I am a big basketball fan. What I like about basketball the most is the athleticism. I am talking mostly about men's basketball. Very few men in the word have the ability to run that fast and jump that high and be extremely coordinated and skilled. Do all that and be usually extremely tall in the process. If you look at various charts that track height, vertical jump, speed, and quickness, these athletes are incredible specimens and are at the top of every chart. For example, I think there are only a few thousand people in the world of 8 billion people that are 7 feet tall. To see a 7 foot tall man in person is a once in a lifetime event for most people. There are at least a couple 7 footers alone on the USA Olympic Team. My favorite player is Kevin Durant. I like his personality and the incredible things he can do with a basketball. The man is 7 foot tall. The man is incredibly mobile and skilled with a basketball. He is quick and can shoot the ball. 20 years ago there was no such thing as a 7 foot player that could dribble the ball up the court like a guard. He can. Plus. Kevin Durant can shoot with the best of them. I saw a video of him making 30 three point shots in a row at a practice session. That is crazy talent. These basketball players are one of a kind people. An extreme rarity. That is what makes them so special. Extremely rare people can do extremely rare feats. That is why it is fun to watch.

I grew up with two golden retrievers “Chloe” and “Gracie”. I also had a 50-gallon fish tank in my room for 12 years. My thoughts on pets are that they are not really pets. I could argue that they are better than family or friends. We lost Chloe at the age of 5. She had throat cancer. Came on suddenly and she passed away within weeks of bringing her to the vet. I never knew how much I could love something. Her passing was so quick and sudden that I was not capable of coping with the situation. At 16 years old, I found out for the first time what real love is and what real pain is. I never realized up to that point how temporary everything is. Chloe taught me to appreciate each day as she did. The unconditional love animals give is amazing. My dogs and even my fish are always happy to see me. No matter what kind of day I am having, they always give. I am generally a hopeful person. I know I get that from them. Every day they give you that boost of positivity and love. That spark of hope they provide daily has kept me going more than once in my life. Ask yourself, where would you be if you had no hope in your life? Today I went for a 5-mile walk with my dog. We walk the road at Superior Point in Superior, Wisconsin. My body feels great after a long walk. My joints and muscles get a workout without it being strenuous. My lungs enjoy all that fresh outdoor air. I also enjoy the smell of pine forest. Those brisk walks clear my mind of all that life stuff I have to do for a couple of hours. Today I saw bald eagles, a pack of ravens, and my dog Gracie chased a fox. I mention this story because I would never go walking 5 miles on my own. Gracie needs to get her exercise and she demands her walk every day. All that fun would not have happened without her. Gracie loves her walks with me. She does wonders for me. I am happy watching her be happy. Speaking of happy, I am amazed at how happy Gracie is every day. I often look at her and wish I could have what she has. Food, sleep, some pets, and a good walk and she is happy all the time. A very happy simple life that makes me think we humans are doing things the wrong way. I try to keep life simple for myself. I learned that from her. My pets bring happiness and hope to my life. When you are filled up with hope and happiness you tend to share it with others. Maybe if everyone had pets the world would be a better place. The death of Chloe made it very difficult to focus on life and school. It was very hard to shake not constantly thinking about her. I have had one grandmother and one grandfather die of cancer. Neither affected me as much as loosing Chloe. My sister has a tumor in her brain right now. She is 31. Not sure if it is cancerous or not yet. It might be because of how fast it has grown. We do not have the results back on this yet.

I sat down with my father and we discussed addiction. My father and I compared notes on our experiences with people we know who have struggled with addiction. My mother has had multiple addictions. Her two brothers also have struggled. Twenty-five years ago my father said addictions came as a result of social pressure. In his youth, he said the standard drinking, smoking, marihuana, chewing tobacco, and maybe some harder drugs would be found at a party. It could be a high school or college gathering. People would bring substances and people would end up trying something you normally wouldn’t. That would be the starting point of many addictions. In today’s world, we agreed that addiction is everywhere. We both concluded that every person suffers from some form of addiction. Try to find someone that doesn’t have at least one daily vice. Believe me, you won’t. If you look, you will find that people are addicted to all kinds of things. The sad part is that society promotes addiction. Addiction is promoted and marketed heavily in this country. Addiction creates a consistent and loyal customer base for many corporations. Drive down the street. Temptation is everywhere. So much so, that people can't refrain from it. On every major road, you will find multiple fast food restaurants, liquor stores, bars, coffee shops, CBD & smoke shops, and gas stations filled with addictive products. Grocery stores are not that much better. 42% of America is obese. Wonder why? Don’t turn on your TV, computer, laptop, phone, game box, or iPad. All those devices suck the life out of people. People spend multiple hours a day addicted to their devices and can’t put them down. I think phones are the worst. People have them in hand from the time they wake up till the time they go to bed. Addiction is promoted in the US. The traditional addictions are frowned upon (drugs etc.), but everything else is fair game. Money is the driving force. The US is all about big business and money. Stress is a major driver of addiction. People have a very difficult time finding solutions to living a secure life. Pressure, stress, and fear cause people to cope as best they can or break (mental health). Drinking or smoking has been used to cope for decades. If you look at our economy, over 20% of our country's GDP is spent on some form of healthcare. That is almost 1 of 4 dollars. I know that the baby boomers are aging, but the people of our country are mentally and physically sick. 20% of GDP, which is 5 trillion dollars a year, is a staggering number. Big business makes money making us sick and other big businesses make money trying to patch us up. If it is not intentional, I don’t believe it. My mother was a smoker and a drinker. She quit and now is addicted to fitness. It sounds like an upgrade in addictions, but it is not. All her time and money goes into it. She was a terrible mother because it always came first and continues to do so. Her health is not the best. She has chronic pain (joints), arthritis, and she has had two hip replacements already. She also needs a new shoulder soon. She is running herself into the ground. She can't stop herself. I see her destroy her body. My attitude is to rebel against the stupidity. I am hyper-focused on doing the opposite. My mindset is anything that costs money, time, and sets you back in some way, I run away from.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with (bullied). In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is essential for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work, for example, keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

I have a laid-back personality. I take things seriously when needed, but I try to enjoy life, laugh, and have a good time. I like things structured. I stick to my routine of school, work, fitness, and sleep. Repeat. I occasionally socialize and let loose a little. I am not a very complicated person and I like to keep things simple. My main interest is athletics. I was a three-sport athlete in high school. I also enjoy trap shooting and snowboarding. I had little time during high school to focus on much else. I never wanted to play college sports. Now, I teach sports at a summer camp. In the winter, I officiate hockey. I try to get to the gym and weight train 3-4 days a week. In terms of values, doing what is right is always the way to go. I can sleep at night and not worry about living this way. I never have to look over my shoulder or try to remember what I said. It seems like every day there are fewer and fewer people that think this way. The truth always works. My passion is to always grow and improve. Go forward not backwards. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am extremely persistent. I am getting better at cutting my losses, but I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. I am majoring in accounting and finance. I found that these two majors came naturally to me right away during freshman year. I took my first accounting course first semester of freshman year. Right away, I was like this subject is for me. I have autism. A major limitation of autism is that some topics are almost impossible to learn. I am good with numbers. Any type of creative subject I fail at. Music or art or anything else in the creative space I can't understand. Autism causes rigidity. The rigidity makes it extremely difficult to being broad or diversified. Being stuck, for lack of a better word, limits my career choices and has effected my ability to form relationships. In life you have to be flexible. Autism is the opposite of that. Even though I understand my condition, it is still very difficult to be adaptive in life. I am not so sure on the question about how my disability effects my beliefs. I will say I believe life is challenging. Empathy is very important. The world is a tough place for all of us.

I have a laid-back personality. I take things seriously when needed, but I try to enjoy life, laugh, and have a good time. I like things structured. I stick to my routine of school, work, fitness, and sleep. Repeat. I occasionally socialize and let loose a little. I am not a very complicated person and I like to keep things simple. My main interest is athletics. I was a three-sport athlete in high school. I also enjoy trap shooting and snowboarding. I had little time during high school to focus on much else. I never wanted to play college sports. Now, I teach sports at a summer camp. In the winter, I officiate hockey. I try to get to the gym and weight train 3-4 days a week. In terms of values, doing what is right is always the way to go. I can sleep at night and not worry about living this way. I never have to look over my shoulder or try to remember what I said. It seems like every day there are fewer and fewer people that think this way. The truth always works. My passion is to always grow and improve. Go forward not backwards. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am extremely persistent. I am getting better at cutting my losses, but I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. College is about $25,000 a year. Every $1 helps. I try very hard to come up with as much funding as possible so that I can focus mostly on my classes. This scholarship and all others give me more time to study. Otherwise, I am working. Every time I get a B, I think to myself, would that have been an A if I had more time? Money gives you time. A very precious commodity in college. I am majoring in accounting and finance. I found that these two majors came naturally to me during freshman year. I took my first accounting course first semester of freshman year. Right away, I was like this subject is for me. I remember not having to study at all during that first class of accounting. It came that naturally to me. I had never taken an accounting class before either. I am not sure how my major is going to tie into the beauty field. As of today, I just got done filling out 60 applications to be a male model. I am told often that I should try modeling. Maybe I end up combining modeling and accounting down the road. My impact is yet to be seen. We will see what happens.

I am for the most part satisfied with my academic and extracurricular success. I was a varsity letterman in three sports in high school. I went to a bigger school. My class size was 350. To play three sports when most students are focusing on one, I feel I had great success. I also fit in snowboarding and league trap shooting during my four years of high school. I wanted a variety of experiences. I never had a goal of playing college athletics. Most of my success came naturally. I never had to put the time into sports like most of my peers. Being 6-2 and 215 lbs. as a freshman in high school made things easier. At this age, I felt success was competing at a high level. My sister was a Division 1 All-American track athlete. My mother was a state champion bodybuilder. My father played Division 3 basketball. The time commitment for me on playing college sports didn't/doesn't make sense. I especially feel all that time on a bus would get to me. Playing or riding the bench either way is a huge time commitment. College is too expensive and academics are too important in my mind. I do enjoy being proficient in many sports and activities. I have turned my proficiencies into income-generating opportunities. I am a hockey official during the fall, winter, and spring. I am a camp counselor in the summer teaching baseball, basketball, hockey, trap shooting, riflery, and archery. I am happy that I diversified my experiences in my youth. I have so many opportunities as a result. Creatively turning my sports abilities into an income stream I feel is being successful. Academics are the most important. The majority of my extended family are teachers. It is expected to do well in school. Athletics are a real short window for almost everybody. I had a 3.5 GPA in high school. I made the honor roll many times. I was so active, as I mentioned earlier, that a 3.5 GPA was about as good as I could do. In college, with more available time to study, my GPA is 3.8. I have more control in college over my schedule. In college, I feel a 3.8 GPA is having a productive and successful college career. What separates me from others is my ability to think outside the box. I am self-employed as a hockey official. The pay is exceptional for being 21, and it is extremely fun. Mileage, lodging, and food are all reimbursed during away games. I am also 100% in control of setting my schedule. What other college kid has that? Camp counseling is another outside-the-box plan I have. I get paid to teach fun all summer long on a beautiful Wisconsin lake for 2.5 months in the summer. Lodging, meals, and access to all the facilities all summer long are included. I also get a nice long fun break from college to recharge. How great is that? I consider myself well-rounded. I am very happy with how things are going. I plan on staying the course of high academics, officiating, and camp counseling for the next two years. Success to me when I finish college is simple. I need to continue to control my own destiny. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. I want independence of my time and I want independence financially. Be my own man. I do not want to work for the man. That is my next goal. That to me is the ultimate success.

My passion for things has changed. I was passionate about athletics in my youth. I had a dream of becoming a professional hockey player. In my later high school years, I was fond of world military history. I thought I would go into teaching. Now that I am in college and adulthood is getting closer, I am interested in coaching. My father was a coach. I asked him one day why he liked to coach. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer, I am working at Heartland Hockey Camps. My father was right. Working with kids is very rewarding. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. I teach hockey, basketball, baseball, archery, and trap shooting at camp. Since I don’t play competitively anymore, coaching is the next best thing. Last summer I was responsible for various groups of boys for 10 weeks (Camp Deerhorn 2023). Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. As you get older, life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids, all they want to do is laugh and have a good time. The kids give back by teaching you how to have fun again. I only have time to devote to coach-like activities is in the summer. I am getting experience so that when I graduate and get my coaching certification, I can start at some of the higher levels. I would like to coach high school athletics. Much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I think that is the best time to make a difference. I also think it is my best place to serve. My family has a long tradition of coaching. I forgot to mention that my grandfather was a high school basketball coach. He coached high school for 20 years in Chicago IL. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. I turn to them often for advice. I want to keep the family tradition going! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSkTgaXKXTM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIkuwam7_DM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hnbX-xcamY

I have a laid-back personality. I take things seriously when needed, but I try to enjoy life, laugh, and have a good time. I like things structured. I stick to my routine of school, work, fitness, and sleep. Repeat. I occasionally socialize and let loose a little. I am not a very complicated person and I like to keep things simple. My main interest is sports. I was a three-sport athlete in high school. I also enjoy trap shooting and snowboarding. I had little time during high school to focus on much else. I never wanted to play college sports. Now, I teach sports at summer camps. This summer I am at Heartland Hockey Camps (2024). In terms of values, doing what is right is always the way to go. I can sleep at night and not worry about living this way. I never have to look over my shoulder or try to remember what I said. It seems like every day there are fewer and fewer people that think this way. The truth always works. My passion is to always grow and improve. Go forward not backwards. I feel I add value to what I am involved with. My most recent accomplishment is that I completed my sophomore year with a 4.0 GPA. Last spring I tutored in the accounting department helping mostly freshman accounting students. I was approached last fall to model for the school. I was on billboards and other marketing material promoting the school. The school picks a handful of students to be ambassadors. It was an honor to be involved. I finished my third summer of camp counseling. I was at Camp Deerhorn for my second summer. I live with, mentor, and coach young boys for 10 weeks at the residential camp. I was at Red Arrow Camp in 2021. In the winter months, I usually officiate hockey at a wide range of levels. I cover youth teams up through high school. That includes girl's hockey and adult league teams. I mentioned earlier that I am a college tutor and college ambassador for my college. I tutor about 2 hours a day 5 days a week. The ambassador role is not an everyday activity. The marketing department at the college calls me for various projects. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am extremely persistent. I am getting better at cutting my losses, but I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. I am one of those students who has to work really hard for my grades. School does not come easy to me. The more time I can spend just on school and not worry about finances the better. I am the type of student that needs to be in the library studying most of the time to be successful.

My father was a coach. I asked him one day why he liked to coach. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer, I am working at Heartland Hockey Camps (2024). My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back. Last summer I was responsible for various groups of boys for 10 weeks (Camp Deerhorn 2023). Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. Much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I think that is the best time to make a difference. It is my best place to serve. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. My involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. Honesty and integrity are a big part of development at these ages. To be a leader, you must first understand what leadership is. Many people like to be in charge or tell people what to do. They like the control or the power. These people are self-serving. That is not leadership. Leaders are selfless and serve the betterment of the group. Leadership is where the success of the group is the goal. Leadership is plural, not singular. Secondly, you have to have the talent to lead. People will not follow you if you do not have the aptitude, required skill set, or communication skills that qualify you to lead. Trust is also a big part of leadership. If people don't trust you, you’re not leading anybody. Leaders are normally picked by the group they are representing. Self-appointed leadership is rarely successful. The group wants to be successful in whatever the goal is. Time, resources, and maybe lives are at risk, so who in the group gives the best chance of success? That is your leader. Leaders are good at facilitating. NO leader knows everything or is good at everything. Talented leaders surround themselves with talented people who are proficient in areas he/she is not. To have the confidence to bring on people better than you at something and listen to them is a sign of real leadership. Overall, when I think of leadership, I see a person that takes charge of getting things done. Their persona is to take action. I also think great leaders are great planners. They have the natural ability to create a structure for accomplishing the task or goal. Great leaders are good teachers. They pass down their wisdom and skill set to others. My father was good at that. I have learned that the best leaders know where they fit in a situation. Checking your ego at the door is also very important.

My father was a coach. I asked him one day why he liked to coach. He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer (2024), I am working at Heartland Hockey Camps. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. Last summer I was responsible for various groups of boys for 10 weeks ( Camp Deerhorn). Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. As you get older, life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids, all they want to do is laugh and have a good time. When you are in their world, the kids give back by teaching you how to have fun again. I get as much as I give. During the fall-spring months, I usually officiate youth- high school boys and girls hockey. I also officiate the local adult leagues. You are interacting with these players all game. There are a ton of life lessons to be learned out on that ice. I enjoy being in the middle of all of it. Right now with college, I only have time to devote to coach-like activities is in the summer. That is why I work at the summer camps. I am getting experience so that when I graduate and get my coaching certification, I can start at some of the higher levels. I would like to coach high school athletics. I think much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I think that is the best time to make a difference. I also think it is my best place to serve. My family has a long tradition of coaching. I forgot to mention, that not just my father, but my grandfather was a high school basketball coach. I think he coached high school for 20 years. He coached at a very large high school in the northwest suburbs of Chicago IL. My goal is to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Superior with a degree in accounting and finance in 2026. When I graduate, I plan on coaching and being a CPA. I think about how much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. I take to heart my father’s comments in the first paragraph. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. It is my turn to make an impact. Video links to my camps are on my profile.

Everything that happens in this world, happens at a cost. You could say everyday is a risk. College in my opinion is where the separation really begins with people. College is a second chance if you screwed up high school. College is the beginning or the start of the end for people. As a student, I see other students falling off the cliff all the time. College is supposed to be a stepping stone into adulthood. You are out of the house making decisions without Mom or Dad around. You still have a lot of structure in your day with school, but there is no one to monitor you. This is the time to practice making good decisions. Getting up and going to class on time, not eating pizza every night, not partying all the time, watching your money, and any other responsible decisions are to be learned now. The dropout rate freshman year for public colleges and universities is 50%. Wonder why? For starters, I think the parents must just pay the bills. That works for now, but what do you do in a few years when you graduate and are on your own? Most students dabble in all kinds of money-wasting daily activities. It could be that daily stop at Starbucks for coffee, eating out at lunch every day, fast food 3-4 times a week, the list is endless. I am not going to get too specific on the math, but it looks like wasting $10,000-$20,000 a year net after taxes is easy to do. That is why nobody has any money. That is one reason college kids have so much debt. Then they wake up one day after graduation and wonder why they have to make a $ 1,000-a-month student loan payment for the next 30 years. I think people get confused about the differences between wants and needs. There are students that don't know the difference. Maybe it is a lack of self-control. Maybe it is an addictive behavior close to gambling. I do know it creates a hard life to live. Students also enroll in various colleges and universities without thinking. I want to go to this school, my friends go there, my father went there, it is a family tradition to go there, and being a big fan of the college sports program is not being responsible when choosing a college. People never look at the numbers (cost$). Four years later and your in debt up to your neck. In the last couple of years, inflation has put a strain on finances. The last couple of years have been an eye-opener for those who don’t know or understand finances. The cost of almost everything has risen. I believe that the current inflation situation is going to educate a great number of people in one way or another. Every situation is different. Maybe your parents will help. Maybe your grandparents will help. Maybe your career choice has a program for paying for school. I would think in most cases, if you have a large debt load, other purchases and fun are going to have to wait till the debt load becomes more manageable. Could be decades away! I believe in today’s culture that school debt is a major factor in when people get married or if they even get married. A personal story with me is my sister. She has about $70,000 in student debt. That does include a master's degree. I am aware that her current boyfriend is struggling with her debt obligation. I think it is a big factor in him not marrying my sister yet. It might seem shallow, but it is a reality. He had the guts to ask me about it one time. He wanted to verify the situation with me. That is a big chunk of money for a 20-something-year-old person to want to take on. I don’t blame the guy for having a problem with the issue. Life isn’t fair. Deal with it. If your friends get to go to a 4-year university and you don’t right away, so be it. Do what works, not what you emotionally want to do. This essay I focused mostly on finances. I think that is the most common issue. I have seen other reasons of friends of mine falling off the wagon. Getting girls pregnant, drinking and partying too much, for some reason can't get to class, are the most common. I do think it is important to keep your sanity. I see students trying to balance too much. Taking on multiple part-time jobs and school is a recipe for a mental and physical crash. Pushing yourself in this manner is not sustainable long term. The goal is to graduate, not to burn out. The planning has to start before college. I think many students and parents have a hard time getting through the middle school and high school years. Those years are really busy and planning ahead can be difficult. It was for me. I think people make decisions without spending the time needed to make a good college choice.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is essential for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work, for example, keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. I believe that balance at all times is what is important. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

I have a laid-back personality. I take things seriously when needed, but I try to enjoy life, laugh, and have a good time. I like things structured. I stick to my routine of school, work, fitness, and sleep. Repeat. I occasionally socialize and let loose a little. I am not a very complicated person and I like to keep things simple. My main interest is sports. I was a three-sport athlete in high school. I had little time during high school to focus on much else. I never wanted to play college sports. Now, I teach sports at a summer camp. In the winter, I officiate hockey. I try to get to the gym and weight train 3-4 days a week. In terms of values, doing what is right is always the way to go. I can sleep at night and not worry about living this way. I never have to look over my shoulder or try to remember what I said. It seems like every day there are fewer and fewer people that think this way. The truth always works. My passion is to always grow and improve. My most recent accomplishment is that I completed my sophomore year with a 4.0 GPA. Last fall I felt good about being named a Coca-Cola scholar. Being asked by the accounting department chair to tutor was a big deal for me. I was approached last fall to model for the school. I was on billboards and other marketing material promoting the school. The school picks a handful of students to be ambassadors. It was an honor to be involved. This summer will be my 4th summer of camp counseling. I will be at Heartland Hockey Camps June 2024. I live with, mentor, and coach young boys for 8 weeks at the residential camp. I was at Camp Deerhorn in 2022 & 2023. I was at Red Arrow Camp in 2021. In the winter months, I usually officiate hockey. I cover youth teams up through high school. That includes girl's hockey and adult league teams. I mentioned earlier that I am a college tutor and college ambassador for my college. I tutor about 2 hours a day 5 days a week. The ambassador role is not an everyday activity. The marketing department at the college calls me for various projects. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. So, I am extremely persistent. I am getting better at cutting my losses, but I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. I am applying for scholarships for fall 2024. I am trying to secure funding for next semester.

I have a laid-back personality. I take things seriously when needed, but I try to enjoy life, laugh, and have a good time. I like things structured. I stick to my routine of school, work, fitness, and sleep. Repeat. I occasionally socialize and let loose a little. I am not a very complicated person and I like to keep things simple. In terms of values, doing what is right is always the way to go. I can sleep at night and not worry about living this way. I never have to look over my shoulder or try to remember what I said. It seems like every day there are fewer and fewer people that think this way. The truth always works. My passion is to always grow and improve. Go forward not backwards. I am attending the University of Wisconsin Superior. I plan to complete my 4-year degree in 2026. I also plan on picking up a finance degree at UWS by 2026. My current GPA is 3.87. This scholarship will help me gain more time. The more my finances at school are covered, the more I can just focus on my classes. My main interest in accounting stems from the fact that everything that happens in this world happens at a cost. Financial responsibility is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. I couldn't see myself pursuing any other field. I want to know what is going on. My father is a financial executive. He has been telling me real-life financial disaster stories for years. Making money is one thing. Hanging on to your money is another. In his dealings with client finances, he told me that people do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. He said people are unconscious in their spending. As a student, I see students living this way all the time. I can't do that to myself. I am slightly autistic. My favorite actor is Ben Affleck. He played an autistic accountant in the movie The Accountant. The movie did a good job of touching on some of the characteristics of autism. I am very good with numbers just like he portrays in the movie. When I took my first accounting class in college, I found the subject to be a natural fit. All accounting classes are by far my easiest courses in college. I related well to the movie and the character Ben played. I have to say the movie inspired me to be an accountant. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s tavern business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. He is excited for me to be a part of the business. I am excited also. The system would collapse quickly without accountants. Public trust and business legitimacy are reliant on accurate accounting.

I try my best to support my school. I get involved with as many events as possible. Last fall, I was a student ambassador. My role was to help promote the college. I was on billboards and other marketing and media material promoting the school. This past spring semester, I have been very active in being a student tutor. I tutor in the accounting lab. It was an honor that the department chair asked me to fill this role. My community involvement comes from my father. He coached for many years. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This is my 4th summer, I will be working at Heartland Hockey Camps starting June 10th. My father was right. Working with kids is very rewarding. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. I try my best to give something back. This past summer (2023), I was responsible for various age groups of boys for 10 weeks. I teach basketball, baseball, hockey, swimming, trap shooting, sailing, and archery. I also live with these boys all summer. Usually, it is eight boys and two counselors to a cabin. I mentor these boys all summer. I have to make sure they are getting along, they keep proper hygiene, the cabin is kept clean, and the big responsibility is to keep them safe. Much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I think that is the best time to make a difference. It is my best place to serve. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great role models. My involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. Honesty and integrity are a big part of development at these ages. I am proficient in many sports and activities. In many of the activities I teach, I had varsity experience playing in high school. I am also lifeguard and CPR certified. Counseling has allowed me to teach young boys all these sports. Giving back is important. I like how I turned out. I couldn’t have done it alone. From playing three varsity sports, counseling, and being raised by a coach, I have learned that the best way for me to get involved is by mentoring kids. I plan on coaching high school sports in the future. My father and grandfather both coached at that level for many years. The young people are the future. They have the time and the energy to make a difference. I was taught this and I agree with the philosophy. A couple quick 1-3 minute videos of how I spend my summers. Check out my profile. https://youtu.be/JSkTgaXKXTM https://youtu.be/rIkuwam7_DM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hnbX-xcamY

I have seen and done much so far in my life. So far so good as they say. There is one big item however on my list. I want to travel Europe. I am a huge history buff. I have read 43 books on the wars in Europe. I want to go and check out and see all the places where all the various events happened. I spend my summers away from home. I was at Red Arrow Camp in 2021. In 2022 & 2023 I worked at Camp Deerhorn. This summer ( 2024) I am at Heartland Hockey Camps. Every camp is in a different location/state, different people, different environments/cultures, and is always a brand new experience. I forgot I was also at Minnesota Hockey Camps in 2019 What I like about summer is all the people I meet. People come from all over the United States and other countries to attend or work at summer camps. When I was at Red Arrow, I met many people from Mexico and Ireland. Camp Deerhorn had a number of Mexicans and people from Spain. When I was at Minnesota hockey camps I met a group of Russians. All the camps have people from many of the 50 states. Educationally I have moved around also. I went to an out-of-district grade school, then a private middle school, then back to my in-district high school. In college, I went to the local community college for 2 years. Now I am at a state university in another state for 2 years, and then I am off to a third school for my masters in 2026. When I graduate from college, I am going to be working at the family tavern. It is a seasonal establishment in a touristy town of Hayward Wisconsin. My main goal is to work for about 9 months and during the slow winter months travel. The plan is to buy a place in Puerto Rico. My uncle already has a place there. I envision traveling for a month or so right away when we close the tavern down for the winter. Then head to Puerto Rico for a few months. Once spring rolls around again, I will head back to Hayward. I plan on doing this cycle for hopefully the rest of my life. My father, ever since I was little, had me try new things. Almost every day we did at least one thing different. The best example is that during covid we drove around and checked out every town, state park, restaurant, and lake within 1.5 hours of our house. Whatever a town had to offer we went there and did it. I had a ton of fun during covid. I don't think most people can say that. As you can see I have the travel bug. My brain is trained wanting new experiences. Growth just happens because everything you see and do is new. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, like a stimulus overload of the brain. Exposure to all the different things the world has to offer naturally causes personal growth and development. That is what seeing and doing new things does. Travel is probably my favorite thing to do. I don't think you are ever the same after a new experience. My life so far at 21 has been eventful. I have enjoyed my life. Every new adventure, whether it be big or small, is fun.

There are all kinds of environmental challenges. California is experiencing extreme flooding. Usually every year it looks like California is going to burn to the ground with all the forest fires. California has had 18 of its 20 biggest and worst fires since the year 2000. 12 of the 20 worst fires have happened in the last 7 years. Extreme weather is noticeable. The biggest environmental challenge is people ( 8 Billion). I find it crazy that people don't get this. I also find it crazy that the people concerned about climate change are not addressing the main issue. We pretend and focus our efforts on electric cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, shopping at the co-op, or some other technological advancement. All of this helps, but none of it addresses the elephant in the room. US! WE ARE “The Human Plague” or” The Human Infestation Problem.” This is the core problem that no one wants to talk about. 200 years ago, the population of the world was 1 billion. 200 years later, we are at 8 billion. We have 8 billion people who need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? The answer is None. Nothing comes close. If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s ok. A plague is how we would describe the situation. Since we are the plague, it is ok. The topic is never brought up. Most/ All of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. Of course, even a lower number than that is always better. How do people or the governments of this world have the conversation that there are 7 billion people who need to somehow vanish from the planet? No one is getting elected or re-elected bringing this topic up. The more people there are, the harder humans are on the planet. People can just pump out kids. We deal with it as we go. All kinds of children need quality education, food, healthcare, housing, and proper raising. All of that takes resources. The more resources needed and consumed causes massive pressure on our world. Our society is built needing more people working and paying taxes to support the older people collecting Social Security and Medicare. That model only works if there are constantly more people. Our whole infrastructure is built to increase environmental harm. I believe most people don’t realize this. The fact that population control is not even mentioned, is a clear sign nothing will change. I have read that in the not-so-far-off future, we are going to add another 2 billion people to the planet. All the electric cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, and shopping at the co-op, isn’t going to matter. We all need to have less children. I plan on only having one child. We also have to deal with allowing people to live so long. That is another topic.

Overcoming the obstacles of a disability in my situation has been a lifelong challenge. At age 21, I am not sure that I will ever not have problems. It is more of an acceptance of how things are. Autism affects people in so many ways. I am diagnosed as being high functioning on the spectrum. I feel very fortunate for the life I have had so far. Autism has been a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Explaining how ASD has affected my education goals I am finding hard to put into words. Unless you have been Autistic, communicating the challenges and difficulties we with the condition face has been really hard to explain to people. In my particular situation I see my brain as having very high peaks and very low valleys with absolutely no flat or even ground anywhere in between. I have a mind that consists of extremes with no moderation. I am either very exceptional at something or very deficient at something. I am not average at anything. I am just guessing here, but I think most people have that skill of being sufficient at a lot of different things. When it comes to education, this template of extremes I have works extremely well in some cases and is a disaster in others. My whole academic career I have been exceptional at subjects that are very predictable, measurable, or factual. I have been told that my condition makes my brain see things in a very black or white manner and never gray. Subjects such as math, science, history, business, accounting, I excel at. Working with facts, formulas, and data my mind processes well. Subjects that are more artistic and creative like art or music I have very low ability to grasp the concepts and succeed. I goggled the definition of an artistic person. An artistic personality type uses their hands and mind to create new things. They appreciate beauty, unstructured activities and variety. They enjoy interesting and unusual people, sights, textures and sounds. These individuals prefer to work in unstructured situations and use their creativity and imagination. Not one word in this description describes me. Basically, being creative I can't do. I try to dabble into new things, that is how I work on my disability. I have to force myself to try something new . Most people might consider that fun. I find it very hard to do. I mostly focus on my strengths. I especially do so in my education. That is why I am majoring in accounting and finance. I will be completing my 3nd year of college in May. My goal is to take over my uncle's bar. It is a seasonal establishment. I will operate my own accounting business during the other months of the year. Should keep me busy. The bar is on a lake in a very touristy area. My uncle would not take me on without me getting higher education in finance and accounting. If you look up the college graduation rates for autistic students, it falls around 7%. That is allowing for a 6 year window to complete a 4 year degree. That is also only considering that almost 70% of autistic high school graduates don't go to college. There is a large percentage of autistic students that don't finish high school either. I am beating massive odds. I believe that makes me a great candidate to win this scholarship My motivation is simple. Everyone really thinks I can't be successful. I have a chip on my shoulder to prove all the doubters wrong!

It started the summer before my junior year of high school. I took a job at a summer hockey camp called Minnesota Hockey Camps. Herb Brooks started the camp (1980 Olympic Coach). It was an honor as a hockey player to get the chance to work and participate at one of the most famous and recognized camps in the country. I told my high school hockey coach about the opportunity before I left. He didn’t say much. No coach could say no to going to the most recognized camp in Minnesota and US. I came back from camp and dominated. I expected the coach to be happy and excited about my development. It didn’t turn out that way. I played for one of the top hockey schools in the state of Minnesota for a coach that thinks he’s a legend. He runs his own camp in the summer. I didn’t realize he was embarrassed and felt threatened by Minnesota Hockey Camps and me. He did not want all his players to start going to a different camp. He didn’t want to lose all his summer camp money. So what happens? The head coach starts to bully me and not play me and messes with my head. At first, I thought he was just pushing me. Then I realized the situation I was in. He couldn’t let me succeed, because all the parents that write the checks would know that his summer camp is worthless. So he doesn’t play me as an example to players and parents that if you do not spend your money with him, you won’t play. The hockey coach is the longest-serving high school hockey coach in Minnesota with 37 years. He needs 1 more win and he is the all-time win leader. The whole state of Minnesota knows this coach. What are the odds of an 18-year-old player taking this coach down? I didn’t care what the odds were. I was set on getting him fired. He mistreated me and many other players over the years. Mental abuse, physical abuse, and misappropriation of funds with the hockey booster club associated with the team were all common issues. No one had the guts to stand up to this guy. I did. We (my family) went through all the normal channels and got nowhere. Even at the district and school board levels, very little help was received. I am an accounting major. I finally looked into the 990 EZ tax filing for the hockey program. I found that the program had not filed taxes for almost a decade. I finally found an angle that forced him out and now he is being investigated by the law. I am glad that current and future young players are spared what I went through. What football is to Texas and what basketball is to Indiana, hockey is the sport of Minnesota. There have been parents and players for decades that have been trying to get this coach removed. The odds of success were almost zero. 37 years of coaching, coach's hall of fame, and only 1 win from the all-time win record are hard to topple. This whole story should make national news. There are 12 recent articles. Google East End Hockey Booster Club. The MN AG, IRS, BCA FBI, and three newspapers are active or know about the case. This story could be comparable to other scandalous sports stories like Bob Knight at Indiana or Joe Paterno at Penn State. There are many ways to lead. One way is to take charge and solve issues. That's ME!

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is essential for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work, for example, keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. My profile on Bold gives a good summary about me. I would probably add about myself is that I have extremely high standards on who I surround myself with. My circle is small. I look for people who are givers and stay away from the takers. That is why my circle is small. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

I am not going to fill the shoes or accomplish what John Young has done. He is an American Hero. They write books and direct movies on guys like that. I an not in his league. I am pursuing a degrees in accounting and finance. After college, I will be a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My goal is to buy the business from him when he is ready to retire. The business is in a touristy town in Wisconsin on a lake. The summer months are really busy. The town swells from 2,500 people to 30,000 people in the spring and summer months. His goal is to work 6 months a year at the bar during the summer and spend 6 months a year in Puerto Rico. I plan on following in his footsteps. I will be working year-round hopefully for just a couple of years. My goal is to generate enough business during the busy summer months so that I can close down for the winter. I would like to join my uncle in Puerto Rico during the winter. Working 8 months on and taking 4 months off is a dream. Having fun and sun at the bar on the lake in the summer, and having fun and sun on the ocean in Puerto Rico during the winter, sounds like a plan. I am excited for my future. My finance and accounting degrees are going to be put to work in the business. My job is to make the business as profitable and streamlined as possible. There are multiple revenue streams in the bar business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. I will also handle payroll, taxes, billing, ordering, and theft control. The main advantage of our establishment is the lake, and half the facility is screened with a huge gas fireplace. People can sit inside and feel like they are outside without any bugs. We have two huge garage doors that roll up and down that face the lake. Having fun inside with the feel of being outside is what separates us from the competition. The internet should be extremely helpful as a marketing tool for the business. The Internet is a focal point for gaining new customers. In the bar business, you have to demonstrate that your establishment is fun and the place to be. It is critical to be a main attraction, especially in a touristy town. People want to go to the hot spots. Our establishment needs to continue to promote that our business is a destination for people. I am also interested in coaching athletics after college. The flexibility of being self-employed should allow me to pursue that also. I hope my plans come to fruition. I think I would have a happy life. My father and grandfather coached forever. Coaching is the real goal. Accounting and finance will give me the opportunity to coach.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress causes people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart when they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living extra hard . After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is essential for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. I have a mental health club at school that I am involved with. We work together to support one another. We also talk about best practices and share information. Balance at all times is the key. I coach and mentor currently and plan to continue to do so after graduation.

My life goal is to be the best version of myself and reach my potential. Every day I focus on my mental, physical, and financial growth and well-being. There are other areas that I focus on, but these three are crucial. My academic goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting in 2024. I am now enrolled at the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in 2026. I did get my first 4.0 GPA last year 2022-2023. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the summer and spend winters in Puerto Rico. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. It sounds like an incredible opportunity. My father coached for many years. He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school (2021), I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. For the past two summers, I have been working at Camp Deerhorn in Wisconsin. My father was right. Working with kids is very rewarding. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. This summer will be my 4th summer working with young boys as a camp counselor. Every kid grows and develops by the end of summer. They all go home better than when I get them. I live with and mentor these boys all summer. We eat and sleep together. Eight boys and two counselors to a cabin. I have to make sure they are getting along, they keep proper hygiene, the cabin is kept clean and organized, and the big responsibility is to keep my guys safe. Working with kids is the best for me to serve. I am directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great mentors. Encourage kids when they are young, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best versions of themselves. My father and grandfather coached for decades. I want to follow in their footsteps. Working at the bar will provide the time flexibility needed to coach. My core value is to give of myself to others. Accounting is a natural fit and owning my own business is a dream.

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota. It is a great town to grow up in. Nature is only minutes away, and you have the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior at your fingertips. I have had a great life. I am generally a happy person and easygoing. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed. During down or off time, I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. A big part of my personality is my wanting to grow as a person. My favorite combination is learning something, a financial benefit, and having fun all wrapped together. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am extremely persistent. I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. My life goal is to be the best version of myself and reach my potential. Every day I focus on my mental, physical, and financial growth and well-being. My academic goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and finance in 2024. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in 2026. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My job is to keep him semi-retired. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. I would like to mention that my father and grandfather coached basketball for decades. I would like to follow in their footsteps. Working at the bar will provide the time flexibility needed to coach. I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. Most of my challenges in life stem from being autistic. I have many of the standard emotional and social deficiencies associated with the condition. In the early 2000s, the odds of autism at birth were 1/150. At that time I would say a rare condition. In today’s world, the odds of developing autism at birth are 1/44. Only 35% of autistic students attempt to attend college after 6 years of graduating high school. Fewer than 20% of those college students with autism will graduate. That means out of 100 students with autism less than 7 graduate from college (7%). I am in my 6th semester of college with a 3.9 GPA. If you count all the autistic kids that don’t graduate high school, that 7% number is most likely 1% or less. My persistence and not following the crowd personality were developed out of necessity. To get where I am today, I needed to adapt to my condition. My dream and goal is to be self-employed. My condition always made me a loner. Everyone has to find their niche.

I want to say that all learning isn’t necessarily good. People spend time, money, and energy learning things that can be negative. I have friends who have learned to be excellent video game players. The entertainment factor might be high, but the benefit does not look to be measurable in any way. If there is some benefit, it is not presenting itself. I suppose if some of my friends go into business developing gaming software, their expertise could be put to use. Learning as a whole is a benefit. I compare it to what healthy eating and exercise does for the body. Eating healthy and taking care of yourself physically can result in a long physically positive life. I think learning does that for the mind. The brain needs to stay healthy. Growth mentally keeps the brain strong and in shape. A lack of mental growth I believe leads to a decline in mental fitness. When I was little, my father read to me every night. As a result, I have a daily habit of reading. My brain is trained to read. The topics change. When I was young, I read mostly comedy through comic strip books. My favorite was Calvin and Hobbs. As I got a bit older, my interests turned to more sports-related topics. By late high school, I was well ready in world history. Now I focus primarily on financial reads. I am really interested in business and finance. I am sure my interest in learning won’t wane. It is a part of who I am. What I like the most about learning is it is usually never boring. The brain enjoys new positive stimuli. I think the brain craves it. The people who don’t experience positive mental growth tend to have higher levels of anger and unhappiness. Mad at everybody and mad at the world. Educated people seem to have way fewer of those issues. I think what can happen is that people get to a comfortable place and want to stay there. The world keeps moving forward and eventually, that comfortable place vanishes. People are then thrust into a forced and panicked type situation for growth. Adapting and learning under extreme pressure can be very painful. A gradual consistent pace is easier. I think lifelong learning is a must. The world is always changing. Not being able to grow and change with the world will most likely negatively affect you. Learn and you will grow and prosper. Deciding to not grow will cause pain and suffering. I think it is as simple as that. So, my goal is to always grow.

Before I take a job, I try to put as much thought into whether the position is a good fit for me. I think many people just fall into something. A big part of my personality is my wanting to grow as a person. My favorite combination is learning something, a financial benefit, and having fun all wrapped together. My involvement in camp counseling and officiating does accomplish that. The scholarship hunting works because it is on my own schedule. Tutoring is just convenient because I am at school already. I work with young kids year-round. I leave on June 3rd for my third summer of camp counseling. I am at Camp Deerhorn for my second summer. I live with, mentor, and coach young boys for 10 weeks at the residential camp. I attached a few short links. I was at Red Arrow Camp in 2021. This is hardly considered work. It really is a paid vacation for me. I spend 10 weeks on a lake teaching sports. I teach basketball, baseball, hockey, trap shooting, and archery. I get my fair share of waterskiing, sailing, and all the other lake activities in also. When I get back home after a long summer, I am recharged about going back to school. I think that is a big reason my GPA is high. In the winter months, I officiate hockey. I officiate a wide range of levels. I cover youth teams up through high school. That includes girl's hockey and adult league teams. I am considering moving up to officiate the levels above high school. Jr. hockey and college hockey are the next levels up. I am a self-employed official. I set my own hours and I pick the games I want to officiate. It is a great college job. The main downside are the coaches and parents. They can get out of hand yelling and screaming at the officials at times. I usually just work weekends officiating. At school, I am a college tutor and college ambassador. I tutor about 2 hours a day 5 days a week. I am already at school. I might as well make a few bucks while I am there. The tutoring job covers all my daily expenses like gas and food. The ambassador role is not an everyday activity. The marketing department at the college calls me for various projects. The school uses my image for billboards and other marketing they do on social media. I try really hard to strategize on how I spend my time. I see so many of my peers just grab anything (job). Then they complain about how much they don’t like what they're doing. School is hard enough as it is. To complicate things by working a job you hate while going to school is crazy. I would burn out. I think that is a main reason students burn out and then drop out of college. The scholarship hunting I have mixed thoughts on. I like that it is on my own time. I don’t like that I can’t predict the results. I apply early in the morning so it won’t interfere with the rest of my day. I shoot for one to two applications a day. For me, it is important to not have my college jobs effect my grades. Time for school is the most important priority. Nothing I am doing directly compliments my career choice. I do think employers will see I planned things well balancing school and work. Good decision making is a valuable skill.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Look at everything else in America. 70% or more of Americans are obese or overweight. We try to solve the problem with a drug, weight loss program, etc. We don’t address the fact that bad food is nearly impossible to avoid in this country. Make money on the junk food. Make money on trying to get the weight off. We repeat this cycle in many other parts of our culture. Mental health is no different. I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with ( I was bullied by my high school hockey coach). In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the potential danger I was in. I ended up in counseling Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is essential for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Constantly self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. I try as best I can to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. I do believe educating people about mental health is the best response. When we are young we learn about physical dangers. There is no emphasis on mental dangers. Why not learn about mental health at the same time.

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota. It is a great town to grow up in. Nature is only minutes away, and you have the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior at your fingertips. I am generally a happy person and easygoing. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed. During down or off time, I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. A big part of my personality is my wanting to grow as a person. My favorite combination is learning something, a financial benefit, and having fun all wrapped together. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am extremely persistent. I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. Persistence is necessary when you have autism I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. I am not in the crowd because of autism anyway. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. Being self-employed I think is best for me with my condition. I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. Most of my challenges in life stem from being autistic. I have many of the standard emotional and social deficiencies associated with the condition. In the early 2000s, the odds of autism at birth were 1/150. At that time I would say a rare condition. In today’s world, the odds of developing autism at birth are 1/44. They are misdiagnosing girls. They think the numbers are even higher, like 1/25. Only 35% of autistic students attempt to attend college after 6 years of graduating high school. Fewer than 20% of those college students with autism will graduate. That means out of 100 students with autism less than 7 graduate from college (7%). I am in my 6th semester of college with a 3.9 GPA. If you count all the autistic kids that don’t graduate high school, that 7% number is most likely 1% or less. Education is everything. The odds are bad to graduate, I want to be the exception. Autism have been difficult. I don't have many friends. I used to have sensitivities to food. A very common thing with autism. School has been difficult all the way through. I did not pass most of my years in school without massive help. My persistence and not following the crowd personality were developed out of necessity. To get where I am today, I needed to adapt to my condition. My dream and goal is to be self-employed. My condition always made me a loner. Everyone has to find their niche.

College has many pitfalls that can affect students’ health and wellness. Many students go from an active lifestyle in high school to a mostly sitting lifestyle studying in college. The basic course load in college is much higher. You have to study more, so you sit more. Less activity is going to put on weight for most students. Being away from home is a big problem for many students. The freedom to make choices without the structure of home life or supervision is a hard transition for many students. No one is there to say you can’t eat pizza every night. Even the on-campus meal plans that everyone signs up for freshman year, have no limits on the amount you can eat. Peer pressure plays a role. It is no secret that college is a place to drink alcohol. Some of the stress and taxing nature of college causes students to binge drink to escape the pressure. A large part of college is socializing. Alcohol is a major part of the socializing culture. Alcohol, even in moderate consumption, is caloric. Many students socialize on multiple weekend nights. Those calories add up. Being young and naïve plays the biggest role. There are many students who prior to college never even thought about putting on weight. They have been young and skinny all their lives. Young with high hormones keeps the weight off. Poor diet, no activity, and partying are now having an impact. Learning about calories for the first time in the college environment is not the best place to learn. It would be best to be prepped before entering college, not during. I thank my mom for preparing me. Genetics plays a role in all of this. We all know people who put on weight easily and others that can eat whatever they want. I carry more muscle than most, which is great now, but I am prone to be heavy in later years if I am not careful. My mother was Mrs. Minnesota, Mrs. Gopher State, and was Mrs. Midwest Grand Prix in women's bodybuilding. I should mention my mother owns her own training facility. She personal trains clients and athletes all day long. I have become educated in the health and fitness field due to her. Ever since middle school, I have always been the biggest and strongest guy. I owe it to the education and lifestyle my mother instilled. Weight issues, struggling with health, appearance issues, and confidence problems I don’t have thanks to her. What goes in your mouth is of the utmost importance. It is extremely hard to exercise those calories away. Stay away as best you can from sugar, fast food, bread, pasta, and deep-fried foods. Protein is important. It is what builds muscle and it keeps you satisfied much longer than other foods. Exercise and eat well. You have to have the discipline to participate only occasionally in all the temptations college life provides. At school, I see kids adding calories all the time. They hit the food court and the vending machines constantly. I always see my peers carrying around high-caloric drinks. I guarantee they don’t just drink one a day. Awareness is key. People put on weight because they don’t pay attention to what goes in their mouths. Creating awareness will hopefully start a new habit of accountability. Being alive for 70 or 80 years is a long time. If you don’t pay attention you could gain weight every one of those years. Watching your weight for most people is a lifetime endeavor. No problem for me thanks to my mom.

My family is from a very rural area. The closest big grocery store is 40 miles away to give you an idea of what I mean by rural. My father’s graduating class from high school was under 20. Currently, I have heard graduating classes have been under 10. The school draws from a radius of about 30 miles. That is about as rural as it gets. I mention this because when you live out in the woods, you have to be resourceful. Most everyone I know hunts, raises their own fruits- vegetables, heats with wood or propane, and raises or trades for meat. Trading is a social part of living out in the country. We have a well. We usually use rainwater off the roof for supplemental irrigation on outdoor gardens and other planted shrubs and trees. We have a very large berry patch and 6 apple trees that need water when it gets dry in August. We heat 100% with wood. Most garbage except some recyclables ( metal and plastic) ends up in the wood furnace. Food scraps go to the animals or into compost. So you can see sustainability is a full-time job out in the country. You can't just run into town every day when town is 40 miles away. There is no mail service out our way either. We drive to get our mail at the closest US Post Office. I think my carbon footprint is as small as it gets. The world population needs to reduce its carbon footprint. Humans are the carbon problem. The problem is there are too many people. This is the core problem that no one wants to talk about. In the 1800s the population of the world was 1 billion. 200 years later we are at 8 billion. Eight billion people that need resources (carbon) to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? The answer is None. Nothing comes close. If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s ok. A plague is how we would describe the situation. Since we are the plague it is ok. The topic is never brought up. Most of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. Of course, even a lower number than that is always better. How do people or the governments of this world have the conversation that there are 7 billion people who need to somehow vanish from the planet? No one is getting elected or re-elected bringing this topic up. The more people there are, the more carbon produced. All the electric cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, and shopping at the co-op, isn’t going to matter. We talk about sustainability. How is our system of always adding more people sustainable? Our world has no plan for our numbers. People just pump out kids. We deal with it as we go. Population control is not ever mentioned is a clear sign nothing will change. I have read that in the not-so-far-off future, we are going to add another 2 billion people to the planet. How is that going to slow down the human carbon footprint? Things will get worse as we add more mouths to feed.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is essential for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work, for example, keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

I have seen and done much so far in my life. So far so good as they say. There is one big item however on my list. I want to travel Europe. I am a huge history buff. I have read 43 books on the wars in Europe. I want to go and check out and see all the places where all the various events happened. I spend my whole summers in northern Wisconsin in the Woodruff-Minocqua area. This area has everything. This part of the world is the playground for many Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison WI metropolitan areas. It is a lake recreation area. Minocqua township alone has 45 lakes. The whole point of vacationing in this area is fun. There is nothing else to do but have fun. Every business and service relies on providing that. I am a camp counselor during the summer at a local camp in the area. When I graduate from college, I am going to be working at the family tavern. It is a seasonal establishment in a touristy town in Hayward Wisconsin. My main goal is to work about 9 months and during the slow winter months travel. The plan is to buy a place in Puerto Rico. My uncle already has a place there. I envision traveling for a month or so right away when we close the tavern down for the winter. Then head to Puerto Rico for a few months. Once spring rolls around again, I will head back to Hayward. I plan on doing this cycle for as long as I can. My father, ever since I was little, had me try new things. Almost every day we did at least one thing different. The best example, off the cuff, is the last two years of covid. We drove around and checked out every town, state park, restaurant, and lake within 1.5 hours of our house. Whatever a town had to offer we went there and did it. I had a ton of fun during covid. I don't think most people can say that. As you can see I have the travel bug. My brain is trained wanting new experiences. Growth just happens because everything you see and do is totally new. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, like a stimulus overload of the brain. Exposure to all the different things the world has to offer naturally causes personal growth and development. That is what seeing and doing new things does. Travel is probably my favorite thing to do. My life so far at 21 has been eventful. I really have enjoyed my life. I am looking forward to Europe. That adventure is going to be fun.

Before I take a job, I try to put as much thought into whether the position is a good fit for me. I think many people just fall into something. A big part of my personality is my wanting to grow as a person. My favorite combination is learning something, a financial benefit, and having fun all wrapped together. My involvement in camp counseling and officiating has done that for me. The scholarship hunting works because it is on my own schedule. Tutoring is just convenient because I am at school already. I work with young kids year-round. I usually leave early June for camp counseling. I was at Camp Deerhorn for my second summer. I live with, mentor, and coach young boys for 10 weeks at the residential camp. I attached a few short links. I was at Red Arrow Camp in 2021. This is hardly considered work. It really is a paid vacation for me. I spend 10 weeks on a lake teaching sports. I teach basketball, baseball, hockey, trap shooting, and archery. I get my fair share of waterskiing, sailing, and all the other lake activities in also. When I get back home after a long summer, I am recharged about going back to school. I think that is a big reason my GPA is high. In the winter months, I officiate hockey. I officiate a wide range of levels. I cover youth teams up through high school. That includes girl's hockey and adult league teams. I am considering moving up to officiate the levels above high school. Jr. hockey and college hockey are the next levels up. I am a self-employed official. I set my own hours and I pick the games I want to officiate. It is a great college job. The main downside is the crazy coaches and parents. They can get out of hand yelling and screaming at the officials at times. I usually just work weekends officiating. At school, I am a college tutor and college ambassador. I tutor about 2 hours a day 4-5 days a week. I am already at school. I might as well make a few bucks while I am there. The tutoring job covers all my daily expenses like gas and food. The ambassador role is not an everyday activity. The marketing department at the college calls me for various projects. The school uses my image for billboards and other marketing they do on social media. I try really hard to strategize on how I spend my time. I see so many of my peers just grab anything (job). Then they complain about how much they don’t like what they're doing. School is hard enough as it is. To complicate things by working a job you hate while going to school is crazy. I would burn out. I think that is a main reason students burn out and then drop out of college. The scholarship hunting I have mixed thoughts on. I like that it is on my own time. I don’t like that I can’t predict the results. I apply early in the morning so it won’t interfere with the rest of my day. I shoot for one to two applications a day. Professionally, I think my current jobs help me learn skills on how to interact with people. Personally, everything position has taught me more of what I like and don't like out of life. https://youtu.be/JSkTgaXKXTM https://youtu.be/rIkuwam7_DM

My community involvement comes from my father. He coached for many years. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer, I am working at Camp Deerhorn. My father was right. Working with kids is very rewarding. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back. Last summer I was responsible for various groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. I teach basketball, baseball, hockey, swimming, trap shooting, and archery. I also live with these boys all summer. Usually, it is eight boys and two counselors to a cabin. I mentor these boys all summer. We eat and sleep together. I have to make sure they are getting along, they keep proper hygiene, the cabin is kept clean, and the big responsibility is to keep my guys safe. During the fall-spring months, I usually officiate youth- high school boys and girls hockey. There are a ton of life lessons to be learned out on that ice during a game. I enjoy being in the middle of all of it. I am the judge and jury out on that ice. I think I make a difference out there. Much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I think that is the best time to make a difference. It is my best place to serve. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great role models. My involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. Honesty and integrity are a big part of development at these ages. In many of the activities I teach, I had varsity experience playing in high school. I am also lifeguard and CPR certified. Counseling has allowed me to teach young boys all these sports. I also like to work in some of that advice that has been passed down to me. Giving back just like my father does is important. I like how I turned out. I couldn’t have done it alone. From playing three varsity sports, counseling, officiating, and being raised by a coach, I have learned that the best way for me to get involved is by mentoring kids. 2023 was my third summer of counseling. A couple quick 1-3 minute videos of how I spend my summers. https://youtu.be/JSkTgaXKXTM https://youtu.be/rIkuwam7_DM

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is essential for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work, for example, keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

My life goal is to be the best version of myself and reach my potential. Every day I focus on my mental, physical, and financial well-being. There are other areas that I focus on, but these three are crucial. My academic goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting in 2024. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in accounting and finance in 2026. I have made the dean’s list all four semesters. Consistency is what gets you there. That is success After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle is going to put me to work so he can be semi-retired. My finance and accounting degrees will be put to work. There are multiple revenue streams in the bar business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. I will also handle the payroll, business taxes, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bouncing, cooking, cleaning, and bartending. It is not an especially glamorous, but it is what I want to do. I am pursuing my accounting and finance degrees specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. It sounds like an incredible opportunity. Having fun and sun at the bar on the lake in the summer, and having fun and sun on the ocean in Puerto Rico during the winter sounds like a great life. In my spare time, I will coach youth baseball and hockey. Working at the bar will provide the time flexibility needed to coach. My father and grandfather coached forever. I am looking forward to those mentoring opportunities and experiences. I currently mentor boys every summer at a residential camp. I spend 10 weeks at the camp. My view of success is setting attainable goals and accomplishing them. These goals have to be your own. It is your life. We only have one life to live. In your journey, however long or short it is, if you have satisfaction in the run you have had, your life is a success. At my age, I see many of my peers not having a plan. Life just takes its own course for them. I have had friends drop out of school, fall into jobs they may not really enjoy, or start having children unexpectedly. When you ask them how it is going? Most of them say OK at best. Usually, it is a ton of unhappiness and a lot of would of, should of, or could of conversations. At 21 years old, life seems already not fun for many of my friends. My views on life might be different at 40. I could look back at this essay 20 years from now and cringe at my thought process. I like that I have a plan. It gives me purpose. I am generally happy and enthusiastic about life as I pursue my goals. I know for sure I don’t want what some of my friends are doing. I am enjoying the journey. I hope the journey never stops. The ride is the best part. I do know that there is a risk once you get to the top of the mountain and achieve your goals. I have heard that people can hit hard times at the top. The movie stars, athletes, and rock stars are the stories you hear the most about. People can hit the top and then self-destruct. I think it is a switch in mindset from setting goals and growing to more of trying to hang on. I think what happens is that the whole focus is on getting to the top. Once you get there, you don’t know what to do. All the effort and time was on the pursuit. There is no plan in place for what to do next. I try to keep this in the back of my mind as I keep moving forward. I actually hope I never reach all my goals. I feel if you are living your life, comfortable in your own skin, and pursuing your goals, life is good. That to me is success. I am happiest with a combination of learning something, a financial benefit, and having fun all wrapped together.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is essential for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work, for example, keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it! I promote taking control with all my friends.

My favorite thing about math is that math is never wrong. Math is very pure, clear, absolute, and clean. As long as the data is accurate, math will give you your answer on almost anything. Math gives you the real reality of things. Math does not lie. I use math almost every second of the day. Every decision I make, I am usually weighing the time/cost benefit of my actions. Time vs money. I typed this essay at 4 pm on a Friday. I couldn't focus on my accounting, so I decided to not waste time and fill out a scholarship. I felt it was a better use of my time to be typing than being on my phone. Everything that happens in this world, happens at a cost. Financial literacy is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. Finances are 100% mathematical. I feel without math I would be lost in life. Math is what keeps me focused and sane. Math gives me the structure I need in life. I see many people in this world that don't want to pay attention to the math of life. Without good math skills, I just don’t see how you can see the world how it truly is. You also can’t solve your own problems, much less the world’s problems, without math either. I am probably stating the obvious, but human existence is built on math. We would be extinct without it. The human brain’s ability to build an infrastructure for us to live on planet earth is all math based. 8 billion people on the planet could not be achieved without that infrastructure. Math provides a great life. Life for all species is in some form of calculation. The more people that understand this, the happier their lives will become. From a personal observation, my peers that do well in math, excel in every subject and usually end up excelling in the real world. Why would anybody not want to excel in math? The big three have always been reading, writing, and arithmetic.

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota. A great northern Minnesota town. Nature is only minutes away, and the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior is at your fingertips. I am generally a happy person and easygoing. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed. During off times, I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. A big part of my personality is wanting to grow as a person. My favorite combination is learning something, a financial benefit, and having fun all wrapped together. Camp counseling and hockey officiating does accomplish that. I camp counsel in the summer and officiate in the winter. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am wasting my time. I am extremely persistent. I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. That combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. A never-give-up attitude and always looking outside the box describes myself best. With persistence and looking for unique solutions, I have become a very patient person. These three attributes usually end up helping me be successful at the end of what I am trying to achieve. I am in most cases the last one standing. Scholarship money is all about buying time so that you can participate in college. It is all about leverage. I see many of my friends working too much and trying to go to school. They are on that hamster wheel working themselves to death. I am not interested in burning myself out. Scholarships, in my view, are a venue that can provide balance in school. I made the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, the Dean’s List, Honor Society, and joined the AICPA last year. Time and resources are critical components for allowing me to participate. Without adequate time and money, the ability to focus on leadership-type activities becomes difficult. Scholarships are the lifeline for me. They provide the base for all my opportunities. I am trying to secure funding for next year. Once September rolls around, I can plan accordingly based on the resources I have acquired. If time and resources are available, this next year I plan on running for student government at school. I also would like to coach youth hockey. Both activities are volunteer positions. Resources dictate my options. Not enough scholarships and I will be working more. I will have no time to explore those opportunities. My goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and finance. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degrees in those fields (2026). I have one more semester at LSC. Once I graduate, I am planning on partnering with my uncle in his bar business. I should have the time and resources to participate in my community. The bar business is a seasonal summer business (8 months). I would like to coach at the youth or maybe high school levels around my work schedule. If I was to not pursue my education, my goal of giving back to the community most likely would not happen.

Not all learning is necessarily good. People spend time, money, and energy learning things that can be negative. I have friends who have learned to be excellent video game players. The entertainment factor might be high, but the benefit does not look to be measurable in any way. I suppose if some of my friends go into business developing gaming software, their expertise could be useful. Learning as a whole is a benefit. I compare it to what healthy eating and exercise does for the body. Eating healthy and taking care of yourself physically can result in a long physically positive life. I think learning does that for the mind. The brain needs to stay healthy. Growth mentally keeps the brain strong and in shape. When I was little, my father read to me every night. As a result, I have a daily habit of reading. My brain is trained to read. The topics change. When I was young, I read mostly comedy through comic strip books. My favorite was Calvin and Hobbs. As I got a bit older, my interests turned to more sports-related topics. By late high school, I was well read in world history. Now I focus primarily on financial reads. I am really interested in business and finance. What I like the most about learning is it is usually never boring. The brain enjoys new positive stimuli. I think the brain craves it. The people who don’t experience positive mental growth tend to have higher levels of anger and unhappiness. Educated people seem to have way fewer of those issues. I think what can happen is that people get to a comfortable place and want to stay there. The world keeps moving forward and eventually, that comfortable place vanishes. People are then thrust into a forced and panicked type situation for growth. Adapting and learning under extreme pressure can be very painful. A gradual consistent pace is easier. I think lifelong learning is a must. The world is always changing. Not being able to grow and change with the world will most likely negatively affect you. Learn and you will grow and prosper. Deciding to not grow will cause pain and suffering. I think everyone should start with any Calvin & Hobbs book. Humor is what got me addictied to reading. I think that was my father's plan from the start.

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota. It is a great town to grow up in. Nature is only minutes away, and you have the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior at your fingertips. I have had a great life. I am generally a happy person and easygoing. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed. During down or off time, I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. A big part of my personality is my wanting to grow as a person. My favorite combination is learning something, a financial benefit, and having fun all wrapped together. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am extremely persistent. I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. My life goal is to be the best version of myself and reach my potential. Every day I focus on my mental, physical, and financial growth and well-being. My academic goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and finance in 2024. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in 2026. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My job is to keep him semi-retired. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. I would like to mention that my father and grandfather coached basketball for decades. I would like to follow in their footsteps. Working at the bar will provide the time flexibility needed to coach. I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. Most of my challenges in life stem from being autistic. I have many of the standard emotional and social deficiencies associated with the condition. In the early 2000s, the odds of autism at birth were 1/150. At that time I would say a rare condition. In today’s world, the odds of developing autism at birth are 1/44. Only 35% of autistic students attempt to attend college after 6 years of graduating high school. Fewer than 20% of those college students with autism will graduate. That means out of 100 students with autism less than 7 graduate from college (7%). I am in my 5th semester of college with a 3.9 GPA. If you count all the autistic kids that don’t graduate high school, that 7% number is most likely 1% or less. My persistence and not following the crowd personality were developed out of necessity. To get where I am today, I needed to adapt to my condition. My dream and goal is to be self-employed. My condition always made me a loner. Everyone has to find their niche.

I have a laid-back personality. I take things seriously when needed, but I try to enjoy life, laugh, and have a good time. I like things structured. I stick to my routine of school, work, fitness, and sleep. Repeat. I occasionally socialize and let loose a little. I am not a very complicated person and I like to keep things simple. I was a three-sport athlete in high school. I also enjoy trap shooting and snowboarding. I had little time during high school to focus on much else. I never wanted to play college sports. Now, I teach sports at a summer camp. In the winter, I officiate hockey. In terms of values, doing what is right is always the way to go. I can sleep at night and not worry about living this way. I never have to look over my shoulder or try to remember what I said. The truth always works. My passion is to always grow and improve. Go forward not backwards. My most recent accomplishment is that I completed my sophomore year with a 4.0 GPA. Last fall I felt good about being named a Coca-Cola scholar. Being asked by the accounting department chair to tutor was a big deal for me. I was approached last fall to model for the school. I was on billboards and other marketing material promoting the school. The school picks a handful of students to be ambassadors. It was an honor to be involved. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am extremely persistent. I am getting better at cutting my losses, but I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. I am always trying to spend as much time as possible studying. Scholarships make it possible for me to cut back on working. The less I work, I am able to focus more on my studies. My grades and keeping stress down are the goals. This scholarship will help with that. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the summer and spend winters in Puerto Rico. I will be put to work full-time so he can be semi-retired. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. The roughest patch in my life was my high school hockey days. I had an abusive coach. He broke me mentally. I had to get counseling. My father saved me. I wasn't communicating my problems. He took action and helped me get back on track. The coach got fired. It will be national news soon. It is a big case. Google East End Hockey Booster Club. There are 6-7 articles so far written on the case.

My family has had some unexpected hardships over the last couple of years. My mother and my sister own a fitness studio. Covid 19 has been really hard on the business the last couple of years. The business was slow due to the pandemic. The government shut it down for stretches of time also during the pandemic. Things are back to normal just recently My father and uncle own a bar. The roof collapsed due to heavy snow a number of years back. They are planning to open up sometime I think next year. Rebuilding the bar has taken much longer than planned due to Covid 19 April 2024 is when they plan to reopen. I plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in finance and accounting in 2026. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. I am the only heir. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle is going to put me to work full-time year-round so he can be semi-retired. We will see if all the customers come back. It all depends on that. My finance and accounting degrees will be put to work. There are multiple revenue streams in the business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. I will also handle the payroll, business taxes, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bouncing, cooking, cleaning, and bartending. It is not an especially glamorous career choice, but it is what I want to do. I am pursuing my accounting and finance degrees specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. The town is small and is in need of a place for group events. When I get more directly involved, I would like to make the building available to the community. It has the space for wedding receptions, family reunions, clubs, birthday parties, etc. My thoughts are to have mornings and afternoons designated for those types of activities. Then the regular night crowd can start at 5 pm. I am going to landscape the lake side of the property. I would like it to be available for the community to use. I am thinking about bringing in sand and setting up a beach. I don’t have this totally thought out, but I would like to have a place for those under 30 to hang out. I am thinking of families with little kids also. We will see what the legal liability is first. The advantage of our establishment is the lake, and half the facility is screened with a huge gas fireplace. People can sit inside and feel like they are outside without any bugs. We have two huge garage doors that roll up and down that face the lake. Having fun inside with the feel of being outside is what separates us from the competition. In my spare time, I will coach youth baseball and hockey. Working at the bar will provide the time flexibility needed to coach. My father and grandfather coached forever. I am looking forward to those mentoring opportunities and experiences. Scholarship funding has been critical in making it through school. My mind has been on money and school since 2021. Everything has been stressful.

My family has had some unexpected hardships over the last couple of years. My mother and my sister own a fitness studio. Covid 19 has been really hard on the business the last couple of years. The business was slow due to the pandemic. The government shut it down for stretches of time also during the pandemic. Things are back to normal just recently My father and uncle own a bar. The roof collapsed due to heavy snow a number of years back. They are planning to open up sometime I think next year. Rebuilding the bar has taken much longer than planned due to Covid 19 April 2024 is when they plan to reopen. I plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in finance and accounting in 2026. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. I am the only heir. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle is going to put me to work full-time year-round so he can be semi-retired. We will see if all the customers come back. It all depends on that. My finance and accounting degrees will be put to work. There are multiple revenue streams in the business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. I will also handle the payroll, business taxes, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bouncing, cooking, cleaning, and bartending. It is not an especially glamorous career choice, but it is what I want to do. I am pursuing my accounting and finance degrees specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. The town is small and is in need of a place for group events. When I get more directly involved, I would like to make the building available to the community. It has the space for wedding receptions, family reunions, clubs, birthday parties, etc. My thoughts are to have mornings and afternoons designated for those types of activities. Then the regular night crowd can start at 5 pm. I am going to landscape the lake side of the property. I would like it to be available for the community to use. I am thinking about bringing in sand and setting up a beach. I don’t have this totally thought out, but I would like to have a place for those under 30 to hang out. I am thinking of families with little kids also. We will see what the legal liability is first. The advantage of our establishment is the lake, and half the facility is screened with a huge gas fireplace. People can sit inside and feel like they are outside without any bugs. We have two huge garage doors that roll up and down that face the lake. Having fun inside with the feel of being outside is what separates us from the competition. In my spare time, I will coach youth baseball and hockey. Working at the bar will provide the time flexibility needed to coach. My father and grandfather coached forever. I am looking forward to those mentoring opportunities and experiences. Scholarship funding has been critical in making it through school. My mind has been on money and school since 2021. Everything has been stressful.

After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle is going to put me to work full-time year-round so he can be semi-retired. I plan on following in his footsteps. My goal is to generate enough business during the busy summer months so that I can close down for part of the winter (Jan-Feb). I would like to join my uncle in Puerto Rico. My finance and accounting degrees will be put to work in the business. I will handle the payroll, business taxes, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bouncing, cooking, cleaning, and bartending. It is not an especially glamorous career choice, but it is what I want to do. I am pursuing my accounting and finance degrees specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. It sounds like an incredible opportunity. The town is small and is in need of a place for group events. When I get more directly involved, I would like to make the building available to the community. It has the space for wedding receptions, family reunions, clubs, birthday parties, etc. My thoughts are to have mornings and afternoons designated for those types of activities. Then the regular night/ bar crowd can start at 5 pm. I am also going to landscape the lake side of the property. I would like it to be available for daily use. I am thinking about bringing in sand and setting up a beach. I don’t have this totally thought out, but I would like to have a place for people to hang out. I am thinking of families with little kids also. We will see what the legal liability is on all of that first. My uncle’s mindset has been strictly on generating business from 4 p.m. to close as a bar. I have convinced him that since we are on a beautiful lake in such a great touristy location, we need to capitalize on the morning and afternoon hours from 9 a.m. -4 p.m. My plan is to change the business away from being just a bar. I am thinking more of a club with membership for the day hours. Access to the beach is for members only. If I can accomplish what I think this is capable of, our establishment will be way more than just a bar. I see us as a must-destination for summer visitors. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am extremely persistent. I am getting better at cutting my losses, but I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. I am mostly a loner in my pursuits.

Everything that happens in this world, happens at a cost. Financial responsibility is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Children are not expected to understand the real world. Adults are! Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. My father is a financial executive. He told me that people aimlessly spend money throughout the day and do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. He said people are unconscious in their spending. As a student, I see other students living this way all the time. I think the parents must just pay the bills. That works for now, but what do you do in a few years when you graduate and are on your own with no financial skills? I think personal finance should be taught in high school as a mandatory subject. College is supposed to be a stepping stone into adulthood. You are out of the house making decisions without mom or dad around. You still have a lot of structure in your day with school, but there is no one to monitor you. This is the time to practice making good decisions. Getting up and going to class on time, not eating pizza every night, not partying all the time, watching your money, and any other responsible decisions are to be learned now. The dropout rate freshman year for public colleges and universities is 50%. Wonder why? Part of the problem is that America is built on tempting people to buy and spend. Drive down the street, almost every business wants you to stop in and impulse buy. Quick, easy, and convenient is America. This American culture has also made us extremely lazy. We have become so lazy that we don’t care what things cost. We are a grab-and-go society. Actually, it is worse than that. People just order things and food off their phones. An easy trap for an 18-22-year-old to get caught in. Most students dabble in all kinds of money-wasting daily activities. I am not going to get too specific, but it looks like wasting $10,000-$20,000 a year net after taxes is easy to do. That is why nobody has any money. That is one reason college kids have so much debt. Then they wake up one day after graduation and wonder why they have to make a $ 1,000-a-month student loan payment for the next 30 years. My plan from the start has been to graduate debt-free. Not having that plan or goal is what gets students into trouble. Ignorance is very painful. I have filled out many scholarships this year. I work part-time. I work full-time during the summer. I go to a school I can afford. If I have to take fewer credits due to cost, I take fewer credits. Everyone can graduate from college debt-free if they want. Again, the question is do you care? You can’t care after graduation. Financial literacy is very important to me. Awareness and accountability are key. I am majoring in accounting and finance. Again, if you are not keeping track of what you are spending every day, the days, weeks, months, and years add up and you have nothing to show for it. Pay attention or you will get nowhere!

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. He owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. He is going to put me to work so he can be semi-retired. I will be working year-round hopefully for just 10 years. My goal is to generate enough business during the busy summer months so that I can close down for part of the winter (Jan-Feb). I would like to join my uncle in Puerto Rico. My finance and accounting degrees will be put to work . There are multiple revenue streams in the bar business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. I will also handle the payroll, business taxes, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bouncing, cooking, cleaning, and bartending. It is not an especially glamorous career choice, but it is what I want to do. I am pursuing my accounting and finance degrees specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. It is an incredible opportunity. The town is small and is in need of a place for group events. When I get more directly involved, I would like to make the building available to the community. It has the space for wedding receptions, family reunions, clubs, birthday parties, etc. My thoughts are to have mornings and afternoons designated for those types of activities. Then the regular night/ bar crowd can start at 5 pm. I am also going to landscape the lake side of the property. I would like it to be available for daily use. I am thinking about bringing in sand and setting up a beach. I don’t have this totally thought out, but I would like to have a place for those under 21 to hang out. I am thinking of families with little kids also. We will see what the legal liability is on all of that first. Maybe even add a pool. My uncle’s mindset has been strictly on generating business from 4 pm to close inside the bar. I have convinced him that since we are on a beautiful lake in such a great touristy location, we need to capitalize on the morning and afternoon hours from 9 am -4 pm with the inside and outside of the facility. I am thinking more of a club with membership for the day hours. Access to the beach is for members only. I mentioned earlier I think we can rent out space inside the building during the day. If I can accomplish what I think this is capable of, our establishment will be way more than just a bar. I see us as a must-destination for summer visitors and local residents. What sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. I am extremely persistent. I tend to take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others.

My father is number one on my list of people I look up to. This essay is not about my father. Out of respect, I had to mention him. I do have another adult in my life who really cares about me. I am excited about the opportunity to share my appreciation for my coach, counselor, and teacher Mike Domini. I hope the scholarship committee finds my story compelling. Mike Domini I met back in 8th grade. I tried out for the Duluth East Bantam A Hockey Team and made the team; hence, my relationship and journey with Mike Domini began. Mike was a young man in his 20’s. He was the co-head coach and head defense coach for the team. I played defense for Mike and we shared a 65-game season together. I spent six to seven days a week in hotel rooms, coach buses, hockey arenas, locker rooms, and restaurants with Mike. It was a six-month journey that ended in a state tournament appearance in Marshall, Minnesota. That experience was my favorite athletic experience of my life. Little did I know that the next year as a 9th grader, Mike would be my teacher and counselor throughout high school. I spent almost every day of the week with this guy for 4.5 years. He was a mentor, older brother, teacher, coach, friend, and more. I never thought I would find someone outside of family that would be that connected and close to me. Mike was a single young guy when I first met him. When I graduated, he was married with two kids. I was going through puberty when we first met, and now I just finished up my sophomore year of college. It was a gift that I made that hockey team back in 8th grade. I was born with autism. Mike, being a special education teacher and my coach, always went the extra mile to look out for me. I know that without Mike, I probably would have never had the success I had in school. I had a go-to adult in high school that I could reach out to daily with any issue or problem. The best thing is that he always had time for me and gave me great advice. I would bet I am the only student in this country with that kind of support growing up. I am trying to think of an example of how exceptional of a person Mike is. There are so many it is difficult to just pick one. I would rather share a broader example by year. My junior year was really rough academically and athletically. I had a very difficult relationship with my varsity hockey coach. Without going into too much detail, I will just say that I was bullied by the coach. It started to affect other areas of my life. My grades suffered terribly and I began to withdraw from life. Having autism was also hampering my ability to communicate my downward spiral. I did not know how to ask for help. Mike Domini rescued me. He saw the signs and personally made sure that I made it through the year. He made sure that the school, my parents, and the school counselor knew what was really going on with me. We got through it and he was the main reason I am here today. When you go through hard times, those people who showed up and stuck with you are your true friends and family. Mike Domini is a true friend and hero. No better man on this planet than Mike Domini.

When I was a junior in high school I lost two classmates that were also baseball teammates of mine. At 17, I am not sure anyone my age at the time could deal mentally with those kinds of back-to-back losses One friend of mine was a pitcher on the baseball team. He dabbled in marijuana pretty heavily. We all knew that, but we did not think that was anything to be overly concerned about. Then one day at practice we were told that (Mike, not real name) had passed suddenly the night before. It had been a drug overdose. That was my first funeral I had attended for someone my age. It hit hard that Mike was gone. Looking at him in the open casket was surreal. One day I am playing catch on the field with him before a game, then in the same week I am standing over him staring at him in a coffin. I will never be able to let that go. Traumatizing. Less than two months later, my best friend Jim Smith (not real name) passed away in a car accident. He was driving an older farm truck and not wearing a seatbelt. He was merging onto the highway and hit a car from behind. My understanding is that the truck jackknifed and he was thrown through the windshield. He was run over by his own vehicle is my understanding. Jimmy was recruited to play Division 1 sports in all three sports he played in high school. He was also scouted to play professional baseball in the minor leagues. The thing that really rattled me was that Jimmy was a real-life superhero in my eyes. He had it all. He was big, strong, fast, highly athletic, and skilled in everything he did. He was good-looking and knew how to dress. The guy had no weaknesses. Sometimes I wondered if he was really human. I am not sure how many guys out there are like that. He is the only guy I know like that. I remember being at the funeral (closed casket), in total shock that Jimmy had passed. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that HE died. How can a real live superhero die? I thought nothing could hurt that guy much less kill him. At 17, I felt pretty invincible most of the time. Jimmy’s death really woke me to the vulnerability and fragility of life. I realized that life on this planet can be extremely dangerous. If Jimmy can go down, I have no chance. How could you not feel that way? I still feel that way daily. The innocence of youth vanished the day Jimmy Smith passed. Two deaths in one summer gave me a new awareness on life. Life is very temporary for me now. I plan for the future as best I can, but at the same time, I realize how short the future could be. I know I am totally changed forever. I just can’t get that excited about anything or take anything that seriously. I hope that makes sense. Everything feels so temporary. The good news is I never get stressed about anything anymore. Nothing matters enough to get stressed. The real trauma for me was witnessing how Jimmy’s death affected his immediate family. The pain I see in the parents' faces grabs me by the throat. It casts such a painful shadow over everything. Whenever I see them, I can feel and see the pain. They say time heals everything. I am not a believer in this case. Jimmy had a younger brother (Jack, not his real name) that tagged along with us. He was 2 years younger than us. I didn’t think he was going to survive the death of his brother. It has been about 4 years since the incident, and every day I think he will be in the news for taking his own life. That poor kid carries a weight I can’t fathom. My future plans have changed dramatically since Jimmy’s death. If you were to ask me what my plans were before I lost friends, I would be telling you all kinds of high-profile goals and dreams. Now, I am 100% low-key. I will graduate from college with my accounting and finance degrees and work for my uncle. He owns a bar on a lake in Wisconsin. A simple, quiet, low-key life is my plan. Enyoy every moment. I am not going to chase it!

I try my best to support my school. I get involved with as many events as possible. Last fall, I was a student ambassador. My role was to help promote the college. I was on billboards and other marketing and media material promoting the school. This past spring semester, I have been very active in being a student tutor. I tutor in the accounting lab. It was an honor that the department chair asked me to fill this role. My community involvement comes from my father. He coached for many years. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer, I worked at Camp Deerhorn. My father was right. Working with kids is very rewarding. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try my best to give something back. This summer I was responsible for various age groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. I teach basketball, baseball, hockey, swimming, trap shooting, sailing, and archery. I also live with these boys all summer. Usually, it is eight boys and two counselors to a cabin. I mentor these boys all summer. We eat and sleep together. I have to make sure they are getting along, they keep proper hygiene, the cabin is kept clean, and the big responsibility is to keep them safe. Much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I think that is the best time to make a difference. It is my best place to serve. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great role models. My involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. Honesty and integrity are a big part of development at these ages. I am proficient in many sports and activities. In many of the activities I teach, I had varsity experience playing in high school. I am also lifeguard and CPR certified. Counseling has allowed me to teach young boys all these sports. Giving back is important. I like how I turned out. I couldn’t have done it alone. From playing three varsity sports, counseling, and being raised by a coach, I have learned that the best way for me to get involved is by mentoring kids. I have great ties at school and camp. I already have a heavy heart knowing I will be moving on in a few years. A couple quick 1-3 minute videos of how I spend my summers. Check out my profile. https://youtu.be/JSkTgaXKXTM https://youtu.be/rIkuwam7_DM

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. Relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it! See profile for nore about me.

My father was a coach. I asked him one day why he liked to coach. He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer, I am working at Camp Deer Horn. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There is a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child.” Very true. This summer I am responsible for various age groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grows and develops by the end of summer. They all got home better than when I get them. As you get older, life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids, all they want to do is laugh and have a good time. Kids give back by teaching you how to have fun again. I get as much as I give. Right now with college, I only have time to devote to coach-like activities is in the summer. That is why I work at the summer camps. I am getting experience so that when I graduate and get my coaching certification, I can start at some of the higher levels. I would like to coach high school athletics. Much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. That is the best time to make a difference. I also think it is my best place to serve. My family has a long tradition of coaching. My grandfather was also a high school coach. I think he coached for 20 years. My goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and finance in 2024. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in those fields in 2026. When I graduate, I plan on coaching and being a CPA. I just got involved last semester in being a college tutor. I was asked by the accounting committee chair to get involved and help the department. I had a great time helping the first-year students. I will tutor again this fall. I am directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. It is my turn to make an impact.

Mental health I think people are expected to magically know something about. Then all of a sudden they find themselves in a situation that requires the appropriate knowledge and response and they don’t have it. Not having that knowledge and skillset to think and act appropriately gets people in big trouble. The facts are that 1 out of 5 teens ages 12-18 suffer from at least one diagnosable mental health disorder. I am one of those teens in the 20%. I know if I had more knowledge and a better coping skill set on mental health, I would not have had a breakdown. I would have been self-aware to see the signs. Growing up, the focus of danger is on the physical dangers in life (don't play with fire, look both ways before you cross the street, and watch where you are going when riding your bike). There are mental dangers in life that are just as dangerous. Going through life blindly and unaware of the risks that can happen to your brain mentally is extremely dangerous. I was severely unprepared for these mental dangers. My varsity high school hockey coach was a bully. This grown man enjoyed making himself feel like a man by picking on high school kids. I think the coach had a “little man complex”. The guy was 5’6 and 140 lbs. I was that size in grade school. He loved to pick on players. I was not the only one. It is amazing how the bullying creeps up on you. My schooling started to suffer, I couldn’t focus, I started to not sleep well, I started to not be interested in things, and isolate. I felt like I was withdrawing from life. I even stopped talking to family and friends. A gradual decline that you don’t notice right away and then one day you realize you’re in trouble. Not knowing what is wrong is really scary. My life has totally changed. My whole life now revolves around my mental health. Every decision is based on what is good or bad for my mental health. For example, I only take 12 credits a semester in college. One less class is less stressful. I don’t care if it takes an extra semester or two to graduate. I don’t have a girlfriend. My last one was too stressful. I make sure I eat healthily and get enough sleep every night. I also exercise regularly. All the toxic and negative people I got rid of. Every day is about balance. My future career is to partner with my uncle in his bar business. It is a seasonal business. In winter months we are closed. It is a great business and low stress. I will own the business outright in a number of years. My hockey experience taught me to work for myself. Being under someone else's thumb I won’t do again. I used to be big into sports and activities in my youth. I am proficient in basketball, baseball, hockey, track, soccer, trap shooting, and snowboarding. My other main interests are history and comedy. I now teach many of those skills at a summer boys' camp during the summers. I still like to pick up things when I can. I learned how to sail this summer. During the school year, I don't have much time. I work as a college tutor and I try to get to the gym regularly. A $2,500 scholarship would be a huge help for spring semester. The more funding I secure, the less stress I will have. More time I can dedicate to studying.

My father was a coach. I asked him one day why he liked to coach. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer, I am working at Camp Deerhorn. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. This summer I am responsible for various groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grows and develops by the end of summer. They all go home better than when I get them. As you get older, life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids just want to laugh and have a good time. Kids give back by teaching you how to have fun again. I mentor these boys all summer. We eat and sleep together. I have to make sure they are getting along, they keep proper hygiene, the cabin is kept clean and organized, and the big responsibility is to keep my guys safe. There are usually eight boys and two counselors to a cabin. During the day I teach baseball, basketball, hockey, trap shooting, and archery to all the kids. During the fall-spring months, I officiate youth- high school boys and girls hockey. I also officiate the local adult leagues. I was on the ice working with kids for over 100 games this past season. I felt a great connection with those players. There are a ton of life lessons to be learned out on that ice. I enjoy being in the middle of all of it. I think much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I believe that is the best time to make a difference. I also think it is my best place to serve. My family has a long tradition of coaching. My grandfather was a high school basketball coach. He coached high school for 20 years at a very large high school in Chicago IL. I would like to coach high school athletics like my father and grandfather. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. It is my turn. In what I have written above, my involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. Last semester (Spring 2023), I was asked by the accounting department chair if I would be interested in tutoring. I accepted the position. I found it very rewarding working with many of the first-year students. I am continuing my role this fall semester. I won't be officiating as much now that I am tutuoring.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. Humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not handle. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it! My profile describes me.

My life goal is to be the best version of myself and reach my potential. Every day I focus on my mental, physical, and financial growth and well-being. There are other areas that I focus on, but these three are crucial. My academic goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting in 2024. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in 2026. I did get my first 4.0 GPA last year 2022-2023. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the summer and spend winters in Puerto Rico. I will be put to work full-time so he can be semi-retired. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. It sounds like an incredible opportunity. My father coached for many years. He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school (2021), I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. For the past two summers, I have been working at Camp Deerhorn in Wisconsin. My father was right. Working with kids is very rewarding. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. This summer I am responsible for multiple groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grows and develops by the end of summer. They all go home better than when I get them. I live with and mentor these boys all summer. We eat and sleep together. Eight boys and two counselors to a cabin. I have to make sure they are getting along, they keep proper hygiene, the cabin is kept clean and organized, and the big responsibility is to keep my guys safe. Working with kids is the best for me to serve. I am directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great mentors. Encourage kids when they are young, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best versions of themselves. My father and grandfather coached for decades. I want to follow in their footsteps. Working at the bar will provide the time flexibility needed to coach. My core value is to give of myself to others. Others did that for me.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try my best to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

Simply, most or all of us can't make it through life on our own. We would not survive as a species without supporting one another. Every child needs support up till at least age 18. I am 20 and I still rely on my folks. I fully understand how much they give. There are many people that become self-centered and focus only on their own needs and wants. These people haven’t mentally matured to understand why they are so unhappy and alone all the time. They don’t understand why nobody wants to associate with them. People realize quickly that the relationship is one-sided without any reciprocating benefit. People that give develop a network of relationships that you can count on. I have found that you can grow and achieve much more in life by working together. At my age, most of my decisions and opportunities in life are a result of the help of others. The college I am attending was recommended by my aunt and a high school friend’s mother who is a guidance counselor. My winter hockey officiating job is a result of my father’s good friend who is a high-ranking hockey official. My summer camp counseling position was made possible by a high school friend. He already worked at the camp and put in a good reference for me. I also plan on working at my uncle's business after graduation. My uncle is giving me the opportunity to be the accountant for his business and possible future ownership. My life would be nothing without the support of others. Every opportunity I have is a result of someone’s willingness to get involved. I fully understand that helping others is what is important in life. As a college student, I don’t have the financial resources to give. I do have time that I can use to contribute. I mentioned the camp counseling and officiating. I am also a college academic tutor during the school year. My father was a coach for years. He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Giving and receiving provides great balance in life. There is great satisfaction and joy in the relationship between the two. However, if the balance becomes negative, it is only a matter of time before your ability to contribute stops. Nobody can give proportionally more than one receives continuously. Helping others requires a return. One has to have a surplus in order to have something to give (time, money, physical effort, intellectual capital, ). I think about how much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. It is my turn to give something back.

In order to be a leader, you must first understand what leadership is. Many people like to be in charge or tell people what to do. They like the control or the power. These people are self-serving. That is not leadership. Leaders are selfless and serve the betterment of the group. Leadership is where the success of the group is the goal. Leadership is plural, not singular. Secondly, you have to have the talent to lead. People will not follow you if you do not have the aptitude, required skill set, or communication skills that qualify you to lead. Trust is also a big part of leadership. If people don't trust you, you’re not leading anybody. Leaders are normally picked by the group they are representing. Self-appointed leadership is rarely successful. The group wants to be successful in whatever the goal is. Time, resources, and maybe lives are at risk, so who in the group gives the best chance of success? That is your leader. Leaders are good at facilitating. NO leader knows everything or is good at everything. Talented leaders surround themselves with talented people that are proficient in areas he/she is not. To have the confidence to bring on people better than you at something and listen to them is a sign of real leadership. People that bring on a bunch of yes-men are not leaders. Overall, when I think of leadership, I see a person that takes charge of getting things done. Their persona is to get in there and take action. I also think great leaders are great planners. They have the natural ability to create structure for accomplishing the task or goal. Great leaders are good teachers. They pass down their wisdom and skill set to others. My father was good at that. From playing three varsity sports, counseling, officiating, and being raised by a coach, I have learned that the best leaders know where they fit in a situation. What can I do to best contribute is what I find works best. The goal is always the success of the group. The greatest leaders understand this. Check your ego at the door. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall. So, I am incredibly persistent. I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. Leaders don’t usually give up easily. I also tend not to follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or are willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. Creative thinking in solving problems is usually a great skill for leadership . I will end by saying listening is probably the most important skill. You can’t learn and grow your skill set if you can’t listen.

. My father was a coach. I asked him why he liked to coach. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him forever. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer, I am working at Camp Deerhorn. Working with kids is rewarding . Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving back. Last summer I was responsible for various groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. I teach basketball, baseball, hockey, swimming, trap shooting, and archery. I also live with these boys all summer. Eight boys and two counselors to a cabin. I mentor these boys all summer. We eat and sleep together. I have to make sure they are getting along, they keep proper hygiene, the cabin is kept clean and organized, and the big responsibility is to keep my guys safe. Much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I think that is the best time to make a difference. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. My father and other coaches have been great role models. My involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. Honesty and integrity are a big part of development at these ages. I have learned that young boys have all kinds of issues. I have also learned that some parents like to send their boys to camp in hopes of correcting those issues. I sometimes think it is a last-ditch effort (desperation) by the parents to get some kind of positive change. My biggest accomplishment as a counselor was two summers ago. I had a kid in my cabin that was a bedwetter. I was able to correct his problem in the first couple of weeks. His parents' gratitude was immeasurable. I realized that this boy had no confidence. The boy was living with constant fear and insecurities. I am 6-2 and 230 lbs. I told him I was going to be his best friend and nobody or nothing is going to hurt him. I told him I got his back 24/7. I set up his bunk (bed) closest to me for the summer. For all other camp activities and meals, I made sure he was always in my group. It did not take long for his confidence to grow. He just needed a little bit of security to fall back on. Giving back just like my father does is important to me. I like how I turned out. I couldn’t have done it alone. I leave for Camp Deerhorn on June 2, 2023, for another 10 weeks of summer adventure.

My goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate's degree in accounting in 2024. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in 2026. I also plan on picking up a finance degree at UWS by 2026. My current GPA is 3.9. My main interest in accounting stems from the fact that everything that happens in this world happens at a cost. Financial responsibility is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. I couldn't see myself pursuing any other field. I want to know what is going on. My father is a financial executive. He has been telling me real-life financial disaster stories for years. Making money is one thing. Hanging on to your money is another. In his dealings with client finances, he told me that people aimlessly spend money and do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. He said people are unconscious in their spending. As a student, I see other students living this way all the time. I can't do that to myself. I am slightly autistic. My favorite actor is Ben Affleck. He played an autistic accountant in the movie The Accountant. The movie did a good job of touching on some of the characteristics of autism. I am very good with numbers just like he portrays in the movie. When I took my first accounting class in college, I found the subject to be a natural fit. All accounting classes are by far my easiest courses in college. I related well to the movie and the character Ben played. I have to say the movie inspired me to be an accountant. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle is going to put me to work full-time year-round so he can be semi-retired. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. He is excited for me to be a part of the business. I am excited to be part owner and be self-employed. Accountants provide accountability. Accountability makes things real. Without accounting, there is no faith or trust. The financial system is held together by this faith and trust. The system would collapse quickly without accountants. Public trust and business legitimacy are reliant on accurate accounting. What is real and what is not is looked upon the accountants to analyze and determine. Financial literacy is very important to me. Awareness and accountability are key.

The college environment has many pitfalls that can affect students’ health and wellness. Many students go from an active lifestyle in high school to a mostly sitting lifestyle studying in college. Being away from home is a big problem for many students. The freedom to make choices without the structure of home life or supervision is a hard transition for many students. No one is there to say you can’t eat pizza every night. Even the on-campus meal plans that everyone signs up for freshman year, have no limits on the amount you can eat. Peer pressure plays a role. It is no secret that college is a place to drink alcohol. Some of the stress and taxing nature of college cause students to binge drink to escape the pressure. A large part of college is socializing. Alcohol is a major part of the socializing culture in college. Alcohol, even in moderate consumption, is highly caloric. Many students socialize on multiple weekend nights. Those calories go somewhere. Being young and naive plays the biggest role in all of this. There are so many students that prior to college never even thought about putting on weight. They have been young and skinny all their lives. Young with high hormones keeps the weight off. Poor diet, no activity, and partying are now having an impact. Learning about calories for the first time in the college environment is not the best place to learn. It would be best to be prepped before entering college, not during. I keep it simple. One is you've got to move. Every day do something. I walk 3-5 miles every day with my dog. I also work out at the gym 3 times a week for about an hour. Secondly, what goes in your mouth is of the utmost importance. It is extremely hard to exercise those calories away. Again, I keep it simple. Stay away as best you can from sugar, fast food, bread, pasta, and deep-fried foods. Protein is important. It is what builds muscle and it keeps you satisfied much longer than other foods. You have to have the discipline to participate only occasionally in all the temptations college life provides. At school, I see kids wasting money and adding calories all the time. They hit the food court and the vending machines constantly. The schools promote this unhealthy lifestyle. Their goal is to make money off the students. I try not to buy anything at school. If you are not spending money, you are not buying anything with calories. Another idea is to only carry a limited amount of cash. Keeping your cash on hand low will limit your ability to impulse buy. Try to stay away from the food court area or student center. The more you hang around aimlessly at school, the more likely you are going to make bad decisions when you get hungry. Awareness is key. People put on weight because they don’t pay attention to what goes in their mouths. Creating awareness will hopefully start a new habit of accountability Awareness is important when it comes to mental health. I only take 12 credits a semester. I only work 2 hours a day. I have my fun only after school work is done. I am not overly involved in school functions. Students take on too much not knowing they are taking on too much. They then suffer from stress and burnout. Just like they eat and drink too much. The dropout rate is 50% freshman year on average at state schools. Easy to see why.

My father was a financial advisor for most of his career. He started in banking and then transferred to the financial services field. I grew up learning about finances. We talk about it every day. He is the one that has generated an interest in the field for me. Everything that happens in this world, happens at a cost. Financial responsibility is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Children are not expected to understand the real world. Adults are. Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. I find finances extremely important. That is why I am majoring in accounting and finance. After college, I will be a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My goal is to buy the business from him when he is ready to retire. The business is in a touristy town in Wisconsin on a lake. The summer months are really busy. The town swells from 2,500 people to 30,000 people in the spring and summer months. His goal is to work 6 months a year at the bar during the summer and spend 6 months a year in Puerto Rico. I plan on following in his footsteps. I will be working year-round hopefully for just a couple of years. My goal is to generate enough business during the busy summer months so that I can close down for the winter. I would like to join my uncle in Puerto Rico during the winter. There are major tax advantages for claiming Puerto Rico as your residency. I want to capitalize on that. My degrees are going to be put to work in the business. My job is to make the business as profitable and streamlined as possible. There are multiple revenue streams in the bar business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. I will also handle payroll, taxes, billing, ordering, and theft control. The main advantage of our establishment is the lake, and half the facility is screened with a huge gas fireplace. People can sit inside and feel like they are outside without any bugs. We have two huge garage doors that roll up and down that face the lake. Having fun inside with the feel of being outside is what separates us from the competition. My father and I have also been talking about setting up an accounting / financial services independent shop. The drinking establishment, as mentioned in the previous section, is hopefully only going to be seasonal. I think we can effectively run both businesses. I would like to graduate as close to debt free as possible. That is my main financial goal for the next three years. Everything else mentioned above comes after. I am excited about the future. I can't think of a better opportunity. I will be self employed and will have great time flexibility.

The culture at Lake Superior College should be the culture at every university. The people at LSC treat me like I am the only student in the building. I don't know about the rest of the student body, but I am treated like a star. The culture is inspiring. They give and it motivates me to give back. When I think of LSC, I am getting the personalized attention of a $100,000 small elite university. Who would not want that? I see the larger institutions where you are treated like a number. Why would anybody want that? And pay double or triple the price to be treated that way. LSC takes care of its students. College wasn’t on my radar initially. I have been taking things one semester at a time. I usually take 12-14 credits a semester. I made the dean’s list in all four of my semesters. That is the goal now for every semester. I am now a member of the PTK honor society and I joined an accounting organization. I am majoring in accounting and finance. The admission team at LSC made my transition to college seamless. Not a single problem. I am just completing my second year. I can say that every professor in every class I have had has been great. Not many people can say that. I also have great relationships with many other people in numerous departments at school. Even the chancellor knows me on a first-name basis. In return for all the support LSC has given me, I try my best to support the school. I get involved with as many events as possible that the school puts on. Last fall, I was a student ambassador. My role was to help promote the college. I was on billboards and other marketing and media material promoting the school. This spring semester I have been very active in being a student tutor. I tutor in the accounting lab. It was an honor that the department chair asked me to fill this role. I appreciate the opportunity to share my experience attending Lake Superior College. It was just luck that I landed there. Very grateful for how things have worked out. Great people, a great school, and a great community, I couldn’t ask for more. I will always be an ICE HAWK! GO HAWKS! I spend most of my waking hours at school. My other community is at Camp Deerhorn in the summer. Since high school, I have been working with kids as a counselor. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back. I am responsible for various groups of boys for 10 weeks. The goal is to have the kids grow and develop by the end of summer. I teach basketball, baseball, hockey, swimming, trap shooting, and archery. I also live with these boys all summer. Usually, it is eight boys and two counselors to a cabin. I mentor these boys all summer. We eat and sleep together. I have to make sure they are getting along, they keep proper hygiene, the cabin is kept clean, and the big responsibility is to keep my guys safe. My main inspiration is my father. He has coached kids most of my life. He is the one that created interest in working with kids. LIke father-like son.

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota my whole life. It is a great town to grow up in. Nature is only minutes away, and you have the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior at your fingertips. I have had mostly a great life. I am generally a happy person and easygoing. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed. During down or off time, I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. I think what is most important about me is that I am an honest and positive person. If you were to meet me, you would realize that I have no hidden agenda. I grew up playing sports and being active. I participated in soccer, swimming, and hockey in the early years. In middle school, I played baseball, basketball, and hockey. During my high school years, I focused on football, hockey, and track. I still played baseball in the summer and I somehow snowboarded and shot on the high school club trap shooting team. My education was always the most important. That was always number one. Now that I am in college, I am focused on school, camp counseling in the summer, and being a hockey official in the fall and winter months. In my spare time, I am filling out scholarships. I included a few short clips of the summer camps. I leave for camp on June 3rd, 2023 A big part of my personality is my wanting to grow as a person. My favorite combination is learning something, a financial benefit, and having fun all wrapped together. Camp counseling and officiating do accomplish that. The scholarship hunting I started in January 2022. What usually sets me apart from others is that I have a hard time giving up on things. Sometimes that works to my advantage and sometimes it looks like I am banging my head against the wall for too long. So, I am extremely persistent. I am getting better at cutting my losses, but I tend to have that take one more swing at something attitude. I also tend to not follow the crowd. I always try to find a unique way of getting things done or explore options that people aren't doing or are willing to do. The combination of persistence and looking for unique solutions sets me apart from others. There is a cost. I am mostly a loner in my pursuits. My goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and finance in 2024. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in those fields in 2026. UWS is going to double my education costs. I am trying to be proactive. I am trying to minimize the financial burden for those years. I would like to keep the financial stress to a minimum. If you look at my Bold profile. I have filled out almost 250 applications. I have only one win on the books. I mentioned earlier that I am persistent.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. We need a culture change in our society. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. I beleive that there are many other countires that do a much better job than what goes on here in America. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the potential danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Constantly self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try as best I can to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult for me. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle is going to put me to work full-time year-round so he can be semi-retired. Owning the bar is my long term financial and career goal. I am almost at the halfway point on getting my degree. The bar business won’t be all glamorous. I will be handling the payroll, business taxes, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bouncing, cooking, and bartending. I am sure I will be doing my share of cleaning the bathrooms also. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. It sounds like an incredible opportunity. Having fun and sun at the bar on the lake in the summer, and having fun and sun on the ocean in Puerto Rico during the winter sounds like a great life. My goal is to follow in my uncle’s footsteps. I can’t imagine a better career choice. The stress level should be low. That is 100% why I am going into the bar business. I should have talked about this earlier in the essay, but learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

Overcoming the obstacles of a disability in my situation has been a lifelong challenge. At age 20, I am not sure that I will ever not have problems. It is more of an acceptance of how things are. Autism affects people in so many ways. I am diagnosed as being high functioning on the spectrum. I feel very fortunate for the life I have had so far. Autism has been a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Explaining how ASD has affected my education goals I am finding hard to put into words. Unless you have been Autistic, communicating the challenges and difficulties we with the condition face has been really hard to explain to people. In my particular situation I see my brain as a mountain range. I have very high peaks and very low valleys with absolutely no flat or even ground anywhere in between. I have a mind that consists of extremes with no moderation. I am either very exceptional at something or very deficient at something. I am not average at anything. I am just guessing here, but I think most people have that skill of being sufficient at a lot of different things. When it comes to education, this template of extremes I have works extremely well in some cases and is a disaster in others. My whole academic career I have been exceptional at subjects that are very predictable, measurable, or factual. I have been told that my condition makes my brain see things in a very black or white manner and never gray. Subjects such as math, science, history, business, accounting, I excel at. Working with facts, formulas, and data my mind processes well. Subjects that are more artistic and creative like art or music I have very low ability to grasp the concepts and succeed. I goggled the definition of an artistic person. An artistic personality type uses their hands and mind to create new things. They appreciate beauty, unstructured activities and variety. They enjoy interesting and unusual people, sights, textures and sounds. These individuals prefer to work in unstructured situations and use their creativity and imagination. Not one word in this description describes me. Basically, being creative I can't do. I try to dabble into new things, that is how I work on my disability. I have to force myself to try something new . Most people might consider that fun. I find it very hard to do. I mostly focus on my strengths. I especially do so in my education. That is why I am majoring in accounting and finance. I will be completing my 2nd year of college in May. I will be transferring to a 4 year school to finish up my 4 year degree this fall. My goal is to take over my uncle's bar. It is a seasonal establishment. I will operate my own accounting business during the other months of the year. Should keep me busy. The bar is on a lake in a very touristy area. My uncle would not take me on without me getting higher education in finace and accounting. If you look up the graduation rates for autistc students, it falls around 7%. That is allowing for a 6 year window to compete a 4 year degree. I am a good canditate because I am beating the odds.

I am working toward having a seasonal business tha allows me to spend at least 3 months a year in Puerto Rico.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. How does that happen? We need a culture change in our society. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the potential danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Constantly self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try as best I can to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. With relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult for me. Learning to say NO was also big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

My father was a coach. I asked him why he liked to coach? He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. This past summer, I worked at Camp Deerhorn. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There is a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child.” True!! Last summer I was responsible for multiple groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. As you get older, life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids, all they want to do is laugh and have a good time. Kids give back by teaching you how to have fun again. I get as much as I give. I officiate youth-high school boys and girls hockey during the school year. I was on the ice working with kids for over 150 games this past season. You are interacting with these players all game. There are a ton of life lessons to be learned out on that ice. I enjoy being in the middle of all of it. I interacted with 1,200 different kids this last season. I think much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I believe that is the best time to make a difference. I also think it is my best place to serve. My family has a long tradition of coaching. My grandfather was a high school basketball coach. He coached for 20 years in Chicago, IL. Coaching high school athletics is part of my career goals. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. I take to heart my father’s comments in the first paragraph. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. In what I have written above, my involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. That is my father’s philosophy and now mine. I am back at Camp Deerhorn for the summer of 2023. Summer camps do not pay well. You are in it for the kids mostly. Scholarships help for school, but they also subsidise my finances so I can return to camp each summer. The goal is to make a difference. If I do, then I hope those kids will grow up and also make a difference. That is what happened to me!

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain causes people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. How does that happen? We need a culture change in our society. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the potential danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Constantly self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try as best I can to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult for me. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. Learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

I want to say that all learning isn’t necessarily good. People spend time, money, and energy learning things that can be negative. I have friends that have learned to be excellent video game players. The entertainment factor might be high, but the benefit does not look to be measurable in any way. If there is some benefit, it is not presenting itself. I suppose if some of my friends go into business developing gaming software, their expertise could be put to use. Learning as a whole is a benefit. I compare it to what healthy eating and exercise does for the body. Eating healthy and taking care of yourself physically can result in a long physically positive life. I think learning does that for the mind. The brain needs to stay healthy. Growth mentally keeps the brain strong and in shape. A lack of mental growth I believe leads to a decline in mental fitness. When I was little, my father read to me every night. As a result, I have a daily habit of reading. My brain is trained to read. The topics change. When I was young, I read mostly comedy through comic strip books. My favorite was Calvin and Hobbs. As I got a bit older, my interests turned to more sports-related topics. By late high school, I was well ready in world history. Now I focus mostly on financial reads. I am really interested in business and finance. I am sure my interest in learning won’t wane. It is a part of who I am. What I like the most about learning is it is usually never boring. The brain enjoys new positive stimuli. I think the brain craves it. The people that don’t experience positive mental growth tend to have higher levels of anger and unhappiness. Mad at everybody and mad at the world. Educated people seem to have way fewer of those issues. I think what can happen is that people get to a comfortable place and want to stay there. The world keeps moving forward and eventually that comfortable place vanishes. People are then thrust into a forced and panicked type situation for growth. Adapting and learning under extreme pressure can be very painful. A gradual consistent pace is easier. I think lifelong learning is a must. The world is always changing. Not being able to grow and change with the world will most likely negatively affect you. Learn and you will grow and prosper. Deciding to not grow will cause pain and suffering. I think it is as simple as that.

There are all kinds of effects from global warming. As I write this, California is experiencing extreme flooding. Look at all the forest fires out west every year (maybe not this year). California has had 18 of its 20 biggest and worst fires since the year 2000. 12 of the 20 worst fires have happened in the last 5 years. The extreme weather is very noticeable. I find it crazy that people still think it doesn’t exist. I also find it crazy that the people concerned about climate change are not addressing the main issue. We pretend and focus our efforts on electric cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, shopping at the co-op, or some other technological advancement. All of this helps, but none of it addresses the elephant in the room. That big elephant is us. The term “Global Warming.” needs to be rebranded into something more aggressive, like “The Human Plague” or” The Human Infestation Problem.” This is the core problem that no one wants to talk about. 200 years ago, the population of the world was 1 billion. 200 years later, we are at 8 billion. We have 8 billion people that need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? The answer is None. Nothing comes close. If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s ok. A plague is how we would describe the situation. Since we are the plague, it is ok. The topic is never brought up. Most of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. Of course, even a lower number than that is always better. How do people or the governments of this world have the conversation that there are 7 billion people that need to somehow vanish from the planet? No one is getting elected or re-elected bringing this topic up. The more people there are, the harder humans are on the planet. People can just pump out kids. We deal with it as we go. All kinds of children need quality education, food, healthcare, housing, and proper raising. All of that takes resources. The more resources needed and consumed causes Global Warming. NO PLAN is the problem. Our society is built needing more people on the bottom working paying taxes to support the older people collecting social security and medicare. That model only works if there are constantly more people. Our whole infrastructure is built to increase Global Warming. I believe most people don’t realize this. The fact that population control is not even mentioned, is a clear sign nothing will change. I have read that in the not so far off future we are going to add another 2 billion people to the planet. All the electric cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, and shopping at the co-op, isn’t going to matter. The effects of human pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, and decline of resources, will only increase as we add more mouths to feed. The environment will only continue to suffer at a greater scale in the future. Benjamin Franklin summarized it all when he said: “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. It is all about resource consumption.

Overcoming the obstacles of a disability in my situation has been a lifelong challenge. At age 20, I am not sure that I will ever not have problems. It is more of an acceptance of how things are. Autism affects people in so many ways. I am diagnosed as being high functioning on the spectrum. I feel very fortunate for the life I have had so far. Autism has been a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Explaining how ASD has affected my education goals I am finding hard to put into words. Unless you have been Autistic, communicating the challenges and difficulties we with the condition face has been really hard to explain to people. In my particular situation I see my brain as a mountain range. I have very high peaks and very low valleys with absolutely no flat or even ground anywhere in between. I have a mind that consists of extremes with no moderation. I am either very exceptional at something or very deficient at something. I am not average at anything. I am just guessing here, but I think most people have that skill of being sufficient at a lot of different things. When it comes to education, this template of extremes I have works extremely well in some cases and is a disaster in others. My whole academic career I have been exceptional at subjects that are very predictable, measurable, or factual. I have been told that my condition makes my brain see things in a very black or white manner and never gray. Subjects such as math, science, history, business, accounting, I excel at. Working with facts, formulas, and data my mind processes well. Subjects that are more artistic and creative like art or music I have very low ability to grasp the concepts and succeed. I goggled the definition of an artistic person. An artistic personality type uses their hands and mind to create new things. They appreciate beauty, unstructured activities and variety. They enjoy interesting and unusual people, sights, textures and sounds. These individuals prefer to work in unstructured situations and use their creativity and imagination. Not one word in this description describes me. Basically, being creative I can't do. I try to dabble into new things, that is how I work on my disability. I have to force myself to try something new . Most people might consider that fun. I find it very hard to do. I mostly focus on my strengths. I especially do so in my education. That is why I am majoring in accounting and finance. I will be completing my 2nd year of college in May. I will be transferring to a 4 year school to finish up my 4 year degree this fall. My goal is to take over my uncle's bar. It is a seasonal establishment. I will operate my own accounting business during the other months of the year. Should keep me busy. The bar is on a lake in a very touristy area. Should be fun and profitable.

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota my whole life. It is a great town to grow up in. Nature is only minutes away and of course, you have the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior. I spent most of my youth outside. During the winter I was snowboarding at one of the three ski hills in town or playing outdoor hockey at one of the 7 professionally maintained rinks in town. My summers were just as busy with baseball, hiking, mountain biking, and all the lake activities available in the area. I dabbled playing on youth travel teams in soccer, swimming, and basketball up till high school. I settled in on varsity hockey and track. I played summer baseball up through the American Legion level. I was team manager on the high school football team. I was on the trap shooting team for 4 years. I was also an honor roll student. I am a second-year student at Lake Superior College. I made the Dean’s list all three of my semesters at LSC, mostly because I didn’t have the stress of finances and school. I would never be able to get a 3.86 GPA without various scholarship’s financial support. Leveraging my time is critical for my success. If I have to work more, my grades suffer. If I have more fianacial resources, I can study more. Resources keep in my my desk where I belong. I am generally a happy person and easygoing. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed. During down or off times, I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. I try to focus on one semester at a time. My goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College in the spring semester of 2024. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My goal is to buy the business from him when he is ready to retire. The business is in a touristy town in Wisconsin on a lake. The summer months are really busy. The town swells from 2,500 people to 30,000 people in the spring and summer months. His goal is to work six months a year at the business during the summer and spend six months a year in Puerto Rico. My business and accounting background are going to be put to work. There are multiple revenue streams in the bar business. Maximizing those revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. I will also take care of the books. I won’t lie. I’ll be cooking, cleaning bathrooms, and cutting grass all summer as well. I was bullied by my varsity high school hockey coach. He almost took me down. I finally decided to give it right back. Google East End Hockey Booster Club. You will see that this coach wished he never met me or especailly my father. Everything will be taken from him. What goes around comes arond is the old saying. He is getting his now. Watch, this story will be national news soon. I am so much stronger as a result of the experience.

My father was a coach. I asked him one day why he liked to coach? He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. This summer, I am working at Camp Deerhorn. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back. There is a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child.” Very true. Last summer I was responsible for various groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. During the fall-spring months, I officiate youth- high school boys and girls hockey. There are a ton of life lessons to be learned out on that ice. I enjoy being in the middle of all of it. I interacted with 1,200 different kids last season. Much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I think that is the best time to make a difference. It is my best place to serve. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. I take to heart my father’s comments in the first paragraph. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. There are many ways to lead. In what I have written above, my involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. Honesty and integrity are a big part of development at these ages. You have to have the talent to lead. People will not follow you if you do not have the aptitude, required skill set, or communication skills that qualify you to lead. Trust is also a big part of leadership. If people don't trust you, you’re not leading anybody. Time, resources, and maybe lives are at risk, so who in the group gives the best chance of success? That is your leader. NO leader knows everything or is good at everything. Talented leaders surround themselves with talented people that are proficient in areas he/she is not. To have the confidence to bring on people better than you at something and listen to them is a sign of real leadership. Good planning skills and the ability to create structure for accomplishing the goal are also common traits. From playing three varsity sports, counseling, officiating, and being raised by a coach, I have learned that the best leaders know where they fit in a situation. Also, check your ego at the door.

The wisest advice I use regularly is to "think outside the box". This life strategy has been crucial to my success in life. The concept of "thinking outside the box" is to look for opportunities where the competition isn't looking. If you are trying to compete with a large group or high talent base your odds of success are going to be low. There are only a few that make it to the top, and killing yourself to be that one person has a very low success rate. Success comes easier and quicker looking where others don’t. Every day I am trying to do what others don't do, won't do, or stay away from what everyone else is doing. Right now I am writing my third essay of the day. This essay is actually my 560th since January 2022. I take scholarship hunting seriously. I have found that it has allowed me to leverage my time. I have had success. I treat scholarship hunting like a business. I am self-employed as a hockey official. I set my own hours around my school schedule. It is the greatest college opportunity a 20-year-old could have. Through USA Hockey, all games are posted on the Minnesota Hockey Officiating Website. I schedule one to two games a day during the week and four to five games each Saturday and Sunday. Mileage is reimbursed. On out-of-town games, meals and lodging are covered by the host team. A very lucrative and flexible opportunity at my age. I leverage my time and resources with officiating and scholarships so that I can enjoy my summers. I talked about thinking “outside the box.” In the summer, my camp counseling job is all about getting paid to have fun on a lake all summer long. The whole point is to recreate. I do bill the camp for being CPR and lifeguard certified. I teach hockey and I am in charge of sports and activities. My goal is to always make money, have a good time, and control my time. After college, I will be a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My goal is to buy the business from him when he is ready to retire. The business is in a touristy town in Wisconsin on a lake. The summer months are really busy. The town swells from 2,500 people to 30,000 people in the spring and summer months. His goal is to work 6 months a year at the bar during the summer and spend 6 months a year in Puerto Rico. I plan on following in his footsteps. I will be working year-round hopefully for just a couple of years. My goal is to generate enough business during the busy summer months so that I can close down for the winter. I would like to join my uncle in Puerto Rico during the winter. There are major tax advantages for claiming Puerto Rico as your residency. I want to capitalize on that. The main advantage of our establishment is the lake, and half the facility is screened with a huge gas fireplace. People can sit inside and feel like they are outside without any bugs. We have two huge garage doors that roll up and down that face the lake. Having fun inside with the feel of being outside is what separates us from the competition. Everyone is different. I think I am unique because people are shocked on how I am able to combine finances and fun. After college, I want to coach high school sports.

My favorite thing about math is that math is never wrong. Math is very pure, clear, absolute, and clean. As long as the data is accurate, math will give you your answer on almost anything. Math gives you the real reality of things. Math does not lie. I use math almost every second of the day. It usually is focused on life. Every decision I make, I am usually weighing the time/cost benefit of my actions. Time vs money. I typed this essay at 3 am on a Friday. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to not waste time and fill out a scholarship. I will most likely tire and go back to bed. I felt it was a better use of my time to be typing than tossing and turning all night. Everything that happens in this world, happens at a cost. Financial literacy is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Children are not expected to understand the real world. Adults are! Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. Finances are 100% mathematical. I feel without math I would be lost in life. Math is what keeps me focused and sane. Math gives me the structure I need in life. I see many people in this world that don't want to pay attention to the math of life. Without good math skills, I just don’t see how you can see the world how it truly is. You also can’t solve your own problems, much less the world’s problems, without math either. I am probably stating the obvious, but human existence is built on math. We would be extinct without it. The human brain’s ability to build an infrastructure for us to live on planet earth is all math based. 8 billion people on the planet could not be achieved without that infrastructure. Math provides a great life. Life for all species is in some form of calculation. The more people that understand this, the happier their lives will become. From a personal observation, my peers that do well in math, excel in every subject and usually end up excelling in the real world. Why would anybody not want to excel in math? The big three have always been reading, writing, and arithmetic.

My favorite thing about math is that math is never wrong. Math is very pure, clear, absolute, and clean. As long as the data is accurate, math will give you your answer on almost anything. Math gives you the real reality of things. Math does not lie. I use math almost every second of the day. It usually is focused on life. Every decision I make, I am usually weighing the time/cost benefit of my actions. Time vs money. I typed this essay at 3 am on a Wednesday. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to not waste time and fill out a scholarship. I will most likely tire and go back to bed. I felt it was a better use of my time to be typing than tossing and turning. I feel without math I would be lost in life. Math is what keeps me focused and sane. Math gives me the structure I need in life. I see many people in this world that don't want to pay attention to the math of life. These people are living a very hard life or someone else is taking care of them. Math provides a great life. Life for all species is a calculation. The more people that understand this, the happier their lives will become. Math is freedom.

I think it is very important to understand that eating healthy can cause confusion for many people. Just because a food is healthy or a healthy alternative doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot of calories. People will say this is healthy or that is healthy but do not realize the calorie content. Healthy does not prevent obesity. I think the best strategy is healthy eating combined with calorie restriction. Certain healthy foods have fewer calories and can be eaten in larger volumes. Usually, that pertains to the fruit, vegetables, and protein food sources. The fats and carbs that are healthier still contain high-calorie content. People don't understand that the body does not care about good calories or bad calories. If there are extra calories, they will get stored. Two blocks from my house is a health food bakery. They make incredible bread and cookies and other baked goods. All their products are made with whole natural ingredients. Nothing they sell is processed, refined, or has any additives or preservatives. Everything is a whole food product. Ingredients are marked clearly on the packaging, but there is no listing of serving size or calorie content per serving. I guarantee you the cookies are 1,000 calories each. I would also guess the bread has 200 calories in a slice. Healthy ingredients, yes. Prevents obesity, no. The amount of people in the US that are overweight or obese sits at around 66%. People of all ages with weight issues struggle with their health, appearance, and confidence. Many of the main health issues of today's society are weight related. The top causes of death in this country are also related to weight. There is nothing good about being heavy. You will most likely live longer and have a better life experience being thin than fat. I should also mention that close to 25% of our country's GDP goes to health care. With almost 70% of our country overweight, the math is clear on why. Most of us eat too much. Eating healthy is always going to be better than not. I have noticed that the cleaner I eat, the less craving I have for bad food. My digestive system has changed to not being able to tolerate low-quality food choices. I tend to feel sick and lethargic after a low-quality meal. Eating healthy does not interrupt my day as a low-quality meal does. I have gotten to the point where I avoid poor food choices altogether. The downtime it causes isn’t worth it.

I have embraced the college experience. Ages 18-23 I feel should be a good time. College is a great in-between stage of life. You are an adult, but do not have all of the responsibilities of an adult. In general, taxes, daycare, traffic, mortgages, and only two weeks of vacation are not part of life yet. You have 50 years of that after college. I very much value these last few years of youth. Why hurry? Life for me has really flourished at LSC. I made the Dean’s list and the honor society every semester. I have won multiple scholarships throughout my college career. I was part of LSC’s 2022 marketing campaign last year. I was on billboards and other marketing outlets promoting the school. How awesome is that! LSC also landed me a summer job as a camp counselor. I was in charge of sports and activities at Camp Deerhorn in Rhinelander, WI in 2022. My hockey officiating job was also cultivated due to a connection from the school. All kinds of opportunities have opened up. College is an opportunity to socialize, make lifelong friendships, grow academically, physically, emotionally, and an opportunity to postpone adulthood. Ages 18-25 or so are when you are at your peak. College is a fantastic time to be a young adult. It will most likely be your last chance in life to experience life with a large grouping of people your own age. Don’t squander it. Take full advantage of this window of life. That is my mindset. I savor college. College is a stepping stone into adulthood. You are out of the house making decisions without mom or dad around. You still have a lot of structure in your day with school, but there is no one to monitor you. This is the time to practice making good decisions. Getting up and going to class on time, not eating pizza every night, not partying all the time, watching your money, and any other responsible decision is to be learned now. My goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and finance in 2024. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in those fields in 2026. I am looking forward to what UWS has to offer. After college. I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s business. My uncle plans on putting my finance and accounting degrees to work. This opportunity would have never come up unless I went to college. College, for me, provides a healthy mind, body, and soul.

I am in college. The college environment has many pitfalls that can affect students' health and wellness. Many students go from an active lifestyle in high school to a mostly sitting lifestyle studying in college. The basic course load in college is higher. Studying more causes you to sit more. Less activity is going to put on pounds. Being away from home is a big problem for many students. The freedom to make choices without the structure of home life or supervision is a hard transition for many students. No one is there to say you can’t eat pizza every night. Even the on-campus meal plans that everyone signs up for freshman year have no limits on the amount you can eat. No limits at the soft-serve ice cream machine or the fountain drinks.Those calories have to go somewhere. Being young and naive plays the biggest role in all of this. There are so many students that prior to college never even thought about putting on weight. They have been young and skinny all their lives. Young with high hormones keeps the weight off. Poor diet, no activity, and partying, are now having an impact. Learning about calories for the first time in the college environment is not the best place to learn. It would be best to be prepped before entering college, not during. You have to have the discipline to participate only occasionally in all the temptations college life provides. Awareness is key. People put on weight because they don’t pay attention to what goes in their mouths. Creating awareness will hopefully start a new habit of accountability. If you don’t care, there is no hope. You have to want it. Being alive for 70 or 80 years is a long time. If you don’t pay attention you could gain weight everyone of those years. At age 20, if you added 3 lbs a year, by 60 you are 120 lbs heavier. Watching your weight for most people is a lifetime endeavor. The amount of people in the US that are overweight or obese sits at around 66%. Every day do something. I walk 3-5 miles every day with my dog. I also workout at the gym 3 times a week for about an hour. Secondly, what goes in your mouth is of the utmost importance. It is extremely hard to exercise those calories away. I keep it simple. Stay away as best you can from sugar, fast food, bread, pasta, and deep-fried foods. Protein is important. It is what builds muscle and it keeps you satisfied much longer than other foods. Genetics plays a role in all of this. We all know people who put on weight easily and others that can eat whatever they want. I have a bodybuilder-type physique. I carry more muscle than most, which is great now, but I am prone to be heavy in later years if I am not careful. My mother was Mrs. Minnesota in women's bodybuilding. My father was a powerlifter. My sister was an All-American Division 1 track athlete. My mother and sister own their own training facility. (AP Training) I have become educated in the health and fitness field due to my family's involvement in the industry. I was raised in a health and fitness family. The biggest change I have made is comprehending that healthy foods are not necessarily low caloric foods. Eating healthy can make you fat. I am not sure most people understand that. Calories are the key component.

Everything that happens in this world, happens at a cost. Financial responsibility is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Children are not expected to understand the real world. Adults are! Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. My father is a financial executive. He gave me some advice that really has stuck with me. He told me that people aimlessly spend money throughout the day and do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. He said people are unconsciously oblivious. As a student, I see other students living this way all the time. I think the parents must just pay the bills. That works for now, but what do you do in a few years when you graduate and are on your own with no financial skills? College is supposed to be a stepping stone into adulthood. You are out of the house making decisions without mom or dad around. You still have a lot of structure in your day with school, but there is no one to monitor you. This is the time to practice making good decisions. Getting up and going to class on time, not eating pizza every night, not partying all the time, watching your money, and any other responsible decisions are to be learned now. The dropout rate freshman year for public colleges and universities is 50%. Wonder why? Part of the problem is that America is built on tempting people to buy, buy, buy, spend, spend, and spend. Drive down the street, almost every business wants you to stop in and impulse buy. Quick, easy, and convenience is America. This American culture has also made us extremely lazy. We have become so lazy that we don’t care what things cost. We have become a grab-and-go society. Actually, it is worse than that. People just order things and food off their phones and have it delivered. An easy trap for an 18-22-year-old to get caught in. My father gave me a simple example of students who buy energy drinks. In Minnesota where I live, it costs around $4 at the gas station or college vending machines per beverage. Most of my friends drink a minimum of 3 a day. $12 a day times 365 days a year and you have spent almost $5,000 a year. That is just one item. Most students dabble in all kinds of money-wasting daily activities. I am not going to get too specific on the math, but it looks like wasting $10,000-$20,000 a year net after taxes is easy to do. That is why nobody has any money. That is one reason college kids have so much debt. Then they wake up one day after graduation and wonder why they have to make a $1,000 a month student loan payment for the next 30 years. My best advice for college students is to try and not buy anything at school. Another idea is to only carry a certain amount of cash. Try to stay away from the food court area or student center. Probably best to pre-plan your day. The more you hang around aimlessly, the more money you are going to spend. In all fairness, there are two kinds of people out there. There are spenders and there are savers. People are hardwired in one direction or the other. Savers save money and hate to spend. Spenders love to spend and hate to save. I wish I had more sunshine on this issue. Just over 8% of adults in the US population fit the definition of being a millionaire. 92% don’t. Awareness is key. I would start by having people write down what they spend every day in a log. The goal here is to create awareness and hopefully a new habit of accountability. If you don’t care, there is no hope. Students also enroll in various colleges and universities without thinking. Another act of unawareness. I want to go to this school, my friends go there, my father went there, it is a family tradition to go there, and being a big fan of the college sports program is not being responsible when choosing a college. My plan from the start has been to graduate debt-free. Not having that plan or goal is what gets students into trouble. Ignorance is very painful. I have filled out 550 scholarships this year. I work part-time. I work full-time during the summer. I go to a school I can afford. If I have to take fewer credits due to cost, I take fewer credits. Everyone can graduate from college debt-free if they want. Again, the question is do you care? You can’t care after graduation. Inflation is going to put a strain on people's finances. Financial literacy is extremely important. I hope the scholarship committee can see the value in my essay and award me the scholarship.

Before I get into the essay, I read the information about Marilyn Palmer. My father and my grandfather coached basketball for many years. I found that interesting. I don’t know if I am clever, but I am sure thrifty. I think I would have gotten along wonderfully with her if I would have had the chance to have met her. What I like the most about this country is that I have always felt that every citizen has opportunity in the US. I am not saying equal opportunity, but I am saying there are opportunities that are available for all citizens to thrive. There are so many options in life here in the US. Navigating those opportunities can be difficult to do. An example of this is education in this country. Every possible educational option is available. I will just talk about college options since I am in college. You can attend large, medium, or small universities. You can attend expensive, moderately priced, or inexpensive schools. There are online option schools, trade and vocational schools. Every possible option is available here in the US. With so many options in the US, in almost everything, it creates opportunity for us as citizens. Because there is so much opportunity, I look at people as equals. No matter what a person's situation is now, a few years from now things could be totally different. I treat all people with respect, because in America everyone can rise from their current situation. Be respectful to everyone, because you never know who they will become. They might be your boss someday! That is what is great about being an American and living in America. There is hope and opportunity. Being an American means to me that I am somebody, because there is always an opportunity to become somebody. You can’t say that for many parts of the world. There is a drawback in America with all this diversity of options. It can take time, energy, and resources to find your way. Persistence and perseverance are needed to be successful. Those traits are what being an American is all about. Those traits are needed to succeed here and are respected and encouraged nationally. Overcoming some insane adversity and shine at the end is a very common theme in the US. People rally around and put in high esteem those that have made their mark that way. The American Dream. Thank you for the opportunity to write this essay. I also want to thank Tessa Werner for nomminating me.

Learning as a whole is a benefit. I compare it to what healthy eating and exercise does for the body. Eating healthy and taking care of yourself physically can result in a long physically positive life. I think learning does that for the mind. The brain needs to stay healthy. Growth mentally keeps the brain strong and in shape. A lack of mental growth I believe leads to a decline in mental fitness. My father read to me every night. As a result, I have a daily habit of reading. My brain is trained to read. The topics change. When I was young, I read mostly comedy through comic strip books. My favorite was Calvin and Hobbs. As I got a bit older, my interests turned to more sports-related topics. By late high school, I was well ready in world history. Now I focus mostly on financial reads. I am really interested in business and finance. I am sure my interest in learning won’t wane. It is a part of who I am. What I like the most about learning is it is usually never boring. The brain enjoys new positive stimuli. I think the brain craves it. The people that don’t experience positive mental growth tend to have higher levels of anger and unhappiness. Mad at everybody and mad at the world. Educated people seem to have way fewer of those issues. I think what can happen is that people get to a comfortable place and want to stay there. The world keeps moving forward and eventually that comfortable place vanishes. People are then thrust into a forced and panicked type situation for growth. Adapting and learning under extreme pressure can be very painful. A gradual consistent pace is easier. The world is always changing. Not being able to grow and change with the world will most likely negatively affect you. Learn and you will grow and prosper. Deciding to not grow will cause pain and suffering. What I like to read, others may hate. I recommend any comedy/ comic book that makes one laugh. Reading funny books has caused me to develop a love for reading. I started with Calvin & Hobbs. I had a larger than life child imagination like Calvin. I saw a lot of him in me. I think everyone should get in touch with their younger self.

My father was a coach. I asked him why he liked to coach? He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. This past summer, I worked at Camp Deerhorn. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There is a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child.” True!! Last summer I was responsible for multiple groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. As you get older, life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids, all they want to do is laugh and have a good time. Kids give back by teaching you how to have fun again. I get as much as I give. I officiate youth-high school boys and girls hockey during the school year. I was on the ice working with kids for over 150 games this past season. You are interacting with these players all game. There are a ton of life lessons to be learned out on that ice. I enjoy being in the middle of all of it. I interacted with 1,200 different kids last season. I think much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I believe that is the best time to make a difference. I also think it is my best place to serve. My family has a long tradition of coaching. My grandfather was a high school basketball coach. He coached for 20 years in Chicago, IL. Coaching high school athletics is part of my career goals. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. I take to heart my father’s comments in the first paragraph. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. In what I have written above, my involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. That is my father’s philosophy and now mine. If I made a difference, those kids will grow up and make a difference. That is what happened to me! I should mention I am going to try my hand at college tutoring for the spring semester. I needed tutor help during my freshman year. I was in the tutor office often my first year. The accounting department asked me. Will see how it goes.

My father was a coach. I asked him why he liked to coach? He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of two coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day. He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids. He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since high school, I have been working with kids. This past summer, I worked at Camp Deerhorn. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There is a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child.” True!! Last summer I was responsible for multiple groups of boys for 10 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. As you get older, life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids, all they want to do is laugh and have a good time. Kids give back by teaching you how to have fun again. I get as much as I give. I officiate youth-high school boys and girls hockey during the school year. I was on the ice working with kids for over 150 games this past season. You are interacting with these players all game. There are a ton of life lessons to be learned out on that ice. I enjoy being in the middle of all of it. I interacted with 1,200 different kids last season. I think much of who you are later in life is established when you are young. I believe that is the best time to make a difference. I also think it is my best place to serve. My family has a long tradition of coaching. My grandfather was a high school basketball coach. He coached for 20 years in Chicago, IL. Coaching high school athletics is part of my career goals. Much of who I am is directly tied to all the people that got involved in my life. I take to heart my father’s comments in the first paragraph. My father and other coaches have been great role models and mentors. In what I have written above, my involvement is to encourage kids. When they are young and still impressionable, teach them to work hard, have fun, work together, respect each other, have goals, and be the best version of themselves. That is my father’s philosophy and now mine. If I made a difference, those kids will grow up and make a difference. That is what happened to me!

The key is for all of us to be vigilant in our consumption of resources. That is the quickest way to help the environment. That would be a monumental shift in human behavior. Culturally, more of everything is how the world works. Living with less has to become the new normal. Living with less is my contribution to the planet. I daily plan to not waste time or resources. Everyone should take this up. The main glaring problem is that there are too many people on the planet. This is the core problem that no one wants to talk about. Humans, from my research, have been around for about 300,000 years (homo sapiens). 99.9999% of our time here on the planet we have been able to be a part of the world's ecosystem and in balance with the earth's systems. In the 1800s the population of the world was 1 billion. 200 years later we are at 8 billion. We have 8 billion people that need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? The answer is None! Nothing comes close. If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s ok. The topic is never brought up. Most of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. Of course, even a lower number than that is always better. How do people or the governments of this world have the conversation that there are 7 billion people that need to somehow vanish from the planet? No one is getting elected or re-elected bringing this topic up. The more people there are, the harder humans are on the planet and each other. How are you going to get 8 billion people to care? I don’t see how we get that many people moving together on any issue. The vastness of our numbers to get anything accomplished seems remote. I also believe quantity vs. quality applies to our population. Our society currently has absolutely no plan for our numbers. People can just pump out kids. We deal with it as we go. All kinds of children need quality education, food, healthcare, housing, and proper raising. All of that takes resources. How can we help people achieve their goals ( on a large scale) when there is no planning at birth? Reacting is what we do. NO PLAN is the problem. The fact there is no planning in our population is clear to me our world is in trouble. The fact that it is not even mentioned is a clear sign nothing will change. I have read that in the not so far off future we are going to add another 2 billion people to the planet. Benjamin Franklin summarized it all when he said: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” If you are still reading this essay, I do have a solution. The real question is do we want to solve the problems of this world or are we just looking for temporary patches? Electric cars, solar panels, shopping at the coop, raising your own chickens, etc are all patches. We need to cut our numbers to save the planet. I hope the committee sees the value in my thoughts and awards me the scholarship.

I am for the most part satisfied with my academic and extracurricular experiences. I was a varsity letterman in three sports in high school. I went to a bigger school. My class size was around 400. To play three sports when most students are focusing on one, I feel I had great success. I also fit in snowboarding and league trap shooting during my four years of high school. I wanted a variety of experiences. I never had a goal of playing college athletics. Most of my success came naturally. I never had to put the time into sports like most of my peers. Being 6-2 and 215 lbs. as a freshman in high school made things easier. My sister was a Division 1 All- American track athlete. My mother was a state-champion bodybuilder. My father played Division 3 basketball. I watched my sister's experience with college athletics. The time commitment for me didn't make sense. I especially felt all that time on a coach bus or in an airport would get to me. We never saw her much. It looked like a full-time job to me. I chose to be proficient in many sports and activities. I have turned my proficiencies into income-generating opportunities. I am a hockey official during the fall, winter, and spring. I am a camp counselor in the summer teaching baseball, basketball, hockey, trap shooting, riflery, and archery. I am happy that I diversified my experiences. I have so many opportunities as a result. As a self-employed hockey official, the pay is exceptional for being 20, and it is extremely fun. Mileage, lodging, and food are all reimbursed during away games. I am also 100% in control of setting my schedule. What other college kid has that? Being a camp counselor during the summers has been great. I get paid to teach fun all summer long on beautiful Wisconsin lakes for 2.5 months in the summer. Lodging, meals, and access to all the facilities all summer long are included. I also get a nice long fun break from college to recharge. How great is that! Academics are the most important. The majority of my extended family are teachers. It is expected to do well in school. I realized that athletics are a real short window for almost everybody. That is what made athletics very special for me. I wanted to experience as many different sports as I could. I consider myself well-rounded as a result of all my past athletic experiences. I am very happy with how things went and are going. I plan on staying the course of high academics, officiating, and camp counseling for the next three years. I should mention that athletics also kept me out of trouble. I never had time to venture into bad behavior. Athletics are great for keeping kids busy. Keeping kids busy I think is extremely important. At night I was always too tired to be getting into mischief. I appreciate the opportunity.

I spent most of my youth very active in sports and other activities. I have used those skills to work with kids the last two summers working as a camp counselor. I am an honest strait forward person. I like to be organized and ahead on things. I am no procrastinator. I enjoy music. Big fan of the 70's.80's and early 90's eras. I am generally easygoing and enjoy a good laugh. I watch comedy regularly. Personality-wise, I lean toward being more of a loner. My life goal is to be the best version of myself and reach my potential. Every day I focus on my mental, physical, emotional, and financial growth and well-being. There are other areas that I focus on, but these four are crucial. Family, friends, and fun make my list also. My academic goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and finance in the fall semester of 2023. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4-year degree in those fields in the fall semester of 2025. After college, I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My uncle owns a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road, he would like me to take over. His goal is to work 6 months during the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle is going to put me to work full-time year-round so he can be semi-retired. I plan on following in his footsteps. I will be working year-round hopefully for just a couple of years. My goal is to generate enough business during the busy summer months so that I can close down for the winter. I would like to join my uncle in Puerto Rico during the winter. My finance and accounting degrees will be put to work in the business. There are multiple revenue streams in the bar business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. I will also handle the payroll, business taxes, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bouncing, cooking, cleaning, and bartending. I am pursuing my degree specifically to be a part owner of the bar. My uncle would never consider me without me bringing something to the table. My goal from the beginning was to work with him. It sounds like an incredible opportunity. Having fun and sun at the bar on the lake in the summer, and having fun and sun on the ocean in Puerto Rico during the winter. Sounds like the plan. I would like to mention that my father and grandfather coached basketball for decades. I would like to follow in their footsteps. I would like to try my hand at it after college. Working at the bar will provide the time flexibility needed to coach. I hope the committee sees the value in my essay and awards me the scholarship.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. How does that happen? We need a culture change in our society. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the potential danger I was in. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try as best I can to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult for me. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. I should have talked about this earlier, but learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. The power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

Everything that happens in this world, happens at a cost. Financial responsibility is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Children are not expected to understand the real world. Adults are! Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. My father is a financial executive. He told me that people aimlessly spend money throughout the day and do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. He said people are unconscious of their spending. As a student, I see other students living this way all the time. I think the parents must just pay the bills. That works for now, but what do you do in a few years when you graduate and are on your own with no financial skills? College is supposed to be a stepping stone into adulthood. You are out of the house making decisions without mom or dad around. You still have a lot of structure in your day with school, but there is no one to monitor you. This is the time to practice making good decisions. Getting up and going to class on time, not eating pizza every night, not partying all the time, watching your money, and any other responsible decision is to be learned now. The dropout rate freshman year for public colleges and universities is 50%. Wonder why? Part of the problem is that America is built on tempting people to buy and spend. Drive down the street, almost every business wants you to stop in and impulse buy. Quick, easy, and convenience is America. This American culture has made us extremely lazy. We have become so lazy that we don’t care what things cost. We are a grab-and-go society. Actually, it is worse than that. People just order things and food off their phones. An easy trap for young adults to get caught in. In Minnesota, it costs around $4 at the gas station or college vending machines per beverage. Most of my friends drink a minimum of 3 a day. $12 a day times 365 days a year and you have spent almost $5,000 a year. That is just one item. Most students dabble in all kinds of money-wasting daily activities. I am not going to get too specific, but it looks like wasting $10,000-$20,000 a year net after taxes is easy to do. That is why nobody has any money. That is one reason college kids have so much debt. They wake up one day after graduation and wonder why they have a $1,000 a month student loan payment for the next 30 years. I plan to graduate debt-free. Not having that plan or goal is what gets students into trouble. Ignorance is very painful. I have filled out 500 scholarships this year. I work part-time. I work full-time during the summer. I go to a school I can afford. If I have to take fewer credits due to cost, I take fewer credits. Everyone can graduate from college debt-free if they want. The question is do you care? You can’t care after graduation. Financial literacy is very important. Awareness and accountability are key. I am majoring in accounting and finance. I will be helping others as a CPA when I graduate. I hope the scholarship committee sees the value in my essay and awards me the scholarship.

Mental health I think people are expected to magically know something about. Then all of a sudden they find themselves in a situation that requires the appropriate knowledge and response and they don’t have it. Not having that knowledge and skillset to think and act appropriately gets people in big trouble. I am 20 and I would guess many people would think I am too young to have an understanding of mental health. The facts are that 1 out of 5 teens ages 12-18 suffer from at least one diagnosable mental health disorder. I am one of those teens in the 20%. I know if I had more knowledge and a better coping skill set on mental health, I would not have had a breakdown. I would have been self-aware to see the signs of the dark hole before I fell into it. Growing up, the focus of danger is on the physical dangers in life (don't play with fire, look both ways before you cross the street, watch where you are going when riding your bike). There are mental dangers in life that are just as dangerous. Going through life blindly and unaware of the risks that can happen to your brain mentally is extremely dangerous. I was severely unprepared for these mental dangers. I got hurt and I did not see it coming. My varsity high school hockey coach was a bully. This grown man enjoyed making himself feel like a man by picking on high school kids. I think the coach had a “little man complex”. The guy was 5’6 and 140 lbs. I was that size in grade school. He loved to pick on players. I was not the only one. It is amazing how the bullying creeps up on you. My schooling started to suffer, I couldn’t focus, I started to not sleep well, I started to not be interested in things, and isolate. I felt like I was withdrawing from life. I even stopped talking to family and friends. A gradual decline that you don’t notice right away and then one day you realize you’re in trouble. Not knowing what is wrong, what to do, or where to go for help, is a state of helplessness that is really scary. My life has totally changed since I emerged from the black hole. My whole life now revolves around my mental health. Every decision is based on what is good or bad for my mental health. For example, I only take 12 credits a semester in college. One less class is less stressful. I don’t care if it takes an extra semester or two to graduate. I don’t have a girlfriend. My last one was too stressful. I make sure I eat healthily and get enough sleep every night. I also exercise regularly. All the toxic and negative people I got rid of. All day and every day it is 100% about balance is the best way I can explain it. This scholarship would lessen the financial stress of school. The more resources I secure the more likely I am to graduate. I take college one semester at a time. A $2,500 scholarship would be a huge help for my spring bill of my sophomore year. My favorite hobby is working as a camp counselor. I have video links on my profile. It is a real fun time in the summer. It doesn't pay well. If I secure enough funding, maybe I can work with kids again next summer. I am grateful for the opportunity.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. How does that happen? We need a culture change in our society. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the potential danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthily. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Constantly self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try as best I can to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. When it comes to relationships of any kind, I have one rule. If you make my life harder and not easier, you are gone. I also plan on being self-employed after college. I do not want to be under someone else's thumb. The stress of not having control would be difficult for me. Fear of getting fired doesn't work for me either. I should have talked about this earlier in the essay, but learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you use it!

There are all kinds of effects from global warming. As I write this, Florida just experienced one of their worst hurricanes in state history. The summer heat comes earlier and earlier every summer. Look at all the forest fires out west every year. California has had 18 of its 20 biggest and worst fires since the year 2000. 12 of the 20 worst fires have happened in the last 5 years. The extreme weather is very noticeable. I find it crazy that many people still think it doesn’t exist. I also find it crazy that the people concerned about climate change are not addressing the main issue. That issue is us. We pretend and focus our efforts on electric cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, shopping at the co-op, or some other technological advancement. All of this helps, but none of it is the answer. Nobody wants to talk about the elephant in the room. That big elephant is us. They need to get rid of the term “Global Warming.” It is too vague. It needs to be rebranded into something more aggressive, like “The Human Plague” or "The Human Infestation Problem.” There are too many people on the planet. This is the core problem that no one wants to talk about. Humans have been around for about 300,000 years (homo sapiens). 99.9999% of our time here on the planet we have been able to be a part of the world's ecosystem. Global Warming shows us how far away from that balance we are now. We have 8 billion people that need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lbs to 300lbs animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? The answer is None! Nothing comes close. If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s ok. A plague is how we would describe the situation. Since we are the plague, it is ok. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. Of course, even a lower number than that is always better. How do people or the governments of this world have the conversation that there are 7 billion people that need to somehow vanish from the planet? No one is getting elected or re-elected bringing this topic up. I also believe quantity vs. quality applies to our population. People can just pump out kids. We deal with it as we go. All kinds of children need quality education, food, healthcare, housing, and proper raising. All of that takes resources. The more resources needed and consumed causes Global Warming. NO PLAN is the problem. The fact there is no planning in our population is clear to me our world is in trouble. The fact that it is not even mentioned is a clear sign nothing will change. I have read that in the not so far off future we are going to add another 2 billion people to the planet. All the electric cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, and shopping at the co-op, isn’t going to matter. The effects of human pollution will only increase as we add more mouths to feed. The environment will only continue to suffer at a greater scale in the future. The most impactful way to combat climate change is to severely decrease our numbers. I try to use as little resources as possible is what I do. Benjamin Franklin summarized it all when he said: “Failing to plan is planning to fail”.

Everything that happens in this world, happens at a cost. Financial responsibility is understanding and having an awareness of this fact. People who do not operate or understand how finances work are not living in the real world. Children are not expected to understand the real world. Adults are! Not having a financial skill set severely compromises an individual’s ability to be independent. If you have a low financial IQ, someone else is probably taking care of you, or you have lived a very hard life. My father is a financial executive. He gave me some advice that really has stuck with me. He told me that people aimlessly spend money throughout the day and do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. He said people are unconsciously oblivious. As a student, I see other students living this way all the time. I think the parents must just pay the bills. That works for now, but what do you do in a few years when you graduate and are on your own with no financial skills? College is supposed to be a stepping stone into adulthood. You are out of the house making decisions without mom or dad around. You still have a lot of structure in your day with school, but there is no one to monitor you. This is the time to practice making good decisions. Getting up and going to class on time, not eating pizza every night, not partying all the time, watching your money, and any other responsible decision are to be learned now. The dropout rate freshman year for public colleges and universities is 50%. Wonder why? My father gave me a simple example of students who buy energy drinks. In Minnesota where I live, it costs around $4 at the gas station or college vending machines per beverage. Most of my friends drink a minimum of 3 a day. $12 a day times 365 days a year and you have spent almost $5,000 a year. That is just one item. Most students dabble in all kinds of money-wasting daily activities. It could be that daily stop at Starbucks for coffee, eating out at lunch every day, fast food 3-4 times a week, the list is endless. I am not going to get too specific on the math, but it looks like wasting $10,000-$20,000 a year net after taxes is easy to do. That is why nobody has any money. That is one reason college kids have so much debt. Students generally are not going to give up their routines or habits. Then they wake up one day after graduation and wonder why they have to make a $1,000 a month student loan payment for the next 30 years. Awareness is key. I would start by having people write down what they spend every day in a log. The goal here is to create awareness and hopefully a new habit of accountability. If you don’t care, there is no hope. Not having a plan or goal is what gets students into trouble. Ignorance is very painful. I have filled out 500 scholarships this year. I work part-time. I work full-time during the summer. I go to a school I can afford. If I have to take fewer credits due to cost, I take fewer credits. Again, the question is do you care? You can’t care after graduation.

My parents were both athletic and into fitness. My mother is about 5-7 but has arms bigger than many men and almost every women. She won multiple bodybuilding shows in her day. When she walked down the street in her younger days people gawked as they passed by. I wish I could attach some pictures. My father stands out also. Harder to stand out as a guy but he in his prime was 6-1 and just shy of 240lbs. Bench 360 lbs., squat almost 500 lbs., and he could pull 600+ lbs. off the floor. For a Natural guy that is elite strength. Most men can't touch those numbers without synthetic hormonal help. I am blessed that I have parents that gave me great genetics. I used to hide my physique in my early teens. Now I am grateful. I am what they call being Yolked. The positive attention I get from girls is crazy. The males out there are most always uncomfortable around me. The stories I have are endless and daily. I will share a couple. Last week was the last hot couple of days of the year. I was at the beach. This guy and his girlfriend parked next to my car and walked to the beach. I was on the other side of the car and they didn't see me as they walked passed. On their walk back to the car the guy saw me. He freaked out and did not want his girlfriend to get a good look or get close to me. He takes her into the woods to avoid me ! Drags her through the trees and brush and comes out the other side of my car. She was upset about the woods and what was suppose to be a good romantic time turned into a fight in front of me. She finally saw me. She got all happy and smiley and giggly, and he got pissed. I laughed the whole drive home. I have girls that follow me when I am driving, At the beach, groups of them run up to me and take selfie pictures with me. This happens to me all the time. I will go to the gym to work out. If a couple is there, the guy will grab his girlfriend and leave. I walk in, the guy freaks and grabs his girl and runs. Girls will almost always shed their sweatshirts etc. and show their assets when I am around. The whole thing is very primal. It is fun to watch how people react. It might be 2022, but you can't take the caveman out of us. I know all of this sounds like I am bragging or I am full of myself. I would be happy to send some pictures. I have won many scholarships this year. I am pretty sure that my writing skills are decent, but not excellent. I always include multiple pictures of me on applications. It seems to work. It doesn't work at Bold.org. Must be mostly men at the shop. No guy is going to give me a scholarship!!!!!

Over the past year, I have transitioned from thinking like a high school kid or kid to an adult. All of my life I have always wanted to do the best I can. I did well in all kinds of things like athletics and academics. As a kid, I did my best partially to not disappoint my parents. Yeah, I wanted to succeed at things like my grades, but I would say at least half of my motivation was not to disappoint. That mindset helped me be successful, however, many times I did not grasp why I was doing this or that or why it was important. I would do things basically because I was told I should or I was told it was important. I did not have the awareness or understanding to connect the dots of the real-world reasons why I was doing something. My next-door neighbors are two brothers that did not finish high school. I will just say their lives aren’t going anywhere. My mind woke up one day when my father told me I would be doing what the neighbor boys are doing if I did not go to college. I did not get it right away. Then my father explained the lives of the two boys. A life of dead-end jobs, still living at home in your mid-20s, a fun time is hanging out and drinking and smoking in the back of their family’s garage on weekends. He said that would be me. I would be joining them. I studied my neighbors for a few weeks. My father was right. These guys had nothing going on. That was when I woke up. I realized I have to pay attention and take life more by the reins. Time to get serious because life is real. There are big consequences for ignorance. My life is my life and I need to take control of it. Realizing my neighbor's situation was the turning point. Life can be good and it can be really rough. If you are not aware, planning, and making good decisions, you have a good chance of experiencing a harder life. I am not interested in that. My daily life has not changed much. I still focus on my finances, fitness, mental health, and school. I have had more success due to the awareness. I am more vigilant in my efforts now that I understand why. Real-world means real consequences! In the real world now!

My best back-to-school tip is to do everything early. I mean months in advance. Get your books, sign up for your classes, buy your back-to-school clothes, supplies, etc. I also advise this strategy for all school work. Get as far ahead as you can. You will be less stressed and much happier. My second best tip is to say NO as often as you can. Students tend to over-commit. It is not worth it. Your time is precious. Overloading yourself for what? Enjoy your youth. Pick your path wisely and don't overcommit yourself.

The person who wins this scholarship should be the person who can pick one character. I could only narrow it down to a shortlist. Pooh Bear, Tigger, Eeyore, The Incredibles family, the Cars movie, especially Mater and Mayor Doc Hudson, Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbosa, Buzz Lightyear, Wall-E movie, and Rocket Racoon. I went to Disney World as a kid. I remember we spent a whole week on campus. We tried to experience everything. It must take ten days now to see everything. I will never forget the WOW factor. Seven days straight without one single boring moment is hard to do. Disney somehow created that. I like characters that have flair and an outside-the-box personality. I really liked Thor's character when he put on weight and was lost mentally for a while. A Thor that is fat, drinks too much beer, smokes too much pot, and has become recluse paranoid burnout is way outside the box. Disney pulled that off in an amazing fashion. Made me laugh and empathize with the character. I also never saw that coming. Hemsworth did and does a fantastic job playing Thor. How could you ever find anyone else to play Thor? Impossible to do. When I watch the Guardians of the Galaxy films, I feel that Rocket is who makes those movies. I think Disney should increase the lines Rocket has. If you were to take him out of the cast, I think that movie series flops. I find Rocket to be the most complex, funny, and smartest character and he is a raccoon! A raccoon outshines the rest of the human characters. That is unexpected and outside the box to me. I am also a big fan of Yondu Udonta. Wall-E was another masterpiece. A robot movie with very limited dialog that touches your heart and soul? That was accomplished. I have only watched this movie once. I want to watch it again, but I can't bring myself to deal with the emotions the movie creates. I cried hard in that movie. I can never sit down and say I want to cry today. Wall-E would do that to me. One of my favorite movies that I can never watch again. Disney has done some great things in cinema. I generally enjoy their movies. I enjoyed writing this essay. Thank you, Ms. Susy.

I grew up with two golden retrievers “Chloe” and “Gracie”. I also had a 50-gallon fish tank in my room for 12 years. My thoughts on pets are that they are not really pets. I could argue that they are better than family or friends. We lost Chloe two years ago at the age of 5. She had throat cancer. Came on suddenly and she passed away within weeks of bringing her to the vet. I never knew how much I could love something. Her passing was so quick and sudden that I was not capable of coping with the situation. At 16 years old, I found out for the first time what real love is and what real pain is. I never realized up to that point how temporary everything is. Chloe taught me to appreciate each day as she did. The unconditional love animals give is amazing. My dogs and even my fish are always happy to see me. No matter what kind of day I am having, they always give. I am generally a hopeful person. I know I get that from them. Every day they give you that boost of positivity and love. That spark of hope they provide daily has kept me going more than once in my life. Ask yourself, where would you be if you had no hope in your life? Today I went for a 5-mile walk with my dog. We walk the road at Superior Point in Superior, Wisconsin. My body feels great after a long walk. My joints and muscles get a workout without it being strenuous. My lungs enjoy all that fresh outdoor air. I also enjoy the smell of pine forest. Those brisk walks clear my mind of all that life stuff I have to do for a couple of hours. Today I saw two bald eagles, a pack of ravens, and my dog Gracie chased a fox. I talked to an ice fisherman before I got in the car to leave. He showed me his catch for the day. He had a couple of good stories that provided a chuckle or two. I mention this story because I would never go walking 5 miles on my own. Gracie needs to get her exercise and she demands her walk every day. All that fun would not happen without her. Gracie loves her walks with me. She does wonders for me. I am happy watching her be happy. Speaking of happy, I am amazed at how happy Gracie is every day. I often look at her and wish I could have what she has. Food, sleep, some pets, and a good walk and she is happy all the time. A very happy simple life that makes me think we humans are doing things the wrong way. I try to keep life simple for myself. I learned that from her. In conclusion, my pets bring happiness and hope to my life. When you are filled up with hope and happiness you tend to share it with others. Maybe if everyone had pets the world would be a better place. I appreciate the scholarship committee taking the time to read my essay.

Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach their breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. How does that happen? We need a culture change in our society. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, and employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. Now that I got that rant out of the way, I personally have had some mental health issues. I had a stressor in my life I could not deal with. In my situation, I did not communicate my issues. I tried to deal with it myself. I also had not had to deal with mental stress before. I did not realize the magnitude of the potential danger I was in. Mental health is of extreme importance. If your mind goes, you may never recover. Mental damage can be permanent. It is of the utmost priority to maintain and monitor your mental health. A broken brain makes living a hard thing to do. Living is hard enough as it is. After my experience, mental health is a daily activity. I eat healthy. Sleep is huge for brain recovery. I monitor my sleep. I also exercise regularly. The most important thing I do for mental health is a stressor check. I have the awareness to monitor myself throughout the day. Awareness is crucial. Constantly self-checking my stress levels and making adjustments keeps me safe. Planning is important. I try as best I can to see what is up ahead in life. Staying ahead on school work for example keeps stress lower. I also only take 12 credits a semester. A lighter load keeps stress down. I also try not to pack my daily schedule. It is easy to overload it. Balance at all times is what I try to achieve. I should have talked about this earlier in the essay, but learning to say NO was big for me. NO gives you control of your life. I think the power of NO has been the most beneficial skill for maintaining mental health. Watch your life improve the more you say it!

I think it is very important to understand that eating healthy can cause confusion for many people. Just because a food is healthy or a healthy alternative doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot of calories. People will say this is healthy or that is healthy but do not realize the calorie content. Healthy does not prevent obesity. I watch closely my calorie intake each day. I think the best strategy is healthy eating combined with calorie restriction. Certain healthy foods have fewer calories and can be eaten in larger volumes. Usually, that pertains to the fruit, vegetables, and protein food sources. The fats and carbs that are healthier still contain high-calorie content. People don't understand that the body does not care about good calories or bad calories. If there are extra calories, they will get stored. Exercise matters as long as you don't have excess calories at the end of the day. Two blocks from my house is a health food bakery. They make incredible bread and cookies and other baked goods. All their products are made with whole natural ingredients. Nothing they sell is processed, refined, or has any additives or preservatives. Everything is a whole food product. Ingredients are marked clearly on the packaging, but there is no listing of serving size or calorie content per serving. I guarantee you the cookies are 1,000 calories each. I would also guess the bread has 200 calories in a slice. Healthy ingredients, yes. Prevents obesity, no. The amount of people in the US that are overweight or obese sits at around 66%. People of all ages with weight issues struggle with their health, appearance, and confidence. Many of the main health issues of today's society are weight related. The top causes of death in this country are also related to weight. There is nothing good about being heavy. You will most likely live longer and have a better life experience being thin than fat. I should also mention that close to 25% of our country's GDP goes to health care. With almost 70% of our country overweight, the math is clear on why. Most of us eat too much. Eating healthy is always going to be better than not. I have noticed that the cleaner I eat, the less craving I have for bad food. My digestive system has changed to not being able to tolerate low-quality food choices. I tend to feel sick and lethargic after a low-quality meal. Eating healthy does not interrupt my day as a low-quality meal does. I have gotten to the point where I avoid poor food choices altogether. The downtime it causes (2-4 hours) isn’t worth it. The main thing I do is to be aware and vigilant every day. A self check if you will. How did I sleep? What am I going to eat? Am I becoming stressed? What time am I working out today? I track my day and preplan ahead of time. I schedule my workouts and meals around my class schedule. For mental health, I only take 12 credits a semester to keep stress low. I think the trouble college students face is a lack of training on being independent. One day you are living with mom and dad, and the next day you are on your own at college. Lacking the skill set of being independent in my opinion is the main obstacle college students face. You can't make good decisions unless you have the skill set to do so. It is that simple.

I want to say that all learning isn’t necessarily good. People spend time, money, and energy learning things that can be negative. I have friends that have learned to be excellent video game players. The entertainment factor might be high, but the benefit does not look to be measurable in any way. If there is some benefit, it is not presenting itself. I suppose if some of my friends go into business developing gaming software, their expertise could be put to use. Learning as a whole is a benefit. I compare it to what healthy eating and exercise does for the body. Eating healthy and taking care of yourself physically can result in a long physically positive life. I think learning does that for the mind. The brain needs to stay healthy. Growth mentally keeps the brain strong and in shape. A lack of mental growth I believe leads to a decline in mental fitness. When I was little, my father read to me every night. As a result, I have a daily habit of reading. My brain is trained to read. The topics change. When I was young, I read mostly comedy through comic strip books. My favorite was Calvin and Hobbs. As I got a bit older, my interests turned to more sports-related topics. By late high school, I was well read in world history. Now I focus mostly on financial reads. I am really interested in business and finance. I am sure my interest in learning won’t wane. It is a part of who I am. What I like the most about learning is it is usually never boring. The brain enjoys new positive stimuli. I think the brain craves it. The people that don’t experience positive mental growth I have noticed tend to have higher levels of anger and unhappiness. Mad at everybody and mad at the world. Educated people seem to have way fewer of those issues. I wrote an essay on the connection between crime and education that covers this subject. I think what can happen is that people get to a comfortable place and want to stay there. The world keeps moving forward and eventually that comfortable place vanishes. People are then thrust into a forced and panicked type situation for growth. Adapting and learning under extreme pressure can be very painful. A gradual consistent pace is easier. I think lifelong learning is a must. The world is always changing. Not being able to grow and change with the world will most likely negatively affect you. Learn and you will grow and prosper. Deciding to not grow will cause pain and suffering. I think it is as simple as that.

My favorite thing about math is that math is never wrong. Math is very pure, clear, absolute, and clean. As long as the data is accurate, math will give you your answer on almost anything. Math gives you the real reality of things. Math does not lie. I use math almost every second of the day. It usually is focused on life. Every decision I make, I am usually weighing the time/cost benefit of my actions. Time vs money. If you look at my submission, I am typing this essay at 2 am on a Wednesday. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to not waste time and fill out a scholarship. I will most likely tire and go back to bed. I felt it was a better use of my time to be typing than tossing and turning. I feel without math I would be lost in life. Math is what keeps me focused and sane. Math gives me the structure I need in life. I see many people in this world that don't want to pay attention to the math of life. These people are living a very hard life. The ones that aren't, someone else is taking care of them. Math provides a great life. The more people that understand this, the happier their lives will become. Math is freedom.

I think it is very important to understand that eating healthy can cause confusion for many people. Just because a food is healthy or a healthy alternative doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot of calories. People will say this is healthy or that is healthy but do not realize the calorie content. Healthy does not prevent obesity. I think the best strategy is healthy eating combined with calorie restriction. Certain healthy foods have fewer calories and can be eaten in larger volumes. Usually, that pertains to the fruit, vegetables, and protein food sources. The fats and carbs that are healthier still contain high-calorie content. People don't understand that the body does not care about good calories or bad calories. If there are extra calories, they will get stored. Two blocks from my house is a health food bakery. They make incredible bread and cookies and other baked goods. All their products are made with whole natural ingredients. Nothing they sell is processed, refined, or has any additives or preservatives. Everything is a whole food product. Ingredients are marked clearly on the packaging, but there is no listing of serving size or calorie content per serving. I guarantee you the cookies are 1,000 calories each. I would also guess the bread has 200 calories in a slice. Healthy ingredients, yes. Prevents obesity, no. The amount of people in the US that are overweight or obese sits at around 66%. People of all ages with weight issues struggle with their health, appearance, and confidence. Many of the main health issues of today's society are weight related. The top causes of death in this country are also related to weight. There is nothing good about being heavy. You will most likely live longer and have a better life experience being thin than fat. I should also mention that close to 25% of our country's GDP goes to health care. With almost 70% of our country overweight, the math is clear on why. Most of us eat too much. Eating healthy is always going to be better than not. I have noticed that the cleaner I eat, the less craving I have for bad food. My digestive system has changed to not being able to tolerate low-quality food choices. I tend to feel sick and lethargic after a low-quality meal. Eating healthy does not interrupt my day as a low-quality meal does. I have gotten to the point where I avoid poor food choices altogether. The downtime it causes (2-4 hours) isn’t worth it.

The number one reason I want to maintain my health is that I don't want to live a long life in pain. If you don't take care of yourself, you can easily develop health issues that cause decades-long pain and suffering. Then being alive becomes a very long unenjoyable experience. I also live a healthy lifestyle for peace of mind. Things happen in life that we can't control. I am ok with that. If something does happen to me, I just don't want any regrets. I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and say “Hey, you did everything you could." Again, I can live with that. I can't live with self-inflicting stupidity and have something bad happen. Blowing myself up is something I would have a hard time living with. I don't think I could forgive myself. I have multiple family members that are destroying themselves. I want to mention a couple of them and their stories. I have an aunt that is at least 100lbs. overweight. She has diabetes and uses an insulin pump. She also has high blood pressure, liver problems (failure), needs two new hips, a new shoulder, her legs are purple, and she has sores on her legs (circulation issues). I am sure she has other issues. All of her health issues are directly related to her weight. She is almost 50 years old and she is not sure if she will be alive much longer. She has self-inflicted her own demise. She cannot stop eating. I don't want to do something like that to myself. I also have an uncle who is at least 200lbs. overweight. He needs two new knees and a shoulder. He is so fat he can barely walk. He shuffles side by side like a penguin would walk. This guy is a glutton for self-punishment. He had weight loss surgery a number of years ago. He lost 220lbs. Even the surgery did not stop him. He fought his way back to being over 400 lbs. Again! All self-inflicted. I don't want to be that or do that. Clean living is so important. I see what can happen like what obesity does to people. People become trapped in their own bodies and become a prisoner from the weight. It is scary. That is why staying fit and taking care of myself is so important. Both my grandfathers have passed away. My granddad on my dad's side was overweight. He had a major stroke at 55 and died at 61. My granddad on my mother's side smoked for 50 years and died at age 88. I bring this up because I think genetics has a huge role. My one granddad, even though he smoked, outlived my other granddad by nearly 30 years. With all the heavy people in my family, I wonder how much of it is genetics? Knowing that this may be a possibility, I am hyper-vigilant about maintaining my health. The number one thing I do for my health is to watch what I eat. It is all about calorie intake. Most people don’t understand that it is difficult to exercise yourself thin. Burning 500 calories through exercise takes time and effort. Not eating 500 calories is easier for me. All the experts don’t tell you is that intense exercise usually makes you more hungry when you are done. Now you have to fight even harder hunger cravings. Obesity is the biggest health issue today. Clean living is the solution.

I don't know what it is, but the older I get, the less I can handle the typical bad foods (pizza, burgers, fries, candy, fried anything, and bread). I feel extremely bloated and a lot of times I get heartburn. Especially when I am sleeping. I find myself spacing out these meals further and further apart more each year. Usually what happens is I forget how bad I feel after one of those meals. I then have a big burger and fries night and I am miserable for a couple of days. I have been eating more superfoods. Out of the top ten I looked up on the internet, I was surprised that I eat a large percentage of them on a regular basis. Foods like eggs, oats, garlic, almonds, spinach, and broccoli I eat regularly. Blueberries I consume in large quantities in the summer when in season. I usually eat fruits and vegetables that are in season. Those foods normally taste the best and cheapest. What I find the most beneficial in consuming these foods is that I feel good. I feel normal all the time. I can consume these foods and almost right away pursue any physical activity without any stomach issues. A feeling of satisfaction and fullness without the bloat, or heavy feeling. The ability to be productive physically instantly without having to wait an hour or more is a big benefit. I enjoy lean meat, brown rice, beans, and potatoes. Protein from the meat curbs hunger for a much larger duration than carbs do. My daily routine for food is 4 eggs, garlic, meat, potatoes or brown rice, onions, peppers, sometimes beans, cheese, and mushrooms in some form for breakfast every morning. Omelet style, scrambled, in a burrito, or scrambled over the potatoes or rice, is what I eat every morning. My second meal of the day is usually dinner. I almost always have a stir fry of the mentioned ingredients above minus the eggs over rice or noodles. If I have potatoes, they are sliced into fries and put in the air-fryer, and served on the side. I usually season the fries with garlic salt. I like to have my medley mixed with cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup. My side is usually broccoli, peas, or a spinach salad. I use the air-fryer or frypan with olive oil to cook. Dessert is usually fruit with Cool-Whip. Hey, have to have some fun! Later in the evening, I usually have a meat and cheese sandwich with a side of almonds. I recommend using cabbage in place of lettuce or spinach for many dishes. Cabbage does not wilt or go bad very fast. It maintains its crunch. I like using it. I eat a large serving of meat at every meal. I also season most everything. In my youth, I had food allergies. I have mostly outgrown them. Eating healthy has always been part of the routine. I never ate much junk due to my food sensitivities. I have never had a weight problem and I eat massive amounts of food every day. I have pictures of my meals on my phone. I would be happy to send some pictures to the scholarship committee. An easy meal I eat regularly is 7 chicken drummies, 3-4 potatoes sliced all cooked in the air-fryer, sliced apple, and a side of baked beans or broccoli and cheese. I eat this meal at least twice a week. I also walk every day. There is no recovery time needed. My joints and muscles always feel good.

Towards the end of high school, I wasn’t sure of what I was going to do. I was talented enough to try my hand at playing Jr. hockey. I just wasn’t excited enough to commit to two years of my life playing the sport year-round. My grades out of high school were decent. I had a 3.5 GPA average, but I had not taken the ACT or SAT. I thought the coast guard might be interesting. I decided against it. I felt stuck. Going to college all started with my two neighbors who are brothers. One of the boys is one year older than me and the older boy is three years older than me. All three of us grew up as neighbor buddies. We did everything together. Things changed in my high school years. Both boys dropped out and are working dead-end jobs. They both now smoke and drink hard regularly. When I talk to them they are always full of could have, should have, done this or that. Both boys are still living at home. What flipped the switch in my mind was my father. One afternoon the neighbor boys were drinking in their family garage and making a bunch of noise. He said to look out the window. I looked. He said that is your future unless you go to college. The fear that poured over me made me sweat. That realization was the turning point. That was May 2021. I have embraced the college experience. Ages 18-23 I feel should be a good time. College is a great in-between stage of life. You are an adult, but do not have all of the responsibilities of an adult. In general, taxes, daycare, traffic, mortgages, and only two weeks of vacation are not part of life yet. You have 50 years of that after college. I value these last few years of youth. Why hurry? Life for me has really flourished since enrolling at LSC. I made the Dean’s list and the honor society. I won another scholarship through the school’s foundation. The school asked me to be part of their marketing campaign. I will be on billboards and other marketing outlets promoting the school. How awesome is that! Going to LSC also landed me a summer job as a camp counselor. I am in charge of sports and activities at Camp Deerhorn in Rhinelander, WI. My hockey officiating job was cultivated due to a connection from the school. I went from nothing going on to having a great life. I am grateful that my father put fear into me. All kinds of opportunities have opened up. That is why I go to college. After college. I plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. The business is in a touristy town in Wisconsin on a lake. The summer months are really busy. The town swells from 2,500 people to 30,000 people in the spring and summer months. His goal is to work the busy season during the summer and spend winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle plans on putting my finance and accounting degrees to work in the business. My job will be to make the business as profitable and streamlined as possible. There are multiple revenue streams in the bar business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue will be my role. Taking care of the books, minimizing taxes, and controlling theft will also be my responsibilities. This opportunity would have never come up unless I went to college. Higher education opens doors. I am grateful I went to school.

College is an opportunity to socialize, make lifelong friendships, grow academically, physically, and emotionally, and an opportunity to postpone adulthood. Ages 18-25 or so are when you are at your peak. In my opinion, these years should not be wasted on traffic jams, two weeks of vacation, taxes, mortgages, changing diapers, etc. College is a fantastic go-between high school and adulthood. It should be your best years. It will most likely be your last chance in life to experience life with a large grouping of people your own age. Don’t squander it. Take full advantage of this 4-5 year window of life. That is my mindset. I savor college. I do not dread it. You have 50 years of adulthood after. What is the rush? The college environment does have many pitfalls that can affect students’ health and wellness. Many students go from an active lifestyle in high school to a mostly sitting lifestyle studying in college. The basic course load in college is much higher. You have to study more, so you sit more. Less activity is going to affect your health. Being away from home is a big problem for many students. The freedom to make choices without the structure of home life is a hard transition for many students. No one is there to say you can’t eat pizza every night, stay up all night, or to get to class. Peer pressure plays a role. It is no secret that college is a place to drink alcohol. Some of the stress and taxing nature of college causes students to binge drink to escape the pressure. A large part of college is socializing. Alcohol is a major part of the socializing culture in college. Alcohol is highly caloric and not healthy. Being young and naive plays the biggest role. There are so many students that prior to college never even thought about their health. Poor diet, no activity, and partying is now having an impact. Learning about taking care of yourself for the first time in the college environment is not the best place to learn. It would be best to be prepped before entering college, not during. I try to think-outside-the-box. This life strategy is crucial to my success in college. The concept is to look for opportunities where the competition isn't looking. Trying to compete with a large group or high talent base (college} your odds of success are going to be low. There are only a few that make it to the top, and killing yourself to be one of those few has a low success rate. Success comes easier and quicker looking where others don’t. Every day I am trying to do what others don't do, won't do, or stay away from what everyone else is doing. An easy example is my college career. I only take 12-13 credits a semester. You might ask what is so special about that? Taking 12-13 credits, which is full-time, almost guarantees me a 4.0 GPA. My workload is low enough that getting straight A's is attainable. I make the honor roll and Dean's list without killing myself. This year I accomplished a 3.8 GPA. I also had time to enjoy being a college student. I could spend the next 4 years with high stress, or I can enjoy my next 5 years with a lighter load, a ton of fun, and all the academic accolades. Why work harder and pay more money to get a lower GPA? Easy choice if you ask me. I see everyone else making the harder choice. People must like that.

There are too many people on the planet. This is the core problem that no one wants to talk about. Humans, from my research, have been around for about 300,000 years (homo sapiens). 99.9999% of our time here on the planet we have been able to be a part of the world's ecosystem and in balance with the earth's systems. In the 1800s the population of the world was 1 billion. 200 years later we are at 8 billion. We have 8 billion people that need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? The answer is None! Nothing comes close. If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s ok. The topic is never brought up. Most of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. Of course, even a lower number than that is always better. How do people or the governments of this world have the conversation that there are 7 billion people that need to somehow vanish from the planet? No one is getting elected or re-elected bringing this topic up. I also feel that the result of this human population explosion has diminished our humanity. We see each other as a number and not as a person. How can we make money off of each other or use each other for personal benefit, runs rampant in our society. I conclude that our sheer numbers are directly responsible. The more people there are, the harder humans are on the planet and each other. How are you going to get 8 billion people to care? I don’t see how we get that many people moving together on any issue. The vastness of our numbers to get anything accomplished seems remote. I also believe quantity vs. quality applies to our population. Our society currently has absolutely no plan for our numbers. People can just pump out kids. We deal with it as we go. All kinds of children need quality education, food, healthcare, housing, and proper raising. All of that takes resources. How can we make a difference when we continue to add people to the planet? Reacting is what we do. NO PLAN is the problem. The fact there is no planning in our population is clear to me our world is in trouble. The fact that it is not even mentioned is a clear sign nothing will change. I have read that in the not so far off future we are going to add another 2 billion people to the planet. Benjamin Franklin summarized it all when he said: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” The real question is do we want to solve the problems of this world or are we just looking for a temporary patch? Pro-life, pro-choice, electric cars, solar panels, shopping at the coop, raising your own chickens, etc. are all patches. Whatever benefit we do add is offset by us adding millions of resource-hungry people every year. I hope the committee can see the value in my thoughts and award me the scholarship. I volunteer my time as a camp counselor. My profile has a link to the camps.

How an individual responds to life’s challenges is crucial for your survival as a son or daughter of a parent with an addiction. Addiction is so powerful that it becomes the primary purpose in your parent’s life. What should be given to you (time, resources, love,) will be given to the addiction. You are on your own in this world unless you can find outside support. Following your parent with addiction will only cause you pain. The response has to be for you to break free from your parent. Your parent and the addiction have become one. Do not let all that bad affect your life. It is your life. Go live it.

This is a subject that I think people are expected to magically know something about. Then all of a sudden they find themselves in a situation that requires the appropriate knowledge and response and they don’t have it. Not having that knowledge and skill set to think and act appropriately gets people in big trouble. I hope the scholarship committee for the “ Ethel Hayes De-stigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship” finds my essay interesting and compelling. I am 19 and I would guess many people would think I am too young to have an understanding of mental health. The facts are that 1 out of 5 teens ages 12-18 suffer from at least one diagnosable mental health disorder. I am one of those teens in the 20%. I know if I had more knowledge and a better coping skill set on mental health, I would not have had a breakdown. I would have been self-aware to see the signs of the dark hole before I fell into it. Growing up, the focus of danger is on the physical dangers in life (don't play with fire, look both ways before you cross the street, watch where you are going when riding your bike). There are mental dangers in life that are just as dangerous. Going through life blindly and unaware of the risks that can happen to your brain mentally is extremely dangerous. I was severely unprepared for these mental dangers. I got hurt and I did not see it coming. I am 6-2 and 220 lbs. I was almost always the biggest and strongest kid in my class. I can't remember a single situation in which someone wanted to mess with me growing up. I played varsity sports, and every once in a while someone would try their manhood on me. It always ended badly for the other guy. So, for most of my 19 years, I have never had a problem. That all changed my junior year in high school. My varsity high school hockey coach was a bully. This grown man enjoyed making himself feel like a man by picking on high school kids. This is a quote from one of my teammates that sums it up better than I could. This is the last paragraph of his letter to the school district. "I may have my issues with this program and the style you choose to coach with, but I still respect this team. I respect the assistant coaches, and most importantly, I still can find respect for you, even though it feels like you don’t hold that same respect for me, or any of the other players, when you belittle and degrade us for minor mistakes on the ice. You gather everyone around so you can humiliate us in front of our peers. I wish the best of luck to the team and the players. I am going to play with Jr. Gold again where I have a purpose; making it to Jr. Gold State. I want to thank you for my opportunity here and tell you personally, that I still love hockey." It is amazing how the bullying creeps up on you. My schooling started to suffer, I couldn’t focus, I started to not sleep well, and I started to not be interested in things and isolate. I felt like I was withdrawing from life. I even stopped talking to family and friends. A gradual decline that you don’t notice right away and then one day you realize you’re in trouble. Not knowing what is wrong, what to do, or where to go for help, is a state of helplessness that is really scary. That is why I think it is so important to educate people of all ages about the dangers of poor mental health. I said in the first paragraph that education and appropriate skill set( coping strategies) are the keys. I now know my limits of stress I can handle. I now know when I am in danger and what appropriate actions I need to take. Identifying dangerous situations is the key. My life has changed since I emerged from the black hole. My whole life now revolves around my mental health. Every decision is based on what is good or bad for my mental health. For example, I have only taken 12 credits a semester at college. One less class is less stressful. I don’t care if it takes an extra semester or two to graduate. I don’t have a girlfriend. My last one was too stressful. I make sure I eat healthily and get enough sleep every night. I also exercise regularly. I am taking a yoga class three times a week that helps my state of mind. I am the only male in the class. All day and every day it is 100% about balance is the best way I can explain it. In conclusion, I didn’t realize the world can be a rough place. Coping with what life throws at you is very challenging. It is extremely important to train mentally and physically so you are prepared. I also think it is extremely important to have the awareness to get out of harm’s way when you can. I appreciate that the Ethel Hayes De stigmatization of Mental Health scholarship committee took the time to read my essay. I am grateful for the opportunity.

I don't know what it is, but the older I get, the less I can handle the typical bad foods (pizza, burgers, fries, candy, fried anything, and bread). I feel extremely bloated and a lot of times I get heartburn. Especially when I am sleeping. I find myself spacing out these meals further and further apart more each year. Usually what happens is I forget how bad I feel after one of those meals. I then have a big burger and fries night and I am miserable for a couple of days. My memory fails me at times. I looked up the top superfoods. Out of the top ten, I was surprised that I eat a large percentage of them on a regular basis. Foods like eggs, oats, garlic, almonds, spinach, and broccoli I eat very regularly. Blueberries I consume in large quantities in the summer when in season. I usually eat fruits and vegetables that are in season. Those foods normally taste the best and cheapest. What I find the most beneficial in consuming these foods is that I feel good. I feel normal all the time. I can consume these foods and almost right away pursue any physical activity without any stomach issues. A feeling of satisfaction and fullness without the bloat, or heavy feeling. The ability to be productive physically instantly without having to wait an hour or more is a big benefit. I think lean meat, brown rice, beans, and potatoes should be superfoods also. Protein from the meat curbs hunger for a much larger duration than carbs do. My daily routine for food is 4 eggs, garlic, meat, potatoes or brown rice, onions, peppers, sometimes beans, cheese, and mushrooms in some form for breakfast every morning. Omelet style, scrambled, in a burrito, or scrambled over the potatoes or rice, is what I eat every morning. My second meal of the day is usually dinner. I almost always have a stir fry of the mentioned ingredients above minus the eggs over rice or noodles. If I have potatoes, they are sliced into fries and put in the air-fryer and served on the side. I usually season the fries with garlic salt. I like to have my medley mixed with cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup. My side is usually broccoli, peas, or a spinach salad. I use the air-fryer or frypan with olive oil to cook. Dessert is usually fruit with Cool-Whip. Hey, have to have some fun! Later in the evening, I usually have a meat and cheese sandwich with a side of almonds. I recommend using cabbage in place of lettuce or spinach for many dishes. Cabbage does not wilt or go bad very fast. It maintains its crunch. I like using it. I eat a large serving of meat at every meal. I also season most everything. In my youth, I had food allergies. I have mostly outgrown them. Eating healthy has always been part of the routine. I never ate much junk due to my food sensitivities. I have never had a weight problem and I eat massive amounts of food every day. I have pictures of my meals on my phone. I would be happy to send some pictures to the scholarship committee. An easy meal I eat regularly is 7 chicken drummies, 3-4 potatoes sliced all cooked in the air-fryer, sliced apple, and a side of baked beans or broccoli and cheese. I eat this meal at least twice a week. I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts.

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota. A great town to grow up in. There is great access to athletic facilities of all kinds in the area. I dabbled playing on youth travel teams in soccer, swimming, and basketball up till high school. I settled in on varsity hockey and track. I played summer baseball up through the American Legion level. I was team manager on the football team. I also am an avid snowboarder and trap shooting enthusiast. Currently this summer I am teaching most of these sports and activities at a boy's summer camp in Wisconsin. This winter I will officiate youth hockey, play club hockey, and snowboard. I am considering trying out for the UWS Men's Hockey Team. They are a college division 3 program. I am generally a happy person and easygoing. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed. During the down or off time, I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. This summer I am learning some new skills. I am learning how to ride horses and drive ski boat at the camp. I will include some short video links at the bottom of this essay. When I graduate from college I plan on getting my coaching license and try my hand at coaching at the high school level. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. This is my second summer as a camp counselor and I just finished my first hockey season as an official. I work with kids year-round. Last summer I worked at Red Arrow Camp. I just started at Camp Deer Horn yesterday 6/5/2022. The kids arrived late afternoon. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. Very true. Last summer I was responsible for a group of 10-year-old boys for 7 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. If there are not enough people getting involved in their communities, then there is no community. At some base level, community leadership and involvement are the cornerstones of our society. My father was a coach for many years. I asked him one day why he liked to coach? He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. Adults are already set in their ways. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of 2 coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids? He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. I think about that every day.

This is a subject that I think people are expected to magically know something about. Then all of a sudden they find themselves in a situation that requires the appropriate knowledge and response and they don’t have it. Not having that knowledge and skillset to think and act appropriately gets people in big trouble. I hope the scholarship committee for the “ Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship” finds my essay interesting and compelling. I am 19 and I would guess many people would think I am too young to have an understanding of mental health. The facts are that 1 out of 5 teens ages 12-18 suffer from at least one diagnosable mental health disorder. I am one of those teens in the 20%. I know if I had more knowledge and a better coping skill set on mental health, I would not have had a breakdown. I would have been self-aware to see the signs of the dark hole before I fell into it. Growing up, the focus of danger is on the physical dangers in life (don't play with fire, look both ways before you cross the street, watch where you are going when riding your bike). There are mental dangers in life that are just as dangerous. Going through life blindly and unaware of the risks that can happen to your brain mentally is extremely dangerous. I was severely unprepared for these mental dangers. I got hurt and I did not see it coming. I am 6-2 and 220 lbs. I was almost always the biggest and strongest kid in my class. I can't remember a single situation in which someone wanted to mess with me growing up. I played varsity sports, and every once in a while someone would try their manhood on me. It always ended badly for the other guy. So, for most of my 19 years, I have never had a problem. That all changed my junior year in high school. My varsity high school hockey coach was a bully. This grown man enjoyed making himself feel like a man by picking on high school kids. This is a quote from one of my teammates that sums it up better than I could. This is the last paragraph of his letter to the school district. “I may have my issues with this program and the style you choose to coach with, but I still respect this team. I respect the assistant coaches, and most importantly, I still can find respect for you, even though it feels like you don’t hold that same respect for me, or any of the other players, when you belittle and degrade us for minor mistakes on the ice. You gather everyone around so you can humiliate us in front of our peers. I wish the best of luck to the team and the players.” It is amazing how the bullying creeps up on you. My schooling started to suffer, I couldn’t focus, I started to not sleep well, I started to not be interested in things, and isolate. I felt like I was withdrawing from life. I even stopped talking to family and friends. A gradual decline that you don’t notice right away and then one day you realize you’re in trouble. Not knowing what is wrong, what to do, or where to go for help, is a state of helplessness that is scary. That is why I think it is so important to educate people of all ages about the dangers of poor mental health. I said in the first paragraph, that education and appropriate skillset( coping strategies) are the keys. I now know my limits of stress I can handle. I now know when I am in danger and what appropriate actions I need to take. Identifying dangerous situations is the key. My life has changed since I emerged from the black hole. My whole life now revolves around my mental health. Every decision is based on what is good or bad for my mental health. For example, I only take 12 credits a semester at college. One less class is less stressful. I don’t care if it takes an extra semester or two to graduate. I don’t have a girlfriend. My last one was too stressful. I make sure I eat healthily and get enough sleep every night. I also exercise regularly. All-day and every day it is 100% about balance is the best way I can explain it. I didn’t realize the world can be a really rough place. Coping with what life throws at you is very challenging. It is extremely important to train mentally and physically so you are prepared. I also think it is extremely important to have the awareness to get out of harm’s way when you can. I am going to be a CPA. A boring low stress career. I also stay away from people that could bring me down mentally. I have no time or patience for those people anymore. You have to be selfish in a way. You can't be around people that could get you too close to the edge. Thank You.

If you look at my profile, I was very active in sports. I went to a bigger high school with just under 2,000 kids. Making the starting lineup was very competitive. I lettered in three sports in high school. Very difficult to do. Most students were focusing all their efforts on one sport. I was able to play at a high level in three. I was extremely passionate about my athletic success. You had to be. I am considering playing hockey at the college level. We will see what happens this upcoming fall. My main focus now is my education, my health, and my finances. Every day these three things are on my mind from sun up to sundown. I had a great spring semester and made the Dean's list. I work out 3-4 times a week and walk every day. Mentally and physically it is important to my well-being to get some exercise. I see many students in college that let themselves go physically. I find staying in shape helps me focus better for school. Finances are always on my mind. I have 4 scholarships for this upcoming year that I have received from my passion for pursuing scholarship funding. I am focusing hard on securing funds for my sophomore year. I have filled out over 320 scholarships so far for next fall. I get up at 5 am and try to get two applications in before I start my day. At night, I usually can complete a third application. The Bold people know how passionate I am. I have 158 applications on their site alone. The skills that are acquired from being passionate about something can be transferrable in other pursuits in life. Whether it was sports in high school, academics, finances, or health, I use the same strategies to be successful. I am a passionate person. When I get interested in something, like filling out scholarships, I tend to see how far I can go with it. I want to do and know as much as I can. Usually, once I feel I have mastered something or there is very little more knowledge to glean or experiences to gain, I move on to something else. In my situation, passion is a mindset. A way of thinking that is permanently part of me. It is who I am. In many instances being passionate has provided many positive experiences in my life. One has to be careful. Too much passion for something can turn into an addiction. The difference is passion provides positives in life. Addictions are when passion goes too far and creates a negative impact on life. The key is awareness. Monitor your thoughts and actions and be objective about the results. Always ask yourself. Am I taking this too far? Your gut and conscience won't lie to you.

My father was a coach for many years. I asked him one day why he liked to coach? He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. Adults are already set in their ways. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of 2 coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids? He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. Last summer I worked at Red Arrow Camp. This upcoming summer I will be working at Camp Deer Horn. Both camps are located in Wisconsin. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. Very true. Last summer I was responsible for a group of 10-year-old boys for 7 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. If there are not enough people getting involved in their communities, then there is no community. I could be wrong, but I believe the society and infrastructure humans have built would collapse into chaos without working together. At some base level, community leadership and involvement are the cornerstones of our existence. Working with kids for me is just plain fun. As you get older life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids, all they want to do is laugh and have a good time. When you are in their environment or world, it is amazing how you become a kid again. That carefree spirit they possess is contagious. I would even say it is addicting. That chance to be or act like a kid again one last time is precious. I know that is why I work at the summer camps. I will probably start coaching organized sports in the next couple of years. I included some links to Red Arrow and Deer Horn Camps. Both camps have a large variety of content to view online. On June 1st I am off to another almost 3 months of fun and working with kids. I will be a CPA in a few years. Tax time is the real busy time of year (February, March, April ). I should have the flexibility and resources to continue coaching and mentoring kids the other 9 months of the year. My career as a CPA itself might not impact the world, but the time and resources it provides me will.

The number one reason I want to maintain my health is that I don't want to live a long life in pain. If you don't take care of yourself, you can easily develop health issues that cause decades-long pain and suffering. Then being alive becomes a very long unenjoyable experience. I also live a healthy lifestyle for peace of mind. Things happen in life that we can't control. I am ok with that. If something does happen to me, I just don't want any regrets. I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and say “Hey, you did everything you could." Again, I can live with that. I can't live with self-inflicting stupidity and have something bad happen. Blowing myself up is something I would have a hard time living with. I don't think I could forgive myself. I have multiple family members that are destroying themselves. I want to mention a couple of them and their stories. I have an aunt that is at least 100lbs. overweight. She has diabetes and uses an insulin pump. She also has high blood pressure, liver problems (failure), needs two new hips, a new shoulder, her legs are purple, and she has sores on her legs (circulation issues). I am sure she has other issues. All of her health issues are directly related to her weight. She is almost 50 years old and she is not sure if she will be alive much longer. She has self-inflicted her own demise. She cannot stop eating. I don't want to do something like that to myself. I also have an uncle who is at least 200lbs. overweight. He needs two new knees and a shoulder. He is so fat he can barely walk. He shuffles side by side like a penguin would walk. This guy is a glutton for self-punishment. He had weight loss surgery a number of years ago. He lost 220lbs. Even the surgery did not stop him. He fought his way back to being over 400 lbs. Again! All self-inflicted. I don't want to be that or do that. I have a couple of other relatives that are just as big. I think the scholarship committee can see that I am extremely sensitive. A better word would be fearful of becoming obese. I see what obesity does to people. People become trapped in their own bodies and become a prisoner from the weight. It is scary. That is why staying fit and taking care of myself is so important. Both my grandfathers have passed away. My granddad on my dad's side was overweight. He had a major stroke at 55 and died at 61. My granddad on my mother's side smoked for 50 years and died at age 88. I bring this up because I think genetics has a huge role. My one granddad, even though he smoked, outlived my other granddad by nearly 30 years. With all the heavy people in my family, I wonder how much of it is genetics? Knowing that this may be a possibility, I am hyper-vigilant about maintaining my health. The number one thing I do for my health is to watch what I eat. It is all about calorie intake. Most people don’t understand that it is difficult to exercise yourself thin. Burning 500 calories through exercise takes time and effort. Not eating 500 calories is easier for me. All the experts don’t tell you is that intense exercise usually makes you more hungry when you are done. Now you have to fight even harder hunger cravings. Usually, people overeat after exercising.

The wisest advice I use regularly is to "Think Outside The Box". This life strategy has been crucial to my success in life. Thought is very powerful. The concept of "Thinking Outside The Box" is to avoid trying to compete with a large group or high talent base. Your odds of success are going to be low. There are only a few that make it to the top and killing yourself to be that one person has a very low success rate. I look for opportunities where the competition isn't looking. Success comes easier and quicker and I enjoy life so much more. This skill bears the most fruit. Every day I am trying to do what others don't do, won't do, or stay away from what everyone else is doing. An easy example of thinking outside the box is my college career. I only take 12-13 credits a semester. You might ask what is so special about that? I will tell you. Taking 12-13 credits, which is full-time, almost guarantees me a 4.0 GPA. My workload is low enough that getting straight A's is pretty easy. I make all the honor rolls, deans' lists, awards, scholarships, etc., without killing myself. I have time to enjoy being a college student. I see everyone else make the harder choices. People must like that. I don't Entrepreneurship is all I know. Right now, I am self-employed as a hockey official. I set my own hours around my school schedule. It is the greatest college job a 19-year-old could have. I make $40-$85 dollars a game plus mileage. Officiating is easy. I basically get paid to stay in shape. This fall, winter, and spring I officiated over 150 games. After college, I plan on having my own CPA (accounting) business. That will be my part-time job. After college, I also plan on becoming a partner in my uncle’s bar business. My goal is to buy the business from him when he is ready to retire. The business is in a touristy town in Wisconsin on a lake. The summer months are really busy. The town swells from 2,500 people to 30,000 people in the spring and summer months. His goal is to work 6 months a year at the bar during the summer and spend 6 months a year in Puerto Rico. I plan on following in his footsteps. I will be working year-round hopefully for just a couple of years. My goal is to generate enough business during the busy summer months so that I can close down for the winter. I would like to join my uncle in Puerto Rico during the winter. The difference is I will be doing this in my late 20’s. If this works, I won’t be working as a CPA. I can’t pass up this opportunity to live like I am semi-retired in my 20’s. It was never my dream to own a bar, however, it sounds like an incredible way to live a life. Having fun and sun at the bar on the lake in the summer, and having fun and sun on the ocean in Puerto Rico during the winter, sounds like the plan. I should mention that my finance and accounting degrees are going to be put to work in the business. The whole point of bringing me on is to make the business as profitable and streamlined as possible. There are multiple revenue streams in the bar business. Maximizing these revenue streams and exploring other sources of revenue and best practices will be my role. Come out and visit!

My father was a coach for many years. I asked him one day why he liked to coach? He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. Adults are already set in their ways. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of 2 coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids? He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. Last summer I worked at Red Arrow Camp. This upcoming summer I will be working at Camp Deer Horn. Both camps are located in Wisconsin. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. Very true. Last summer I was responsible for a group of 10-year-old boys for 7 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. If there are not enough people getting involved in their communities, then there is no community. I could be wrong, but I believe the society and infrastructure humans have built would collapse into chaos without working together. At some base level, community leadership and involvement are the cornerstones of our existence. The question asks about being an active leader. Working with kids for me is just plain fun. As you get older, life gets more serious and so you become more serious. Young kids, all they want to do is laugh and have a good time. When you are in their environment or world, it is amazing how you become a kid again. That carefree spirit they possess is contagious. I would even say it is addicting. That chance to be or act like a kid again one last time is precious. I know that is why I work at the summer camps. I will probably start coaching organized sports in the next couple of years. I included some links to Red Arrow and Deer Horn Camps. Both camps have a large variety of content to view online. On June 1st, I am off to another almost 3 months of fun. My dad always said the best way to work in the community is with the kids. Kids are the future. https://youtu.be/JSkTgaXKXTM https://youtu.be/rIkuwam7_DM

This is a great topic to talk about. Challenges and adversity affect us all. I hope the scholarship committee finds my story interesting and compelling. I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. Most of my challenges in life stem from being autistic. I have many of the standard emotional and social deficiencies associated with the condition. The hardest obstacle originally was just trying to figure out what was wrong with me. In the early 2000’s the odds of autism at birth was 1 out of 150. At that time I would say a rare condition. In today’s world, the odds of developing autism at birth are 1 out of 44. We went to multiple doctors and specialists trying to get help. After a couple of years, we finally found The Scottish Rite Clinic for Children with Communications Disorders. I feel bad for my parents. They had a hard couple years searching for answers on my condition with very little success. I can’t imagine the feeling of helplessness they felt for all that time. I am so glad that they had the dedication and persistence to keep charging forward. My most difficult adversity that autism presented was overcoming my food sensitivities. I can’t imagine what life is like being able to eat whatever you want or having no fear of sampling something new. Common food is dangerous to me. If I eat something wrong during the day I will have a reaction that makes me sick. I am limited to a diet of meat, fruit, vegetables, limited dairy, and my go-to carbohydrate is a potato. As a rule of thumb, I stay away from anything that has more than one ingredient in it unless it is prepared at home. If I eat something that has multiple ingredients and I get sick, it is difficult to know exactly what caused the problem. Going out to eat, fast food, or grabbing something from the convenience store happens rarely. We usually have to research a place to eat first. The huge challenge was the trial and error of figuring out what foods I could eat and those I couldn’t. The process took a couple of years. I was a science project of eat this and see what happens. Can you imagine sitting down to a fresh batch of pancakes or waffles on a Saturday morning and being afraid to eat them? That was me. I still did my part and ate what I was asked to eat. I must have eaten half dozen different pancake recipes before we discovered buckwheat pancakes. The more we got a handle on what foods I could eat and not eat, the more my life started to change. I went from not passing any grades (K-4th), to getting straight A’s in 5th grade. I received the President’s Award for Educational Achievement signed by President Barack Obama my last year of grade school (5th). I no longer had a full-time PERA teacher sitting next to me every day, and no more riding the special needs bus to school. I could now stay calm and concentrate. Only 35 percent of autistic students attempt to attend college after 6 years of graduating high school. Fewer than 20 percent of college students with autism will graduate or are even on track to graduate five years after high school. That means out of 100 students with autism less than 7 graduate from college (7%). My next chapter looks statistically challenging. I just completed my second semester with a 3.8 GPA, so I am confident in becoming a college graduate.

Every day I think most people partake in selfless acts. For me, it is more about doing the right thing and also doing what needs to be done. When I was reading about this scholarship, a flood of thoughts crossed my mind on how I have helped others just in the last couple of days. I believe there are two types of people in this world. There are givers and there are takers. Those selfish people are always selfish and are always on the take. Those people are lost in society. You can't relate to or understand others if you only think about yourself all the time. Every person that is a giver is a giver by nature. Everyone with a giver's mindset could win this scholarship. It is who you are. I like doing things that make life easier for my parents. They have been good to me. It makes me want to give back or at least make life easier for them. Filling out scholarships helps me, and it also lessens the financial burden on my parents. So far I have filled out 296 scholarships since November. I have won three so far. They are happy, and so am I. At my house, I have three separate neighbors, all elderly single ladies. I had no ambition to help these ladies. Actually, it never crossed my mind. Somehow, over the years, I ended up being their go-to person for help. I am on speed dial on all their phones. I am lucky that they all hire out for their lawn service. I do snow blow all three of their driveways and sidewalks in the winter. The biggest thing that happens all the time is they always need me to come over and move something for them. I am so amazed at how much stuff they all have. I am their personal moving man. Carry this up from the basement, can you carry this down to the basement, can you move this up to the attic, can you get this out of the attic, can you get that out of the back of the garage, can you put this back in the garage. I should win this scholarship and get a medal! It works out fine. They always give me a few bucks or some baked goods. I’m not sure, but sometimes I think they just want me to come over for conversation. They all like to ask me questions about what my latest news is. All three of them are very nice. I wonder what will happen when I move. I basically take care of 4 properties.

grew up with two golden retrievers “Chloe” and “Gracie”. I also had a 50-gallon fish tank in my room for 12 years. My thoughts on pets are that they are not really pets. I could argue that they are better than family or friends. We lost Chloe two years ago at the age of 5. She had throat cancer. Came on suddenly and she passed away within weeks of bringing her to the vet. I never knew how much I could love something. Her passing was so quick and sudden that I was not capable of coping with the situation. At 16 years old, I found out for the first time what real love is and what real pain is. I never realized up to that point how temporary everything is. Chloe taught me to appreciate each day as she did. The unconditional love animals give is amazing. My dogs and even my fish are always happy to see me. No matter what kind of day I am having, they always give. I am generally a hopeful person. I know I get that from them. Every day they give you that boost of positivity and love. That spark of hope they provide daily has kept me going more than once in my life. Ask yourself where would you be if you had no hope in your life? Today I went for a 5-mile walk with my dog. We walk the road at Superior Point in Superior Wisconsin. My body feels great after a long walk. My joints and muscles get a workout without it being strenuous. My lungs enjoy all that fresh outdoor air. I also enjoy the smell of pine forest. Those brisk walks clear my mind of all that life stuff I have to do for a couple of hours. Today I saw two bald eagles, a pack of ravens, and my dog Gracie chased a fox. I talked to an ice fisherman before I got in the car to leave. He showed me his catch for the day. He had a couple of good stories that provided a chuckle or two. I mention this story because I would never go walking 5 miles on my own. Gracie needs to get her exercise and she demands her walk every day. All that fun would not happen without her. Gracie loves her walks with me. She does wonders for me. I am happy watching her be happy. Speaking of happy, I am amazed at how happy Gracie is every day. I often look at her and wish I could have what she has. Food, sleep, some pets, and a good walk and she is happy all the time. A very happy simple life that makes me think we humans are doing things the wrong way. I try to keep life simple for myself. I learned that from her. In conclusion, my pets bring happiness and hope to my life. When you are filled up with hope and happiness you tend to share it with others. Maybe if everyone had pets the world would be a better place? I appreciate the scholarship committee taking the time to read my essay.

I grew up with two golden retrievers “Chloe” and “Gracie”. I also had a 50-gallon fish tank in my room for 12 years. My thoughts on pets are that they are not really pets. I could argue that they are better than family or friends. We lost Chloe two years ago at the age of 5. She had throat cancer. Came on suddenly and she passed away within weeks of bringing her to the vet. I never knew how much I could love something. Her passing was so quick and sudden that I was not capable of coping with the situation. At 16 years old, I found out for the first time what real love is and what real pain is. I never realized up to that point how temporary everything is. Chloe taught me to appreciate each day as she did. The unconditional love animals give is amazing. My dogs and even my fish are always happy to see me. No matter what kind of day I am having, they always give. I am generally a hopeful person. I know I get that from them. Every day they give you that boost of positivity and love. That spark of hope they provide daily has kept me going more than once in my life. Ask yourself where would you be if you had no hope in your life? Today I went for a 5-mile walk with my dog. We walk the road at Superior Point in Superior Wisconsin. My body feels great after a long walk. My joints and muscles get a workout without it being strenuous. My lungs enjoy all that fresh outdoor air. I also enjoy the smell of pine forest. Those brisk walks clear my mind of all that life stuff I have to do for a couple of hours. Today I saw two bald eagles, a pack of ravens, and my dog Gracie chased a fox. I talked to an ice fisherman before I got in the car to leave. He showed me his catch for the day. He had a couple of good stories that provided a chuckle or two. I mention this story because I would never go walking 5 miles on my own. Gracie needs to get her exercise and she demands her walk every day. All that fun would not happen without her. Gracie loves her walks with me. She does wonders for me. I am happy watching her be happy. In conclusion, my pets bring happiness and hope to my life. When you are filled up with hope and happiness you tend to share it with others. Maybe if everyone had pets the world would be a better place? I appreciate the scholarship committee taking the time to read my essay.

I live a healthy lifestyle mostly for peace of mind. Things happen in life that we can't control. I am ok with that. If something does happen to me, I just don't want any regrets. I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and say “Hey, you did everything you could." Again, I can live with that. I can't live with self-inflicting stupidity and have something bad happen. Blowing myself up is something I would have a hard time living with. I don't think I could forgive myself. I have multiple family members that are destroying themselves. I want to mention a couple of them and their stories. I have an aunt that is at least 100lbs. overweight. She has diabetes and uses an insulin pump. She also has high blood pressure, liver problems (failure), needs two new hips, a new shoulder, her legs are purple, and she has sores on her legs (circulation issues). I am sure she has other issues. All of her health issues are directly related to her weight. She is almost 50 years old and she is not sure if she will be alive much longer. She has self-inflicted her own demise. She cannot stop eating. I don't want to do something like that to myself. I also have an uncle who is at least 200lbs. overweight. He needs two new knees and a shoulder. He is so fat he can barely walk. He shuffles side by side like a penguin would walk. This guy is a glutton for self-punishment. He had weight loss surgery a number of years ago. He lost 220lbs. Even the surgery did not stop him. He fought his way back to being over 400 lbs. Again! All self-inflicted. I don't want to be that or do that. I have a couple of other relatives just as big. I think the scholarship committee can see that I am extremely sensitive; maybe a better word would be fearful, of becoming obese. I see what obesity does to people. People become trapped in their own bodies. You become a prisoner. It scares me. That is why staying fit and taking care of myself is so important. Both my grandfathers have passed away. My granddad on my dad's side was overweight. He had a major stroke at 55 and died at 61. My granddad on my mother's side smoked for 50 years and died I think at age 88. I bring this up because I think genetics has a huge role. My one granddad even though he smoked outlived my other granddad by nearly 30 years. With all the heavy people in my family, I wonder how much of it is genetics? Knowing that this may be a possibility, I am hyper-vigilant about maintaining my health.

Challenges and adversity affect us all. I hope the scholarship committee finds my story interesting and compelling. I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. Most of my challenges in life stem from being autistic. I have many of the standard emotional and social deficiencies associated with the condition. The hardest obstacle originally was just trying to figure out what was wrong with me. In the early 2000’s the odds of autism at birth was 1 out of 150. At that time I would say a rare condition. In today’s world, the odds of developing autism at birth are 1 out of 44. We went to multiple doctors and specialists. After a couple of years, we finally found The Scottish Rite Clinic for Children with Communications Disorders. They diagnosed me on my first appointment. I feel bad for my parents. They had a hard couple years searching for answers on my condition with very little success. I can’t imagine the feeling of helplessness they felt. I am so glad that they had the dedication and persistence to keep charging forward. My most difficult adversity that autism presented was overcoming my food sensitivities. I can’t imagine what life is like being able to eat whatever you want or having no fear of sampling something new. Common food is dangerous to me. If I eat something wrong during the day, I will have a reaction that makes me sick (high). I am limited to a diet of meat, fruit, vegetables, and my go-to carbohydrate is a potato. I avoid anything that has more than one ingredient, unless it is prepared at home. If I eat something that has multiple ingredients and I get sick (high), it is difficult to know what caused the problem. The huge challenge was the trial and error of figuring out what foods you could eat and those you couldn’t. The process took a couple of years. I was a science project of eat this and see what happens. Can you imagine sitting down to a fresh batch of pancakes or waffles on a Saturday morning and being afraid to eat them? That was me. The more we got a handle on what foods I could eat and not eat, the more my life started to change. I went from not passing any grades (K-4th), to getting straight A’s in 5th grade. I received the President’s Award for Educational Achievement signed by President Barack Obama in my last year of grade school (5th). I no longer had a full-time PERA teacher sitting next to me every day, and no more riding the special needs bus to school, all because I could now stay calm and concentrate. Now, I am writing essays for college scholarships. Only 35 percent of autistic students attempt to attend college after 6 years of graduating high school. Fewer than 20 percent of college students with autism will graduate or are even on track to graduate five years after high school. That means out of 100 students with autism, less than 7 graduate from college (7%). Things look statistically challenging. I just completed my first semester with a 3.78 GPA, so I am confident on becoming a college graduate. I am motivated because most people think I can't. Believe me, I can! Having autism is a life of constantly trying to work around the obstacles it causes. Everything is possible, it just takes more strategy figuring out how to get around the barriers. I am a fighter. I am fighting every day with this condition. That is why I am a good candidate.

1. The first thing that I did to help clear my mind was to quit trying to compete with the masses and follow my own path. Once I decided that I am going to do things my way, I now feel I have control of my life. Lack of control made me very stressed. 2. I listen to what people say good or bad and I now never take it personally. I used to think people, especially adults, had all this wisdom and expertise. At 19 I realize that people are mostly flawed. You can't take a flawed individual too seriously. I never worry or stress about what people think or say anymore. My mind is clear. No worries. 3. I always take time to think before I act. Stress is usually a result of being overwhelmed. You are in a situation that you can't handle. Sometimes you are a victim of bad luck. I would say the majority of the time you didn't take the time to analyze the situation. You want to keep your mind clear? Plan ahead, and always ask yourself if what you’re going to do or doing is really such a good idea. Mindlessness is almost always going to get you in trouble. 4. Look for open pastures. I have friends that are working 30-40 hour weeks and taking 15-16 credits in school. They are stressed, unhappy, burned out, and no fun to be around. I see most students putting themselves into these situations. If you are not killing yourself then somehow you are not successful or ambitious enough. This is some kind of crazy thinking. I watch this and say not for me. I take 12-13 credits, work part-time, have fun, no stress, and make the dean's list. I will have to go to school an extra year. I would rather have 5 years of fun than 4 years of hell. I am the only person doing this. My own open pasture! 5. Don't over plan your day. I used to do this and I was always stressed and unhappy. Most times I would never accomplish what I set out to do. I would then be hard on myself and not appreciate what I did get done. Beating myself up mentally was really stupid. Now I set goals that I always achieve. 6. I have many more tips. I am going to share with you one of my best. It is something that took me much practice to master. I would say it took a few years to do. I figured out how to control my thoughts and not have my thoughts control me. Controlling your thoughts is the ultimate solution to clearing your mind. The mind likes to worry about the future and not focus on the present. If you can break that thought process and focus on the present, your life will be much happier.

I don't try to be optimistic. Optimism is hope. Sometimes hope is too far away for it to be helpful. My approach is to break down life into half days. Every day I say to myself, I am going to get this far by lunchtime. After lunch, I say I am going to get this far by 3 or 4 pm. I take a break and then I try to spend an hour or so before bed finishing up any loose ends. I also work on getting my plan ready for the next day during that last hour. With 365 days in a year, this approach gets me a lot done in a year. I tend to focus on the task at hand and block out all the other noise the world is trying to distract me with. Every day you scratch and claw your way through life. Over time when you look over your shoulder, you can see how far you actually have come. I think of myself as the tortoise in the book " The Tortoise and the Hare". I am low to the ground, head down, crawling on my belly through life. It is not thrilling, but it works and gets the job done.

For most people money is time. You work every day in exchange for wages. If you are at the very top of the economic ladder ( Musk or Bezos), that scenario doesn't apply. What I have learned, and I think people should be aware of, is that every dollar you spend is some fraction of your life you gave up to earn that dollar. Why is this important? Well, if people started looking at dollars as hours of their life, I think people would be more conscious of how they spend their money. I am a college student and I work as a self-employed hockey official. I get paid $40-$80 a game to officiate. Games are usually in the evenings during the week and all day on weekends. It cost me $80 to fill up my truck with today's gas prices. Every week, 1 to 2 games a week goes to filling up my truck. In hours that is about1.5- 3 hours. When you realize how hard you are working to just put gas in the vehicle, you really watch how much driving you do. I have developed a mindset that equates dollars to time officiating. When I am thinking about making a purchase, I now calculate how many games the purchase is going to cost me. That little mental exercise has saved me thousands of dollars. It is like a control mechanism that always asks me are you sure you need this or want to do this? Mindless and unaware spending is very common. Our society promotes it. It is hard to go anywhere without the temptation to impulse buy. Taking control of your finances is taking back control of your life. We all only have one life. Don't waste it!

If there are not enough people getting involved in their communities, then there is no community. I could be wrong, but I believe the society and infrastructure humans have built would collapse into chaos without working together. At some base level, community involvement is the cornerstone of our existence. Over the last year, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor and hockey official. It has been the most rewarding achievements so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to daily. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. A few decades back there was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. That is true. I have three separate neighbors, all elderly single ladies. I had no ambition to help these ladies. Actually, it never crossed my mind. Somehow, over the years, I ended up being their go-to person for help. I am on speed dial on all their phones. I snow blow all three of their driveways and sidewalks in the winter. The biggest thing that happens all the time is they always need me to come over and move something for them. I am so amazed on how much stuff they have. I am their personal moving man. It works out fine. They always give me a few bucks or some baked goods. I’m not sure, but sometimes I think they just want me to come over for a conversation. They all like to ask me questions. All three of them are very nice. That is how I create positive change!

As a kid, I had the best childhood. I never had a bad day until my later high school years. The toughest time was my senior year in high school. Senior year is supposed to be the best of times. It was the worst for me and probably many other seniors across the country. In my town, the school district shut down school and school activities my whole senior year due to Covid 19. I was used to spending seven hours at school a day, playing sports after, hanging out with friends on nights and weekends, going to dances, Friday night football games, etc. It all didn't happen my senior year. None of it. I spent the majority of my time in my room doing online schoolwork during the day. At night, I would watch a movie or take the dog for a walk. Bored and depressing is the best way to describe my senior year. I learned that the world is not as predictable as I thought it was. Listening to your thoughts and creating a fixed reality can really lead to some disappointments. I have become way more flexible in accepting what is rather than what I think things should be. Taking on this kind of thought process has enabled me to smooth out life's highs and lows better. As I write this essay I am thinking about all the millions of people in Ukraine. Six weeks ago life was normal for them. Now millions of Ukrainians are wondering where their next meal will come from or much worse. I am angry at myself for complaining that I didn't get the senior year I wanted. Compared to the people in Ukraine, I look soft, entitled, petty, and selfish. I am much more awake now. Big change!

I do everything I can. I recycle, I compost, I use as little plastic as I can. I actually re-use zip lock bags for as long as I can. I am an avid gun person, but I don't hunt. I try to leave wildlife alone. I even try to drive responsibly and use less gas. I do my part, but it saddens me that we are not going to stop climate change. Climate change is mostly a human-generated problem. Humans from my research have been around for about 300,000 years. 99.9999% of our time here on the planet we have been able to be a part of the world's ecosystem and in balance with the earth's system. In the 1800's the population of the world was around1 a billion. 200 years later we are at 8 billion. We have 8 billion people that need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? The answer is NONE! If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s Ok. A plague is how we would describe the situation. Since we are the plague it is Ok. Most of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. ? We pretend that electrical cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, shopping at the co-op, or some other technological advancement is the answer. The elephant in the room is us. 10 Billion people by 2050! Can't recycle enough!

My father was a coach for many years. I asked him one day why he liked to coach? He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. Adults are already set in their ways. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of 2 coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids? He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. Last summer I worked at Red Arrow Camp. This upcoming summer I will be working at Camp Deer Horn. Both camps are located in Wisconsin. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. Very true. Last summer I was responsible for a group of 10-year-old boys for 7 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. My dad was right.

I had a rough year a few years back. I lost my grandparents and my dog all in the same year. I was close to my grandparents. They only lived 6 blocks away. My dog Chloe, a golden retriever, was only 5 (throat cancer). My father also worked hard at saving himself. He had entertained leaving this world early during the same timeframe. He spent a few months down at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. Of course, I hit some dark times with all this. My athletics and my grades suffered from the stress and pain. I learned how life can change on you quickly. You also learn how temporary things are. I have learned that what matters most is just today. I do the best I can each day hoping that there is this future out there. Realistically, my gut tells me just take it one day at a time. Enjoy each day as best you can. That's it, There has been a massive change in my life as a result of my hardship. I fear nothing. I am pretty sure everyone lives in some sort of fear. Fear is everywhere. I have no fear. The blessing of my hardship is I am ok with everything. Nothing can hurt me. I have achieved my life goal of conquering fear. That is the most important thing. The funny part is that I didn't have to fight to achieve it. I did not have to seek out a way to conquer my pain and fear. Pain and fear came looking for me and changed my life. I am grateful in a strange way. I would hate to go through my whole life living in fear. Glad I got to the other side earlier rather than later. I am not sure I want this scholarship. The competitive side of me wants the scholarship, but I want someone else hurting more to have it. If I am the winning scholarship, just give me half. Give the other half to someone else. If Mrs., Zingano reads these essays, I want to express my deepest condolences to her. The whole time writing this I was thinking about her boy. I would have his back.. No worries Mrs. Zingano Joe McGee

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota my whole life. It is a great town to grow up in. Nature is only minutes away and of course, you have the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior. I spent most of my youth outside. During the winter I was snowboarding at one of the three ski hills in town or playing outdoor hockey at one of the 7 professionally maintained rinks in town. My summers were just as busy with baseball, hiking, mountain biking, and all the lake activities available in the area. I am generally a happy person and easy going. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed and during down or off time I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. I am high functioning on the autism spectrum. I was diagnosed at the age of 4. Many of my challenges and successes in life stem from being autistic. I have many of the standard emotional and social deficiencies associated with the condition. I also have many of its gifts. One of the social deficiencies of autism is communication issues. For some reason, I had a hard time talking with people or asking for help. I couldn't seem to open my mouth. This posed a problem for me in school growing up. I would get stuck on assignments and could not ask for help. I then would get behind in my work. Weeks behind. I would suffer anxiety attacks as a result of getting so far behind. School is 9 months long. Every year I would run into problems at some point. The big turning point was the next-door neighbor boys. Both had dropped out of high school, and now in their twenties, still live at home. My father one day told me to look out the window. He said those two boys are your future if you don't get it together. He said the difference is that I won't be living at home. The communication issues I had disappeared quickly. Fear can be a great motivator. Since this is a scholarship for school, I looked up some facts about students that have my condition. Only 35 percent of autistic students attempt to attend college after 6 years of graduating high school. Fewer than 20 percent of college students with autism will graduate or are even on track to graduate five years after high school. That means out of 100 students with autism less than 7 graduate from college (7%). I just completed my first semester with a 3.78 GPA, and I am on track for a 4.0 GPA for spring semester. I am confident on becoming a college graduate. My anxiety and autism co-exist most of the time. I have had my share of counseling and medication over the years. I never found any of it to work. As long as I stay focused and diligent on my life goals everything goes good. I have learned to stay ahead on things and ask for help when needed. When I maintain that buffer I never have any problems. Right now I am finished with all my college classes with one full month to go. School gets out May 10th. Today is April 7th.

Minnesota is the state of hockey. I grew up in Northern Minnesota and have played multiple sports, but hockey was my main sport. I started skating at age 4 and next fall I will be trying out for the UWS Yellow Jackets Men's Hockey Team. Last summer and now this summer I will be teaching hockey at a summer boy's camp. I attended Minnesota Hockey Camps in Brainerd MN growing up. I told myself when I get older I want to be a counselor and coach in my college years. I enjoy the young kid’s quest for greatness. All of them still have that spark and dream of someday playing in the NHL. All that hope and positive energy the kids have is contagious. They wear that hope in their effort and on their faces. I remember when those thoughts and dreams ran wild in my head. You relive it at camp. I strive to develop these young players into the best hockey players they can be. We work on all facets of the game. Shooting, stick handling, passing, skating, strength and conditioning, and teamwork are all taught at camp. We work on other lake recreational activities during break time. The kids love it. The chef at camp does a great job also. Chicken Alfredo night is a huge camp favorite. The experience for me is rejuvenating. I meet kids from all over the country. I also meet and develop long-lasting relationships with the other counselors and staff. Living, working, eating, and playing together for three months tends to bring people close together. A great experience for everyone. I am excited to see what this summer holds. I share every bit of skill and wisdom I can with these boys for three months. I am exhausted by the end in late August. I feel I get more in return than I could ever give. The chance to experience being a kid again for a couple months is priceless. At least as close as one can get. The fun, laughter, and great life experiences are memorable. I also know that in a couple more summers all this fun on the ice and in the sun is going to come to an end. I try to soak up every minute of it while it lasts. The end of camp is hard. It is time for everyone to pack up and return to their corner of the world. Saying goodbye hurts. You don't know if you are going to see some of these people again. Last year some of the counselors that were 22-24 years old knew that it was their last summer. Careers and starting families are the next chapters in life. Tears flowed hard that day.

I make a point to reach out to them on a regular basis. I want them to know I am thinking about them. I also try to spend as much time as I can with them. I also try to help them when they need something. I should do more of this, but letting them know you care about them verbally is important. My closest relationship is with my father. With him, I try my best to not let him down. I appreciate how much he has given to me over my 19 years. He wants me to be successful and have a happy and fulfilling life. He has tried to give me every opportunity. I put in maximum effort in response. Right now I am trying to get that 4.0 GPA for spring semester. I am within 1% point away from getting there. I want to do well for myself, but I know it makes my father proud. When I see how happy he is, I know I am doing my part in giving back to him. Forming those deep connections and emotional investments is what it is all about.

There are various levels of friendship. Your best and most loyal friends will be the ones that show up when you are in a tough place. You will be surprised how few of those people there will be. You will also be surprised at who shows up. There will be a few people that you can really count on that you didn't anticipate. I use the words family and friends interchangeably. The people who show up for you are what you have. How that relationship is forged makes no difference. Those people who show up are your people. Going through a rough time does have one benefit. You find out who you can count on. Then you know all the other people on your phone you can spend less time with. I learned all this after a rough patch I went through. I have a couple hundred people on my phone and I had about six people show up when I was in need. I now spend most of my time with those six people.

Empathy is another way to grow as a person. The more we understand the problems others have, we have the opportunity to indirectly experience what they are going through. Empathy is a great way to learn about others and at the same time a chance to reflect on yourself if you were in that person's shoes. I remember last summer I was at the local lake and I met a guy who had just broken up with his girlfriend. She broke up with him and broke his heart. He was wearing a college shirt of the college I was going to be attending and I decided to strike up a conversation with him. Not too long into the conversation, I noticed the pain in his face. He was trying hard to act happy, but you could see he was suffering. I asked him if he was ok? As soon as I asked, he dumped the whole story on me. I listened as he told me all the details of his heart-crushing breakup. He cried. I cried for the guy. I know he felt much better getting all that weight off his chest. When he left I could see the pain was not as strong on him. We are now good friends. I have never had a serious girlfriend. My buddy woke me up on how seriously injured a guy's heart can get over a girl. I was very naïve. I have gotten close enough to his pain to understand the risks of love. I helped him and he helped me. We are both forever grateful for how we have helped each other. He shared his pain and I learned from his pain. Empathy is great for everyone.

There is another book essay on Bold. I talk about how Calvin and Hobbs's books inspired me to be an avid reader. Those books also shaped me into a person that enjoys humor. The joy of reading has put me on a path of educational growth. Reading has given me strong analytical, writing, and academic success. I had to bring up Calvin and Hobbs because that is where it all started. The essay asks for one book. I have written 127 essays on Bold and I could never write this essay because I could not come up with just one book. I find an interesting topic and then I will read 20,50, 100 books on the subject. I stop reading a subject when I start to get too much repetitive information. I tend to squeeze every bit of information I can out of something and then move on. I started applying at Bold.org a few months ago. This essay is the last one I can apply for until new ones are posted. The history of war is one of the most recent topics I have explored. I have read well over 100 books on the subject. I have also watched every video I could get my hands on. My Why? I was fascinated on why man is willing to throw life and resources away at such a massive scale. Historically, the cost of war is so high that nobody really wins. Yet, man continues to wage war continuously around the world for generations. I have somewhat solved the question. Wars start small, spread, and then spin out of control. As time goes on during a war, everything escalates. The quest to win is where all the horrors come from. From my research, Russia-Ukraine will be no different.

At my house, I have three separate neighbors, all elderly single ladies. I had no ambition to help these ladies. Actually, it never crossed my mind. Somehow, over the years, I ended up being their go-to person for help. I am on speed dial on all their phones. I am lucky that they all hire out for their lawn service. I do snow blow all three of their driveways and sidewalks in the winter. The biggest thing that happens all the time is they always need me to come over and move something for them. I am so amazed on how much stuff they all have. I am their personal moving man. Carry this up from the basement, can you carry this down to the basement, can you move this up to the attic, can you get this out of the attic, can you get that out of the back of the garage, can you put this back in the garage. I should win this scholarship and get a medal! Actually, it works out fine. They always give me a few bucks or some baked goods. I’m not sure, but sometimes I think they just want me to come over for a conversation. They all like to ask me questions about what my latest news is. I rarely seem them have company. All three of them are very nice.

Generosity is something that is in you. A trait. Who you are. People are for the most part wired as givers or takers. I would say in today's society takers dominate. A selfish it is all about me attitude and not the common good of society permeates. When I hear the word generosity I think of plural thoughts. We vs me, team vs individual, community vs the self, are what comes to mind. Actually, generosity is another word for good in my mind. Generosity also gives people hope. When times are tough sometimes hope is all you got. That one person that was generous is someway can make all the difference. With all the positivity generosity provides, why does it not flourish? The problem is giving is loop process. You have to get something in order to give. Give, receive, give, receive is how the feedback loop process is supposed to work. The best is if you get back more than you give. My high school counselor wrote me a recommendation letter for my scholarship pursuits. He has generously given me his time. In return, I have given him all kinds of sports equipment for his two young boys. I just recently gave him a 5-gallon bucket of good condition baseballs and two youth bats for his boys. Easily $500 dollars worth of equipment. If the human world worked on this kind of premise, all kinds of great possibilities are available. The natural world always has had the right balance of give and take. All other species seem to understand the value of balance. I hope humans can figure it out before it is too late.

Calvin & Hobbs is my first and favorite read. I am an avid reader, and it all started with Calvin & Hobbs. My dad was a big fan and he bought me every book. I read everyone over and over again. My three favorite sequences are the red wagon ride down the hill, the sled ride down the hill, and Hobbs's ambush every time Calvin gets home from school. The two biggest impacts of Calvin & Hobbs was it got me reading daily and I developed a desire for humor. Every day I watch some kind of comedy. Stand up, skits, impressions, you name it, I watch it. My favorites today are Bill Burr, Jim Gaffigan, George Carlin, Louis CK, Family Guy, Mad TV, Ridiculousness, and the list goes on. Every night after work or school, I watch or read something funny that can all be traced back to Calvin & Hobbs. When I was young, fun and laughter were experiences I took for granted. As you get older that fun and laughter gets harder and harder to find. Life seems to get more serious as we age. Humor has been my go-to for the stressors in life. I still maintain a fun and happy spirit. I really owe my education to Calvin and Hobbs. My education started with them. I have read hundreds of books and have been an honor roll student for years. It all can be traced back to my nightly bedtime reading with my father at around kindergarten age. That routine has turned into a lifelong habit. I know when I have kids Calvin and Hobbs will be there. I want my kids to be happy and fall in love with reading.

At my house, I have three separate neighbors, all elderly single ladies. I had no ambition to help these ladies. Actually, it never crossed my mind. Somehow, over the years, I ended up being their go-to person for help. I am on speed dial on all their phones. I am lucky that they all hire out for their lawn service. I do snow blow all three of their driveways and sidewalks in the winter. The biggest thing that happens all the time is they always need me to come over and move something for them. I am so amazed on how much stuff they all have. I am their personal moving man. Carry this up from the basement, can you carry this down to the basement, can you move this up to the attic, can you get this out of the attic, can you get that out of the back of the garage, can you put this back in the garage. I should win this scholarship and get a medal! Actually, it works out fine. They always give me a few bucks or some baked goods. I’m not sure, but sometimes I think they just want me to come over for a conversation. They all like to ask me questions about what my latest news is. All three of them are very nice.

My upbringing was to always have fun and try new things. Daily, I was taught to experience and reach outside my comfort zone. It doesn't have to be something big. It is amazing what can happen to you in 365 days. My goal is to experience life to the fullest. Education is part of that growth of new experiences. I will give a simple example. I am taking a 1 credit yoga class in college. Yoga is good for the mind and the body. Why wouldn't I want to try it? In my class of 30 people, I am the only male in the class. I guess I am the only male out of the thousands of males at school that wants to learn about yoga. I get a credit toward graduation and learn how to better take care of myself. I also have a new girlfriend. My Why is you don't win if you don't try. I would rather try and fail than have the regret of missing out. That is what drives me. That is why I do anything. My persona is always reaching for more. For some reason, this example just popped into my head. I remember practicing for my driver’s test. In Minnesota, you need 50 hours of practice hours before taking the test. Most people may dread all those hours. My father and I drove to every town within 75 miles one summer and experienced everything. Every recreational or educational experience within that 75-mile radius we experienced. It was a great time. We had to log our driving hours. We went just over 100 hours before I actually took the test. Passed the first time! I am majoring in accounting and finance. I am going to inherit the family bar business and I need the accounting and finance education to help successfully run the business. It is a seasonal business on a lake in Northern Wisconsin. My goal is to spend 6 months in Wisconsin and 6 months in Puerto Rico. I plan on working hard for 6 months and then playing hard for 6 months a year. My goal is to have everyone have a good time at our establishment. For the 50,000 vacationers that come up for fun and sun every season, I want to put a smile on their faces. That is the positive impact I want to achieve. If the summer people are happy then my family is happy. Win-win for all!

If there are not enough people getting involved in their communities, then there is no community. I believe the society and infrastructure humans have built would collapse into chaos without working together. At some base level community involvement is the cornerstone of our existence. Over the last year, since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor and hockey official. It is the most rewarding achievements probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to on a daily basis. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. A few decades back there was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. I think that is true. My father was a coach for many years. I asked him one day why he liked to coach? He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of 2 coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids? He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Last summer I was responsible for a group of 10 year old boys. My dad was right!

There are too many people on the planet. This is the core problem that no one wants to talk about. Humans from my research have been around for about 300,000 years. 99.9999% of our time here on the planet we have been able to be a part of the world's ecosystem and in balance with the earth's system. In the 1800s the population of the world was 1 billion. 200 years later we are at 8 billion. We have 8 billion people that need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? The answer is NONE! If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s Ok. A plague is how we would describe the situation. Since we are the plague it is Ok. The topic is never brought up. Most of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, a decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google the ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. Of course, even a lower number than that is always better. How do people or the governments of this world have the conversation that there are 7 billion people that need to somehow vanish from the planet? No one is getting elected or re-elected bringing this topic up. So what do we do? We pretend that electrical cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, shopping at the co-op, or some other technological advancement is the answer. The elephant in the room is us. The solution is to first acknowledge the problem.

My father is a financial executive. He gave me some great advice. He told me that people aimlessly spend money throughout the day and do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. Practicing being conscious of your spending is critical for financial success. America is built on tempting people to buy, buy, buy, and spend, spend, spend. Drive down the street, almost every business wants you to stop in and impulse buy. Quick, easy, and convenience is America. It takes discipline and awareness to not lose control of your spending. My father gave me a simple example of people who buy cigarettes. A pack in Minnesota where I live costs around $10.00. Smoking a pack a day, in a year you have spent $3,650 on cigarettes. That is just one item. Most people dabble in all kinds of money wasting daily activities. It looks like wasting $10,000-$20,000 a year net after taxes is pretty easy to do. That is why nobody has any money. I sat outside a Kwik Trip gas station for about a half-hour. I watched everybody that came out of that store. Not one person came out of that store without a bag full of things they didn’t need or were just bad for you. I can honestly say almost everyone had $20-50 dollars of purchases. People do not realize that $10-$50 daily habit adds up to big money. At school I see kids wasting money all the time. They hit the food court and the vending machines constantly. There are two kinds of people out there. There are spenders and there are savers. People are hardwired in one direction or the other. Just over 8% of adults in the US population fit the definition of being a millionaire. 92% don’t.

I admire Larry Bird. One of the greatest players in NBA history and probably the greatest basketball mind in the sport. Larry Bird was slow, could not jump, and had less than NBA-level athletic ability. The majority of his success was attributed to his basketball IQ. Larry Bird is by most ranking services in the top 10 all-time greatest players to play the game. He won three NBA Championships and was a three-time NBA MVP. The biggest accomplishment that goes unrecognized is him single-handedly leading Indiana State to the NCAA college championship in 1979. Indiana State was an average basketball program and adding Larry Bird made them a national contender. Indiana State has never seen anything close to the success before or since Larry Bird. Larry Bird created another miracle his first year in the NBA for the Boston Celtics. The year before Larry's arrival the Celtics won 20 games. Larry's first year in Boston the Celtics win 60 games. The Celtics went from the bottom of the league to a championship contender in 1 year all because of Larry Bird. What I admire the most about Larry is that he gave many young kids hope about their basketball future. All kinds of kids are not superiorly gifted, just like Larry. Larry won because he outthought his opponents. He made kids like me continue to play because you could always work on your basketball IQ. He made it possible to believe IQ and not vertical jump could bring you success in the sport. Thank You Larry!

Nationalizing education is the one change that would positively impact future generations of students. America is about choice. Politically and culturally people might have a problem with a standardized educational system. When it comes to educating kids, politics needs to be put aside. At the end of the day, every person in America needs the opportunity to be educated. It benefits the individual and society benefits from a highly educated workforce. Everybody wins. Our education system is fragmented. We are not a unified country when it comes to education. We have 50 states that have 50 separate departments of education. Every state has its own ideas on how to educate kids. It goes even further when you have within those states various counties, cities, towns, and school districts that also have their own ideas and agendas on education. There are also the private, home school, online, and charter school platforms that add to the fragmentation in the education system. I know my parents stressed about my education. I went to a public grade school outside our district, then went to middle school at the charter school in town, and then finished high school back in my district. We felt good about our grade school and middle school education but should have picked a different high school. I had choices and we as a family never really felt 100% comfortable on whether we were at the right schools. What about all the families that don't have choices? Too many choices and no great way to analyze whether the people in charge ( teachers, administrators) know what they are doing. I believe shopping for shoes, clothes, cars, etc.. is Ok. You can return the items and get a refund. Shopping for education is a bad idea. You can't exchange or return a bad year or multiple years if you are at the wrong school. To put this in the clearest light possible. When do you really know NATIONALLY how you are doing academically? It is when you take your SAT and ACT tests at the end of high school. Colleges look highly at ACT and SAT results. Finding out at 17 or 18 years of age is the wrong age to find out how educated you are. Students take standardized nationalized college entrance tests. It would make sense to have a standardized nationalized education system. The Nordic countries of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway have very successful nationalized education systems. They are the gold standard of the world education system. They also commit on average a much higher percentage of their national GPD to education. It would make sense for America to implement the Nordic countries educational system.

I am going to be Bold in this essay. Mental health issues all come from some stressor a person can't handle. The stress and strain cause people to crack. We as humans are always looking for solutions after someone falls apart mentally. The solution is to not have people reach the breaking point. Drugs, therapy, counseling, and treatment centers would not be needed if you never reach the point of needing those services. How does that happen? We need a culture change in our society. People crack because they don't have a support system that surrounds them. In America, the culture is focused on the individual and not the group or community. People fear in this country. It is a result of a lack of a support structure. When bad things happen, like money issues, health issues, or relationship issues, people fall apart if they get overwhelmed. The solution is a society that embraces community. It should be multiple layers of support. All levels of family, city, state, country, schools, employers, should focus on the well-being of the whole. If people knew they had a base level of security and support, the stresses of life would not be so devastating and overwhelm people. The mind seeks safety and security. Deprivation of safety and security and people develop mental illness. It is that simple. Why is it that in America we like to treat the symptom and not address the cause? The answer is that there is no money in solving the problems. There is money in treating it. That is an individual attitude, not a group or society attitude. I appreciate the opportunity to express my thoughts on this issue.

If you look at my profile I was very active in sports. I went to a bigger high school, with just under 2,000 kids, and to make the starting lineup was very competitive. I lettered in three sports in high school. Very difficult to do. Most students were focusing all their efforts on one sport. I was able to play at a high level in three. I was extremely passionate about my athletic success. You had to be. I am considering playing hockey at the college level. We will see what happens this upcoming fall. My main focus now is my education, my health, and my finances. Every day these three things are on my mind from sun up to sundown. I made the Deans' list and received two honor society awards first semester. I am close to reaching my goal of a 4.0 for spring term. I workout 3-4 times a week and walk every day. Mentally and physically it is important to my well-being to get some exercise. I see many students in college that let themselves go physically. I find staying in shape helps me focus better for school. Finances are always on my mind. I have two scholarships for this year that I received from high school. Freshman year is paid for. I am focusing hard on securing funds for sophomore year. I have developed a passion for filling out scholarships. I have filled out 225 scholarships so far for next fall. The Bold people know how passionate I am. I have 115 active applications on their site alone. That is as passionate as it gets.

I mentioned in my profile that I have a bodybuilder-type physique. Most of it I think is just genetics. My mother was Ms. Minnesota, Ms. Gopher State, and was Ms. Midwest Grand Prix in women's bodybuilding. My father was a power lifter. I should mention my mother and sister own their own training facility and personal train clients all day long. I grew up with this stuff. Ever since middle school I have had numerous classmates and teammates approach me and ask me to help them. Some want to get bigger and stronger, but the majority wants me to help them lose weight. The amount of people in the US that are overweight or obese sits at around 66%. People of all ages that have weight issues are struggling with their health, appearance, and confidence. My classmates are looking for support. They want someone to talk to and ask questions. I have no problem sharing what I know. I keep it simple and give them two words of advice. One is you've got to move. Everyday do something. I walk 3-5 miles every day with my dog. I also workout at the gym 3 times a week for about an hour. So I share what I do. Secondly, what goes in your mouth is important. Again, I keep it simple. Stay away as best you can from sugar, fast food, breads, pastas, and deep fried foods. The best thing I do is I take pictures with my phone of the meals I eat and I send them out to people. Exercise and eat what is in the picture. I have helped a number of people with this strategy. Most of my best friends are people I have helped. They are so grateful and I feel good that I could help.

Sloane, In my own words, I speak the truth, I live by the truth, and I can never get lost by the truth. So many people wasting their lives away and suffering under their own ignorance. Not being lost and ignorant has served me well in life and will continue to do so. I live in reality. No other place in life good or bad I would rather be. The world would be a much better place if we all lived there. This is my second time applying for this scholarship. I am going to say it. I am as Bold as it gets talking about the truth. People are afraid of the truth. I am not. Somehow in out society all these alternative realities are ok. They are not. Bad people thrive on these lies. They spread that badness and corrupt many people that don't have the mental ability to discern fact from fiction. Someone has to be the adult in the room. I have no problem being that person. That is called leadership. Living a lie wastes a person's life. My life's journey has and will continue to be positive and rewarding. The truth does that. Try it sometime. I received this letter from my English teacher. I think she describes me best. Thank you for the opportunity. Dear review committee: Joe McGee is incredibly keen, creating polished professional writing that comprehensively and correctly uses intricate class concepts. Joe has an ability to see conflicting viewpoints and describe them accurately and fairly. He has perspective. As his Composition I instructor at Lake Superior College, I have known Joe since August 2021. In class, he displayed writing dexterity and comprehension at levels well beyond an introductory writing course. His talent for identifying logical structures in writing was superb. His ability to respectfully and honestly evaluate information and sources, before accepting them as supports for his own work, gives him the ability to swim through a world of misleading information. He cares deeply about the ideas and research that pushes the field of economics forward and elicits unique questions. His project in my class will become a teaching example because it is one of the best student papers I ever received. In it, he hypothesizes that the erosion of ethics in business and industry is drastically affecting employee and commerce functionality. His secondary research filters primary research on the topic in impactful and convincing ways. His interest in the intersection of economics and social justice is present in his volunteer efforts. Joe has worked with youth groups in sports settings as a referee and at Red Arrow Camp as a counselor. In both positions, he taught self-discipline and fairness. I strongly recommend Joe McGee as a scholarship recipient. I have worked with PhD candidates and believe Joe demonstrates the abilities to one day achieve a doctorate and be impactful in meaningful ways. Sincerely, Celeste Zuniga Brandt Writing Instructor Department of English Lake Superior College

I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. Most of my challenges in life stem from being autistic. I have many of the standard emotional and social deficiencies associated with the condition. The hardest obstacle originally was just trying to figure out what was wrong with me. In the early 2000s, the odds of autism at birth was 1 out of 150. At that time I would say a rare condition. In today’s world, the odds of developing autism at birth are 1 out of 44. I feel bad for my parents. They had a hard couple years searching for answers on my condition with very little success. I can’t imagine the feeling of helplessness they felt for all that time. I am so glad that they had the dedication and persistence to keep charging forward. I now keep charging forward! My most difficult adversity that autism presented was overcoming my food sensitivities. I can’t imagine what life is like being able to eat whatever you want or having no fear of sampling something new. Common food is dangerous to me. If I eat something wrong during the day I will have a reaction that makes me sick (high). I am limited to a diet of meat, fruit, vegetables, limited dairy, and my go-to carbohydrate is a potato. As a rule of thumb, I stay away from anything that has more than one ingredient in it unless it is prepared at home. If I eat something that has multiple ingredients and I get sick (high), it is difficult to know exactly what caused the problem. The huge challenge was the trial and error of figuring out what foods you could eat and those you couldn’t. The process took a couple of years. I was a science project of eat this and see what happens. Can you imagine sitting down to a fresh batch of pancakes or waffles on a Saturday morning and being afraid to eat them? That was me. I still did my part and ate what I was asked to eat. I must have eaten half dozen different pancake recipes and got sick before we discovered buckwheat pancakes. The more we got a handle on what foods I could eat and not eat the more my life started to change. I went from not passing any grades (K-3rd), to getting straight A’s in 4th and 5th grade. I received the President’s Award for Educational Achievement signed by President Barack Obama my last year of grade school (5th). I no longer had a full-time PERA teacher sitting next to me every day, and no more riding the special needs bus to school, all because I could now stay calm and concentrate. I was on the honor roll every semester in junior high and 3 years in high school. Now, I am writing an essay for a college scholarship. Only 35 percent of autistic students attempt to attend college after 6 years of graduating high school. Fewer than 20 percent of college students with autism will graduate or are even on track to graduate five years after high school. That means out of 100 students with autism less than 7 graduate from college (7%). I just completed my first semester with a 3.78 GPA, so I am confident on becoming a college graduate. I want to beat the odds! Everything is possible, it just takes more strategy trying to figure out how to get around the barriers. I am a great candidate because I have so much upside. I am just getting started in figuring out my potential.

I grew up with two golden retrievers “Chloe” and “Gracie”. I also had a 50-gallon fish tank in my room for 12 years. My thoughts on pets are that they are not really pets. I could argue that they are better than family or friends. We lost Chloe two years ago at the age of 5. She had throat cancer. Came on suddenly and she passed away within weeks of bringing her to the vet. I never knew how much I could love something. Her passing was so quick and sudden that I was not capable of coping with the situation. At 16 years old, I found out for the first time what real love is and what real pain is. I never realized up to that point how temporary everything is. Chloe taught me to appreciate each day as she did. The unconditional love animals give is amazing. My dogs and even my fish are always happy to see me. No matter what kind of day I am having, they always give. I am generally a hopeful person. I know I get that from them. Every day they give you that boost of positivity and love. That spark of hope they provide daily has kept me going more than once in my life. Ask yourself where would you be if you had no hope in your life? Today I went for a 5-mile walk with my dog. We walk the road at Superior Point in Superior Wisconsin. My body feels great after a long walk. My joints and muscles get a workout without it being strenuous. My lungs enjoy all that fresh outdoor air. I also enjoy the smell of pine forest. Those brisk walks clear my mind of all that life stuff I have to do for a couple of hours. Today I saw two bald eagles, a pack of ravens, and my dog Gracie chased a fox. I talked to an ice fisherman before I got in the car to leave. He showed me his catch for the day. He had a couple of good stories that provided a chuckle or two. I mention this story because I would never go walking 5 miles on my own. Gracie needs to get her exercise and she demands her walk every day. All that fun would not happen without her. Gracie loves her walks with me. She does wonders for me. I am happy watching her be happy. In conclusion, my pets bring happiness and hope to my life. When you are filled up with hope and happiness you tend to share it with others. Maybe if everyone had pets the world would be a better place? I appreciate the scholarship committee taking the time to read my essay.

My creative skills in the kitchen are where I shine. I am always trying to cook healthy low calorie meals that taste great. I want the meals to be easy to prepare and quick to make. Since I am a college student I also want the meal to be inexpensive. Students my age love fast food. I cook my own version of fast food at home. One of my go-to dishes is chicken and fries in the air fryer. The cost of the meal is $3.00. Before all this inflation, it was a $2.00 meal. Prepping the meal takes under 5 minutes and cook time is 20 minutes. Take 4 chicken thighs and remove skin and fat. Cut each thigh into two pieces, cutting the same direction as the bone. Put the 8 pieces in a frying pan and add some olive oil. Mix with a spatula until you have olive oil on all sides of the chicken. Shake on seasoned bread crumbs. Mix with the spatula until chicken is covered with crumbs. Dump chicken into air fryer. Sprinkle extra seasoned bread crumbs on top for good measure. Cook 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Take 2 large potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Put the flat side down on a cutting board. Cut potatoes into strips the long way of the potato. Put sliced potatoes in pan used to mix the chicken. Add olive oil and mix with spatula. I sprinkle garlic seasoned salt on the strips for seasoning. Dump potato strips in second air fryer. Cook 400 degrees for 20 minutes. The olive oil crisps the chicken and the potatoes. It also makes the bread crumbs and garlic salt stick to the food when cooking. I do flip the food with tongs after 12 minutes. Serve when timer rings.

The best skill that bears the most fruit is my ability to think outside the box. Every day I am trying to do what others don't do, won't do, or stay away from what everyone else is doing. Right now I am writing this essay at 6 am. Who else is doing that? I am guessing few to none. This essay is actually my fourth one this morning. Another easy example of thinking outside the box is my college career. I only take 12 credits a semester. You might ask what is so special about that? I will tell you. Taking 12 credits, which is full-time, almost guarantees me a 4.0 GPA. My workload is low enough where getting straight A's is pretty easy. I make all the honor rolls, deans' lists, awards, etc., without killing myself. I also have time to enjoy being a college student. I could spend 4 years killing myself with the stress and pressure of a full load of courses, or, I can enjoy my next 4.5 years with a lighter load, a ton of fun. and all the academic accolades. 4 years of hell or 4.5 years of fun? Easy choice if you ask me. I see everyone else make the harder choice. If I had more room to write I would share some of my other outside the box lifestyle decisions. I am always looking for my own green pastures that I have all to myself. I rarely want to be with the rest of the herd. I will admit I don't have any fun trying to do what everyone else is doing. It always feels stressful and congested. People must like that. I don't

Fear is a great motivator. I would say it gets me up in the morning most days. For me, it all started with my two neighbors that are brothers. One of the boys is 1 year older than me and the older boy is 3 years older than me. All three of us grew up as neighbor buddies my whole youth. We did everything together and we all had a great time. Things changed in the high school years. The oldest neighbor kid got into drugs somehow. He went from playing varsity soccer to making the front page of the newspaper for being in a drug bust. His brain is all messed up and I don't think he will ever be normal. He never graduated from high school and is still at home doing nothing. Scary! The younger brother, who I was closest to, never graduated from high school either. I think his older brother affected him. He dropped out and is and has been working a dead-end job for the last 3 years. He is 20 and just had a baby with his girlfriend. He smokes and drinks pretty hard regularly. When I talk to him he is always full of could have should have done this or that. Scary! These boys grew up with good parents and opportunities. Maybe life will turn around for them, they are both still in their early 20s. I don't think so. I have a longer list of other friends that have also fallen on hard times. I see it all around me and I don't want any of it. That negativity is so close to you that it frightens you. Seeing buddies go down the drain right in front of your eyes motivates you to run the other way.

Laughter to me is the ultimate joy. I love to laugh. I have always been that kid that is laughing and smiling growing up without a care in the world. I think that is my general nature, but It has a lot to do with my upbringing. My father daily went out of his way to make sure I had a fun childhood. He had a goal of making sure I had fun every day. He always wanted something positive to happen to me every day. I know his childhood was not fun. I think it gave him great joy to see his son have more of what he didn't get growing up. I think he had a second childhood through me. I want to say I appreciate what he did for me growing up. Laughter is a joy that may have no equal. It started when I was 3 or 4 years old. My father would read to me every night before bed. He bought every comic book he could find. My favorite was and still is Calvin and Hobbs. That slapstick humor would make me roar with laughter. Every night I got in the habit of laughing. It is a part of me now. Now I enjoy watching comedy. My favorite is stand-up comedy. I don't go a day without watching somebody's act. When I am done with a long day of school and work, I always wind down with some nightly humor. I stay a happy person this way and I think it is good for a person mentally and physically. Life is great knowing a good laugh might be right around the corner.

I practice gratitude and appreciation in m life on a daily basis. Everyone has challenges in their lives and everyone has some highlights in their lives. At times I can get jealous of people I think have it better than me. I also have times when I say to myself “Whoa, glad I am not that guy! “ For me, the most important benefit of gratitude and appreciation is that it keeps me grounded in life. When things are going great I try to not get too carried away. When things are going bad I also try to not get too carried away. If you think the highs in life are going to last forever, you are setting yourself up for a big letdown. Bad things in life usually move on to better days as well. Right now my life is pretty darn good. School is going great, my job is rewarding and pays well, physically and mentally all is well, and I have a great girl in my life. My family and friends are all doing fine. I am extremely grateful and appreciative that things are going my way. Daily I think about the people in Ukraine. Life is not easy for all those 44 million citizens. One day everything changed for the worse for everyone in that country. Many other people all over the world have it way tougher than me. I see it every day when I drive down the street. Like I said earlier, gratitude keeps me grounded. We all are going to live our lives. We are all going to have highs and lows. I am just one person out of 8 billion people on this planet. I am trying to do the best I can and appreciate the time I have here.

Having persistence can guide you through the difficulties you face in life. No matter what obstacles you’re facing, stress you’re experiencing, or doubts you have in yourself, persisting throughout all of them is the only way to reach your goals. I don't agree with this statement in the above description. If persistence was the key then everyone would be rich, famous, or a pro athlete. I see people pour their hearts and souls into various things and fail miserably. Reaching their goals was never a possibility because they never analyzed their odds of success. Pouring your time and resources into something that you want that has a very low chance of success is going to be very painful most/all of the time. You being that one in a million story that makes it to the top is a fairy tale. That is why those stories make the news. Persistence is just one arrow in the quiver of reaching success. It is not the ONLY WAY. I have applied for over 100 scholarships on Bold.org. I have applied for another 150 scholarships outside of Bold.org. I have been working hard and persistent for about 3 months. If the success rate ends up being low on this venture, I will not fill out another scholarship next year. I will have completed a large enough sample of work to see if filling out scholarships is worth it. A low capture rate would change my use of time and resources. Persistence would become a waste of time unless I found a better capture strategy. I won two scholarships last year out of high school. My obstacle of paying for college this year was successfully overcome. My early success makes me think the odds are good for next year. We will see.

I appreciate nature every day. I live in northern Minnesota and nature is right outside my door. We feed the deer, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and a friendly fox that lives close by. All the animals will eat out of my hand except the fox. I am still working on that one. A quick drive from my house is an old-growth forest that has not been logged. Huge white and red pine trees reach high into the sky. I usually walk the dog 3 or 5 miles in the woods or along the road daily. My favorite sight is seeing all the bald eagles. I think all the large trees are prime nesting sites for these birds. I think big birds need big trees. One day I saw 20 eagles on my walk. I was a bit nervous. I thought my dog was going to be lunch. The eagles started circling us. I felt if there was an altercation they would have won. I find nature to be quiet and calming. The beauty of it makes me think how perfect the world would be if humans weren't here. When I walk in the forest I always say to myself, “So this is what the world used to look like”. It must have been an amazing place I love the smell of clean outdoor air. The smell of pine is one of my favorites. Everything about nature looks and feels perfect. How can you not love and appreciate perfection?

In college, the constant stress of assignments, tests, and papers can really wear a student down. The stress and pressure never goes away. I came up with a solution that has benefited me my freshman year in college and has done wonders for my mental health and my grades. The key is all about not being overwhelmed. My strategy in college has been to get so far ahead in my studies that I can't possibly get overwhelmed. I am currently 2 weeks ahead in all my classes. Knowing I have a two-week buffer on everything eliminates all my stress. Every day that I do assignments it doesn't feel like work. It feels like I am doing extra credit. I stand out with all my professors because they have never seen this before. They are usually really impressed. If I turn something in that is B work, they almost always give me an opportunity to resubmit my work. I get two chances for an A. No other student gets that. The big question is how do you get two weeks ahead? The answer is that I only take 12 credits a semester. I am a full time student, but just barely. With 12 credits I am able to easily stay on top of everything. I get straight A's, and make the "Deans' List every semester. I also get all the academic awards and opportunities. I have time to have fun and enjoy my college experience. I refuse to have the stress of taking 15-20 credits. It will take me an extra semester to graduate. I am ok with that. 4 years of hell or 4.5 years of fun? The decision seems easy to me.

I am enjoying life to the fullest now. Lake Superior College is the best place for me. I could not ask for a better experience than what I am getting at that institution. I am going to savor every moment of my experiences there. It is going to be hard to graduate and leave in a couple of years. I will miss everyone. I officiate hockey and work at a summer camp in the summer. I wish I could stay young forever and work these two jobs. Both are 100% fun all the time. I have been skating since I was 4. Would love to skate as long as I can. All the boating, skiing, sailing, horseback riding, trap shooting, sports, and friendships from camp are going to be hard to move on from also. When I graduate from college I am going to be a partner in the family business. My skills in accounting and finance will help further the continuation and success for the next generation. I most likely will be the sole owner of the business when my uncle and father retire. I am the only heir since my uncle has no kids and I am an only child. My goal is to still have as much fun as I can. I don't have that all planned out yet since it is 4 years from now. I do know I want to spend as much time in Puerto Rico as I can. My uncle is married to a Puerto Rican. I might follow in his footsteps and meet a nice Puerto Rican girl and start a family down the road. I am very excited about the future, but I am really enjoying my life now. The saddest part is I can't do both forever.

The wisest advice I use regularly is to "Think Outside The Box". This life strategy has been crucial to my success in life. The concept of "Thinking Outside The Box" is that if you are trying to compete with a large group or high talent base your odds of success are going to be low. There are only a few that make it to the top and killing yourself to be that one person has a very low success rate. I look for opportunities where the competition isn't looking. The success comes easier and quicker and I enjoy life so much more. I am not going to give away any of my stories, but I will give you an example of a friend of mine I helped out. A friend of mine was an exceptional basketball player. He was heavily recruited by top colleges to play at the division 1 level. Everyone would normally try to pick the best division 1 school and hope it works out. He would be playing with and against other division 1 players. Everybody at that level is really good. Guarantees of playing time when everyone is good are not likely. I told him he should drop down a level and play division 2. That was a big drop down from his abilities but the results were dominating. Instead of fighting for playing time at a higher level, he became the greatest basketball player at that division 2 school's history. He played all 4 years, won every national award possible, and is now an Icon at the school and in that community. The odds of that happening were very high day one at the division 2 level. Not great odds if he went division 1. He is now playing professionally in Europe.

My father was a coach for many years. I asked him one day why he liked to coach? He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. Adults are already set in their ways. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of 2 coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids? He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. Last summer I worked at Red Arrow Camp. This upcoming summer I will be working at Camp Deer Horn. Both camps are located in Wisconsin. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. Very true. Last summer I was responsible for a group of 10 year old boys for 7 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. My dad was right.

There is a thing called the 80/20 rule. My life follows that path. 80% of my life has been good and sometimes even great at times. 20% has been rough and sometimes really rough. The good times and the bad times have influenced me profoundly. The world can be cruel. It is no secret that bad things happen. They happen to everyone. Mathematically it doesn't make sense to not have something go wrong. There are 365 days in a year. It doesn't seem realistic anyone could go all year without a bad spell, much less 70-80 years. Those bad spells in life for me have been extremely motivating. I hate them. I am fanatically motivated to minimize to the best of my ability future bad times. I like being happy and having a good time. Staying in that zone I would like to achieve 100% of the time. There are bad things that happen that you have no control over, and there are bad/stupid decisions you make that hurt yourself. I have some control of the second narrative. Minimizing those bad decisions, in my mind, are the key for me having hope for a great future. Writing this essay at 8 am this morning before school is one more decision that helps me increase my 80% good times percentage and lowers my 20% bad times percentage.

I would put it in the bank. Second-semester tuition had to be paid in full weeks ago. All money coming in at this time is going into savings for fall 2022 tuition. Even if next year was all paid for, I would still put all of it in the bank. I always feel happier and more comfortable with adequate reserves. . You never know what kind of unexpected expense may come up. I would rather err on the side of caution. I am more of a saver than a spender. If I wanted to spend the $1,000, I only spend money when I can find an incredible deal on something. Right now with supply chain and inflation issues, most everything is at or above full price. I am going to be teaching hockey this summer at a camp. I have been looking for street hockey skates. There is limited inventory on brands and sizing. The prices are also high. I will skip the purchase altogether or maybe prices come down before summer. I can do without. If I had a billion dollars, I would be the one handing out $1,000 checks to people. I would focus my giving on all those single mothers out there trying to do it all.

At my house, I have three separate neighbors, all elderly single ladies. I had no ambition to help these ladies. Actually, it never crossed my mind. Somehow, over the years, I ended up being their go-to person for help. I am on speed dial on all their phones. I am lucky that they all hire out for their lawn service. I do snow blow all three of their driveways and sidewalks in the winter. The biggest thing that happens all the time is they always need me to come over and move something for them. I am so amazed on how much stuff they all have. I am their personal moving man. Carry this up from the basement, can you carry this down to the basement, can you move this up to the attic, can you get this out of the attic, can you get that out of the back of the garage, can you put this back in the garage. I should win this scholarship and get a medal! Actually, it works out fine. They always give me a few bucks or some baked goods. I’m not sure, but sometimes I think they just want me to come over for conversation. They all like to ask me questions about what my latest news is. All three of them are very nice.

I would say the covid 19 pandemic has had a big influence on my life. In my first 17 years, I was on easy street and didn't even know it. I was naïve in thinking that there was never a downside in life. My senior year in high school was a disaster. Covid 19 took my whole senior year away from me. In my town, the school district went to online learning the whole school year. The varsity high school sports I played were cancelled. I went from a busy student athlete, to a kid stuck in his bedroom for 9 months. My desk and computer system are in my bedroom. At the beginning of covid I did a decent job of sleeping about 8 hours and getting up and having breakfast. I would then hustle back upstairs and spend 3-4 hours doing homework and then go out and do something for the day. As covid dragged on I started sleeping longer. I started to watch TV, play video games, watch YouTube, and other procrastinations. I started finishing my school work later and later in the day. It finally got to the point where I felt trapped in my room! I put on weight and was depressed. I didn't even know it, but I was in bad shape. My father saved me and got me a job as a camp counselor in Wisconsin last summer. The camp set up a bubble environment for covid. I was busy again teaching hockey, trap shooting, basketball, baseball, archery, and track. I met other counselors from all over the world and had a great time. I now pay close attention to my daily mental health. I learned a great lesson about life. I am so much more aware. Life is not all roses.

The best way to live a long healthy life is to stay away from the extremes in life. I also think it is important to know your limitations. If that little voice in your head says what you are about to do is a bad idea, listen to that voice. From my experience, extremes in life are dangerous. My mother was a competitive bodybuilder and fitness competitor. She has lived this supposedly healthy lifestyle her whole life. It is at the extreme level of fitness. She is now in her 50's. She has hamstring issues, sciatic nerve issues, arthritis, shoulder and hip issues (needs replacement surgery), and all kinds of other aches and pains from overuse and overtraining. She still has a washboard stomach, but moves around like she is 80. My uncle (her brother) is on the other end of extremes. He is 400lbs. He just retired at 62. He retired because of his weight. He won't tell you that, but it is obvious. He needs two new knees and a new shoulder. He can't get the surgery because he is too heavy. He can't lose the weight because he can't walk with that weight on those knees. He is trapped. I should mention he already had the weight loss surgery. Ate his way back to 400lbs. He also moves around like he is 80. I hope I demonstrated my point on extremes. Moderation is a better way to live. Knowing your limitations is also key to a long healthy life. As a 19 year old male, I witness way too many men in their 40's and 50's trying to keep up with the young bucks like me. 50 is not the new 20. Those guys need to listen to that little voice in their heads.

I have a pretty good list. I like to read about history, write, walk my golden retriever, watch comedy, cook, of course eat (I'm 19), mountain bike, yoga, play pickup basketball, and watch movies. I also like to watch sports highlights on YouTube. If you had to wait till the big pleasures in life came around, there would be some big gaps of boredom in my life. I need those simple pleasures to give me a little boost or reward throughout the day. It can't just be eat, sleep, work, and school. That type of schedule would be an awful grind. I have to work in something fun to help keep me going. I actually think many college students have that lifestyle and that is why you see the college burnout out there. All work and no fun drains the mental batteries. Today I went for a 5 mile walk with my dog. We walk the road at Superior Point in Superior Wisconsin. My body feels great after a long walk. My joints and muscles get a workout without it being strenuous. My lungs enjoy all that fresh outdoor air. I also enjoy the smell of pine forest. Those brisk walks clear my mind of all that life stuff I have to do for a couple hours. Today I saw two bald eagles, a pack of ravens, and my dog chased a fox. I talked to an ice fisherman before I got in the car to leave. He showed me his catch for the day. He had a couple good stories that provided a chuckle or two. My dog Gracie loves her walks with me. I am happy watching her be happy.

This is my 90th application on Bold.org. This is my favorite essay. I am going to go a step up from influential figure to being the world leader. My number one agenda would be to find a solution for humans to live in balance with the world. A comprehensive world initiative. The shift will be from the benefit of the individual, which is how we live now, to what is the global benefit of our earth. Personal benefit will shift to global benefit. There are 8 billion people on this planet, That is not a good thing, 200 years ago we were under a billion. The change I am talking about is US. Nothing goes up forever, NOTHING! Our world can't sustain a continuous explosion of humans forever. There will be a correction. It can happen with care and planning or the planet will decided for us. I think once things correct (controlled or not) our species will have accumulated enough information to put a global plan together so that our population explosion doesn't happen again. I would be very interested in leading this initiative. We are at a cross roads or very close to a major dramatic change in the world. Initially, I think it will be very very painful and destructive, but once we get to the other side I am hoping we can get back to being in balance with this world. We finally come full circle and figure out how to live with the world like all the other species do, and not dominate, pillage, and plunder our world. That is our last frontier if we survive the change, This shift will happen in my lifetime. How long does it take to get to the other side? I have no idea.

In college, the constant stress of assignments, tests, and papers can really affect a young person's mental health. The stress and pressure never goes away. I came up with a solution that has benefited me my freshman year in college and has done wonders for my mental health. Mental health is all about not being overwhelmed. My strategy in college has been to get so far ahead in my studies that I can't possibly get overwhelmed. I am currently 2 weeks ahead in all my classes. Knowing I have a two week buffer on everything eliminates all my stress. Everyday that I do assignments it doesn't feel like work. It feels like I am doing extra-credit. That mindset takes all the stress away. Physically I walk three times a week or more at Superior Point in Wisconsin. It is an amazing place. Non of the forest has been cut down. Huge white pine trees, eagles, fox, and other wildlife I see regularly during my 3-5 mile walk. I have seen up to 20 eagles at one time last summer. That walk with nature does wonders for me mentally and physically. Nature is so quiet and relaxing. Very amazing. I am enrolled in a 1 credit yoga class that I take three times a week at school. Any other stress in my life seems to vanish there. I am the only guy in the class! Be Bold!

My father was a coach for many years. I asked him one day why he liked to coach? He told me that kids have minds that can still be influenced positively. Adults are already set in their ways. He told me all those hundreds of kids he coached are carrying around a part of him for the rest of their lives. He told me of 2 coaches he had growing up that affect who he is to this day, He told me some of the advice and instruction he has given me, and others, are passed down from them. He told me to imagine if all those hundreds of players he coached grew up and helped hundreds of more kids? He said it wouldn't take long for the world to be a better place. Since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor. Last summer I worked at Red Arrow Camp. This upcoming summer I will be working at Camp Deer Horn. Both camps are located in Wisconsin. My father was right. Working with kids is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. Very true. Last summer I was responsible for a group of 10 year old boys for 7 weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. My dad was right.

My goal the next four years is to have as much fun as possible. I already have my plan in place. My goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and business (2023). I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4 year degree in those fields (2025). Graduate school I might pursue. LSC treats me like a king. Greatest school to be associated with. I secured a scholarship for this year that covers my education. I plan on securing funds for next year and then transfer to UWS fall of 2023. I know UWS well. Another great school. I plan on playing hockey for the Yellow Jackets and continue my education. Through scholarships or self funding I should be able to finance my junior year. Senior year is up in the air yet. Currently, I enjoy being a hockey official for USA Hockey I officiate at the youth/ junior/senior high school levels. I am a self employed official. I have the flexibility to set my own schedule in the fall and winter months. I am able to balance a full time academic schedule and work. In the summer, I am a camp counselor at Deer Horn Camp in Wisconsin. I teach a number of activities at the camp. Google Deer Horn Camp, and you will see some great videos. This camp is a residential camp for 10 full weeks. The camp has kids from all over the country ages 7-16. I would like to continue this path of education, officiating, and counseling for the next 4 years. If I can secure a couple scholarships along the way, I would be able to graduate with a manageable debt load. My timeline depends on what capital I can secure.

My goals the next four years is to have as much fun as possible. I already have my plan in place. My goal is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and business (2023). I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4 year degree in those fields (2025). Graduate school I might pursue. LSC treats me like a king. Greatest school to be associated with. I secured a scholarship for this year that covers my education. I plan on securing funds for next year and then transfer to UWS fall of 2023. I know UWS well. Another great school. I plan on playing hockey for the Yellow Jackets and continue my education. Through scholarships or self funding I should be able to finance my junior year. Senior year is up in the air yet. Currently, I enjoy being a hockey official for USA Hockey I officiate at the youth/ junior/senior high school levels. I am a self employed official. I have the flexibility to set my own schedule in the fall and winter months. I am able to balance a full time academic schedule and work. In the summer, I am a camp counselor at Deer Horn Camp in Wisconsin. I teach a number of activities at the camp. Google Deer Horn Camp, and you will see some great videos. This camp is a residential camp for 10 full weeks. The camp has kids from all over the country ages 7-16. I would like to continue this path of education, officiating, and counseling for the next 4 years. If I can secure a couple scholarships along the way, I would be able to graduate with a manageable debt load. My timeline depends on what capital I can secure.

I was raised to have change be the norm. Change fuels my life. Instead of being fearful of trying something new, I was raised to have fear of missing out. Of course, sometimes things don't work out, but in my experience, I would say around 80% or more of the time I am really glad I pushed forward. Bold.org I knew nothing about a few months ago. Now I am number 1 in points in my state of Minnesota and number 2 in applications. I am taking a chance with Bold.org. We will see how it all plays out. If Bold.org is legit, like I think it is from my research, I should do fairly well. If I didn't try, I might have missed out on how great Bold.org really was. I can't handle a quality opportunity passing me by. When I miss something I get mad at myself and have regret for not seeing the opportunity, That to me is too painful. If you look at my profile, I played all kinds of sports and activities. I have been on so many teams where I showed up and didn't know anybody. 100% the outsider. I would show up, tryout, make the team, succeed, earn everyone's respect, and then get some friends out of the experience. I have worked at three summer camps over the last 4 years. I interview, get hired, spend 3 months somewhere I have never been, with people I don't know, have a great time, get some friends out of the experience, and come home and go back to school. My life has been extremely exciting to this point. I wish had more space to share more. I would like to be the spokesman for Bold.org.

In college, the constant stress of assignments, tests, and papers can really affect a young person's mental health. The stress and pressure never goes away. I came up with a solution that has benefited me my freshman year in college and has done wonders for my mental health. Mental health is all about not being overwhelmed. My strategy in college has been to get so far ahead in my studies that I can't possibly get overwhelmed. I am currently 2 weeks ahead in all my classes. Knowing I have a two week buffer on everything eliminates all my stress. Everyday that I do assignments it doesn't feel like work. It feels like I am doing extra-credit. That mindset takes all the stress away. There are great benefits from being so far ahead. The main benefit is that you stand out with your professors. They have NEVER seen this before. You become their all time favorite student. They know you and they remember you. It is hard for them to give me a B on anything. If I did do B work on something, they almost always tell me and let me correct it and turn it in a second time. How crazy is that? My favorite way to relax is my 1 credit yoga class I take three times a week. Any other stress in my life seems to vanish there. I am the only guy in the class! Be Bold!

I was raised to have change be the norm. Instead of being fearful of trying something new, I was raised to have fear of missing out. Of course, sometimes things don't work out, but in my experience, I would say around 80% or more of the time I am really glad I pushed forward. Bold.org I knew nothing about a few months ago. Now I am number 1 in points in my state of Minnesota and number 2 in applications. I am taking a chance with Bold.org. We will see how it all plays out. If Bold.org is legit, like I think it is from my research, I should do fairly well. If I didn't try, I might have missed out on how great Bold.org really was. I can't handle a quality opportunity passing me by. When I miss something I get mad at myself and have regret for not seeing the opportunity, That to me is too painful. If you look at my profile, I played all kinds of sports and activities. I have been on so many teams where I showed up and didn't know anybody. 100% the outsider. I would show up, tryout, make the team, succeed, earn everyone's respect, and then get some friends out of the experience. I have worked at three summer camps over the last 4 years. I interview, get hired, spend 3 months somewhere I have never been, with people I don't know, have a great time, get some friends out of the experience, and come home and go back to school. My life has been extremely exciting to this point. I wish had more space to share more. I would like to be the spokesman for Bold.org.

They say patience is a virtue. It is so true. I would say that practicing patience contributes to a happy life. There are so many benefits to being patient. The core value of patience is better decision making. We all know better decision making makes life better and easier. Taking adequate time to think things over in a calm clear fashion almost always works in your favor. I have filled out 80 applications on Bold. The more I take my time when I write, the better I write. Sometimes taking a break and coming back to an essay makes you see things in a whole new light. Practicing patience is key to success. Lack of patience is a disaster. You usually make all kinds of bad decisions when your patience level is low. For me personally, when I lack patience I get very angry and agitated. I have noticed that people that generally lack patience are angry and unhappy. Going through life like that is miserable. I would rather be happy than miserable!

Independence comes in two forms for me, financial independence and mental independence. Financial independence has various levels. At my age, it is about making enough money to take care of yourself and not relying on your parents. True financial independence is when you have enough money where you don't need anybody. You are 100% free. Nobody controls or dictates you because they write your paycheck. Mental independence is tied to financial independence. If you have to listen to your boss or follow the company rules, it may compromise your beliefs, values, or priorities because you need that paycheck. Another mental freedom is freedom from your own mind. People can cause more harm to themselves because their minds are sabotaging and self doubting. I have friends that make the worst decisions. They can't get out of their own way. People don't reach a life they could have, all because their minds holds them back. Taking control of your thoughts is independence. The mind wants to rule you. You have to rule your mind.

Some people don't like to listen. These people never grow. Every person on this planet knows what they know already. Smart people don't say much and grab as much information from others as possible. That is why they are smart. Information and knowledge are key in life. Wasting your time talking takes away time you could be learning. Now if you want to do some of the talking, it is best to be asking questions. A benefit of listening is that you become people's favorite. Everybody likes you. People love it when someone else takes the time to listen to them. When you listen, others feel a sense of connection, respect, care, that you give by taking the time to listen. Listening also never gets you in trouble. It is difficult to get into trouble when in conversation if you are not talking. What you say can hurt you. What you don’t say never will hurt you. Listening is a great skill. Much benefit can be attained by listening. You gain knowledge from listening and everybody likes you. Listening is always a win for those who learn how.

It seems that equality and diversity are a challenge here in the United States. It is no secret that people don't like each other many times because they are different in some way. I could come up with a laundry list of differences people have and those differences cause conflict. I think there has to be a change in mindset. Instead of looking at people who are different as a threat or in some negative light, look at people, who are different, as a learning experience. A way for you to learn and grow as a person. I have worked at various summer camps over the past 4 summers. I have met people from Mexico, Ireland, Russia, France, and many of the states here in the US. In most instances, I have spent whole summers with these people. In every instance, getting to know these people were some of the most incredible experiences I have had in my life. I am trying to put into words how much fun it is to learn things about other people. It is like a mental vacation. The amount of exciting things you learn is endless. These people shock you, wow you, impress you, make you laugh, and entertain you. Every day I would look forward to spending time with them. I am all about equality and diversity. I always am the middleman when hanging out with people. Whether it is a culturally diverse or racially diverse crowd, I am the white guy in the group that makes sure everything goes ok. Instead of people saying what are those people doing here? They say things must be ok because that white guy is with them. I'm the white guy.

It started the summer before my junior year. I took a job at a summer hockey camp. The name of the camp is Minnesota Hockey Camps. Herb Brooks started the camp (1980 Olympic Coach). It was an honor to work and participate at one of the most famous and recognized camps in the country. I told my high school hockey coach about the opportunity. No coach could say no to going to the most recognized camp in Minnesota. I came back from camp and dominated. All my teammates and coaches were shocked on how much development that had occurred. Now here is the rub. I played for one of the top hockey schools in the state of Minnesota for a coach that thinks he’s a legend. He runs his own camp in the summer. None of the other players had 10% of the growth I had. He was really embarrassed and felt threatened by me and Minnesota Hockey Camps. He did not want players to start going there because then he couldn’t make all his summer hockey camp money. The head coach starts to bully me and not play me. He couldn’t let me shine because all the parents that write the checks would know that his summer camp is worthless. The secret was out anyway. So he doesn’t play me as an example to players and parents that if you do not spend your money with him your kid won’t play. In the end I got the coach fired. I could have given up my love for hockey, instead, I now use my hockey skills to teach hockey at a summer camp. In the winter I am a self employed hockey official. I turned all those years of hard work skating into something financially beneficial and fun.

Investing over the long haul takes time and discipline. It is very difficult for most people to stay focused on investing if they can't see any results. People like to see results rather quickly or they give up or loose interest. People like to see something that is working right away. What I like to do is research investments that pay monthly or quarterly. Real estate, utilities, and master limited partnerships are some examples of investments that pay you interest and dividends. There are other options out there also. The point of buying something that pays you back is that you see results right away. The more money you add the more dividends and interest you get back. You start to see quickly what kind of income stream you could have coming in as you keep adding funds. This type of strategy can be very motivating. Bold.org creates a similar situation. Rankings on points and scholarship applications are motivating. You feel like you are getting ahead as you move up. Now let's hope the scholarship money is reflected in that effort.

Staying true to yourself is very easy for me. Outside of my father, I am the only person I can trust. The way the world is today it seems like everybody has gone crazy. You look around and you realize I am my own best option. Fact checking yourself makes a big difference in staying true to yourself. The more open minded you are in looking at data and information, the more confidence you get. When I have a conversation with someone, I usually am more sourced than they are. If I am not, I will listen openly and then go home and fact check the information. If you stay focused on finding the truth, and take all the personal and emotional baggage out, you will stay true to yourself. I am amazed how people are easily influenced. It affects all kinds of people. Rich, poor, educated, not educated, doesn't matter, false information seems to spread like a virus.

There is an old saying that the " Worm Eventually Turns". I have been through a couple of really bad stints in my life. Each time someway, somehow, you get through it. Patience, hard work, time, and sometimes a lucky break gets you to the other side. Because I have traveled through the mud a couple of times and have made it to the other side, you develop a sense of hope. You start to expect that bad things are going to happen and good things are going to happen. It reminds me of riding the ocean waves up and down. Once you get comfortable with the ups and downs of life, you get somewhat accepting of how life is. Nobody on this earth has a 100% perfect life. I think many people suffer because they can't understand why something bad happens in their life. They feel like they are singled out, or it is unfair in some way. How could this happen to me? type of attitude. Bad things are going to happen. The more comfortable and accepting you are, the less pain and suffering you will endure.

I love the fact that my brain thinks outside the box. My brain naturally looks for other options and not follow the crowd. In my mind I use the analogy of not wanting to swim the other sharks. I want to let them fight over the food and I am going to find my own ocean to swim in where I am the only shark. Using this mental strategy has brought me a life of fun and happiness. If you look at me profile I am a college camp counselor in the summer. Nobody I know is doing this. All my friends are working at restaurants, gas stations, box retail stores, construction ect.. Not me. I am water-skiing, horseback ridding, sailing, trap shooting, canoeing, camping, mountain biking, and playing sports all summer. I am getting paid to have fun. My buddies are working. In the winter I am self employed as a hockey official. It pays double or triple what my friends make. I set my own schedule around my schooling. Work as much or as little as I want. I am also reimbursed for millage and lodging. Skating keeps me in shape and I get paid to skate. I also teach hockey at the camp in the summer. Officiating keeps me in hockey shape for the summer. Look and see how many applicants to this scholarship are from Duluth MN. I bet I am the only one.

My father and uncle own a bar in a touristy lake town in Wisconsin. It is a family business and I am the only heir to the business. My uncle has never been married and doesn't have any kids. Down the road they would like me to take over. Their goal is to work 6 months during the busy summer season and spend the winters in Puerto Rico. My uncle has been in the bar business since college. He is the bar guy. My father has been in sales and marketing his whole life. He brings in the customers. I plan on being the third leg by being the financial guy for the business. I won't be going to Puerto Rico very often, but I plan on it in the future. I am 19. I would be thrilled if I could spend 6 months in Wisconsin and 6 months in Puerto Rico a year. I would be living a fantasy life in my 20's. Crazy if this works out as planned.

My father is a financial executive. He gave me some advice that really has stuck with me. He told me that people aimlessly spend money throughout the day and do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. He said people are unconsciously oblivious to how much money they waste. My father gave me a simple example of people who buy cigarettes. A pack in Minnesota where I live costs around $10.00. Smoking a pack a day, in a year you have spent $3,650 on cigarettes. That is just one item. Most people dabble in all kinds of money wasting daily activities. It could be that daily stop at Starbucks for coffee, eating out at lunch every day, stopping at the gas station for a snack and a few energy drinks regularly, fast food 3-4 times a week, the list is endless. I am not going to get too specific on the math, but it looks like wasting $10,000-$20,000 a year net after taxes is easy to do. That is why nobody has any money. People are not going to give up their routines or habits. Then they wake up one day and their 65 and wonder why they don’t have any money and can’t retire. One day my father and I sat outside a Kwik Trip gas station for a half hour. He wanted to give me a live example of our discussion. We watched everybody that came out of that store. Not one person came out of that store without a bag full of things they didn’t need or where just bad for you. I can honestly say almost everyone had $20-50 dollars of purchases. People do not realize that a $10-$50 daily habit adds up to big money.

Hello, My name is Joe McGee. My nick names are Mr. All- American, Captain America, Capt., The USA Kid, and Stars and Stripes. Good Guy and Apple Pie are some of my unfavorites. I have been coined as the blue print American kid. My hockey coach started it. I am 6-2, 210 lbs. of muscle. I have thick wavy hair, a great smile, great teeth, and a good chin. I don't smoke, drink, do drugs, no tattoos, no parking or speeding tickets, piercings, and no felonies. My GPA is 3.8 and I an a three sport letterman. My coach would say every girl's parents will smile when they meet you.

If there are not enough people getting involved in their communities, then there is no community. I could be wrong, but I believe the society humans have built would collapse into chaos without selfless acts of giving. At some base level, community involvement is the cornerstone of our existence. This last year, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor and hockey official. It is the most rewarding achievements so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. There is a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. Very true. Last summer I think I did a decent job of handling a bunch of 10-year-old boys. Parents expected me to parent these boys all summer. The responsibility of making sure the boys eat, sleep, groom, bathe, clean the cabin, and keep their possessions in order for 7 weeks takes leadership. I had a bed wetter, a bully, a kid afraid of his own shadow, and a severely homesick kid. Through all that, every kid grew and developed by summer's end. They all went home better than when I got them. That to me is being selfless. Hockey is more about keeping kids, parents, and coaches under control. I have worked over 120 games this year without one major injury to a player. I have officiated around 1,700 kids in those 120 games. Nobody hurt or killed, I am proud of that. My ongoing life goal is to always care and take pride in whatever community involvement I am doing.

There have been a number of famous people that have died over the last two years due to covid 19. The only two that I can think of is Betty White and Meatloaf. I only remember these two people because they passed away very recently. My point is that time moves on and people move on very quickly. I have no ambition for the rest of the world to remember me is some way. When I am gone I am not going to know or care what the world thinks of me. At 19 years of age I have two thoughts on my time on earth. For myself, at the end, I would like to be able to smile and say I had a great life. I lived my life on my terms with little regrets. My life was fulfilling and in my heart I can say I had a great run. Now it is time to go. My second thought would be to my kids. If I ever have kids, I would like to have prepared them emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially. I did my job as a parent would be a great legacy for me. Knowing they are capable on this earth as I leave would be important. In conclusion, knowing I had a good life and knowing my next generation is in good hands is how I would like to leave things. I did the best I can for myself and for those closest to me. Everyday, one day at a time, do what you can until you can't. That is the circle of life. The meaning of life is to live. What else is there?

I just finished my first semester of college and my final grade in accounting was 98.4%. I am interested in the field. I saw the movie “The Accountant” with Ben Affleck. It was a 2016 release but I watched it a year and a half ago in 2020 my junior year in high school. It is one of my favorite movies. My father and I watched the movie on NETFLIX. After the movie my father said he could see me being an accountant. I started thinking about it and started to research the field. I find the subject a natural fit for my personality. I like math, I am very organized and detailed orientated, I am very trustworthy with information, and most importantly it makes sense to me. I don't know the future, but I do think accounting is a field that won't be taken over by technology or some APP. People will always need skilled accountants. There are so many changes in the tax code annually that the demand for accounting expertise should continue. A skill that is in demand also makes me want to pursue the field. My goal now is to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and business. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4 year degree in those fields. Graduate school I might pursue through an online program at some point In Duluth MN, I think there is going to be a large turnover in the industry. I believe there are many veteran accountants looking to retire within the next 5-10 years. Opportunity is another reason I am pursuing my degree. Buying an existing practice, becoming a partner, or joining a national firm looks like all possible options for the future

Speaking your mind comes from confidence and intelligence. If you don't have anything intelligent to say, no point in speaking your mind. Knowing what to say and when to say it is important. That is a learned skill. If garbage is flowing out of your mouth constantly, nobody is going to listen. If no one is listening, then that is called talking to yourself. I have developed confidence from many sources. I have been really fortunate to have parents, coaches, teachers, and good friends along the way. I have had a very positive upbringing and it has contributed to my sense of self. A strong sense of self gives you confidence to express yourself. Confidence also comes from within. Sports developed my inner confidence. I played competitive sports my whole life. I started playing at age 5. Sports put you in situations that develop your coping skills. Dealing with the highs and the lows are all a part of sports. Life is that way. You get used to tough situations regularly. That toughness gives you confidence to express yourself. I am at a confidence level called the "Setting the Tone" level. This mindset controls the narrative. I officiate hockey . An example would be before a hockey game skating up to both benches and telling the coaches and players how I am going to officiate. You do X or you do Y and I will write you up and toss you out. Takes away all their power. I "Set the Tone" on how my hockey game is going to go. It is not their hockey game. I use “Setting the Tone" regularly. Before I start a new job, a new friendship, or relationship, I communicate what I will or won't accept. Takes confidence to go for the throat right away.

My bucket list is really short. I have seen and done much so far in my life. So far so good as they say. There is one big item however on my list. I want to travel to Europe. I am a huge history buff. I have read 42 books on the wars in Europe. I want to go and check out and see all the places where all the various events happened. I just received my passport in the mail. My father got his as well. We are planning a multi month journey. We are coordinating car and rail details right now. My main interest is Germany and France. We are mapping that out right now. I would like to spend some time in the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries. Figuring out the logistics is going to take some time. For sure Germany is where we are going to start. My father, ever since I was little, had me try new things. Almost every day we did at least one thing different. The best example, off the cuff, is the last two years of covid. We drove around and checked out every town, state park, restaurant, and lake within 1.5 hours of our house. Whatever a town had to offer we went there and did it. I had a ton of fun during covid. I don't think most people can say that. My life so far at 19 has been eventful enough that I do not have a bucket list. I really have enjoyed my life. I am looking forward to Europe. That adventure is going to be big.

I have developed confidence from many sources. I have been really fortunate to have parents, coaches, teachers, and good friends along the way. I have had a very positive upbringing and it has contributed to my sense of self. Confidence also comes from within. Sports developed my inner confidence. I played competitive sports my whole life. I started playing soccer, swimming, and hockey all at age 5. Sports put you in situations that develop your coping skills. Dealing with the highs of winning and the lows of losing are all a part of sports. Life is that way. I played mostly team sports growing up. You had to deal with your teammates, coaches, and your opponents. You get used to tough situations regularly. Toughens a person up quickly. I officiate hockey now while I am going to school. YouTube crazy hockey parents, players, or coaches. You will see how mentally tough I have to be as an official. I am at a level of confidence that my father calls the "Setting the Tone" level of confidence. This is a mindset where I control the narrative. An example would be before a hockey game skating up to both benches and telling the coaches and players how I am going to call the game. You do X or you do Y and I will write you up and toss you out. Takes away all their power. I "Set the Tone" on how my hockey game is going to go. It is not their hockey game. I now have all the power. I use “Setting the Tone" in most aspects of my life. Before I start a new job, start a new friendship, or relationship, you lay down what you will or won't accept. Takes confidence to go for the throat right away.

The things I really enjoy doing are snowboarding, reading about history, and being a camp counselor. I only have room to write about snowboarding. I live in Duluth, MN. There are three ski hills in town and one only an hour away. I started snowboarding at six years old. I live six blocks from the one hill I started on. I can see the lights at night from my house during the winter. My parents would give me $10 and pack me a lunch. I would be there all day. Most of my neighborhood friends would be there also. A kid's paradise if you ask me. Chester Park Ski Hill was my home from 6-10 years of age. From ages 11-14 I moved up to the bigger ski hill. Mont du Lac Ski Resort was my home during my early teen years. Being a bigger hill, they had all kinds of jumps and rails to learn all kinds of tricks. Go-Pro just came out and my friends and I had all kinds of fun videoing our daily fun. I met all kinds of people, especially my girlfriend, at this hill. They had great food their also. Ride, eat, Ride, socialize, Ride some more. Before you knew it, I was closing down the hill. Great years at Mont du Lac. Spirit Mountain was my high school ski hill. A cold crisp sunny day with new snow on the hill is the best. I love to get to the hill early so that I am one of the first to blaze new trails through the new powder. If I get there early enough, it is just me, new snow, the quiet of nature, and the whole hill to myself. My own private resort! Night riding is also a ton of fun!

I am not sure if the question is hope for my future or the world's future. Those two futures could interconnect or they could not. I will address hope for the world's future. The world is changing all the time. Humans have had a big role in affecting what goes on on this planet over the last couple hundred years. I think we are at a cross roads or very close to a major dramatic change in the world. Initially, I think it will be very very painful and destructive, but once we get to the other side I am hoping we finally get back to being in balance with this world. We finally come full circle and figure out how to live with the world like all the other species do, and not dominate and pillage and plunder our world. That is our last final frontier if we survive the change, There are 8 billion people on this planet, That is not a good thing, 200 years ago we were under a billion. The change I am talking about is US. Nothing goes up forever, NOTHING! Our world can't sustain a continuous explosion of humans forever. There will be a correction; I think once things correct our species will have accumulated enough information to put a global plan together so that our population explosion doesn't happen again. The shift will be from the benefit of the individual, which is how we live now, to what is the global benefit of our earth. Personal benefit will shift to global benefit. I believe this massive shift will happen for sure in my lifetime. I feel it will start very soon. How long does it take to get to the other side? I have no idea. I appreciate the opportunity to write this essay. Some people might not like what I have to say. I am just being BOLD!

My junior year was really rough academically and athletically. I had a very difficult relationship with my varsity hockey coach. Without going into too much detail, I will just say that I was bullied by the coach. It started to affect other areas of my life. My grades suffered terribly and I began to withdraw from life. Having autism was also hampering my ability to communicate my downward spiral. I did not know how to ask for help. My school advocacy counselor Mike Domini rescued me. He saw the signs and personally made sure that I made it through the year. He made sure that the school, my parents, and the school counselor knew what was really going on with me. We got through it and he was the main reason I am here today I have been to a really dark place. I don't think anyone can understand what it is like unless you have personally been there. I would compare it to a soldier who has seen and experienced some very bad stuff while at war. It effects them and changes them permanently. Can you relate to their experiences? No. You weren't there. Mental health is like that. You have to go through it to understand. Mental health has influenced me in every facet of my life. Everything. You’re checking yourself all day long. Internally spot checking, making sure you’re not sliding down into the hole. All day long making sure stress and negativity are not getting out of hand. I have become very quick and decisive in my decision making since my mental health event. I just can't afford to tolerate much negativity. I don't have the stamina. Toxic people, whether they are friends, family, or relationships, that have caused me pain, I have had to eliminate them from my life. I have taken the same approach with work. I am working with kids as a camp counselor. Summer camp is all about fun. There is no stress. I teach hockey, basketball, baseball, trap shooting, and weight training all summer long. In my free time I water-ski, ride horses, scuba, and sail at the camp. No stress. No negativity. At college I only take 12 credits a semester. I am full time but barely. 12 credits is an easy school load to handle. I get straight A's, and make the "Deans' List every semester. I refuse to have the stress of taking 15-20 credits. It will take me an extra semester to graduate. I am ok with that. I really believe life can be hell. Hell is here on earth and you have to be aware and cognoscente that it is right around the corner if you’re not careful. When you go through some really hard times, your view of life and reality changes permanently. You also realize how short life is. I now cut through the BS as quick as possible. I should mention that those people who showed up and stuck with you are your true friends and family. I have 200 people on my phone; probably 8 people put their time in trying to help me. I only talk to those 8 people now.

Working with kids this last year as a camp counselor and hockey official is the most rewarding achievement probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to on a daily basis. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. A few decades back there was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. I think that is very true. I basically parented 8 boys last summer. It was life changing and memorable. I felt a real sense of pride and joy that all the boys had grown and matured under my watch. We lived together, ate together, played sports and activities together, and had long camping trips together. On the last day of camp I knew I did my job. The tears and the hugs when those boys said goodbye August 12th 2021 really hit me hard. I never thought in a million years I would be so tore up inside as they waved to me as they left on the coach bus back to Chicago. Leadership is where the success of the group is the goal. Leadership is plural not singular. When you lead you are leading people. Secondly, you have to have the talent to lead. People will not follow you if you do not have the aptitude, required skill set, or communication skills that qualify you to lead. Trust is also a big part of leadership. If people don't trust you, you’re not leading anybody. Leaders are normally picked by the group they are representing. Self appointed leadership is rarely successful. The group wants to be successful in whatever the goal is. Time, resources, and maybe lives are at risk, so who in the group gives the best chance of success. That is your leader. Leaders are good at facilitating. NO leader knows everything or is good at everything. A talented leader surrounds themselves with talented people that are proficient in areas he/she is not. To have the confidence to bring on people better than you at something and listen to them is a sign of real leadership. Leadership is important to me because I figure somebody has to do it. I don't like to wait around. I want to get things done. If you look at my profile, I am a guy that is a "Do It Right" or "Don't Do It At All" type of guy. If someone else has a better strategy or plan, fine by me, but lets get going! I am also ok with accepting failure at something. I'll take the blame! Failure is better than not trying.

There are different levels of talent. If you look at my profile I have been very proficient in sports. Every sport I played I believe I could have been proficient at a Division 3 college level. In hockey, I might have been able to play at the Division 1 level. I also am talented in academics. Most of my grades hovered around a 3.8 GPA during high school and now college. Never seem to get that 4.0. I believe that some people are born blessed with a gift. My greatest talent is my ability to mimic someone else's talent. I can watch a video of an athlete and copy their style. For example, I can on any day make 30 -50 free throws in a row. For most people that is impossible. I can shoot from almost anywhere of the court with very high accuracy. I studied Larry Bird's shooting form and I shoot his form. I can do the same thing in baseball. I can swing the bat like Ken Griffey Jr. from the left side of the plate and I can swing the bat like Mark McGwire from the right side. I can hit a baseball almost 400 feet. I have a memory that can pick up the nuances of someone and copy it. I somewhat compare it to a comedian that mimics a movie star or political official, but in sports. It has to be some kind of photographic memory gift. I don't practice this skill. Usually, if I watch enough film on somebody I can copy them. If you study my profile it would seem odd that I could play that many sports. I did almost all of it by not practicing physically. I would study the best people and mimic them. Worked for me.

The life lesson that sticks with me the most is that nothing is permanent. My father, when I was around 11, told me this at the baseball little league field one sunny Saturday. We were at the field with a couple other players that were friends of mine. My dad was the coach. and most weekends he would bring out the pitching machine and we would practice hitting. We would also work on fielding, throwing, and sliding. After an hour or so, my dad would order pizza and have it delivered to the field. There was a pizza place next to the ball field. After we were done playing and eating pizza, my father would bring us all out to Lake Nebagamon to swim and hang out all day. Baseball, pizza, and then go to the lake. Paradise! My father would pack a huge cooler full of sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. There was a huge raft you could jump off of. We usually brought the boat with to go tubing, and there was a Dairy Queen kiddy corner from the beach. After a long day, my father bought everyone a cone for the ride home. We would start at 10 am and play all day till 7-8 pm at night. It was an experience worthy of a book or movie publication. After age 12, I was done with little league (too old). I was done playing at my favorite field. Some of my buddies quit playing, some moved away, and my best baseball friend ended up at a different team at 13 due to where he lived. My father was right. What was so wonderful did finally end. Greatest two summers of my life. I learned to soak up every precious moment of fun. Enjoy my youth. Enjoy every step along the way, because change is right around the corner. Take nothing for granted. I do think I transition to new things better than most people because of that life lesson my father taught me. I do grieve when something good ends, but I also accept it and move forward. Change is hard. My father prepared me for it.

Calvin & Hobbs is my first and favorite comic. I am an avid reader, and t all started with Calvin & Hobbs. My dad was a big fan and he bought me every book. I read every one over and over again. My three favorite sequences are the red wagon ride down the hill, the sled ride down the hill, and Hobbs ambush every time Calvin gets home from school. The two biggest impacts of Calvin & Hobbs was it got me reading daily and I developed a desire for humor. Everyday I watch some kind of comedy. Stand up, skits, impressions, you name it, I watch it. My favorites today are Bill Burr, Jim Gaffigan, George Carlin, Louis CK, Family Guy, Mad TV, Ridiculousness, and the list goes on. Every night after work or school, I watch something funny that can all be traced back to Calvin & Hobbs.

1. Screw everybody else. Give me the MONEY! 2. Stupid Question! Don't Care! None of your business! Give me the MONEY! 3. Everybody has obstacles! This is living on earth. What planet are you from? Stupid question!

I have many family members in education. We discuss this topic all the time. The number one issue with education is that there is never enough funding. Almost every department or extracurricular activity could use more resources. If your department or extracurricular drives revenue for the school, like say a successful football program, then you have capital and the ear of administration. If not, your area probably has a funding issue. Here is some clarification on the state of education in this country. The United States education spending falls short of benchmarks set by international organizations such as UNESCO, of which the U.S. is a member. The US puts 11.6% of public funding toward education, well below the international standard of 15.00%. At 4.96%, the United States spends a smaller percentage of its GDP on education than other developed nations. The average GDP spending of other developed nations is 5.59%. There are also large discrepancies in funding amongst the 50 states. Schools in the United States spend an average of $12,624 per pupil (K-12). That number doesn’t tell the real story. With 50 states, the range of spending per pupil varies massively. New York State is number 1 in spending with almost $21,000 per student at the (K-12) level. Utah is ranked 50th at $8,000. Utah is actually ranked in the top 10 for education by US News and World Report, while New York State is 16th. It looks like they are doing great things with very little capital. Our education system is fragmented. We are not a unified country when it comes to education. We have 50 states that have 50 separate departments of education. Every state has their own ideas on how to educate kids. It goes even further when you have within those states various counties, cities, towns, and school districts that also have their own ideas and agendas on education. There is also the private, home school, online, and charter school platforms that add to the fragmentation in the education system. Most of our nation’s education woes stem from a lack of prioritizing capital to education and the fragmentation of the education system. A highly capitalized and nationally standardized education system would be the most beneficial system for all. Every student would get an equal and standardized base level of education. If it was possible to have a national education system, I think it would be good for our country. Well run districts are attracting families and growing. Poorly run districts are losing families and declining. I think it as simple as that. Strong leadership at the administration and school board levels are critical for a community to have a strong education system. The US, to have sustainable success, needs a strong top down (Fed/State) and bottom up (Local/District) approach for quality education. Electing school board members has to change. Anybody with a heartbeat can run for school board. Electing people with little or no expertise in running a school district is crazy.

When I think of pro-life I don't just think about babies, I think of humans as a whole. Every one of us was a baby at one point. The whole issue of pro-life is to get the message out of respecting the human race. There have been times in history when the value of human life reached very low levels. The lower the value, the lower we respect and treat one another. The result is as humans, we start killing each other in massive numbers. The pro-life position for me is that this message or movement has to exist. We have to keep pushing the narrative that it is not ok to not value human life. If we don't have that social norm, society ceases to exist. Simply put, if we don't value one another, we kill one another. Here is something for the scholarship committee to think about. Drive down the street and look at all the businesses on either side of the street. What do you see? I'll tell you what I see. I see companies profiting from killing us slowly. I will drive by a McDonald's and wonder, how many people does McDonald's kill a year? Keep driving and really look and count all the businesses that are bad for you. It is really hard to avoid. Everywhere you go there is a Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's, DQ, Dunkin Doughnuts, Domino's, Taco Bell, Culver's, A&W, and the list goes on. Now you have to throw in all the bars, liquor stores, gas stations, smoke shops, and even the grocery stores. Everywhere you look, someone is selling you something that is killing you slowly. At some point, many of us get cancer, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and that list goes on and on. Now the health care system makes a ton of money trying to treat all these sick and dying people. 25% of GDP goes to healthcare in this country. Wonder Why? I wrestle with issues like these. What is the difference between killing someone intentionally and directly ( murder/ abortion) vs. slowly and discreetly (food, alcohol, drugs, etc)? I do feel it always about money. Make money making people sick. Make money trying to patch people up. How is this humane? There is so much more to talk about. There is not enough word count left to dive more into this. I would love to talk to the committee and share more. I do care about life. I want the planet to survive. I will leave with one thought. Humans have been around for 300,000 years. Over the last 200 years we have grown from under a billion to 8 billion on this earth. I think it is getting harder and harder to not treat each like a number (loss of human value). We are losing our human individuality due to the sheer size of our numbers. A topic for another day. Joe McGee

I have learned a great deal about myself over the past two years. I used to question myself at times after listening to others. I used to think most everyone was sane and had somewhat of a logical thought process. After covid 19 and our past 4 years of fake news, I have realized that there are a LARGE number of people out there that aren't that smart. You could throw crazy in there too. My confidence level has gone through the roof. It is like pulling the curtain back from the wizard of OZ and you realize what is reality. I know myself better because I have a better understanding of how half the people in this country think. I knew something was off in this country. I couldn't put my finger on it. Sometimes, I thought it was me. Now I totally understand. Our country is a mess. Greed, ignorance, and crazy have a large presence in the US. For the longest time I could not identify with those 3 traits our country has. I knew something was wrong. I just couldn't connect the dots. I am not overly greedy, and I am not ignorant or crazy. I finally realized that I don't fit in with most of the people in this country. Now I understand why. I am so much more comfortable in my own skin now that I understand this country better. I used to take people seriously. Now, I don't take anybody seriously. I wait and see what happens. I save a bunch of time and energy this way. I am much happier now!

There have been a number of famous people that have died over the last two years due to covid 19. The only two that I can think of is Betty White and Meatloaf. I only remember these two people because they passed away very recently. My point is that time moves on and people move on very quickly. I have no ambition for the rest of the world to remember me is some way. When I am gone I am not going to know or care what the world thinks of me. At 19 years of age I have two thoughts on legacy. For myself, at the end, I would like to be able to smile and say I had a great life. I lived my life on my terms with little regrets. My life was fulfilling and in my heart I can say I had a great run. Now it is time to go. This is my idea of the legacy I want to leave for myself. My second thought would be to my kids. If I ever have kids, I would like to have prepared them emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially. I did my job as a parent would be a great legacy for me. Knowing they are capable on this earth as I leave would be important. In conclusion, knowing I had a good life and knowing my next generation is in good hands is how I would like to leave things. I would be satisfied with that.

If we did what was right the world wouldn't have as many problems. People, especially in the United States, focus on greed and their selfish individual needs and wants. It is all ME and very little WE. In my opinion, it is all about the buck. If we could change our culture to focus on what is right, I believe we could save our planet. What is right above all else. Now I understand there are some gray areas. Abortion is a gray area. People are for it and there are others that are against it. The solution is to address this issue one piece at a time. First of all both sides have to do what's right and respect the other camp’s view. Anger and violence toward opposing sides is not right. Killing a baby is wrong, but killing or hurting an adult is right? That thought process doesn't work. Respect on both sides is what is right. With respect established, both sides can now take the emotion out of the discussion and look at the actual facts. That is the right thing to do. Is abortion wrong? I would say yes. Is it right to force women, especially young girls, to carry babies to full term? I would say no. The right thing to do is for each side to mind their own business. Working together also works. Those pro life people could give the 13 year old girl a $1,000,000 dollars to carry the baby to term and find the adoptive parents for the girl. Not going to do that? Mind your own business. I just wrote about abortion. That is BOLD!

My father is a financial executive. He gave me some advice that really has stuck with me. He told me that people aimlessly spend money throughout the day and do not have any awareness of how much money they waste. He gave me a simple example of people who buy cigarettes. A pack in Minnesota where I live costs around $10.00. Smoking a pack a day, in a year you have spent $3,650 on cigarettes. That is just one example. Most people dabble in all kinds of money wasting daily activities. It could be that daily stop at Starbucks for coffee, eating out at lunch every day, stopping at the gas station for a snack and a few energy drinks regularly, fast food 3-4 times a week, the list is endless. One day my father and I sat outside a Kwik Trip gas station for about a half hour. We watched everybody that came out of that store. I can honestly say almost everyone had $20-50 dollars of purchases they didn't need. People do not realize that $10-$50 daily habit adds up to big money. He taught be to be conscious.

You are either going forward in life or going backwards. I prefer forward. Going forward is positive. Going backwards is usually always a negative. Trying to avoid negatives is my motivation. I have been applying to a number of scholarships. The more scholarship funds I can secure the more I can focus on my education (a positive). I made the Deans’ list last semester, mostly because I didn’t have the stress of finances and school. The scholarship I have right now made me making the Deans’ list a reality (a positive). I would not be able to achieve a 3.78 GPA without the scholarship’s financial support. I am not able to work 30-40 hour weeks and go to school effectively. Being in that kind of situation would be very negative for me. I am 19 and no expert on the world. I am realizing that in order to succeed, which is growth, time and resources are a critical component. Without adequate time and money, the ability to focus on your goals becomes difficult. Many of my friends have their heads down in a book or job and are unable to lift their heads up to critically think or plan. They lack time or resources or both. They are simply burning themselves out. This scholarship can help me leverage my tine to be successful. A big positive!

If there are not enough people getting involved in their communities, then there is no community. I could be wrong, but I believe the society and infrastructure humans have built would collapse into chaos without working together. At some base level community involvement is the cornerstone of our existence. Over the last year, since I graduated from high school, I have been working with kids. I have been working as a camp counselor and hockey official. It is the most rewarding achievements probably so far in my life. Making a difference and setting an example for these young kids is what I look forward to on a daily basis. Kids are amazing. They crave leadership and guidance. I try to do my part in giving something back, just like all the parents, coaches, counselors, and teachers did for me. A few decades back there was a saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”. I think that is very true. Last summer I think I did a decent job of handling a bunch of 10 year old boys. Parents and the executive director expected me to basically parent these boys all summer. The responsibility of making sure the boys eat, sleep, groom, bathe, safety, clean the cabin, and keep their possessions in order for 7 weeks takes leadership. I had a kid that was a bed wetter another that was a bully, a kid that was afraid of his own shadow, and another boy that was homesick for the first 2 weeks. That kid cried all day and night for those two weeks. Every kid grew and developed by the end of summer. They all went home better than when I got them. That to me is giving back. Hockey is more about keeping kids, parents, and coaches under control. Hockey can easily get out of hand. Every kid has a weapon, if law and order are not maintained, they are willing use it. I have worked over 120 games this year without one major injury to a player. I am guessing I have officiated around 1,700 kids in those 120 games. Nobody hurt or killed, I am proud of that. I will say that my ongoing life goal is to always care and take pride in whatever community involvement I am doing. I never go at things without commitment. The philosophy of “Do it Right or Don't Do It At All" is what I am all about. I

Mental health issues are mostly tied to being overwhelmed in some way in life. Some sort of stress that a person is unable to cope with that is crushing them. Helping someone solve or manage that crushing obstacle in their life is really the best solution. The individual that is suffering is unable cope. If they could cope their mental health would be just fine. Having support and people that can help solve the problem is the most practical solution. This is some heavy responsibility on the supporter or supporters involved. People need to solve their own problems that is true. Usually once a person has a breakdown, their ability to function is limited. People that care need to step up and take huge roles in solving problems and filling in the gaps where needed. If you could see the signs and get involved before someone crashes is the best option. That is very hard to see.

I was raised in Duluth Minnesota my whole life. It is a great town to grow up in. Nature is only minutes away and of course you have the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior. I spent most of my youth outside. During the winter I was snowboarding at one of the three ski hills in town or playing outdoor hockey at one of the seven professionally maintained rinks in town. My summers were just as busy with baseball, hiking, mountain biking, and all the lake activities available in the area. I have had mostly a great life. I am generally a happy person and easy going. I take things seriously and focus intensely when needed and during down or off time I enjoy having fun and a good laugh. I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. Many of my challenges and successes in life stem from being autistic. I have many of the standard emotional and social deficiencies associated with the condition. I also have many of its gifts. Since this is a scholarship for school, I looked up some facts about students that have my condition. Only 35 percent of autistic students attempt to attend college after 6 years of graduating high school. Fewer than 20 percent of college students with autism will graduate or are even on track to graduate five years after high school. That means out of 100 students with autism less than 7 graduate from college (7%). My next chapter looks statistically challenging. I just completed my first semester with a 3.78 GPA and made the Deans’ List. My main life goal over the next 4 years is to graduate college. With those odds that I listed, being one of the 7% that graduate is the first marker I have to cross. If all goes well I plan to graduate from Lake Superior College with an associate’s degree in accounting and business. I then plan on transferring to the University of Wisconsin Superior to complete my 4 year degree in those fields. I don't know the future, but I do think accounting is a field that won't be taken over by technology or some APP. People will always need skilled accountants. There are so many changes in the tax code annually that the demand for accounting expertise should continue. A skill that is in demand also makes me want to pursue the field. I find the subject a natural fit for my personality. I like math, I am very organized and detailed orientated, I am very trustworthy with information, and most importantly it makes sense to me. I am grateful for the opportunity.

The toughest time in my life was my senior year in high school. Senior year is supposed to be the best of times. It was the worst for me and probably many other seniors across the country. I live in Minnesota and in my town the school district basically shut down school and school activities my whole senior year due to Covid 19. I was used to spending seven hours at school a day, playing sports after, hanging out with friends nights and weekends, going to dances, Friday night football games, ect. It all didn't happen my senior year. None of it. I spent the majority of my time in my room doing online schoolwork during the day. At night, I would watch a movie or take the dog for a walk. Bored and depressing is the best way to describe my senior year. My senior summer I found a job at a summer camp that created a Covid bubble environment. All the campers and counselors and staff had to stay on camp grounds to prevent an outbreak. The camp offered 30 different activities all summer long. I water-skied, rode horses, scuba dived, shot trap, canoed, sailed, played basketball and baseball all summer long. I am proud of myself for finding a solution to being trapped by Covid. I am going back to camp to work again this summer!

There are two types of happiness for me. One is doing something or experiencing something that makes me happy. I really enjoy going to the ski hill and snowboard all day. A cold crisp sunny day with new snow on the hill is the best. I love to get to the hill early so that I am one of the first to blaze new trails through the new powder. If I get there early enough it is just me, new snow, the quiet of nature, and the whole hill to myself. My own private ski resort! Night skiing is also a ton of fun under the lights. My second type of happiness has taken me some time to master. It is happiness when you are not doing something fun. Just being Ok and content with whatever is going on. Of course this is not as much fun as something high stimulus like snowboarding. Just being happy and content with life is joyful. Life does throw al kinds of negativity, pain, and suffering at you. Nobody gets through life without their share of trouble. I try to maximize my happiness around those life trials and tribulations that happen. I try to move past the bad stuff as quickly as I can. Dwelling on bad stuff just eats away more time.

I do everything I can. I recycle, I compost, I use as little plastic as I can. I actually re-use zip lock bags for as long as I can. I am an avid gun person, but I don't hunt. I try to leave wildlife alone. I even try to drive responsibly and use less gas. I do my part, but it saddens me that we are not going to stop climate change. Climate change is mostly a human generated problem. Humans from my research have been around for about 300,000 years. 99.9999% of our time here on the planet we have been able to be a part of the world's ecosystem and in balance with the earth's system. In the 1800's the population of the world was 1 billion. 200 years later we are at 8 billion. We have 8 billion people that need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? Answer is NONE! If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s Ok. A plague is how we would describe the situation. Since we are the plague it is Ok. Most of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline, extinction, decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. We pretend that electrical cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, shopping at the co-op, or some other technological advancement is the answer. The elephant in the room is us. 10 Billion people by 2050! Can't recycle enough!

Population Problem in the World. There are too many people on the planet. This is the core problem that no one wants to talk about. Humans have been around for about 300,000 years. 99.999999% of our time here on the planet we have been able to be a part of the worlds ecosystem and in balance with the earth. In the 1800's the population of the world was 1 billion. 200 years later we are at 8 billion. We have 8 billion people that need resources to survive every day. Ask the question. How many other 100lb to 300lb animal species do you see roaming the planet in numbers of 8 billion? Answer is NONE! If it was another species we would say we have a huge problem. Since it is us, it’s Ok. A plague is how we would describe the situation. Since we are the plague it is Ok. The topic is never brought up. Most of the problems on this planet are connected to humans in some shape or form. Global warming, pollution, deforestation, species decline and extinction, decline of resources, you name it, our signature is on it. When you Google ideal population, the number that comes up is a billion. Of course, even a lower number than that is always better. How do people or the governments of this world have the conversation that there are 7 billion people that need to somehow vanish from the planet? No one is getting elected or re-elected bringing this topic up. So what do we do? We pretend that electrical cars, wind farms, solar panels, recycling, conservation, habitat restoration, shopping at the co-op, or some other technological advancement is the answer. The elephant in the room is us. How do we fix it? Good question.

This is a great topic. This is a subject that I think people are expected to magically know something about. Then all of a sudden they find themselves in a situation that requires the appropriate knowledge and response and they don’t have it. Not having that knowledge and skill set to think and act appropriately gets people in big trouble. I hope the scholarship committee for the “ Ethel Hayes De-stigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship” finds my essay interesting and compelling. I am 19 and I would guess many people would think I am too young to have an understanding of mental health. The facts are that 1 out of 5 teens’ ages 12-18 suffer from at least one diagnosable mental health disorder. I am one of those teens in the 20%. I know if I had more knowledge and a better coping skill set on mental health, I would not have had a breakdown. I would have been self aware to see the signs of the dark hole before I fell into it. Growing up, the focus of danger is on the physical dangers in life (don't play with fire, look both ways before you cross the street, watch where you are going when riding your bike). There are mental dangers in life that are just as dangerous. Going through life blindly and unaware of the risks that can happen to your brain mentally is extremely dangerous. I was severely unprepared for these mental dangers. I got hurt and I did not see it coming. I am 6-2 and 220 lbs. I was almost always the biggest and strongest kid in my class. I can't remember a single situation in which someone wanted to mess with me growing up. I played varsity sports, and every once in a while someone would try their manhood on me. It always ended badly for the other guy. So, for most of my 19 years I have never had a problem. That all changed my junior year in high school. My varsity high school hockey coach was a bully. This grown man enjoyed making himself feel like a man by picking on high school kids. This is a quote from one of my teammates that sums it up better than I could. This is the last paragraph of his letter to the school district. I may have my issues with this program and the style you choose to coach with, but I still respect this team. I respect the assistant coaches, and most importantly, I still can find respect for you, even though it feels like you don’t hold that same respect for me, or any of the other players, when you belittle and degrade us for minor mistakes on the ice. You gather everyone around so you can humiliate us in front of our peers. I wish the best of luck to the team and the players. I am going to play with Jr. Gold again where I have a purpose; making it to Jr. Gold State. I want to thank you for my opportunity here and tell you personally, that I still love hockey. It is amazing how the bullying creeps up on you. My schooling started to suffer, I couldn’t focus, I started to not sleep well, I started to not be interested in things and isolate. I felt like I was withdrawing from life. I even stopped talking to family and friends. A gradual decline that you don’t notice right away and then one day you realize you’re in trouble. Not knowing what is wrong, what to do, or where to go for help, is a state of helplessness that is really scary. That is why I think it is so important to educate people of all ages about the dangers of poor mental health. I said in the first paragraph, education and appropriate skill set( coping strategies) are the key. I now know my limits of stress I can handle. I now know when I am in danger and what appropriate actions I need to take. Identifying dangerous situations is the key. My life has totally changed since I emerged from the black hole. My whole life now revolves around my mental health. Every decision is based on what is good or bad for my mental health. For example, I have only taken 12 credits a semester at college. One less class is less stressful. I don’t care if it takes an extra semester or two to graduate. I don’t have a girlfriend. My last one was too stressful. I make sure I eat healthy and get enough sleep every night. I also exercise regularly but not too crazy. I am taking a yoga class three times a week that really helps my state of mind. I am the only male in the class. All day and everyday it is 100% about balance is the best way I can explain it. In conclusion, I didn’t realize the world can be a really rough place. Coping with what life throws at you is very challenging. It is extremely important to train mentally and physically so you are prepared. I also think it is extremely important to have the awareness to get out of harm’s way when you can. I appreciate that the Ethel Hayes De stigmatization of Mental Health scholarship committee took their time to read my essay. I am grateful for the opportunity. Joe McGee jpmcgee313@gmail.com

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota my whole life. It is a great town to grow up in. Nature is only minutes away and of course you have the beauty and magnificence of Lake Superior. I spent most of my youth outside. During the winter I was snowboarding at one of the three ski hills in town or playing outdoor hockey at one of the 7 professionally maintained rinks in town. My summers were just as busy with baseball, hiking, mountain biking, and all the lake activities available in the area. I did try my hand at travel soccer, club swim team, and AAU basketball until high school. Once in high school I settled in on varsity hockey and track and the club trap shooting team I did continue to play travel-club baseball in the summer up through my senior year of high school. I thought I was going to write today about one of my sports or activities mentioned above. In my last semester in high school and my first semester in college I discovered writing. I am shocked that I have found something new that I am good at. I have enclosed a letter from my professor. Exploring your creative side is exciting and fun. I also think because it is new also makes it fun. January 27, 2022 Dear review committee: Joe McGee is incredibly keen, creating polished professional writing that comprehensively and correctly uses intricate class concepts. Joe has an ability to see conflicting viewpoints and describe them accurately and fairly. He has perspective. As his Composition I instructor at Lake Superior College, I have known Joe since August 2020. In class, he displayed writing dexterity and comprehension at levels well beyond an introductory writing course. His talent for identifying logical structures in writing was superb. His ability to respectfully and honestly evaluate information and sources, before accepting them as supports for his own work, gives him the ability to swim through a world of misleading information. He cares deeply about the ideas and research that pushes the field of economics forward and elicits unique questions. His project in my class will become a teaching example because it is one of the best student papers I ever received. In it, he hypothesizes that the erosion of ethics in business and industry is drastically affecting employee and commerce functionality. His secondary research filters primary research on the topic in impactful and convincing ways. His interest in the intersection of economics and social justice is present in his volunteer efforts. Joe has worked with youth groups in sports settings as a referee and at Red Arrow Camp as a counselor. In both positions, he taught self-decline and fairness. I strongly recommend Joe McGee as a scholarship recipient. I have worked with PhD candidates and believe Joe demonstrates the abilities to one day achieve a doctorate and be impactful in meaningful ways. Sincerely, Celeste Zuniga Brandt Writing Instructor Department of English Lake Superior College

Sloane, In my own words, I speak the truth, I live by the truth, and I can never get lost by the truth. So many people wasting their lives away and suffering under their own ignorance. Not being lost and ignorant has served me well in life and will continue to do so. I live in Reality. No other place in life good or bad I would rather be. The world would be a much better place if we all lived there. I just received this letter from my English teacher. I think she describes me best. I don't see a template on this site to give you my contact information: Thank you for the opportunity, Joe McGee Lake Superior College Student jpmcgee313@gmail.com 218-576-8709. January 27, 2022 Dear review committee: Joe McGee is incredibly keen, creating polished professional writing that comprehensively and correctly uses intricate class concepts. Joe has an ability to see conflicting viewpoints and describe them accurately and fairly. He has perspective. As his Composition I instructor at Lake Superior College, I have known Joe since August 2020. In class, he displayed writing dexterity and comprehension at levels well beyond an introductory writing course. His talent for identifying logical structures in writing was superb. His ability to respectfully and honestly evaluate information and sources, before accepting them as supports for his own work, gives him the ability to swim through a world of misleading information. He cares deeply about the ideas and research that pushes the field of economics forward and elicits unique questions. His project in my class will become a teaching example because it is one of the best student papers I ever received. In it, he hypothesizes that the erosion of ethics in business and industry is drastically affecting employee and commerce functionality. His secondary research filters primary research on the topic in impactful and convincing ways. His interest in the intersection of economics and social justice is present in his volunteer efforts. Joe has worked with youth groups in sports settings as a referee and at Red Arrow Camp as a counselor. In both positions, he taught self-decline and fairness. I strongly recommend Joe McGee as a scholarship recipient. I have worked with PhD candidates and believe Joe demonstrates the abilities to one day achieve a doctorate and be impactful in meaningful ways. Sincerely, Celeste Zuniga Brandt Writing Instructor Department of English Lake Superior College