Being a first-generation college student means that I will begin to change my future along with the future of my family for generations to come. Given the opportunity to be successful in college through grants and scholarships, will allow me to focus on my education without having to struggle financially or allow my GPA to suffer from having to work more than part-time. Coming from a single parent, low-income family, I know the hardships of sacrifice. At the age of 12, I began my own mowing service to assist my mother in purchasing my school clothes, supplies lunches, and fees for pee wee sports and sporting camps. Although my financial assistance to my family was limited, I knew if I worked hard, took Pre AP, AP, and dual credit courses, I could alleviate some of the financial burdens’ college would bring. Dedicated to my studies, I've maintained a 3.71 GPA in high school and am currently ranked number 18 of 174 students. By the end of my senior year, I will have completed 28 hours of college credits; thus, eliminating the financial burden of these classes from my family. Due to a lack of financial resources, I have chosen to give back to my community through volunteer work. Beginning my freshman year of high school through the present, I've completed over 630 hours of volunteer hours with over 318 of those hours being served this year. My goal is to complete over 405 hours of community service before graduating in May of 2022. Although monetary support is needed to ensure our community service groups can survive, non-profit organizations cannot flourish without volunteers. In giving of myself through time and service, I feel I have assisted in laying a foundation that my children's children will be able to continue following and ultimately changing their futures. Being a first-generation college student, I have chosen a career path as an Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in teenage spinal injuries. As an injured teenage athlete, I know firsthand the trauma that is felt from being permanently sidelined along with the physical pain, suffering and rehab that comes with the damage. My experiences will be shared through a scholarship for permanently injured teenage athletes who are seeking to further their education. Requirements will include an essay, volunteer service, financial need, GPA of 3.0 or higher and entrepreneurship experience. Another way I will share my story will be through pro-bono medical procedures that have many of the same requirements for the scholarship. In conclusion, a person who is a first-generation college student that may or may not come from a low-income and/or single parent home can make a large impact on their community, their own future, and the future of their generations for years to come. The recipe of success I have found includes spiritual guidance, taking responsibility, mental strength, fortitude, ambition, humility, and a desire to succeed without causing harm to others. Willingly helping others along the way will ensure that you are sharing your experiences while helping others on their journey.

My dreams for the future include becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon, specializing in spinal injuries. This is the dream career I have chosen related to a back injury I received playing football my Freshman year. Through extensive physical therapy and support from my family, I have recovered from the injury with life-long limitations. On February 22, 2020, my worst fears were confirmed; a MRI revealed a herniated disc. This diagnosis meant my athletic career was over as the doctor recommended all sports being stopped indefinitely. Limited and sidelined from athletics left me feeling lonely and forgotten; flooding my mind with regrets of taking things for granted. At the time, the news almost crushed my spirit. However, through prayer and studying, I feel I have found my calling in life. The months following my injury were filled with a plethora of physical therapy sessions. Limitations included avoiding running, biking, prolonged sitting, bending over, and any fast-paced movement to minimize future damage of my spine. My dad was an active part of my recovery, and fishing together gave us the opportunity to draw closer to each other and God in ways I would have never expected. This impairment has taught me to embrace change and acknowledge my blessings. Owning my injury assisted me in understanding life is not over while also giving me the insight to accept future opportunities I may have otherwise overlooked. My current circumstance has led me to choose a career as an Orthopedic Surgeon. In this role, empathy and assisting people with bodily injuries to regain a quality of life acceptable to them gives me hope. The idea of being able to rid someone of the sidelining, helpless pain I felt, motivates me every day.

In 2018 I began volunteering at my elementary school, Keller Harvel, my school district, Keller ISD, and a community food/clothing facility, Community Storehouse. Giving back to my community made me feel like a productive part of my society. However, in 2020 I began volunteering with Victory Therapy Center. VTC uses equestrian therapy to assist in care for the physical, mental, and emotional needs of children, Veterans, first responders, so forth. From the first day on the grounds, I knew this is where I would spend most of my time volunteering. The special needs children that I work with provides me with a feeling of joy and self-worth. Developing trust along with maintaining a positive relationship with them is slightly more complicated, but worth every moment. To have a student wait as well as request me to participate in their therapy session leads me to believe that I have made a positive impact on their life. Through volunteering at VTC, I have learned that autistic individuals have sensory sensitivities that impact their daily lives. They see the world differently than I do, therefore, when I am allowed a glimpse into their world it assists me in developing new along with creative ways of doing things for them during their sessions. One example is side walking with students. During this process you place your hand on the student’s lower leg, so they feel supported. While assisting in a therapy class with a 6 y/o, she quickly informed me I was “doing it wrong" as she went on to say, “take your hand off.” I removed my hand then asked, “Is it okay for me to put my hand back on your leg again?" Being given a nod of her head, I placed my hand on her calf making sure to only touch her with my fingertips as well as lightly placing the palm of my hand on her. She said, “yes, that is better.” Realizing that the weight of my hand affected her, has caused me to change the way I work with autistic children. To begin with, I will introduce myself to them, ask them if it’s okay for me to place my hand on their calf, while reassuring them that I want them to be safe as well as feel at ease during their session. These simple gestures have created meaningful relationships with the students and their families. During college I fully intend to find a volunteer facility that works with special needs individuals so I can continue to give back. Once I complete my surgical residency, I want to volunteer my services by offering a free surgical procedure for an individual who has been positively impacted by a volunteer and offer a scholarship to the volunteer or vice versa. I will also include teaching/mentor opportunities for volunteer students who choose to earn a degree in the medical profession.

Giving back to my community by helping others through volunteering makes me happy . In 2018 I began volunteering at my elementary school, Keller Harvel, my school district, Keller ISD, and a community food/clothing facility, Community Storehouse. Giving back to my community made me feel like a productive part of my society. However, in 2020 I began volunteering with Victory Therapy Center. VTC uses equestrian therapy to assist in care for the physical, mental, and emotional needs of children, Veterans, first responders, and so forth. From the first day on the grounds, I knew this is where I would spend most of my time volunteering. The special needs children that I work with provides me with a feeling of joy and self-worth. Developing trust and maintaining a positive relationship with them is slightly more complicated, but worth every moment. To have a student wait and/or request me to participate in their therapy session leads me to believe that I have made a positive impact on their life. Beginning my Freshman year - present I have volunteered over 500 hours. My volunteer goal for my senior year is 405 hours, bringing my total hours to 705 hours. Once I begin my college journey, I fully plan on locating an equine therapy center to volunteer at. Over the holidays and summers, and when I am home with my family, I will continue my volunteer services with VTC. Once I complete my surgical residency, I want to volunteer my services by offering a free surgical procedure for an individual who has been positively impacted by a volunteer and offer a scholarship to the volunteer or vice versa.

In 10th Grade, I ran cross country. Well, sometimes I ran with the team. Other times, me and a couple buddies would go to the McDonald’s around the corner during practice and get breakfast. One day Coach Garnett caught us in the act. He was not mad, and he did not yell. He did not say much, but what he did say will stick with me for the rest of my life. He looked straight at me, the upperclassmen in the group, and said “Jacob, I'm not mad I'm just disappointed” and proceeded to calmly tell us to get back to the school. I thought about what coach Garnett said for several days. I had been yelled at before and could shrug that off. But this was different. Not only was my relationship with him damaged, but I also abused his trust and knew it would take months to regain it. It ate me up inside because I looked up to him. I respected and admired the man he was to his family and students. When we would talk, things were not the same. I felt I had let him down. That he had thought of me highly and that I had not lived up to be the young man he thought I was. And I felt terrible that I had lost his respect. For the rest of the year, I tried my hardest to regain his trust and respect. We ended the year on good terms. From that day on, I started acting like the young man I wanted to be remembered as. I started considering the consequences of my actions and how they would make others feel before I committed them.

Strong, check. Courageous, check. Spiritual, check! Loving double check. These are just a few of of the attributes my bonus-mom possesses. Rhonda has been in my life since I can remember; which translates to me being around 4 year old. She has taught me how to put my plans into action, to set my goals higher than I think I can achieve, how to accomplish them while excelling past my own expectations of myself, and doing all this while remaining humble and kind. From Rhonda, I've learned that failing is not failure, rather a lesson of patience and thinking outside the box and just attempting to do when I think I can not. One example of this is my volunteer service hours. My Freshman year, I learned I could participate in a club doing 100 hours of community service of my choosing a year from May - April. The dilemma was that it was already late November when I learned of the opportunity. Each participant had to have 25 hours of service logged by December 12 of that year. My Freshman year was heavy with PreAp classes, a foreign language class, sports, and church. After discussing the event with my parents I decided I wouldn't have enough time to fulfill the commitment. Rhonda challenged my thinking by saying, "if you volunteer 25 hours you didn't fail by not completing 100 hours, rather you've excelled by doing a quarter of what you weren't going to try to attempt. The only failure here would be you not trying at all." That challenge stirred something inside me. Not only did I complete the 25 hours needed before December 12th, I went on to complete over 100 hours my first year, and I have continued to meet the hours for this club thus far, into my junior year. She's taught me to be courageous by stepping out on faith, especially when I'm afraid. I have found, in those moments, when I am hesitant to try something new I normally have the best experiences. My dad and bonus mom love to fish. I am not opposed to fishing. I do enjoy the competition of who will catch the first and last fish of the day, the fight of pulling in a 5 - 7 pounder, and even watching my top water lure seamlessly slicing through the water with the anticipation of seeing a large mouth bass strike just before pulling the bait from the water. However, I don't like removing fish from the hook. This could have something to do with me catching an 8 pound catfish at the tender age of 4; truthfully, I hooked the river-monster and my dad reeled it in. As my dad lifted the whale from the waters my eyes were as large as saucers. I was mesmerized and in shock. He asked if I wanted to help him throw it back. I remember running to other end of the dock and began putting our tackle back in the box; I was done and ready to go. Years later while fishing on the boat with my family, my bonus mom caught a fish and pretended it was too heavy for her to pull in. She pleaded for me to take the rod and reel from her hands and to pull as hard as I could to get the monster into the boat. I felt challenged and wanted to show her how strong I was. I reeled and pulled with all my might. As the fish was approaching the boat she grabbed the net to ensure it would not get away. Together we were able to bring in the three pound bass. I was nervous and scared about touching it, but before I knew what happened my mom grabbed my hand in hers and with her free hand she picked the fish up, she took my hand and showed me how to remove the hook from the fishes mouth as gently as possible. She then took my hand and placed the fishes mouth on my fingers and placed my other hand under it's belly. She held me as she instructed me on how to release the fish gently back into the waters. I think back to that day often and reflect on my present with my past. Strength comes from within. Fear has to be reeled in and sometimes it takes more than one person to overcome your fears. With the life lessons I've learned from my bonus mom, the encouragement and strong foundation she's laid for me, I am able to embrace the fact that I will struggle, but I will overcome. I may find a plethora of ways that are not compatible for the solution I'm searching for, however, with patience and perseverance I will find the answer. Thank you for taking the time to read about my role model and taking an interest in my life. Whether or not this door opens for me, I know I will find a lesson and will grow from this opportunity.