Over the past several years there have been many hardships in my life. My parents divorce and remarriages. An abusive stepfather and the court system that followed, leaving home and entering military basic combat training in the spring of 2022 and an assault in my freshman year of college. Each of these events challenging my emotional security and my sense of self. At times I felt aimless, scared and depressed. Many days I felt like I didn't know what to do next, where to turn to, or if I would make it to the next day without falling apart. Throughout all of these very hard times I discovered those who I could turn to. Always first it was my mother. She has always been a strong and steadfast champion for me. She always helps me take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Telling me it is "just a bump in the road, don't let it be a detour" or helping me to take a moment and just breathe when I am upset. Reminding me how strong I am or that I have made it through hard things before. Telling me time and again to "take the long view" or that "you don't learn or grow when times are easy". She reminds me how strong I am mentally and that because I made it through Army Basic Training, there isn't much I can't do. Other times it was good friends who stood by me even when I was a wreck. Whether it was my friends from grade school or my Army battle buddies, they helped me through when I was mentally or physically hurt or just exhausted. They make me laugh or let me cry or just got me a Starbucks when I needed one. They are important to me because we have a shared history or experience we went through together. We challenge each other to be better people or to buckle down and stop whining. Facing hard things forced me to grow up faster than my peers. There are times now, after having joined the military, that the things my friends at home are worried or stressing about seem trivial to me now. I still support them, but try to help them have perspective and as my mom would say, "take the long view". Going through really horrible things made me scared, but showed me that I can use that pain to help others through theirs. Not that I can take ownership for it, but that I have a perspective that may be similar to theirs. Facing hard things has helped me learn to appreciate the foundational people in my life and to stop acting like a child and taking things for granted. It has definitely impacted my relationships in that I am able to analyze people and to see through their behavior sooner than I could before. It has also helped me learn to set boundaries and to be more direct and succinct in my communications with people. I am still a very nice person and have a lot of joy and love to share, but I have learned that you can only share with those who are being real and true. With those who understand the value of friendship and loyalty, hard work and sacrifice. I don't have patience for phony or entitled people or those who are not looking out for others. I only give my time and space with those who are prepared to give as much as they receive. Thank you

I was so fortunate in my early years to have innovative, devoted teachers and parents. These adults began my love of reading and imaginative learning very early. As far back as my memory allows, I remember reading with my parents. They read to us every night and it was never a question if they had time. Both of my parents integrated learning into our every day and teaching all of my animals and dolls was one of the first play activities I can remember. In pre-school, kindergarten and first grade, I had phenomenal teachers who used fun and music as a method to help all of us succeed. They were patient and kind and really cared about me as a person. I plan to be an innovative, creative and caring educator who never forgets how important it is to know each of my students and their family. I realize I can never forget that each child has their own story, their own challenges and their own dreams. It is so important to me to foster a love of learning early and to reinforce it every day in various and fun ways. It is also very important to me to be an educator who helps to inspire caring and apathy in my young students and to really help them understand how to be a productive part of their own educational journey. Lastly, I want to help parents be involved and engaged whenever possible to and to help young parents feel confident in helping their child/children love learning.

Teachers in the early grades lay a foundation for the love of learning that can last a lifetime. They help students learn to grow socially and foundationally in the early grades. Many students have had little to no preparation for school. A dedicated early childhood teacher can help those students become ready to continue on. Early childhood teachers can help to identify learning difficulties or other deficits early enough where assistance intervention can start early and may even bridge the gaps for that young student. Early childhood educators are caring and loving. They intermingle fun and creativity into the lives of the young student while they learn to be a part of a group, how to participate fully in their classroom and with their classmates, and they grow socially as little people. My hearts desire is to be one of those teachers who lay the foundation for young students and stimulate a love of learning in them early. I want to be innovative and creative. It is my personality to be patient and creative. I love to sing and play and work easily with young children. I am organized and love to learn. I can bring all of that to the role of educator for the youngest of our society's people.

I am currently serving. As of March 8th, I began basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. I am serving in the NC Army National Guard. As the child of two veterans who have always made a commitment to service a mantra in our family, military values are just a way of life. I am the daughter of nine generations of American veterans. My enlistment just weeks ago adds me to that rich family tradition in service to our country. My Mother is a Veteran as was my Grandmother. My father, my brother currently serves in the US Marines. Both my Grandfathers, all of my uncles, my aunt, and all of my Great Uncles and Aunts served in the military or married into a military family. The Army Core values of courage, commitment, competence, and candor are genuinely the description I would use for my parents and especially my mother. She is both a USAR and USAF veteran who has led our family by example. She would never let us shirk on our obligations and insisted that we treated our friends, family and any one we met with respect. She always expected us to do our best and would not accept if we wanted to quit a team or an activity after we committed. Never. She expected mental toughness and to always be honest, loyal and have integrity in all we do. She expected us to step up to help and to do what needs to be done even when it was hard or inconvenient. It was never a question whether you help someone. Never a question. My mother has led our family as a single mom of four with absolute courage and selfless service. Military values have influenced my life by providing me a framework for living a worthwhile life. Each of those values are truly the core values that are applicable to all people, not just Americans who serve in the military. I feel that only way to feel truly fulfilled as a person is to be of service to others. Those who serve the needs others, in whatever capacity, are truly the best of us. As I began to look at my goals for my post college career and really focus on them, I realized that the expense of my education would be more than my college savings could bear. It became apparent to me that I should also seriously consider joining the military to both mature and grow as a young person in service to our country, but also to help me pay for both my bachelor’s degree and medical school. My enlistment will also help me to be able to start my life and career in a more solid financial position. Scholarships like this one would help me with my living expenses and allow me to focus on school without having to take out loans or take an additional job above my ANG service. I graduated high school earlier than my peers this December and enlisted early January 2022. I have been admitted to East Carolina University and will start in August 2022 as a biology major. I will be pre-med and want to be a physician. My plan is to carry 15 credit hours per semester as an honors student and the ANG will be my part time job. As part of my college and military experience, I will also be joining the Army ROTC at ECU to help me grow as a leader and as a person.

It is just a bump in the road, not a dead end. This is a mantra my mother says all the time in regards to when I incur a problem that interrupts what I had planned. No matter the seriousness of the issue, there are times when things don't go the way I planned and sometimes those cause me stress. She always says, "remember Jordan, it's only a bump in the road, its not a dead end". She is right. There are times when you need to realistically take a longer view and realize that just because one thing didn't go as planned its not the end of the world and not worth stressing about. Its not a problem, but an opportunity to review what the plan was, what needs to be done now, and form up a new and sometimes better path in the long run. Looking at what an actual speed bump is. It is an opportunity to slow down the speed of your vehicle, take care to watch your surroundings, and be careful to not damage your car. The analogy is pretty clear. When obstacles are incurred, you don't just run off the road. You just have to take a breath or a step back (slow down your speed), look at the big picture, and then navigate the obstacle. Main thing being to keep obstacles in perspective. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill.

People in the rural communities of this country are underserved in healthcare and healthy living. I want to be a connection for my community to bring good quality healthcare and healthy living to my community and teach others to do the same.

My dream looks like completing my bachelors, then med school, then residency in my chosen field. I feel like a Family Practice makes the most sense to me. My desire is the be a practicing physician in a rural part of our country where people are underserved. I want to work in my community as a leader to help create opportunities for people to get out of cycles of poverty and abuse. I will be a member of the military for most of the 8 years of school and training and plan to use that to become a good leader and grow as a person. Plus, it will allow me to start my adult life in my mid 20's without college debt.

Living honestly takes an effort in today's world. Young adults and teens are pulled and pushed so many directions by social media and other influences. Its easy to get sucked into all of that and lose sight of what is real and what is not. I try to steer clear of the latest fads and trends and just do my own thing. Living my best life the best way I can.

Its not all about me. I am the daughter of 9 generations of American Veterans, including both my mother and my father. We have ancestors on both sides of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Our family served in the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korea Conflict (Gold Star family), Vietnam (My grandfather and several uncles), and the Gulf Conflict Desert Shield (my Father), Desert Storm (and uncle and an aunt). Growing up as the child of veterans in military focused family has taught me that this life is bigger than just taking care of myself and that it is important to have a purpose and a focus on the needs of others. Service to others is the greatest thing a person can do.

Generosity comes in many forms. Generosity of spirit. Being a person who is kind and open to others. Someone who considers the needs of others equally with the needs of themselves. Generosity of material goods. Being a person who is willing to give a portion of their material goods to the assistance or betterment of others less fortunate than them. Generous of time. Someone who is willing to give up some of their time to help others. It could be something formal like working at a food pantry or something informal like listening to a person who is upset. Generous friend. A friend who is always there for those they love. Will be with them through hard times and will let them help in times when you need it. That is what generosity means to me.

I have to say that I feel like there is hope for the future as social media platforms and streaming services expose more of America and other people to each other. We see more familiarity with people who are different from us and see them succeeding or can learn about them and have empathy for their situations. Twenty years ago a girl in a small town in the middle of the cornfields of Illinois would have never learned how to do make up from a drag queen or a transgender person. We would not have learned about the different diseases that disfigure babies because of the dirty water the mother drinks from a well that is two miles away. Those are the kinds of things that I feel will give us a bigger heart and greater understanding for others who don't look like us. I know the political climate of all the middle aged white people and mainly men is pretty much about protecting their reality and keeping the status quo. For those of us growing up using these platforms every day, becoming on line friends or gaming with people across the world from us, gives me hope. Hope for the future of our society. For equity and more understanding. I have a lot of hope that the future will be better.

I chose my major of Biology BA because ever since I was a child, I have wanted to become a pediatrician or a family doctor. Growing up as the child of veterans in military focused family has created options for me that most students would not maybe consider. The greatest thing my parents taught me was that this life is bigger than just taking care of myself and that it is important to have a purpose and a focus on the needs of others. Service to others is important. That is my plan. The goal is to leave college with no debt, complete my military obligations, and then to start a family practice based in a rural community much like the town in the middle of Illinois where I was raised. Little farm communities with low populations in most part of the country do not have healthcare that is accessible. It is important to me to be a part of the solution. I have been raised in towns of less than two thousand people my entire life. It is my desire to build a practice in an area where there is little access to care. I want to help my community and especially the women within it to be able to live free of the worries of how they will help their families access the services they need to be healthy. It goes beyond that though. It is important for those who have the education and the means to influence the local and state representatives to put the needs of the people first. To advocate for access to care that is free of barriers and extreme costs for medication or hospital care so that families do not have to choose between paying for food or paying for a doctor’s visit. I am interested in being a woman in science, in medicine specifically, because we can only change the system from within it. We have watched as our politicians have been influenced by the money and power from lobbies of insurance companies and pharmaceuticals. They aren't worried about the people suffering in rural areas or in the inner cities where there is no care. Women and infants are dying and have higher rates of complications because there is no prenatal care. For every woman who dies in childbirth she is leaving an average of two children motherless. Imagine the ripple effect on the lives of those children. One doctor in one town can make a difference. I want to create a network of other small town physicians who support each other and create pathways for people to get care for their families. I want to help recruit other physicians by seeing the value of small towns and encouraging small towns to band together and recruit physicians to stay. Using the same techniques used to bring businesses to small town, we have to bring physicians and other health care providers. The inner cities are communities with these same issues. We have to figure out how to tie networks of people, physicians, and other health providers together to solve the healthcare deserts these communities are experiencing. I am entering into medicine in combination with my military service because it is giving me the knowledge and leadership training I need to be a problem solver, from the inside out and to train others to do the same.

Growing up as the child of veterans in military focused family has created options for me that most students would not maybe consider. The greatest thing my parents taught me was that this life is bigger than just taking care of myself and that it is important to have a purpose and a focus on the needs of others. Service to others is important. That is my plan. The goal is to leave college with no debt, complete my military obligations, and then to start a family practice based in a rural community much like the town in the middle of Illinois where I was raised. Little farm communities with low populations in most part of the country do not have healthcare that is accessible. It is important to me to be a part of the solution. I have been raised in towns of less than two thousand people my entire life. It is my desire to build a practice in an area where there is little access to care. I want to help my community and especially the women within it to be able to live free of the worries of how they will help their families access the services they need to be healthy. It goes beyond that though. It is important for those who have the education and the means to influence the local and state representatives to put the needs of the people first. To advocate for access to care that is free of barriers and extreme costs for medication or hospital care so that families do not have to choose between paying for food or paying for a doctor’s visit. I am interested in being a woman in science, in medicine specifically, because we can only change the system from within it. We have watched as our politicians have been influenced by the money and power from lobbies of insurance companies and pharmaceuticals. They aren't worried about the people suffering in rural areas or in the inner cities where there is no care. Women and infants are dying and have higher rates of complications because there is no prenatal care. For every woman who dies in childbirth she is leaving an average of two children motherless. Imagine the ripple effect on the lives of those children. One doctor in one town can make a difference. I want to create a network of other small town physicians who support each other and create pathways for people to get care for their families. I want to help recruit other physicians by seeing the value of small towns and encouraging small towns to band together and recruit physicians to stay. Using the same techniques used to bring businesses to small town, we have to bring physicians and other health care providers. The inner cities are communities with these same issues. We have to figure out how to tie networks of people, physicians, and other health providers together to solve the healthcare deserts these communities are experiencing. I am entering into medicine and combining that with my military training because it is giving me the knowledge and leadership training I need to be a problem solver, from the inside out and to train others to do the same.

Growing up as the child of veterans in military focused family has created options for me that most students would not maybe consider. The greatest thing my parents taught me was that this life is bigger than just taking care of myself and that it is important to have a purpose and a focus on the needs of others. Service to others is important. My degree in a STEM field will be a step on my way to achieving my purpose. That is my plan. The goal is to leave college with no debt, complete my military obligations, and then to start a family practice based in a rural community much like the town in the middle of Illinois where I was raised. Little farm communities with low populations in most part of the country do not have healthcare that is accessible. It is important to me to be a part of the solution. I have been raised in towns of less than two thousand people my entire life. It is my desire to build a practice in an area where there is little access to care. I want to help my community and especially the women within it to be able to live free of the worries of how they will help their families access the services they need to be healthy. It goes beyond that though. It is important for those who have the education and the means to influence the local and state representatives to put the needs of the people first. To advocate for access to care that is free of barriers and extreme costs for medication or hospital care so that families do not have to choose between paying for food or paying for a doctor’s visit. I am interested in being a woman in science, in medicine specifically, because we can only change the system from within it. We have watched as our politicians have been influenced by the money and power from lobbies of insurance companies and pharmaceuticals. They aren't worried about the people suffering in rural areas or in the inner cities where there is no care. Women and infants are dying and have higher rates of complications because there is no prenatal care. For every woman who dies in childbirth she is leaving an average of two children motherless. Imagine the ripple effect on the lives of those children. One doctor in one town can make a difference. I want to create a network of other small town physicians who support each other and create pathways for people to get care for their families. I want to help recruit other physicians by seeing the value of small towns and encouraging small towns to band together and recruit physicians to stay. Using the same techniques used to bring businesses to small town, we have to bring physicians and other health care providers. The inner cities are communities with these same issues. We have to figure out how to tie networks of people, physicians, and other health providers together to solve the healthcare deserts these communities are experiencing. I am entering into a STEAM field combined with my military training because it is giving me the knowledge and leadership training I need to be a problem solver, from the inside out and to train others to do the same.

I would like to work with developers to create an application that will connect people living in rural and inner city communities to find healthcare and mental health resources near by. This app would allow them to not only find, but schedule appts with and get transportation to those appointments. A lack of access to healthcare in these communities is so impactful to families. Especially to children. Bridging gaps and developing a network of providers and volunteers who will help people in geographic or economic deserts to find the care they need. The app and the network behind it will take a lot of time to develop, but creating a way to help patients monitor their care and remind them of the care they might need for their chronic conditions or mental health check ins, would all help to educate patients on how to care for themselves and their families.

I am a child of divorce, both parents remarried and one divorced again. My Mother adopted two of my step sisters when I was 11 and ended up being a single mom when their father began to take an unhealthy interest in me and was arrested. During that next two years there were many interviews with police, Child Protective services, counselors, and way more attention on me than I wanted. During these last four years, his unhealthy interest has led to stalking and more testimony in court. All very stressful and presented many challenges for me personally. I am also a survivor of sexual abuse by both a family member and another. I barely remember the first, but the second one happened when I was just 13. I hid it for many years from my parents. I felt guilty that it was my fault and if I hadn't been sneaking out it wouldn't have ever happened. It has taken along time for me to give myself grace in this and move past victim to survivor. Over time I have learned that the experiences I have had in my past life and things that have happened to me personally do not define who I am or dictate what my future holds. I am a very strong person and have maintained good grades and family relationships throughout high school. I have learned not to give those who have harmed me and hurt me as a child any space in my head or my life any longer. It is my choice how the next day goes. It is my hard work that will propel me forward. My future depends on me. I have done the work to get to where I am today and I will cherish all of my successes and learning from my mistakes as I become a strong adult.

I have learned that every single person on this earth has struggles in their lives and that we all need others to give us grace as we work through hard times. This has helped me to see how the grace and love of others, even strangers, supported me and my family during times of dramatic events and struggles. I want to never take that for granted. I want to be a person who is always willing to give a hug, to be a shoulder to cry on, or to simply listen intently and let someone vent and destress. This has also helped me see my mother differently. When our family hit hard times, scary times, she put on her armor, put all of us kids on her back and battled through incredible obstacles to keep us safe. Sometimes she was very, very stressed out during this period. Sometimes she was over protective and obsessive about worrying over us. Now that we are a couple of years past it, I have matured enough and learned to give her grace and forgiveness as I come to understand the level of stress and worry she was struggling with. She depended on her friends and some strangers to support her and help her carry that load. Learning to understand that it isn't all about me and that she was grumpy and stressed because she felt scared and alone. We have to forgive people and try to understand that we just don't know what burdens they are carrying. I've learned to give her grace.

I actually love binge watching the Office. That probably isn't a real hobby, but this show as well as other comedies provide me with a distraction and allow me to de-stress. I also love to listen to music. All kinds of music. It is very relaxing for me to sample songs from different genres and eras. From the Beatles to Billie Holiday to REM or Billie Elish, I like to explore and sing to all kinds of music. Physical fitness is my last hobby. As I get ready to enter Army basic training for my Army National Guard enlistment, I am strengthening my body through weight lifting and challenging myself to really dive into my nutrition and treating my body as a gift. Being ready for the rigors of my Army training will help me both mentally and physically succeed.

You cannot feel safe enough to speak your mind if you do not live honestly. I stay committed to accepting and loving myself and who I am. I am able to have bravery in speaking my mind in a healthy and respectful way by living my truth. It is also important to me to create safe spaces and to be an open person who also allows others to speak their mind too. I want to be a person that others can be honest with and not feel the need to be defensive or afraid. I stay committed by believing that a person does not have to be obnoxious or ugly to speak their mind. If you keep a kind heart and understand that we are all working through our own issues and growth, it makes it easier to know that when you do speak your mind you will do so in such a way that is always kind and understanding. I do that because I hope that others will afford me the same.

I have experienced and survived sexual abuse. I am a child of divorce, both parents remarried and one divorced again. My Mother adopted two of my step sisters when I was 11 and ended up being a single mom when their father began to take an unhealthy interest in me and was arrested. During that next two years there were many interviews with police, Child Protective services, counselors, and way more attention on me than I wanted. During these last four years, I've experienced stalking and violations to my order of protection and even more testimony in court. All very stressful and presented many challenges for me personally. Over time and through great care, I have learned that the experiences I have had in my past life and things that have happened to me personally do not define who I am or dictate what my future holds. I am a very strong person and have maintained good grades and family relationships throughout high school. The counsel of experts helped me learn to do that. My Mother and I have worked to build a strong adult relationship and forgive each other for some of the responses we both inflicted upon each other during times of extreme stress and distraction. My father and I have also started to understand each other. My brother has finally become my friend as we have grown up and this is a really big deal as well. All of these relationships provide a foundation that supports me and helps me with my self care. Lastly, proper support has provided me with the skills I need to not give those who have harmed me and hurt me as a child any space in my head or my life any longer. My future depends on me. I have done the work to get to where I am today and I will cherish all of my successes and learn from my mistakes. I want to be an example, especially for other women, who have suffered abuse or a lack of care due to not having access to health care, mental health or counseling professionals. As a physician, I want to support mothers and families in getting the types of help they need and breaking down barriers that prevent them from being able to access good care. One doctor in one town can make a difference. I want to create a network of other small town physicians who support each other and create pathways for people to get care for their families. I want to help recruit other physicians by seeing the value of small towns and encouraging small towns to band together and recruit physicians to stay. Using the same techniques used to bring businesses to small town, we have to bring physicians and other health care providers. We cannot all be specialists in every vein of healthcare, but banded together, we can provide resources for our patients where ever they are. The inner cities are communities with these same issues. We have to figure out how to tie networks of people, physicians, and other health providers together to solve the healthcare deserts these communities are experiencing. I feel like we can replicate our style of networks to these communities as well. I am entering into medicine to be a force for good in small communities. This, combined with my military training will give me the knowledge, experience and leadership training I need to be a community problem solver. Changing the world and devoted to training others to do the same.

A lack of access to mental health services has caused significant increases in untreated mental illness and a lack of resources to treat drug addiction and the homeless. The homeless population often have “disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse disorders…”(Homelessness and Mental Illness). The homeless population has a grown to include more children and families. Untreated mental illness and lack of healthcare leads to more children and teens living on the street. Adding to a cycle of poor health and mental health needs that go untreated. Setting these children up for a cycle of poverty and suffering. In addition, rural towns and those living in the inner city face healthcare deserts in general, but for mental health services these areas aren't just in the desert, but on another planet. These services just do not exist in small towns or inner cities where people do not have access to clinics or practitioners that provide mental healthcare. Fewer numbers of mental health practitioners are coming out of colleges because the field is just not lucrative enough for the level of educational debt or the level of education required. This leads to substandard care from ill trained family practitioners trying to meet the needs of patients with sometimes severe mental illness through medication only without the benefit of counseling of any kind. This leave patients continuing to suffer without any of the life skills needed to deal with stress, anxiety or addiction. It is a viscous cycle. Legislation that requires policies to cover mental health treatment as normal care and universal coverage for patients. Enhanced recruiting efforts including state sponsored tuition grants to encourage students to embark on serving in the mental health field and then changing the compensation providers receive so they stay in it.

Growing up as the child of veterans in military focused family has created options for me that most students would not maybe consider. The greatest thing my parents taught me was that this life is bigger than just taking care of myself and that it is important to have a purpose and a focus on the needs of others. Service to others is important. That is my plan. The goal is to leave college with no debt, complete my military obligations, and then to start a family practice based in a rural community much like the town in the middle of Illinois where I was raised. Little farm communities with low populations in most part of the country do not have healthcare that is accessible. It is important to me to be a part of the solution. I have been raised in towns of less than two thousand people my entire life. It is my desire to build a practice in an area where there is little access to care. I want to help my community and especially the women within it to be able to live free of the worries of how they will help their families access the services they need to be healthy. It goes beyond that though. It is important for those who have the education and the means to influence the local and state representatives to put the needs of the people first. To advocate for access to care that is free of barriers and extreme costs for medication or hospital care so that families do not have to choose between paying for food or paying for a doctor’s visit. I am interested in being a woman in science, in medicine specifically, because we can only change the system from within it. We have watched as our politicians have been influenced by the money and power from lobbies of insurance companies and pharmaceuticals. They aren't worried about the people suffering in rural areas or in the inner cities where there is no care. Women and infants are dying and have higher rates of complications because there is no prenatal care. For every woman who dies in childbirth she is leaving an average of two children motherless. Imagine the ripple effect on the lives of those children. One doctor in one town can make a difference. I want to create a network of other small town physicians who support each other and create pathways for people to get care for their families. I want to help recruit other physicians by seeing the value of small towns and encouraging small towns to band together and recruit physicians to stay. Using the same techniques used to bring businesses to small town, we have to bring physicians and other health care providers. The inner cities are communities with these same issues. We have to figure out how to tie networks of people, physicians, and other health providers together to solve the healthcare deserts these communities are experiencing. I am entering into a STEAM field combined with my military training because it is giving me the advanced knowledge, background in service and leadership training I need to be a problem solver, from the inside out and to train others to do the same.

Do not buy, what you cannot pay for. In other terms, if there is a large purchase you want like a car, or a house or a Prada Bag even; then save up for it. Plan it and do what you need to do to make it happen. Debt brings more debt. Credit cards compound your costs for things you should have saved up for and paid cash. College is also one of those large purchases. You need to plan for it. Save for it. Do the work to secure funding for it. I am now a member of the Army National Guard. They will pay my full tuition for my bachelors and my medical school. the value on that is almost $300,000. They will also pay me to be a guardsman while I go to school and the state I am in the guard with, actually adds a kicker of $300 a month stipend to my pay. In addition, I am joining the AROTC at my university and will begin receiving an additional $300 a month to go to school and participate in leadership building classes. Overall, I will be making $1400 a month salary; plus the $7500 signing bonus; plus the money I will make at Army Training this summer. All of which is setting me up to have my room and board paid for; but also money in the bank as I pursue scholarships for my academics and other topics to further pay my room and board debt. In addition, other scholarships will help me study abroad or do internships overseas which are also in my plan. I have skin in the game. I may come out of college not only with no debt, but with money in the bank. Best advise ever.