Thanks for this opportunity to further my education and have a career that I can enjoy and have great success in. 1) It's because of a tradesman that I've decided to get a career in the skilled trade of Electrician and Automation. I'm currently a maintenance technician for the company I work for and I regularly have to work with electricity and we've got plenty of robots in the facility as well. And at work, they've recently contacted the local community trade school to have it set up for the hours I work on Monday to count for credited school hours. So I've recently switched which school I wanted to attend to this particular sibling school of the one I previously wanted to attend. But I've seen how the need for skilled trades has gone up because of the market shift in careers. So many of the experienced tradesmen have retired or are dying off and it's created a need for more to fill. And I've had previous experience with electrical work, much more than I realized until my interview for my current position I have at work now. And there's so much that could be done with this particular trade from installing power in newly built houses and buildings to repairing or upgrading existing power grids. 2) This is something that can lead to me owning my own electrical business which I plan on pursuing when I receive my degree. My biggest reason for having a career in this trade is to move towards having my own electrical business or company. And expand on it from there with the PLC and Automation knowledge and experience I will receive from this as well. It's also something that I could expand into owning an auto repair business or get a degree in IT as well and have a tech business also. Which would create job opportunities for training and positions in my electrical business or the others which I decide to create as well. Which in turn would create opportunities for the communities these businesses would reside in. 3) I would be successful in this trade because I've got experienced guys that I can go to for advice on multiple levels. I've got a guy I can contact who's an experienced electrician who I can go to for practical and technical advice on how to apply it in the field. And I've got a guy on how to manage and build a business who I can seek for advice. And another for connections and how to build money efficiently and quickly to start my own business. So with their advice and expertise and the fact that I learn pretty quickly and can understand some of the aspects of their careers they speak about even though I don't have their experience. It lets me know that I can gain what it takes to succeed and that I already have some of it. 4) To me, a successful life is one where I can enjoy my work and have the freedom and money to enjoy life and have fun. Luxuries like being able to travel and experience different countries and cultures. And when I own my business affording the same for my employees as well, creating an environment they and their families can enjoy.

Hello, and thanks for this opportunity. The trade that I’m pursuing is electrician and automation. The reason for my passion in this field is I generally enjoy working with electricity, from wiring motors and sensors to hooking up sound systems. I've just had enjoyable experiences when doing these jobs to where it didn't feel like a job but more like a passion. And the more you look around you see so many of these skilled trade careers needing people. Because of the older skilled tradesmen dying off. It was a group of mentors who inspired me to pursue this trade which I’ve been pursuing for approximately 3 years now. But one of the men specifically encouraged it is MOT, which is his nickname by the way. It was a conversation I was having with him and two other gentlemen and it just kind of clicked when I was wondering what was next for me in my next chapter of life. MOT regularly encourages the trades as viable opportunities for young black men. And when we were having this conversation, I remembered how I used to hook up sound systems for fun. And how a lot of the work I’ve done already has given me a lot of electrical experience. So it seemed like the next logical path for me, especially since it was something I enjoyed. But fast forward to now and I had a conversation with the head of our training program at work. And she informed me of how they had worked out something with the local sibling trade school for the hours I work on Monday to count for school credits during the week. Which is a big help for me and the school itself. To keep it alive and going by supplying it with students to keep it in operation. So I’ve recently had to do some paperwork to transfer from another of its sibling schools to this one which is much closer, and I can’t wait to get started. And I’m hoping that with this certification and degree in this trade, I can eventually start a business of my own. And with this trade, I could take an elective that would be vital for my future business or businesses. I could then encourage others to get into these skilled trades to make a viable future for themselves. While also training and hiring these individuals into my future business, thereby creating more opportunities for my local community, where ever that will be.

Hello, I know that this scholarship is just right for me because I’ve been in the local nonprofit organization in my community for approximately eight years now. And not just a member on paper, but an integral part of the structure of the business side of it. I’ve been the secretary for approximately 5-6 of the eight years I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of this organization. This organization is called the T.C.M.O. (Twin Cities Men’s Organization) and our main function is to clothe children of low-income families at Christmas time. But because of COVID, we had to change how we would normally do things for a few years. So we changed to both schools in our area giving us the sizes of clothes, and what types of clothes are needed. As well as any hygienic items such as soap or body wash, toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoo, etc. And then we would go to Wal-Mart and get the items and bring them to the school for whoever the child is that needed such items. But we’ve recently gone back to the previous way of having the local transportation system pick them up at 5:30 am and bring them to Walmart for us along with community volunteers to help clothe a designated child. We also purchase snacks and juice to feed the children while they are there. While we have gone back to the previous way of clothing the children, we also still apply the method that we had during COVID throughout the rest of the year to catch any other needed children. While in addition having a Fire Fund to help any children who either live in our two local towns or are students at either of these local schools to get clothes if they were lost in the event of a house fire. The Fire Fund became one of my favorite additions for us to further help our community because of a friend of mine who lost everything they had in a fire years ago. So my mom and I personally gave them clothes that we didn’t regularly wear to have during this time of need. Also, a lady who was like a 2nd mother to me had been diagnosed with cancer back in 2018 and was in more pain than she would acknowledge. I would regularly visit her around 3-4 days a week and keep her spirits up during this time. And take care of anything around the house that she needed while she was in the hospital. I had been a regular around her before the diagnosis. But did what I could to pick it up another notch during this time. Sadly we eventually lost as the cancer was already at stage 4. But it made me feel good that during this time when she got so weak, she couldn’t open her eyes that she still knew who I was by the sound of my voice. It’s memories like these that bring a feeling like none other that gives you a sense of appreciation for helping others during their time of need. And they give you a sense of a duty well done. Especially when they express to you how much they appreciate it.

Hello, and thanks for this opportunity. The trade that I’m pursuing is electrician and automation. It was a group of mentors who inspired me to pursue this trade which I’ve been pursuing for approximately 3 years now. But one of the men specifically encouraged it is MOT, which is his nickname by the way. It was a conversation I was having with him and two other gentlemen and it just kind of clicked when I was wondering what was next for me in my next chapter of life. MOT regularly encourages the trades as viable opportunities for young black men. And when we were having this conversation, I remembered how I used to hook up sound systems for fun. And how a lot of the work I’ve done already has given me a lot of electrical experience. So it seemed like the next logical path for me, especially since it was something I enjoyed. But at the time I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to be able to make this happen. I worked during the week and was taking care of my mother at the time. But when COVID happened it opened some opportunities at work for me. One of the maintenance supervisors that I had previously worked with had encouraged me to keep applying for a position. And said that if I could get my Lockout/Tagout certification that he would personally give my practical test and he would have some work for me on the weekends. Well to keep it short, in 2021 my mother passed, and it opened things up for me to have the free time to be able to focus on trying to make this career transition. A long with it creating open positions within maintenance at my job. Because of this, I would come in on the weekends to work with the guys and get some experience with the types of jobs and issues that I’d be having to handle daily. His supervisors saw this one of whom I had previously worked for, and it helped me in my next interview. So after the interview process was over, the head of maintenance came to me and told me I had gotten the job and that I would be starting on weekday nights. It wasn’t the crew or supervisor I had been working with before, but it was within the same department. And I got to learn some things that I didn’t get to have experience with before. But fast forward to now and I had a conversation with the head of our training. And she informed me of how they had worked out something with the local sibling trade school for the hours I work on Monday to count for school credits during the week. Which is a big help for me and the school itself. To keep it alive and going by supplying it with students to keep it in operation. So I’ve recently had to do some paperwork to transfer from another of its sibling schools to this one which is much closer, and I can’t wait to get started. And I’m hoping that with this certification and degree in this trade, I can eventually start a business of my own.

Hello, and thanks for this opportunity. The trade that I’m pursuing is electrician and automation. It was a group of mentors who inspired me to pursue this trade which I’ve been pursuing for approximately 3 years now. But one of the men specifically encouraged it is MOT, which is his nickname by the way. It was a conversation I was having with him and two other gentlemen and it just kind of clicked when I was wondering what was next for me in my next chapter of life. MOT regularly encourages the trades as viable opportunities for young black men. And when we were having this conversation, I remembered how I used to hook up sound systems for fun. And how a lot of the work I’ve done already has given me a lot of electrical experience. So it seemed like the next logical path for me, especially since it was something I enjoyed. After I get my degree, my ultimate goal is to own and operate my own electrical business and eventually own a tech company as well. But at the time I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to be able to make this happen. I worked during the week and was taking care of my mother at the time. But when COVID happened it opened some opportunities at work for me. One of the maintenance supervisors that I had previously worked with had encouraged me to keep applying for a position. And said that if I could get my Lockout/Tagout certification that he would personally give my practical test and he would have some work for me on the weekends. Well to keep it short, in 2021 my mother passed, and it opened things up for me to have the free time to be able to focus on trying to make this career transition. A long with it creating open positions within maintenance at my job. Because of this, I would come in on the weekends to work with the guys and get some experience with the types of jobs and issues that I’d be having to handle daily. His supervisors saw this one of whom I had previously worked for, and it helped me in my next interview. So after the interview process was over, the head of maintenance came to me and told me I had gotten the job and that I would be starting on weekday nights. It wasn’t the crew or supervisor I had been working with before, but it was within the same department. And I got to learn some things that I didn’t get to have experience with before. But fast forward to now and I had a conversation with the head of our training. And she informed me of how they had worked out something with the local sibling trade school for the hours I work on Monday to count for school credits during the week. Which is a big help for me and the school itself. To keep it alive and going by giving it to students to keep it in operation. So I’ve recently had to do some paperwork to transfer from another of its sibling schools to this one which is much closer, and I can’t wait to get started.

I’m pursuing an education at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology to obtain a degree in the field of Industrial Maintenance & Integrated Automation. This path combines being a certified electrician with automation. I’m currently a maintenance worker for the current company I work for. And I see how much this path in the degree I’m pursuing directly affects me. In the 10 years I’ve been at this company so many changes have been made that it looks completely different from when I first started. And with automation changing everything it’s become very apparent at my job. Since getting into maintenance I've seen how having a degree and experience in automation can change everything for me. So many changes have been and are currently being made to bring in more robots and they’ll need more technicians to operate and troubleshoot these robots. And it’s not just at my place of work but everywhere around the world. I plan to use the experience, degrees, and certifications to eventually have businesses in automation, electrical careers, and general maintenance to send out to different places over the United States and eventually the world. I also plan to use this path to lead into IT and eventually own a tech company as well. When I look around in my neighboring communities, I also notice how many new construction jobs are in flux. From housing communities to shopping centers, churches, restaurants, etc. I see these as opportunities that will continue to be there and to have my own electrical business would be a potential job that I could have with some of these construction companies to come in and establish wiring in some of these structures as well as establish a clientele and a reputation for my potential business. And with my aspirations to get into automation the path to IT is inevitable because they’re just paths that are integrated. There are different paths in IT and enough of them are linked with using PLCs which is in automation, which makes having my own technology business seem appropriate. And with how remote the technology market has become with jobs now. It could make for a good opportunity, for those who love their current home communities. But it can also create great opportunities for those who want to travel and see the world also. And is a path for my future that I’m very interested in. When I think of the adversity I had to overcome. I think about how I got promoted to the position I currently have now at my job. I had been trying to get into this position since 2017 and had interview after interview. And nothing was coming of it, even asked to get a chance to come in with the guys on the weekends sometime and work with them. Still nothing there. And one of the supervisors told me to keep trying. And he and another one I had previously worked for, finally allowed me to come in on the weekends. And work with them and gain some new skills. And it finally paid off and that's how I eventually got promoted. I just kept trying and they made an opportunity possible for me.

I’m pursuing an education at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology to obtain a degree in the field of Industrial Maintenance & Integrated Automation. This path combines being a certified electrician with automation. I’m currently a maintenance worker for the current company I work for. And I see how much this path in the degree I’m pursuing directly affects me. In the 10 years I’ve been at this company so many changes have been made that it looks completely different from when I first started. And with automation changing everything it’s become very apparent at my job. Since getting into maintenance I've seen how having a degree and experience in automation can change everything for me. So many changes have been and are currently being made to bring in more robots and they’ll need more technicians to operate and troubleshoot these robots. And it’s not just at my place of work but everywhere around the world. I plan to use the experience, degrees, and certifications to eventually have businesses in automation, electrical careers, and general maintenance to send out to different places over the United States and eventually the world. I also plan to use this path to lead into IT and eventually own a tech company as well. When I look around in my neighboring communities, I also notice how many new construction jobs are in flux. From housing communities to shopping centers, churches, restaurants, etc. I see these as opportunities that will continue to be there and to have my own electrical business would be a potential job that I could have with some of these construction companies to come in and establish wiring in some of these structures as well as establish a clientele and a reputation for my potential business. And with my aspirations to get into automation the path to IT is inevitable because they’re just paths that are integrated. There are different paths in IT and enough of them are linked with using PLCs which is in automation, which makes having my own technology business seem appropriate. And with how remote the technology market has become with jobs now. It could make for a good opportunity, for those who love their current home communities. But it can also create great opportunities for those who want to travel and see the world also. And is a path for my future that I’m very interested in.

I’m pursuing an education at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology to obtain a degree in the field of Industrial Maintenance & Integrated Automation. This path combines being a certified electrician with automation. I’m currently a maintenance worker for the current company I work for. And I see how much this path in the degree I’m pursuing directly affects me. In the 10 years I’ve been at this company so many changes have been made that it looks completely different from when I first started. And with automation changing everything it’s become very apparent at my job. Since getting into maintenance I've seen how having a degree and experience in automation can change everything for me. So many changes have been and are currently being made to bring in more robots and they’ll need more technicians to operate and troubleshoot these robots. And it’s not just at my place of work but everywhere around the world. I plan to use the experience, degrees, and certifications to eventually have businesses in automation, electrical careers, and general maintenance to send out to different places over the United States and eventually the world. I also plan to use this path to lead into IT and eventually own a tech company as well. When I look around in my neighboring communities, I also notice how many new construction jobs are in flux. From housing communities to shopping centers, churches, restaurants, etc. I see these as opportunities that will continue to be there and to have my own electrical business would be a potential job that I could have with some of these construction companies to come in and establish wiring in some of these structures as well as establish a clientele and a reputation for my potential business. And with my aspirations to get into automation the path to IT is inevitable because they’re just paths that are integrated. There are different paths in IT and enough of them are linked with using PLCs which is in automation, which makes having my own technology business seem appropriate. And with how remote the technology market has become with jobs now. It could make for a good opportunity, for those who love their current home communities. But it can also create great opportunities for those who want to travel and see the world also. And is a path for my future that I’m very interested in.

I’m pursuing an education at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology to obtain a degree in the field of Industrial Maintenance & Integrated Automation. This path combines being a certified electrician with automation. I’m currently a maintenance worker for the current company I work for. And I see how much this path in the degree I’m pursuing directly affects me. In the 10 years I’ve been at this company so many changes have been made that it looks completely different from when I first started. And with automation changing everything it’s become very apparent at my job. Since getting into maintenance I've seen how having a degree and experience in automation can change everything for me. So many changes have been and are currently being made to bring in more robots and they’ll need more technicians to operate and troubleshoot these robots. And it’s not just at my place of work but everywhere around the world. I plan to use the experience, degrees, and certifications to eventually have businesses in automation, electrical careers, and general maintenance to send out to different places over the United States and eventually the world. I also plan to use this path to lead into IT and eventually own a tech company as well. When I look around in my neighboring communities, I also notice how many new construction jobs are in flux. From housing communities to shopping centers, churches, restaurants, etc. I see these as opportunities that will continue to be there and to have my own electrical business would be a potential job that I could have with some of these construction companies to come in and establish wiring in some of these structures as well as establish a clientele and a reputation for my potential business. And with my aspirations to get into automation the path to IT is inevitable because they’re just paths that are integrated. There are different paths in IT and enough of them are linked with using PLCs which is in automation, which makes having my own technology business seem appropriate. And with how remote the technology market has become with jobs now. It could make for a good opportunity, for those who love their current home communities. But it can also create great opportunities for those who want to travel and see the world also. And is a path for my future that I’m very interested in.

I'm a male from a rural area that enjoys video games, anime, manga, comics, golfing, etc. I'm going to a trade school to get a degree and certifications to be an Electrician and in Automation. And maybe have a link towards IT with the Automation path. The aspiration I have for my career is to eventually have my own personally owned electrician and automation businesses. Being I'm currently working as a maintenance worker at my current job I see how much the tech industry is always changing everything. And want to use this experience along with getting the educational skills to reach my future goals. I've been working in my current community since around 2015 when I joined our local non-profit organization called the Twin Cities Men's Organizations. We have events all year round to help raise money to pay for our known purpose. Which is our Clothing the Children mission. We'll pick 20-30 children from two local school systems. From the grades of kindergarten through high school we have forms that we send to the schools for their parents to fill out and send back for us to use when helping the children pick clothes. One of the big events we have is our annual charity auction. We get so much support from the community businesses and people that it's been great to help with our mission of clothing the children. We also have a scholarship that we named the Richard Tidwell Memorial Scholarship that we have made available to both school systems for local children of those school systems to apply. And we pick children from low-income families to take part in this and they submit an essay and information on their GPA status and information about themselves. Such as, if they have a part-time job, if they're involved in school clubs and activities, church participation and any other community participation. And it was named this to honor one of our senior and well know community members. I would have to say to this point my major accomplishment is being promoted at work. I had been trying to get into the maintenance position at work since 2017 and this past year I finally got the opportunity to come in on the weekends and work with them to help out. And it paid off but I don't plan on stopping there. I want to get this degree and the certifications that come with it to be another accomplishment to add to a growing list. And what I would do with the money I get from scholarships is to help pay off the books and other fees I have left. And also to pay the preexisting student loans I have. As well as for gas and any necessary repairs needed for my car to make it to school and work. Thanks for this opportunity to apply for this scholarship, you would not be disappointed by choosing me to be a recipient of this scholarship and how I would use it to further my education.

Golf is a challenging and fun game to play with friends at any age. I first got started because of guys from work, who regularly play. So because I haven't purchased any I got started with a relative who isn't using their set of clubs. And enjoy going to the driving range to practice and play. So when I picked up the clubs I messaged one of the guys from work and we set a day for us to go to one of our local country clubs to play some holes of golf. And it was frustratingly challenging but fun at the same time. The best part about going with friends who play is, they can give you tips and pointers to work on your game when you're by yourself. We planned on playing 18 holes this day but the weather quickly changed and we got rained out. But all things said for my first time playing the guys said I shot pretty well for the first 9 holes being a beginner. I plan on continuing to go to the driving range and working on my mechanics so I get better and smoother in my swings. We also have a membership with my job at one of the country clubs where the supervisors have golf tournaments for work. And I plan on playing with some of the guys from work when I can because we get a discount for going to this country club as employees of the company. Whether it's by myself or with the guys when we can meet up. Golf is important to me because as an introvert it's a hobby I can practice by myself or with others. And at my local coutry club there's a business that had a community participant golf scramble where everyone who wanted could buy a spot in the tournament. And the local non-profit organization I'm in helped to cook for all the participants to have something to eat at the end of the scramble. I plan to keep practicing to get good enough to enter some of these scrambles because they look like fun. And I want to eventually be good enough to compete with some really good golf players in the local areas. While I'm not trying to PGA Tour level of good, I am a competitive individual who wants to be able to compete at the best level of competition I possibly can. And hopefully can inspire other black children that it's a fun game for everyone to enjoy. Since it's not generally picked up like other sports are in the community.

Being active in my community is something very important to me as I serve as the secretary for my local non profit organization. In my community I would like to see more and better paying jobs come in. I think that this would help to support the area better financially from within the community. In the country I think too much of our tax money isn't going for necessary things like repairing our roads. I think that surely we could reduce money going some where less as important to fix this issue. I also think that we need more guys in important trades that are the backbone for building the infrastructure of any country. Such as construction, trucking, electricians, automotive repair, diesel repair, water and sewage treatment and H/VAC. And the country is too far behind in tech advancement in my opinion. In the world the main problem that I think is, how poor the global trading of natural resources is. And it's like that purposely to have the utmost power and control over the world's citizens. What I'm doing locally is I'm involved with a non profit organization called the T.C.M.O. (Twin Cities Men's Organization). And what we mainly do is we hold functions and events throughout the year to clothe kids grades K - 6 from economically impoverished families. And we've got two school systems we do this with. And we get a list of approximately 20 - 30 from both school systems. We set up a time with our local Wal-Mart at around 5am to not interrupt with there ours of operations. We also get help from our local transportation service to pick the kids up and have at least 2 - 4 of our members to ride along. We also get breakfast for the kids to eat after they're done shopping and waiting on the rest of their peers. And we get several volunteers to help with clothing them for this event. And take them back home with their clothes and other necessities such as soap, toothpaste and etc. We also have a separate fund set up for families that have lost their home and belongings to house fires as well. Being we had so many house fires we started this project as another way we could help the community for those who didn't meet the K - 6 requirement for clothing children. And we've gotten a lot of support throughout the community and various business in the community for these two main things we do. We also have an annual scholarship we set up in the name of one our most influential members to be given earned between both school systems alternating each year. The applicants must me the impoverished category and write a 500 word essay on how they plan to use the scholarship to benefit their studies and how their career path of choice will help the community. There's also other categories that are asked for as well by the applicants, one of being community service and it can be with any organization in the area. Thanks, and I hope this essay helps to encourages others to participate in their local community. Because seeing the joy on these kid's faces when they're getting they new clothes is a great feeling that I know anyone would enjoy.