After 6 years of active duty service in the Air Force, I never thought that something could be as intimidating as becoming an adult student in higher education! I've recently enrolled in the Business College of Southern New Hampshire University, but my veteran benefits will unfortunately not cover all of my tuition. Hence I'm applying for this scholarship, trying to cover the rest and set myself up for success! I'm passionate about animals and the people who care for them; my dream job would be to connect service animals with the people who need them to improve their quality of life. Prior to my military service, I worked as a veterinary assistant and receptionist at multiple hospitals across the country. It very much was a labor of love, as the career is not high paying! That being said, I can confirm that if you love what you do, you'll never "work" a day in your life. This career experience exposed me to people who counted on their pets emotionally. Their dogs and cats and other small animals were a part of their families. It opened my eyes to how integral the bond between animals and humans is to many peoples' overall quality of life, and how much people struggle to care for their pets' medical needs. The average dog costs its owner around $2,000 per year- varying by state. Cats typically cost around $1,000 per year- again, with variation from one location to another. The average cost of purchasing a service animal is over $15,000. That's the purchase price alone, not including the annual maintenance! For many disabled people, this price point is simply not achievable on their own. They must apply for grants and save up for years before being able to apply for programs that train pets to their specific needs, which is an additional and lengthy process. All of this money and effort, just to access daily life safely! I would life to secure my business degree in order to work with nonprofit agencies in securing funding and contracts for service dog training at the national level. With my concentration in contracts and project management, I would work to fund grants for disabled people and help manage the organizations that coordinate eligible people to the trainers best equipped to meet their needs. My goal is to ensure that the quality of life for people who are differently-abled mentally or physically improves across the board so that we can all achieve our constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!