope is to inspire young creatives to work towards their dreams and aspirations - believing anything is possible with the backing of a benevolent community.