Hi, my name is Joshua Chadderdon. I am a senior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities enrolled in a CCAPS program, a degree of multiple areas of the college combined to craft a B.S. degree. I chose Finance, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship as my areas of study because I love the challenge of analyzing risk and investments. My future aspirations include commissioning as an officer into the Air Force to train as a pilot after my deployment to Africa in the fall of 2023. I want to become a pilot to continue my traveling and personal experiences while serving in the military for many years to come. My lifelong dream is to become an entrepreneur like my role model Mark Cuban. I want to have the challenge of managing multiple companies while starting non-profit organizations that change the world by focusing on various issues such as clean water, food, pollution, low-income housing, and abject poverty. Today I am in Minnesota, working as a loadmaster for the Air National Guard while attending full-time school and focusing on helping homeless communities. One current project I am working on is with the head of services for the 133rd AW. I want to give the leftover food from drill to homeless shelters or food banks; the only issue we need to work through are liabilities. That is a work in progress so I would rather like to talk about a volunteer mission I went on in the fall of 2021. It was given the opportunity for a short-notice mission to New Jersey for Operation Allies Welcome which was for the Afghanistan refugees that came into America after we withdrew from Afghanistan. I was paired with a wingman from my unit to work in supply, handing out clothes to everyone and toys for the kids. Occasionally, we would also walk through the village to help set up more tents, settle disputes, and play with the kids, so they weren't scared or sad. My favorite memory was when I traded a rubber ball for a baseball with one of the kids. The kids loved playing catch, so most of us carried balls or hacky sacks around with us just in case we had some time in the tents or outside. I still bring the ball I was traded wherever I go as a memento of the mission. I chose to write about this volunteer mission because it is so unique and because it was my favorite mission I have been on. We have no idea how good we have it until we see someone with less. I bring the ball everywhere I go because if I feel like I am having a rough day I have the ball to remind me how fortunate I am. Often it is easy to get accustomed to our daily lives and lose gratitude which is why it is essential to help others in need. Helping others is a reminder that life is not perfect and there are other people who are less fortunate. We should be thankful for the opportunities and lives we have, while continually trying to make a positive impact in every life that crosses our path. Thank you for your time and consideration; have a terrific day!

High School In high school, I volunteered at concession stands for sporting events, fundraisers, elementary carnivals, pep fests, and the usual high school things. From all the volunteering at school, I was given multiple awards, which I did not see coming. My two proudest were the citizenship award and student of the year. The recognition and the scholarships are charming, but that wasn’t my favorite part of helping it. My favorites were the little things like sitting by the people who sit by themselves at lunch, painting a mural in the weight room to bring morale to my teammates and other athletes in the school and finally, helping janitors. I would often help the janitors clean windows, clean the cafeteria, or even ask them how they were doing. They have a job that many people would despise doing, yet they always had a smile on their faces and helped others every day whenever someone asked. I built such a good relationship with them that I had our janitor, Larry, put on my dress coat and walk down the walkway with the boys during our prom ceremony. College Today my focus is giving back to my community by helping the homeless. My mother has been homeless multiple times and told me stories. I have also talked to and listened to many people on the streets, so I have a very soft spot in my heart for anyone who struggles with homelessness and their stories. I am working with my supervisors to give the leftover food from work events to homeless shelters so I can pass it out to the homeless in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Another example would be a woman named Anastasia. She is a young woman on the streets who was about to get into a program that would provide her with a safe home. I would give her rides to the program appointments, bring her food, or help with any future planning, such as schoolwork and scholarship websites. She loved to do art and wanted to get into social work. Unfortunately, I lost contact with her and do not know where she was. I hope she follows through with the rest of her program, but I need to be sure. Experiences like this and my mother has led me to my lifelong dream. The End Goal My end goal is to become a successful entrepreneuer and help people like my mother and anyone in need by creating a nonprofit organization using a tactic Benjamin Franklin used. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia, stipulating that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are 6.5 million dollars. If I could accomplish my idea of a similar structure like this, I could forever help countless people worldwide in theory. I want to expand my focus to providing aid to low-incoming housing, homelessness and adject poverty around the world. Thank you for your time and consideration; have a great day!

My Experience In Athletics I was in football, basketball, and track in the small high school of Nicollet. I am very grateful that I got to play each sport because I learned something different from each opportunity. For the sake of saving words, I will focus on football. Football was my favorite sport, but it started as my least favorite. I started in sixth grade and was afraid to get hit since I was small for my age. Three years later, in ninth grade, I was still scared to get hit, and I was still small weighing 155 lbs. 5 ft. 6 in. However, the varsity coach needed a special teams returner, and he chose me since I was hard to tackle. This was because I literally thought I was running for my life. I told coach Murphy I was scared and didn’t want to return the ball. Like all good coaches, Coach Murphy gave me a boost of encouragement. My first return was 60 yards which was a boost in confidence! The next return, I got pounded and broke my wrist. I quickly learned it was much better to hit someone first than get hit. Not a super uplifting story, but it gets better! When I came back the following season, I was ready to go! Balls to the walls, as some may say. That year I even got three touchdowns in one game! In 10th grade, I was a running back and linebacker starter, which later changed to wide receiver and corner my last two years. I got better and better through persevering through running, soreness from working outs, and of course, massive fellas tackling me, toughening me up. In the end, I had a fantastic time with the boys and got a couple of awards like academic all-district and academic all-state, but the best time was all the practices, bus rides, and games with the boys. Of course, I was no super stud; otherwise, I’d play in college, but instead of getting a scholarship for sports, I did learn many prudent things that I use everyday. What I Learned I learned that it is best to give it your 100% in football, even in practice, even if people call you a “try hard.” Practice how you play, as people would say because if you can handle the nerves and intensity during a complex practice, you will be able to think clearly in the game. In life or basic training, for example, nothing wrong will come from giving it your all and not listening to the critics. Working extra hours, exercising, or studying more, even when it’s not cool, is all worth it and much of the perseverance needed to push through long hours comes from the base of extracurriculars. Next, teamwork is essential for any team sport, project, or work environment. Although we didn’t win state or come close when we worked as a team, we could perform better and even beat some teams that were better than us. The skills I learned, like public speaking and working together in extracurricular activities, military training, school projects, or even making plans with friends, are much more manageable. I use those skills every day. Finally and most important, comrader is the key to happiness and success. When people went off track, including myself, your teammates are always there to push you back into focus, on and off the field. This includes workouts, grades, and of course, high school shenanigans. In life, you need people to help you keep on track and great relationships to have a fulfilled life.

Introduction The financial advice that has changed my life is paying off debt early and the extreme power of compound interest. Paying Off Debt Early Paying off loans early allows you to save on the loan's lifetime. Paying off early gives the debt less time to accumulate interest and will enable you to save more money. Some may say that investing the cash in getting a higher return than what the loan interest rate is charging. This is called arbitrage; although this concept works on paper, it does not account for risk. Being a student or newly graduated means you are in boatloads of debt, and I prefer to pay off all my debt rather than risk it and have a chance of paying more. Compound Interest Paying off debt early is nice, but the big reason why it is essential to manage your finances is so you can put money into a retirement account and let compound interest blow your mind. For example, the maximum amount you can put in a Roth IRA is $6,000. If you start at age 25, put in $6,000 per year for 40 years at an average of 7% growth, but by the time you are 65, you would have invested a total of $240,000, but your portfolio would be worth almost $1.3 million. That is an unbelievable return and a massive boost for being able to retire comfortably! To show the importance of starting early, let's leave all the other factors the same but start investing from 26 to 65 years old one year later. Your total investment is $234,000, and your portfolio is under $1.2 million! $1.2 million is still money, but by starting one year later and not investing that $6,000, you lose $100,000 off your portfolio, which you cannot get back due to the contribution limit. How I Manage My Finance I track and budget my finances through the EveryDollar Budget App provided by Dave Ramsey. This app helps you keep track of every dollar you save and allows you to set up a budget on your income. As a student, my income fluctuates based on finals week or break, and this app helps me stay on track with saving and only spending a little if I don't work a lot during finals. The following way I manage my finances is by living below my means. I have read and listened to multiple entrepreneurs and financial advisors, and though each has made different financial decisions to amass their wealth, they all state to live below your means. So, for example, I buy second-hand clothes on Facebook or Goodwill, make my coffee instead of buying one at Starbucks, live in a tiny room that I rent for $395 a month, and meal prep so I don't feel the need to go out to eat. These simple yet highly effective techniques have allowed me to make a large dent in paying my tuition and start putting it into my Roth IRA account at the age of 18. Conclusion It is essential to manage your finances as a student to save on your student loans and start investing your money early. I use a financial tracking app and live below my means to reach my financial goals. This has allowed me to start paying my tuition off and invest early. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a great day!

This short poem is to make people rethink what recovery means and inspire people to take life's challenges head-on. Recovery... Recovery is the process in which a person makes progress toward their goal after enduring one of life's challenges. This can mean many things to many people and has meant many different things to me as I've aged. Recovery can mean sobriety, coming back from an affair, soreness after an exercise, coming back from bankruptcy, becoming healthy after an accident, mourning a death, and many more. Recovery can work in all scenarios and mean a different thing to anyone. Recovery to me means many of those things in the list I have provided above. The true definition of recovery is hope. One cannot be in the act of recovering without hope. Hope gives the individual the motivation and purpose to set a goal and make progress toward coming out of debt, becoming sober, getting stronger, or being able to move forward with their life after a loved one has passed. Recovery is essential for coming back after one of life's challenges and that is only accomplished by having hope. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

Recover is the process in which a person makes progress toward their goal after enduring one of life's challenges. This can mean many things to many people and has meant many different things to me as I've aged. Recovery can mean sobriety, coming back from an affair, soreness after an exercise, coming back from bankruptcy, becoming healthy after an accident, mourning a death, and many more. Recovery can work in all scenarios and mean a different thing to anyone. Recovery to me means many of those things in the list I have provided above. The true definition of recovery is hope. One cannot be in the act of recovering without hope. Hope gives the individual the motivation and purpose to set a goal and make progress toward coming out of debt, becoming sober, getting stronger, or being able to move forward with their life after a loved one has passed. Recover is essential for coming back after one of life's challenges and that is only accomplished by having hope. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

How I Plan To Be Financially Literate I plan to educate myself by reading and listening to as many financial perspectives as possible. For example, I have read books by Grant Cardon, Robert Kiyosaki, and Dave Ramsey. All have extremely different ways of managing wealth. I believe it is important for each person to learn different perspectives like this and then create their own financial tactic based on their current financial goals. I am reading Tony Robbins, "Money: Master The Game" (2014), and in a CCAPS program at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities to increase my financial literacy. The CCAPS program is designed to allow students to combine multiple majors into one tailored specifically for them. I chose to combine Finance, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing which has been absolutely amazing! Much better than the Youtube videos that I have watched. How I Plan To Help Others Become Financially Literate I plan to help others become financially literate by stressing the importance of financial literacy and providing them sources to where I learned statistics in case they want to fact-check me or learn more about the subject. Today I help others be more financially literate by lending my books to friends or family who would like to learn more. One Example My friend Ryan was going to get a new car and he asked me what I would do. I told him I would get a used car. A warranty would be great, but the value of a new car depreciates rapidly for about 5-6 years. If you get a little, but older, a reliable car like a Honda Civic, Toyota, or Mazda 3 there will be minimal maintenance, parts should be relatively cheap, and you should save more money. I lent him, 'The Million Dollar Makeover' by Dave Ramsey (2013) and showed him some YouTube videos by Graham Stephen, further describing the cost and benefits of getting a new car vs. a used car. In the end, it is his decision, I am just here to provide him with the decision I would make and the resources and logic I used behind my decision. Another Example The maximum amount you can put in a Roth IRA is $6,000. If you start at age 25, put in $6,000 per year, for 40 years at an average of 7% growth, but by the time you are 65 you would have invested a total of $240,000, but your portfolio would be worth almost $1.3 million. That is an unbelievable return and a massive boost for being able to retire comfortably! To show the importance of starting early, let's leave all the other factors the same, but start one year later so investing from 26 to 65 years old. Your total investment is $234,000 and your portfolio is worth just under $1.2 million! $1.2 million is still a lot of money, but by starting one year later and not investing that $6,000 you lose $100,000 off of your portfolio which you cannot get back due to the contribution limit. I still have a year to go in my financial courses and I have a lot to learn. Once graduated, I plan to provide a similar, layout of information that I currently give to people who ask, but in greater detail and with more sources. Specifically, I like to focus on mortgages and retirement financial portfolios. Those are two areas that capture my interest most and I have courses focusing on them in the Spring semester of 2023! Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship, have a great day!

Short Term Goal My aspirations for the future include commissioning as an officer into the Air Force to train as a pilot after my deployment to Africa in 2023, which is why I am rushing to complete my private pilot license and graduate from college early. I’m sure you can see I am taking 20 credits this semester between 7 classes. I intend to do the same next semester, but I have not finished the registration process yet. Once I graduate and come back from Djibouti, I will use my degree to commission from a loadmaster to a pilot. Here I will be able to continue to help communities by volunteering for missions. My favorite opportunity has been handing out supplies to the Afghan refugees last fall. I loved the opportunity and want to stay in the military for more opportunities like this. Giving Back To My Community Today I focus on giving back to my community by helping the homeless. My mother has been homeless multiple times and told me stories. I have also talked to and listened to many people on the streets so I have a very soft spot in my heart for anyone who struggles with homelessness and their stories. Currently, I am working with my supervisors to give the leftover food from work events to homeless shelters or to give it to me so I can pass it out to the homeless in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Another act would be a young homeless woman named Anastasia. She is a young woman on the streets who was about to get into a program that would provide her with a safe home. I would give her rides to the program appointments, get her food or help with any future planning such as school work and scholarship websites. She loved to do art and wanted to get into social work. Unfortunately, I lost contact with her and do not know where she is. I hope she followed through with the rest of her program, but she may have relapsed. Seeing someone trying to do the right thing and having so much potential breaks my heart, but temptation gets the best of them. Experiences like this and my mother has led me to my lifelong dream. Lifelong Dream My lifelong dream is to become an entrepreneur like my role model Mark Cuban and start non-profit organizations to change the world. I would like to follow his actions and create a mass of wealth and help change the world, forever, with a tactic used by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia, stipulating that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. If I could accomplish my idea of a similar structure like this, I could help countless people and the world, forever, in theory. As of now, I would like to focus on providing food and water to people in need worldwide, low-incoming housing, and homelessness. I could help anyone in the same situation as my mother, or Anastasia or stop people before they begin down that path. A sustainable, long-term solution will be my organization’s goal to have the largest and long-living effect on the world. I would accomplish this by providing people essentials to live, programs like the one Anastasia was in, and providing kids in low-income housing the same extracurricular opportunities and education as everyone else.

The song I pick is “Dear Mama” by Tupac. This song describes the mistakes Tupac’s mother has made, but in the end, he can look past all the mistakes and be grateful for his mother and all she tried to do while struggling with addiction. The song is so important to me because it is important to be able to forgive people for their mistakes and love them for their true intentions. My mother also struggled with addiction and it resulted in her leaving my sister and I, but I always loved her unconditionally. All the love and forgiveness gave my mother hope for recovery and she did recover! After 8 years my mother has been able to move back to Minnesota and has been sober for several years now! This goes to show the importance of forgiving mistakes and looking at someone for their true intentions instead of their flaws because it can make a big difference in someone’s motivation and future.

Introduction There are two main reasons in my eyes why students need to manage their finances which are paying off debt early and the extreme power of compound interest. Paying Off Debt Early Paying off loans early allows you to save money on the lifetime of the loan. Paying off early gives the debt less time to accumulate interest and allows you to save more money. Some may say that investing the money to get a higher return than what the loan interest rate is charging. This is called arbitrage and although this concept does work on paper, it does not account for risk. Being a student or newly graduated normally means you are in boat loads of debt and in my opinion I would rather pay off all my debt rather than risk it and have a chance of paying more money. Compound Interest Paying off debt early is nice, but the big reason why it is important to manage your finances is so you can put money into a retirement account and let compound interest blow your mind. For example, the maximum amount you can put in a Roth IRA is $6,000. If you start at age 25, put in $6,000 per year, for 40 years at an average of 7% growth, but the time you are 65 you would have invested a total of $240,000, but your portfolio would be worth almost $1.3 million. That is an unbelievable return and a huge boost for being able to retire comfortably! To show the importants of starting early, let's leave all the other factors the same, but start one year later so investing from 26 to 65 years old. Your total investment is $234,000 and your portfolio is worth just under $1.2 million! $1.2 million is still a lot of money, but by starting one year later and not investing that $6,000 you lose $100,000 off of your portfolio which you cannot get back due to the contribution limit. How I Manage My Finance The way I track and budget my fiances are through the 'EveryDollar Budget App' provided by Dave Ramsey. This app helps you keep track of every dollar you save and allows you to set up a budget on your income. As a student my income fluxuates based on finals week or break and this app really helps me stay on track with saving and not spending too much if I didn't work a lot during finals. The next way I manage my finances are living below my means. I have read and listened to multiple entrepreneurs and financial advisors and all though each one has made different financial decisions to ammass their wealth they all state to live below your means. So for example I buy second hand clothes on Facebook or Goodwill, make my own coffee instead of buying one at StarBucks, live in a very small room that I rent for $395 a month, and meal prep so I don't feel the need to go out to eat. These simple, yet extremely effective techniques has allowed me to make a dent in paying my tuition and start putting into my Roth IRA account at the age of 18. Conclusion It is important to manage your finances as a student to save money on your student loans and start investing your money early. I use a financial tracking app and live below my means to reach my financial goals. This has allowed me to start paying my tuition off and invest early. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a great day!

Introduction Hi! My name is Joshua Chadderdon and I am a University of Minnesota - Twin Cities junior enrolled in the CCAPS program which allows the construction of multiple majors combined to make one. The CCAPS program I chose focuses on Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Marketing. I also work at the 133rd Airlift Wing as a Loadmaster and am completing a private pilot license in my spare time in preparation to become a pilot in the Air Force. Background My parents divorced when I was three and I stayed with my dad. My mom disappeared from my life for two years. My grandpa Glen or neighbor Marlin used to watch my sister and me while my dad worked to keep up on bills and house payments. My mom had substance abuse issues which resulted in her going to jail a couple of times and I would no longer be able to see her. My dad and grandpa did their best to shield me from my mother's struggles but allowed me to see her when she got back on her feet. Ultimately my mom left the state for eight years to get back on her feet and today, she is doing much better. My dad was a deputy but sometimes struggled to be a single father of two young kids with a car and house payment. My mother on the other hand still does have serious financial management issues. Ever since I was young I was always analyzing the financial scenarios of both of my parents which encouraged me to strive for a major in areas of financial management because I wanted to help them with the knowledge I learn and provide for the people around me and for my children if I do have some one day. Future Plans Once graduated I will use my knowledge of finance to help my family and friends avoid the financial mistakes my parents made in the past and I will use my degree to become a pilot for the Air Force and use that capital to become an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, I plan to plant my financial seed to change the world by buying real estate and small businesses with little overhead like a parking ramp or storage unit to provide cash flow for larger business purchases. From there I will grow to larger businesses and the financial seed I planted will start to grow. Big Picture Success is nothing without giving back. I plan to create a positive impact in the world by providing billions of people with food, clean water, and housing for hundreds of years. I plan to create non-profit organizations using a technique by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia, stipulating that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million. If I could accomplish my idea of non-profit organizations like this I could help countless people, forever, in theory. I will do whatever is necessary to make sure my plan of action is accomplished. My upbringing was not perfect, but it was far from bad. You only need to make 30,000 US Dollars to be in the top one percent of income earners in the world. It is my moral obligation to myself to make the most out of this opportunity and to do my share of making a positive impact on the world. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

Hiccups happen in everyone’s life. Some are big, some are small, and the only thing that is certain is that each one is different. You can’t control what the hiccups are, you can only control how you respond. This is my story of how I turned an armed robbery into a positive change in my life. On June 25th, 2022. I was living in St. Paul, Minnesota just outside of downtown. It’s not a horrible neighborhood, but it isn’t the best. My roommate and I have bunk beds and share our one-bedroom apartment to save money and invest extra money in our ROTH accounts. Well, I was working an overnight shift and I got a call from my roommate's mother at 11:30 P.M. My roommate brought a date to our house and 20 minutes later 2 men with pistols walked in; one was interrogating him by slapping him and stating he was going to kill him and the other trashed our apartment looking for valuables. In the end, they got my roommate’s car, wallet, phone, and some small things around the house. To add a twist to the story, it was a setup; the girl left with the men who robbed us. Unfortunately for the robbers, we are the wrong people to rob. It is not because we have big, scary guns or a security system, it's because we live like we are broke. We don’t have a TV, furniture, or even turn-on heat during Minnesota winters. You can imagine how bland our apartment is and the disappointment the robbers had when they came in, haha. The robbery changed both our lives. At first, it was not for the best; you see my landlord wasn’t answering his phone so we told the other people in the complex of the situation. We also informed them that the robbers took Ryan’s keys which included keys to the building and our apartment. Needless to say, it was a little uneasy going home, unsure if someone was going to be there already or come in while we were sleeping. After a few days, the locks were changed and we put the uneasy feeling to the side to start cleaning our destroyed apartment, pack up our things, and moving out. It was somewhat of a challenge at the time because I was simultaneously working my average 45-50 hour week and balancing two summer classes. I accomplished those goals while maintaining an A in both classes. My schedule was hectic, my normal day was either working at my first job or work on school-related things at a random coffee shop from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. and then work from 4 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. at my second job then go a different friends couch every couple days until I found a new place. That was an unfortunate scenario, but luckily it had a great outcome! During the recovery from the cost of damages and getting my usual busy schedule done I was pushed more and more resulting in me being able to have extreme time management skills and be able to take on more work. Today I have one job, while enrolled 20 credits and doing a private pilot license! My drive to process has stayed the same, but my capacity has grown more than what I thought was possible! On a more serious note, I also learned that I need to also make time for my friends and family because you don't know the last time you'll see them. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a great day!

Joshua Chadderdon University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Finance, Entrepreneurship, Marketing 3.9 GPA The career path I am pursuing is a big challenge, but I am fully prepared to do what I need to in order to succeed my ultimate goal. I want to become a pilot to continue my traveling and personal experience while serving in the military, but my lifelong dream is to become an entrepreneur, like my role model Patrick Bet-David, and start non-profit organizations to change the world. I've had opportunities to help people all over in the military thus far as a loadmaster, my favorite being helping the Afghanistan refugees in New Jersey, which I'm not ready to give up yet. I will continue to pursue a pilot slot in the Air Force after I complete my degree at the University of Minnesota. I will then continue to learn about financial literacy, income tax, business law and entrepreneurial management to become a business owner and tackle the big hurdle of changing the world with my nonprofit organization. My tactic for my positive impact is a tactic that Benjamin Franklin used which uses the power of compound interest. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. Instead of leaving my money to cities, I would like to start three different funds which focus on clean water, food, homelessness, and developing countries. On paper, If I could get the capital to start the organizations and implement the idea of non-profit organizations like this, I could help countless people, forever. America has it's own problems and I would like to help people here, but I want to stress the importance of helping others in different countries. With the limited space in the application I would just like to recommend looking up "The effects of warlord in Liberia" on Google and I am absolutely certain your jaw will drop. America has issues, but my main concern is helping the people who are living for less the $1 USD per day that many Americans aren't aware of. That is what I feel my calling is and the best place to make the largest difference. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a great day!

This will most certainly not be the usual application you get because I am like a horrible Happy Gilmore golfer. I got into golf when I was about 12 and would always slice the ball to the right. I loved to go with my grandpa Glenn who just came to watch then tell me when I hit a good one and confirm when I hit a bad one, haha. I however did not like going with my dad since I didn't keep a good pace since I needed so many strokes per hole. I loved the game, but did not play consistently enough to build the foundation. I still occasionally play with friends when I have time, but through the years with school, work and especially the price of a golf hobby and clubs haven't been in my cards. Even though I don't play much anymore I still love going. It's a gentleman's game that you can play with a large group and you can play with anyone unlike football or basketball. A relaxing game, most of the time, with a great reward when you finally hit that perfect shot between all the shots in the rough or in the woods. Now I don't know if this is going to help or hurt me for a chance at winning the scholarship, but one of my best memories is golfing with my best friend "Coach." I met him in basic training and we automatically clicked. Long story short I didn't see him for over a year and a half so when I heard he was going TDY to Germany I booked my tickets within days. Coach loves golf, he's spend thousands in just a couple months playing. The funny thing is that he is the real Happy Gilmore between each other and not because he's good either. My Gilmore version is that I like to go out there in a jersey, probably be asked to change my shirt, and then go wack balls with all my might on a drive, then try to be delicate around the green which I fail at. Now Coach gives you the full package... he wears a collard shirt and looks the golfer etiquette type, but 3 holes in and he's LAUNCHING clubs. I usually go 2 times a year, but I had so much fun golfing with him I went 4 times in a week, haha! From an outsider view and practical view we're probably a disgrace to the sport, but what we lack in golf etiquette and skill we make up for passion and enjoyment of the sport. In the end, this probably won't be the average application for someone's golf journey, but I believe golf is a competition that takes immense skill and muscle memory and a sport you can play with your grandpa, dad, or crazy friends which is what makes golf so special.

Hiccups happen in everyone’s life. Some are big, some are small, and the only thing that is certain is that each one is different. You can’t control what the hiccups are, you can only control how you respond. This is my story of how I turned an armed robbery into a positive change in my life. On June 25th, 2022. I was living in St. Paul, Minnesota in not a horrible neighborhood, but not the best. There are fatal shootings or a SWAT raid every couple of weeks within a two-mile radius of my one-bedroom apartment. My roommate and I have bunk beds and share our one-bedroom apartment to save money and invest extra money in our ROTH accounts. Well, I was working an overnight shift and I got a call from my roommate's mother at 11:30 P.M. My roommate brought a date to our house and 20 minutes later 2 men with pistols walked in; one was interrogating him by slapping him and stating he was going to kill him and the other trashed our apartment looking for valuables. In the end, they got my roommate’s car, wallet, phone, and some small things around the house. To add even more of a twist, it was a setup; the girl left with the man who had stolen our things. I went home right away and he was understandably emotional. Unfortunately for the robbers, we are the wrong people to rob, but not for a reason you might think. It is not because we have big, scary guns or a security system where cops show up in seconds, but because we live like we are broke. We don’t have a TV, furniture, or even turn-on heat during Minnesota winters. You can imagine how bland our apartment is and the disappointment the robbers had when they came in, haha. Joking about this exact point actually helped lighten the situation from Ryan thinking he was going to die. The robbery changed both our lives. At first, it was not for the best; you see my landlord wasn’t answering his phone so we told the other people in the complex of the situation. We also informed them that the robbers took Ryan’s keys which included keys to the building and our apartment. Needless to say, it was a little uneasy going home, unsure if someone was going to be there already or come in while we were sleeping. After a few days, the locks were changed and we put the uneasy feeling to the side to start cleaning our destroyed apartment, pack up our things, and moving out. Today, Ryan and I have both made some sacrifices to make up for the damages resulted from the robbery and live at a new location. We didn't dawn on the event for long, instead took it at face value, did what we needed to bounce back. The event ultimately tested out perseverance and gave us a reminder of unfortunate things that can happen and to be thankful even when things are going wrong. Someone always has it worse or has had the same thing happen, but it ended a different way. The event obviously effected our friendship and the relationship of everyone around us because we saw how fragile life is. One minute you're on a date and next you're getting robbed. The future is unpredictable which was a realization that hit me and has made me focus more on maintaining strong healthy relationships with everyone I contact because you never know if you're going to see them again when you say good-bye. Thank you!

My dream is to become a military pilot, retire from the military to become an entrepreneur and start a non profit organization based on a technique from Benjamin Franklin.

Introduction Hiccups happen in everyone’s life. Some are big, some are small, and the only thing that is certain is that each one is different. You can’t control what the hiccups are, you can only control how you respond. This is my story of how I turned an armed robbery into a positive change in my life. The Robbery On June 25th, 2022. I was living in St. Paul, Minnesota just outside of downtown. It’s not a horrible neighborhood, but it isn’t the best. There are fatal shootings or a SWAT raid every couple of weeks within a two-mile radius of my one-bedroom apartment. My roommate and I have bunk beds and share our one-bedroom apartment to save money and invest extra money in our ROTH accounts. Well, I was working an overnight shift and I got a call from my roommate's mother at 11:30 P.M. My roommate brought a date to our house and 20 minutes later 2 men with pistols walked in; one was interrogating him by slapping him and stating he was going to kill him and the other trashed our apartment looking for valuables. In the end, they got my roommate’s car, wallet, phone, and some small things around the house. To add even more of a twist, it was a setup; the girl left with the man who had stolen our things. I went home right away and he was understandably emotional. Unfortunately for the robbers, we are the wrong people to rob, but not for a reason you might think. It is not because we have big, scary guns or a security system where cops show up in seconds, but because we live like we are broke. We don’t have a TV, furniture, or even turn-on heat during Minnesota winters. You can imagine how bland our apartment is and the disappointment the robbers had when they came in, haha. Joking about this exact point actually helped lighten the situation from Ryan thinking he was going to die. The robbery changed both our lives. At first, it was not for the best; you see my landlord wasn’t answering his phone so we told the other people in the complex of the situation. We also informed them that the robbers took Ryan’s keys which included keys to the building and our apartment. Needless to say, it was a little uneasy going home, unsure if someone was going to be there already or come in while we were sleeping. After a few days, the locks were changed and we put the uneasy feeling to the side to start cleaning our destroyed apartment, pack up our things, and moving out. Conclusion Some of my friends and family think I am crazy for being this optimistic. I am not happy we got robbed, Ryan could’ve been shot. However, I am not going to let that scenario be an excuse or let me feel sorry for myself and limit productivity. One thing I always remember and that keeps me in good spirits when a hiccup happens is that someone always has it worse than me. There is always another person that has been through the same things I have, but hasn’t been as lucky to come out the other side as fortunate, so who am I to complain? Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

Introduction Before I dive into a task I have done that required a strong work ethic, I first wanted to define the term. According to an article published by Valamis (2022), “A strong work ethic is an attitude an employee applies to their work that indicates a high level of passion for any work they do.” Demonstration of Strong Work Ethic The specific time in my life that I would like to describe that accurately demonstrates a strong work ethic is actually my current living situation. For the last 12 months, I have been attempting to graduate from college on an accelerated plan by taking 15 credits per semester while still working full-time between two jobs. There have been some hiccups along the way that has made maintaining college a challenge; I was a victim of a hit and run from a stolen car where my car was stolen and I sustained a concussion, and I was sent on an out-of-state mission for 40 days where I worked 60 hours per week, and most recently my apartment was robbed at gunpoint in June. Each hiccup I have been able to bounce back and maintain a strong GPA and high performance at work. For example, the most recent occurrence was on June 25th, 2022. I was living in St. Paul, Minnesota just outside of downtown. It’s not a horrible neighborhood, but it isn’t the best. There are fatal shootings or a SWAT raid every couple of weeks within a two-mile radius of my one-bedroom apartment. My roommate and I have bunk beds and share our one-bedroom apartment to save money and invest extra money in our ROTH accounts. Well, I was working an overnight shift and I got a call from my roommate's mother at 11:30 P.M. My roommate brought a date to our house and 20 minutes later 2 men with pistols walked in; one was interrogating him by slapping him and stating he was going to kill him and the other trashed our apartment looking for valuables. In the end, it was a setup; the girl left with the man who had stolen his phone, car, and wallet. I went home and he was understandably emotional. Fortunately for us, we live like we are broke. We don’t have a TV, furniture, or even turn on the electricity so you can imagine the disappointment the robbers had when they came in which is a positive, haha. I needed to use my strong work ethic to clean our destroyed apartment, pack and move out of our apartment in 5 days while simultaneously working my job and balancing school. I absolutely love being productive and I know each one of these hiccups is just building character and strengthening my grit. The outcome of these actions has resulted in a strong, callused mind that will do whatever is necessary to reach my goals. I am very proud of my accomplishments and the things I have overcome. Conclusion Circling back to the definition of work ethic; I believe I put a high level of passion in every job I do, in any scenario. One thing I always remember and that keeps me in good spirits when a hiccup happens is that someone always has it worse than me. There is always another person that has been through the same things I have, but hasn’t been as lucky to come out the other side as fortunate, so who am I to complain? Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

Dogs have always been a huge part of my life. From my first memory until moving out of the house for the military I grew up with dogs. My childhood dog was a small white dog, Parker, that neither my dad nor sister knew the breed, but it was a very big part of my development years. We would go ice fishing together in the winter and play on the farm together all day in the daytime. Unfortunately, the dog got cancer when I was 8 and my dad put it down but told me the dog ran away. I actually just found that my dad put him down when my stepmom accidentally told me and I am now 22, haha! Soon after my mother saw the effect Parker had on my sister, she got a rescue boxer and named it blue! My mother is very affectionate, especially to animals. Within a year she got another rescue, Max who is a 130-pound pitbull, followed by an 8-pound chihuahua named Chi Chi; they are quite the combination. Unfortunately, my mother left my sister and me when I was ten so I only got to be with the dogs for a couple of years. My dad didn't want to get another dog and I was leaving for the military after high school so I couldn't adopt one myself. My solution was to become a certified dog walker at the humane society Benches in Mankato, Minnesota! I had to take a class and meet the supervisor, but soon enough I could meet new dogs every week and take them on walks! It made me so happy! I started with small, very nice dogs and gradually made my way to helping larger dogs that were still very scared and or aggressive. Being able to volunteer as a dog walker was a great opportunity to not only get to enjoy my own happiness of playing with dogs, but to make a difference in dogs' lives and the communities. I had to leave Benches once I joined the military where I was gone for a year moving from place to place for training. About a year later after returning to Minnesota, attending college, and getting a girlfriend, I watch a Doxle with bright blue eyes! His name is Blue for his bright blue eyes and just over a year old. He was a little naughty from 8 to 12 months, but after some training and patience, he knows how to sit and come when I whistle! We're still working on him peeing from excitement when we come home. I love all animals, but dogs are special because they always seem to be happy and love you no matter if you're a millionaire or a broke college kid. Also when you come back after a couple of hours they greet you like you've been done for six months so that is always nice. If I were to be chosen for the scholarship the money would go toward covering some of Blue's expenses such as food, toys, doggy daycare for when I'm on out-of-state missions, and most importantly, wet wipes and disinfectant spray because he pees a lot when he gets excited! Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

Overcoming the Impact of Alcoholism and Addiction Joshua G. Chadderdon jchadderdon1@gmail.com Oct 8, 2022 My experience with addiction was through my mother.My parents divorced when I was three and I stayed with my dad. My mom disappeared from my life for two years. My grandpa Glen or neighbor Marlin used to watch my sister and me while my dad worked to keep up on bills and the house payment. When my mom came back around when I was in elementary school I started seeing her every couple of months which would turn to every couple of weeks and then back to every couple of months. My mom had substance abuse and alcoholism issues which resulted in her going to jail a couple of times and I would no longer be able to see her. My dad and grandpa did their best to shield me from my mother's struggles but allowed me to see her when she got back on her feet, and they did a good job. As a result of her addictions, when I would see my mom it was not unusual for her to fall asleep in the other room for hours or have her electricity or water shut off. We usually would light candles, play board games and make forts with boxes. Ultimately, when I was 10, my mom left the state for eight years to get back on her feet and today, she is doing better. Playing board games, eating Little Caesar's every day, and having no electricity never bothered me and still doesn't bother me today. The thing that bothers me the most is the time we missed together. Because of substances when I turned 18, my mother was gone for 10 years of my life and we can never get that time back which I am learning to accept. My childhood was not perfect, but no one is. I consider myself fortunate because I have plenty of friends who have had it much worse than me, but I did learn two big lessons. It taught me one, not what to do with my life, and second, how to respond to life's challenges. First, I can go to my mom to ask her questions about what led to her substance abuse which helps steer me away from trouble. After my experiences with her, I gained the motivation to do something better to make sure I don't follow the same path. Secondly, when disappointment struck I learned to accept other people's actions were not my responsibility and that the disappointment made my mind stronger. The experience with my mom allowed me to face disappointment or a problem and work past it to find a solution to fix the problem. Personally, I would not change my upbringing for anything. I feel negative and the positive helped shape me into the individual I am today and I am proud of what I have created. Today I am enrolled in 2 summer classes while working two jobs and finishing a private pilot license on the side. I plan to become a pilot for the Air Force at the age of 22. The reason I believe I can balance so much and be hyper-focused is because of the experiences with my mother and the motivation I get from her and my father today. A parent or both parents struggling with addiction is not something I wish on anyone, but for people who do go through it, you can use it as motivation and a tool to better yourself. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

Hi, my name is Joshua Chadderdon. I am 21 years old, I go to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and am majoring in Finance and Economics. As you may imagine from my majors, I am a statistics nerd who loves data analysis. I like healthy eating habits because I notice that I think clearer and physically look better which personally gives me more confidence! Lastly I also love eating healthy because it is what are the cheapest meal preps which is great for college students, which is what I'd like to talk more about! Usually, food and supplements are the highest bills for someone maintaining a clean diet. I live by the rule that health is 75% diet and 25% exercise so I really focus on quality food. Personally, I stick to rice, chicken, vegetables, eggs, and a daily vitamin. They are usually very inexpensive and nutritious, especially if you don’t mind a little work and get chicken quarters; the average price of chicken drops from $2.08 to 60 cents when you shop at Walmart. Organic food may be more expensive but I think it is good to get a break from the heavily medicated chickens and do some organic cooking. I love chicken and eat it almost every day, but there is undoubtedly a large number of antibiotics and steroids in the average Walmart chicken; this is why I like to change up my diet with some organic food, but not in the traditional sense. Organic food is much more expensive than standard food. To be precise, UC Davis Health did a study in 2019 where they concluded that organic food is 50% more expensive than standard food products. My source of organic food, on a budget, is venison which I hunt late in the year. A deer tag of $35 and a generous deboning fee of $100 can result in 60 pounds of meat which is only $2.25 per pound of organic, nutrient-dense, red meat. Of course, this option is not for everyone for a variety of reasons such as morals, the need for a firearm, and factor of the opportunity cost of time spent hunting, and the risk of not getting a deer. Personally, I find the positives outweigh the negatives because it is cost-effective and beneficial for health.

Introduction Hi, my name is Joshua Chadderdon. I am 21 years old, I go to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and am majoring in Finance and Economics. I love learning to plan for my future! As you may imagine from my majors, I am a statistics nerd who loves data analysis. However, it doesn’t take a long analysis to determine that college students are close to if not broke. We get out of high school with some work experience from some low-wage starter jobs to save up some money for a car and some extra money for the weekend but then jump into college which usually ends in thousands of dollars of debt before the age of twenty. In my personal life, I need to stay fit and healthy not only for my health and quality of life but also for my job. As another broke college student, I have been tested to find the cheapest and highest quality ways to stay healthy. Cheapest and high quality? Sounds like antonyms right? It may seem like it, but I’m going to explain how I live healthily wealthy while I’m broke. Food and Supplements Usually, food and supplements are the highest bills for someone maintaining a clean diet. I live by the rule that health is 75% diet and 25% exercise so I really focus on quality food. Personally, I stick to rice, chicken, vegetables, eggs, and a daily vitamin. They are usually very inexpensive and nutritious, especially if you don’t mind a little work and get chicken quarters; the average price of chicken drops from $2.08 to 60 cents when you shop at Walmart. Organic food may be more expensive but I think it is good to get a break from the heavily medicated chickens and do some organic cooking. I love chicken and eat it almost every day, but there is undoubtedly a large number of antibiotics and steroids in the average Walmart chicken; this is why I like to change up my diet with some organic food, but not in the traditional sense. Organic food is much more expensive than standard food. To be precise, UC Davis Health did a study in 2019 where they concluded that organic food is 50% more expensive than standard food products. My source of organic food, on a budget, is venison which I hunt late in the year. A deer tag of $35 and a generous deboning fee of $100 can result in 60 pounds of meat which is only $2.25 per pound of organic, nutrient-dense, red meat. Exercise Equipment So if the diet is 75% of living a healthy lifestyle, what about the other 25% which consists of exercise? Depending on what type of exercise you like from running, biking, swimming, or powerlifting, memberships and expenses can range from very low, if not free, to hundreds of dollars a month. For example, a membership at a luxury gym like Lifetime and a personal trainer could easily be $300. Personally, I like to weight lift and I use the gym provided to me on base. Most people do not have this facility but there are other ways to get a free to inexpensive workout in. Colleges often have a free gym and some insurances pay for a gym membership as long as you can provide proof you go a certain amount of times a month. Another option is attempting a simple, yet effective, military workout plan using a weighted vest and or sandbag which you can buy used or build your own for only $50 on Facebook Maarketplace!

Introduction Hi, my name is Joshua Chadderdon. I am 21 years old, I go to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and am majoring in Finance and Economics. As you may imagine from my majors, I am a statistics nerd who loves data analysis. However, it doesn’t take a long analysis to determine that college students are close to if not broke. We get out of high school with some work experience from some low-wage starter jobs to save up some money for a car and some extra money for the weekend but then jump into college which usually ends in thousands of dollars of debt before the age of twenty. In fact, according to One Class (2022), 36.5% of college students have less than $500 in their bank accounts. In my personal life, I need to stay fit and healthy not only for my health and quality of life but also for my job. I am a loadmaster for the Air Guard and I need to exercise regularly to do exceptionally well on my annual physical fitness test. As another broke college student, I have been tested to find the cheapest and highest quality ways to stay healthy. Cheapest and high quality? Sounds like antonyms right? It may seem like it, but I’m going to explain how I live healthily wealthy while I’m broke. Food and Supplements Usually, food and supplements are the highest bills for someone maintaining a clean diet. I live by the rule that health is 75% diet and 25% exercise so I really focus on quality food. Personally, I stick to rice, chicken, vegetables, eggs, and a daily vitamin. They are usually very inexpensive and nutritious, especially if you don’t mind a little work and get chicken quarters; the average price of chicken drops from $2.08 to 60 cents when you shop at Walmart. Organic food may be more expensive but I think it is good to get a break from the heavily medicated chickens and do some organic cooking. I love chicken and eat it almost every day, but there is undoubtedly a large number of antibiotics and steroids in the average Walmart chicken; this is why I like to change up my diet with some organic food, but not in the traditional sense. Organic food is much more expensive than standard food. To be precise, UC Davis Health did a study in 2019 where they concluded that organic food is 50% more expensive than standard food products. My source of organic food, on a budget, is venison which I hunt late in the year. A deer tag of $35 and a generous deboning fee of $100 can result in 60 pounds of meat which is only $2.25 per pound of organic, nutrient-dense, red meat. Of course, this option is not for everyone for a variety of reasons such as morals, the need for a firearm, and factor of the opportunity cost of time spent hunting, and the risk of not getting a deer. Exercise Equipment So if the diet is 75% of living a healthy lifestyle, what about the other 25% which consists of exercise? Depending on what type of exercise you like from running, biking, swimming, or powerlifting, memberships and expenses can range from very low, if not free, to hundreds of dollars a month. Colleges often have a free gym and some insurances pay for a gym membership as long as you can provide proof you go a certain amount of times a month. Another option is creating your own sandbag workout which I use in the summer!

Learning is important to me because I believe I believe it gives you the opportunity to have new experiences and help others throughout your life. My grandpa Glen is a perfect example of a lifelong learner and my role model in this aspect of life. He is upcoming his eighty-first birthday soon and he wakes up from midnight to two in the morning to read his papers, his bible, or the current book he is working on. When he's not reading in the middle of the night he goes to seminars on various topics at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN and then discusses the topics at McDonalds with the coffee bunch. I grew up listening to these topics sharing of information as a kid and whenever I have a question, like many other people, I ask my grandpa for his opinion on what to do. It doesn't matter it is financial, life, spiritual or what to do when a fuse breaks, my grandpa always knows what to do or finds the answer. Learning makes him happy and when I get older and retire I would like to continue on his lifestyle to live a fulfilled life. I plan to continue to learn through my lifetime by becoming the best of the best of my career field. Currently I am a loadmaster for the military, but I am working my way to become a private pilot and commission as an officer which will allow me to learn a new skill and help develop other skills like leadership and organization. When I eventually retire I would like to become an entrepreneur which is what my college degree includes. Your wildest thoughts are the limit with business ownership, theres an absolutely massive amount of information to learn about owning a business or businesses is extremely interesting to me. Besides school I watch many YouTube videos from successful entrepreneurs and have read multiple books authored by Robert Kiyosaki, Dave Ramsey, Grant Cardone and Tony Robbins to name a few. The more I learn the more successful I can become and the more lives I can change. Like my grandfather I would like to give back to the community. He buys random people their thanksgiving meals at the grocery store and new tires for some members of the church who struggle financially. I would also like to help others, but in a very big way. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. If I could accomplish my idea of a similar structure like this, I could help countless people and the world, forever, in theory. 100 years is a long time to wait, so the percentages and waiting period would have to be further analyzed by a financial expert or myself once I graduate college with my finance degree. As of now, I would like to focus on providing food and water to people in need around the world, pollution, low-incoming housing, and homelessness. I am a firm believer in focusing on the source of the issue. For example, my organization would help create farms instead of just sending meals out to people in need. A sustainable, long-term solution will be my organization’s goal to have the largest and long-living effect on the world. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

My Degree of Choice The different financial management experiences with my family have inspired me to strive to be an entrepreneur. When I was growing up I saw three different aspects of money management. One of my fathers who was a deputy had a steady income and a stable life. My Papa Glen who was a farmer ALWAYS checked stocks, and his income depends on the market. Finally, my mom who has multiple jobs and struggled with money which resulted in her having to leave my sister and me while she moved out of state to get back on her feet when I was ten. I was exposed to three drastic ways of making and managing money which sparked my financial interest at a young age. I told myself I was going to do everything I could to have an abundance of cash flow to help others around me, especially my mother. Since that point, saying financial management is my passion and obsession is an understatement and I am often called crazy for my goals and actions. Importance of Diversity Since high school, I have been analyzing different aspects of how to build money through Youtube videos, books, and my favorite, from successful entrepreneurs. Some people I follow are Robert Kiyosaki, Dave Ramsey, Graham Stephen, Mark Cuban, Dan Pena, and Tony Robbins. What I have learned in a nutshell is to invest early, avoid any get-rich-quick methods, live below your means, be the best in your work field, and finally work your tail off. I live by these points and have started a Roth IRA and invest 15% of my income, invest in index funds, and have had two jobs working full time throughout the school. I live well below my means by buying only second-hand clothes, eating and buying chicken, rice and vegetables every day, and even didn't turn my heat on in my apartment until February in Minnesota which is when people start to question my sanity. Some people think I'm crazy, but I see it as laser-focused. I came from a small town called Nicollet which holds 1,000 people and a high school graduation class of 32. I want to be the next Mark Cuban or Glen Taylor, which is a completely different world from where I come from and I know it takes extreme dedication and work. I simply see myself doing what is necessary to give me the best possible chance to reach my goals; it somewhat seems like a very exciting game that I am playing! Diversity in the workplace is important for me for two reasons; equal opportunity and diversity of ideas. Equal opportunity is very important to me because my girlfriend, Nypri, is African-American and she has told me the different experiences she has during an interview process and growing up. Many time people of color do not get the same opportunities as people with lighter skin because of history. One example, is redlining. Secondly, diversity of ideas is extremely important for growth of a business. Nypri, and I are nerds about businesses and analyze businesses. We both consistently have different ideas on how a business should be run and what consumers would like. The diversity of ideas help increase profitability and create better innovations!

"Redlining" By: Joshua Glen Chadderdon 507-381-7875 820 Hillside Court, Nicollet, MN, 56074 jchadderdon1@gmail.com The University of Minnesota, Finance Major Projected 2023 Graduation 3.9 GPA Introduction The industry I would like to write help is the housing industry which will indirectly help give stability to new generations of kids going to school. Background There is no denying some people are given different opportunities throughout their lifetime. There is also no denying the effects that discrimination has played a factor in giving People Of Color hardships that White individuals did not have to face. Even after slavery, discrimination was still around and well alive, it is more progressive today in large cities, but there are plenty of other places where it is still around and has a large effect. In my last semester, I took a management course where I was given two statistics that shook me. The first was in one of our Ted Talk videos which stated that housing considered for the average poor White family was at a higher standard of living than the average Black family’s household. This is the reason why I am talking about the housing industry. Redlining History In short, the term is called Redlining. Discrimination in the 1900s lead to sectioning communities of people of color off from the predominantly White communities and funded the communities much differently. The difference in funds resulted in a gap in opportunities to learn valuable skills such as education because of the budget for teachers’ salaries and extracurricular activities which teaches young individuals discipline, and accountability gives them the drive to work hard, and keeps them occupied so they do not get into trouble. My solution is to strive for equal opportunity by providing aid and additional funds for opportunities in poor communities such as their education and extracurricular activities. This change will not happen overnight, but I believe it is a long-term, effective plan. The second statistic from my management class was also from another Ted Talk which I am unsure of the title. It stated if low-income areas had an equal amount of opportunities that teen pregnancies and serious crimes such as murder and robbery would go down by 60%. And who knows, if a difference was made in those areas it could start a chain reaction where people would grow older, become reach their lifelong goals, and attempt to use the same tactics that helped them, to help others! The Plan Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years. 200 years later, $6.5 has been raised. If I could accomplish my idea of a similar structure like this, I could help countless people and the world, forever, in theory. My goals would to be help the low-income housing areas and fund extracurricular activities to help teach the youth core principles and help them do constructive things with their time. The effects of my plan will not be immediate, but I believe a sustainable, long-term solution will be my organization’s goal to have the largest and long-living effect on the world. Conclusion In the end, my plan is not to revolutionize an industry. Instead, my plan is to improve low-income communities by funding schools and housing in low-income communities. The effect will help bring equal opportunity for everyone, help change lives, and, indirectly, increase the economy’s strength, since the increase in prosperous communities helps build a strong economy. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

Learning is important to me because I believe I believe it gives you the opportunity to have new experiences and help others throughout your life. My grandpa Glen is a perfect example of a lifelong learner and my role model in this aspect of life. He is upcoming his eighty-first birthday soon and he wakes up from midnight to two in the morning to read his papers, his bible, or the current book he is working on. When he's not reading in the middle of the night he goes to seminars on various topics at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN and then discusses the topics at McDonalds with the coffee bunch. I grew up listening to these topics sharing of information as a kid and whenever I have a question, like many other people, I ask my grandpa for his opinion on what to do. It doesn't matter it is financial, life, spiritual or what to do when a fuse breaks, my grandpa always knows what to do or finds the answer. Learning makes him happy and when I get older and retire I would like to continue on his lifestyle to live a fulfilled life. I plan to continue to learn through my lifetime by becoming the best of the best of my career field. Currently I am a loadmaster for the military, but I am working my way to become a private pilot and commission as an officer which will allow me to learn a new skill and help develop other skills like leadership and organization. When I eventually retire I would like to become an entrepreneur which is what my college degree includes. Your wildest thoughts are the limit with business ownership, theres an absolutely massive amount of information to learn about owning a business or businesses is extremely interesting to me. Besides school I watch many YouTube videos from successful entrepreneurs and have read multiple books authored by Robert Kiyosaki, Dave Ramsey, Grant Cardone and Tony Robbins to name a few. The more I learn the more successful I can become and the more lives I can change. Like my grandfather I would like to give back to the community which is where I feel education has given my value and a purpose by a technique Benjamin Franklin used. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. If I could accomplish my idea of a similar structure like this, I could help countless people and the world, forever, in theory. 100 years is a long time to wait, so the percentages and waiting period would have to be further analyzed by a financial expert or myself once I graduate college with my finance degree. As of now, I would like to focus on providing food and water to people in need around the world, pollution, low-incoming housing, and homelessness. I am a firm believer in focusing on the source of the issue. For example, my organization would help create farms instead of just sending meals out to people in need. A sustainable, long-term solution will be my organization’s goal to have the largest and long-living effect on the world. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

My favorite Disney character is Princess Tiana from princess and the frog! I'm from Minnesota so the culture shown in New Orleans is much different; no ones going to be dancing around and have marching bands out when there's snow and a sub-zero temperature haha. I really like Tiana because she is such a hard worker and will do anything to reach her goals, which is what I strive to do. She holds multiple jobs, barely sleeps, and people always tell her she's working to hard and that she's crazy for wanting to own her own business, but she never listens. Aside for the real deep meaning of the movie, her beignets and gumbo look AMAZING! I've never had a beignet, but I do make gumbo every couple months and I've always wished I could just hop in the movie and grab some food. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

The way I maintain mental, physical and nutritional health being a broke college student is to treat it like a game of how cheap I can make it! Below are some of my tactics of how I keep cost down when it comes to food/supplements and excercise equipment. I call it "Living Healthily Wealthy, While Being Broke." Usually, food and supplements are the highest bills for someone maintaining a clean diet. I live by the rule that health is 75% diet and 25% exercise so I really focus on quality food. Personally, I stick to rice, chicken, vegetables, eggs, and a daily vitamin. They are usually very inexpensive and nutritious, especially if you don’t mind a little work and get chicken quarters; the average price of chicken drops from $2.08 to 60 cents when you shop at Walmart. Organic food may be more expensive but I think it is good to get a break from the heavily medicated chickens and do some organic cooking. I love chicken and eat it almost every day, but there is undoubtedly a large number of antibiotics and steroids in the average Walmart chicken; this is why I like to change up my diet with some organic food, but not in the traditional sense. Organic food is much more expensive than standard food. To be precise, UC Davis Health did a study in 2019 where they concluded that organic food is 50% more expensive than standard food products. My source of organic food, on a budget, is venison which I hunt late in the year. A deer tag of $35 and a generous deboning fee of $100 can result in 60 pounds of meat which is only $2.25 per pound of organic, nutrient-dense, red meat. Of course, this option is not for everyone for a variety of reasons such as morals, the need for a firearm, and factor of the opportunity cost of time spent hunting, and the risk of not getting a deer. Personally, I find the positives outweigh the negatives because it is cost-effective and beneficial for health. So if the diet is 75% of living a healthy lifestyle, what about the other 25% which consists of exercise? Depending on what type of exercise you like from running, biking, swimming, or powerlifting, memberships and expenses can range from very low, if not free, to hundreds of dollars a month. For example, a membership at a luxury gym like Lifetime and a personal trainer could easily be $300. Personally, I like to weight lift and I use the gym provided to me on base. Most people do not have this facility but there are other ways to get a free to inexpensive workout in. Colleges often have a free gym and some insurances pay for a gym membership as long as you can provide proof you go a certain amount of times a month. Another option is attempting a simple, yet effective, military workout plan using a weighted vest and or sandbag which you can buy used or build your own for only $50 and will last you for years. I personally got a used weighted vest off of Facebook for $30 and I made my own sandbag for $20 using pea rock, garbage bags, and Gorilla Tape. There truly are countless ways to stay fit and live a healthy lifestyle, your creativity and mind is the only limitation you have. I hope you enjoyed my story, thank you for your time and consideration!

Some people can create amazing paintings that look more real than photograph, some people can play a piano so beautiful that makes people cry, some can write beautiful poetry, what can I do? None of that; I lack creativity and I strive in logical, systematic thinking. In short, I'm a nerd. Personally I like math so much because no matter where you are in the world and what language you speak, numbers and the laws of math doesn't change. You can take two people from opposite sides of the Earth, give them a math problem and both will get the same answer. Not only do I think it is really cool that math is universal, but I also think it is cool because it is in EVERYTHING we do. From determining what the cost per unit is for buying toilet paper during the pandemic to determining the location, speed and projector of a comet in space, math is everywhere. Personally, I like statistical analysis which is why I am a finance major. I love taking a large pool of numbers and organizing it into a systematic way to determine deviations and variance to draw a conclusion. Another one of my favorite math applications is compound interest! I attempt to use the formula of compound interest to determine what I could retire with depending on the average stock market return and possible deviations of returns. I love math because it fits perfectly with my logic based way of thinking and application in everyday life. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

Learning is important to me because I believe I believe it gives you the opportunity to have new experiences and help others throughout your life. My grandpa Glen is a perfect example of a lifelong learner and my role model in this aspect of life. He is upcoming his eighty-first birthday soon and he wakes up from midnight to two in the morning to read his papers, his bible, or the current book he is working on. When he's not reading in the middle of the night he goes to seminars on various topics at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN and then discusses the topics at McDonalds with the coffee bunch. I grew up listening to these topics sharing of information as a kid and whenever I have a question, like many other people, I ask my grandpa for his opinion on what to do. It doesn't matter it is financial, life, spiritual or what to do when a fuse breaks, my grandpa always knows what to do or finds the answer. Learning makes him happy and when I get older and retire I would like to continue on his lifestyle to live a fulfilled life. I plan to continue to learn through my lifetime by becoming the best of the best of my career field. Currently I am a loadmaster for the military, but I am working my way to become a private pilot and commission as an officer which will allow me to learn a new skill and help develop other skills like leadership and organization. When I eventually retire I would like to become an entrepreneur which is what my college degree includes. Your wildest thoughts are the limit with business ownership, theres an absolutely massive amount of information to learn about owning a business or businesses is extremely interesting to me. Besides school I watch many YouTube videos from successful entrepreneurs and have read multiple books authored by Robert Kiyosaki, Dave Ramsey, Grant Cardone and Tony Robbins to name a few. The more I learn the more successful I can become and the more lives I can change. Like my grandfather I would like to give back to the community. He buys random people their thanksgiving meals at the grocery store and new tires for some members of the church who struggle financially. I would also like to help others, but in a very big way. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. If I could accomplish my idea of a similar structure like this, I could help countless people and the world, forever, in theory. 100 years is a long time to wait, so the percentages and waiting period would have to be further analyzed by a financial expert or myself once I graduate college with my finance degree. As of now, I would like to focus on providing food and water to people in need around the world, pollution, low-incoming housing, and homelessness. I am a firm believer in focusing on the source of the issue. For example, my organization would help create farms instead of just sending meals out to people in need. A sustainable, long-term solution will be my organization’s goal to have the largest and long-living effect on the world. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

"Redlining" By: Joshua Glen Chadderdon Introduction The industry I would like to write help is the housing industry which will indirectly help give stability to new generations of kids going to school. The focus of this paper isn’t necessarily on how to improve profits or optimize the market; instead, it is about my moral obligation and plans to help people who had a different starting line than me because of their housing. Background There is no denying some people are given different opportunities throughout their lifetime. There is also no denying the effects that discrimination has played a factor in giving People Of Color hardships that White individuals did not have to face. Even after slavery, discrimination was still around and well alive, it is more progressive today in large cities, but there are plenty of other places where it is still around and has a large effect. In my last semester, I took a management course where I was given two statistics that shook me. The first was in one of our Ted Talk videos which stated that housing considered for the average poor White family was at a higher standard of living than the average Black family’s household. This is the reason why I am talking about the housing industry. Redlining History In short, the term is called Redlining. Discrimination in the 1900s lead to sectioning communities of people of color off from the predominantly White communities and funded the communities much differently. The difference in funds resulted in a gap in opportunities to learn valuable skills such as education because of the budget for teachers’ salaries and extracurricular activities which teaches young individuals discipline, and accountability gives them the drive to work hard, and keeps them occupied so they do not get into trouble. My solution is to strive for equal opportunity by providing aid and additional funds for opportunities in poor communities such as their education and extracurricular activities. This change will not happen overnight, but I believe it is a long-term, effective plan. The second statistic from my management class was also from another Ted Talk which I am unsure of the title. It stated if low-income areas had an equal amount of opportunities that teen pregnancies and serious crimes such as murder and robbery would go down by 60%. And who knows, if a difference was made in those areas it could start a chain reaction where people would grow older, become reach their lifelong goals, and attempt to use the same tactics that helped them, to help others! My Plan My long-term plan is to use my business to help the effect of redlining is to use a tactic used by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. If I could accomplish my idea of a similar structure like this, I could help countless people and the world, forever, in theory. 100 years is a long time to wait, so the percentages and waiting period would have to be further analyzed by a financial expert or myself once I graduate college with my finance degree. My goals would to be help the low-income housing areas and fund extracurricular activities to help teach the youth core principles and help them do constructive things with their time. If I can accomplish this task, I will be able to bring the starting line to par with kids who would normally have a farther starting line. The effects of my plan will not be immediate, but I believe a sustainable, long-term solution will be my organization’s goal to have the largest and long-living effect on the world. Conclusion In the end, my plan is not to revolutionize an industry. Instead, my plan is to improve low-income communities by funding schools and housing in low-income communities. The effect will help bring equal opportunity for everyone, help change lives, and, indirectly, increase the economy’s strength, since the increase in prosperous communities helps build a strong economy. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

My best back-to-school tip is to get a planner and different colored highlighters/pens to organize your class schedule. I personally have eight highlighters. six for different classes (assignments/lectures) which leaves one for work and 1 for fun things. This technique has saved me a lot of confusion looking in my planner and helped me avoid double booking events when I am planning my week.

The characteristics I value most in me is perseverance and giving. Having these qualities allow for me to be able to push threw hardships and attempt to reach my goals of success and also give my work meaning. For the last 12 months, I have been attempting to graduate from college on an accelerated plan by taking 15 credits per semester while still working full-time between two jobs. There have been some hiccups along the way that has made maintaining college a challenge; I was a victim of a hit and run from a stolen car where my car was stolen and I sustained a concussion, and I was sent on an out-of-state mission for 40 days where I worked 60 hours per week, and most recently my apartment was robbed at gunpoint in June of this year. Each hiccup I have been able to bounce back and maintain a strong GPA and high performance at work. My normal day is that I either work at my first job or work on school-related things at a random coffee shop from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. and then work from 4 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. at my second job. My friends and family usually call me a workaholic, but I really like the challenges of balancing all the activities and progress I am making toward my goals. Each hiccup helps me grow my perseverance characteristic which increases the likelihood of reaching my goals. A giving characteristic is the other characteristic I value in myself. It not only makes me happy being able to help others with the gifts I've been given, but it gives my life meaning. I have had opportunities in the past to help others such as my high school janitors, homeless people or lonely kids in school. These actions actually allowed me the opportunity to be awarded "Student of the Year" and the "Citizenship Award" which I received in high school. Both were a huge honor and a big memory in my life, but I would like to make a larger difference than I have been given the opportunity to make in my young adult life thus far. I plan and will create a positive impact in the world by providing food, clean water, and housing to billions of people for hundreds of years. I plan to create non-profit organizations using a technique by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million. If I could accomplish my idea of non-profit organizations like this I could help countless people, forever, in theory. In order to reach my own goals and create the largest difference possible; I need to be well educated in entrepreneurial fields, be able to bounce back when road blocks happen and practice my giving characteristic when I am able to. Both characteristics work hand in hand, and I feel they have shaped my life into what it has been, and help add to other people's lives. Thank you for your time and consideration; have a great day!

By learning about where we came from and the evolution of our universe, we can predict where our universe is going to be in the future. This could be important for the survivability of our planet like natural climate changes vs. climate change that is dependent on other factors like humans. It could also be important to not necessarily save the planet but look toward the future. For example, the differences in climates, either increasingly cold or warm, would call for different things. Such as protection against UV rays or an increase of insulation on infrastructure. The benefits of studying our universe could be for a new home Elon Musk believes Mars could be a new home once warmth and vegetation can be grown. There can also be planets that could provide how to survive in different environments or find new possible life we did not know of. One example of a place that could hold life isn't actually a planet; it is actually a small moon around Jupiter, called Europa which has shallow water and an Earth-like ocean. Maybe there is life that could be beneficial to learn about or a new resource that could reshape our society. A lot of my ideas seem irrational, but then again I'm sure there have been many instances where an idea could have seemed crazy, but came true like a human on the moon! The truth is, space is one of the biggest mysteries society has today and the opportunities and questions are endless. Maybe there are an answer to clean energy, or maybe the space-time continuum bends which leads to time travel or parallel universes which could have their own benefits or negative side effects. One example that I could see being extremely beneficial would be time travel. Philosophers have hypothesized that if someone could travel at the speed of light for 6 months and return that they would have traveled years to centuries in the future. By that time, traveling back in time could be possible and the future's technology could possibly allow humans to go back in time and fix any major mistakes like another world war with nukes, farming practices, or machinery. Yes, I understand the possibility of this is extremely slim, but I feel nothing can be eliminated when the universe is the topic. Physics in the universe could answer an infinite amount of questions and be applied to multiple different scenarios that would seem unimaginable to the world right now.

Healthily Wealthy While Broke Joshua G. Chadderdon jchadderdon1@gmail.com Health & Wellness Scholarship August 2, 2022 Introduction Hi, my name is Joshua Chadderdon. I am 21 years old, I go to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and am majoring in Finance and Economics. As you may imagine from my majors, I am a statistics nerd who loves data analysis. However, it doesn’t take a long analysis to determine that college students are close to if not broke. We get out of high school with some work experience from some low-wage starter jobs to save up some money for a car and some extra money for the weekend but then jump into college which usually ends in thousands of dollars of debt before the age of twenty. In fact, according to One Class (2022), 36.5% of college students have less than $500 in their bank accounts. In my personal life, I need to stay fit and healthy not only for my health and quality of life but also for my job. I am a loadmaster for the Air Guard and I need to exercise regularly to do exceptionally well on my annual physical fitness test. As another broke college student, I have been tested to find the cheapest and highest quality ways to stay healthy. Cheapest and high quality? Sounds like antonyms right? It may seem like it, but I’m going to explain how I live healthily wealthy while I’m broke. Food and Supplements Usually, food and supplements are the highest bills for someone maintaining a clean diet. I live by the rule that health is 75% diet and 25% exercise so I really focus on quality food. Personally, I stick to rice, chicken, vegetables, eggs, and a daily vitamin. They are usually very inexpensive and nutritious, especially if you don’t mind a little work and get chicken quarters; the average price of chicken drops from $2.08 to 60 cents when you shop at Walmart. Organic food may be more expensive but I think it is good to get a break from the heavily medicated chickens and do some organic cooking. I love chicken and eat it almost every day, but there is undoubtedly a large number of antibiotics and steroids in the average Walmart chicken; this is why I like to change up my diet with some organic food, but not in the traditional sense. Organic food is much more expensive than standard food. My source of organic food, on a budget, is venison which I hunt late in the year. A deer tag of $35 and a generous deboning fee of $100 can result in 60 pounds of meat which is only $2.25 per pound of organic, nutrient-dense, red meat. Exercise Equipment A membership at a luxury gym like Lifetime and a personal trainer could easily be $300 per month. Personally, I like to weight lift and I use the gym provided to me on base. I also use another option if a gym is not available using a weighted vest and or sandbag. I got a used weighted vest off of Facebook for $30 and I made my own sandbag for $20 using pea rock, garbage bags, and Gorilla Tape. Conclusion A healthy lifestyle to me is an essential physically and mentally for me. I must be physically active for my job, but also as a stress release! I hope you enjoyed my story about how I stay fit as a broke college student,. Thank you for your time and consideration!

My father has supported me most pursing my educational and career goals. My sister, father, and I lived in the small town of Nicollet, Minnesota of 1,037 people. Unfortunately, my mother did not play a large part in my life because she struggled with substance abuse. My parents divorced when I was 3 and then I didn't see my mom until I started elementary school. From there I saw her every couple months while she was in and out of jail and she ended up leaving the state to get back on her feet from when I was 10-18 years old. My dad was always known as a scary and tough parent from all of my friends. There were many reasons for this while growing up. I would get in trouble for getting anything less than an A, I had to call him sir for most of my childhood, I would spend all summer splitting wood, there was the devil to pay even if I was a minute late, and when I was 16 I had to pay for all expenses besides my phone bill and insurance. When I was younger I too thought he was scary and tough, but as I grew older, especially after going to the military, I saw the effects of my dad’s parental tactics. I believe he laid the groundwork to naturally make me a motivated individual who may seem like a workaholic. He was a constructive single parents who guided and supported me through all aspects of life from academics, manners, sports, what branch of the military to go into, what job to pick, and now helping me reach my goals of becoming an officer in the military to become a pilot. He has single handedly played the biggest role in my life to shape me as the individual I am. I always make sure whenever people give me a compliment on an accomplishment or time management that I give credit to my dad and remind my dad I accredit him for the accomplishments I have made in my life. I'm not described as an emotional person, but listening to a slow Al Green song while I write this and I can feel my heart string being tugged so I'm going to stop here, haha! Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship, have a terrific day!

Acts of selflessness has truly changed my life for the better not only in my own emotions but in every aspect of life. The person I credit my giving spirit to is my grandpa Glen who is a devoted Christian and one of the most giving people I know. I have the privilege of him still being in my life and often see him helping friends, family, and strangers through physical work, his time, and finances. Just a couple of examples are that he bought new tires for a church member who was financially struggling and was driving on bald tires, he helped my dad raise my sister and I when my mom left our family, and last Thanksgiving he bought a Hyvee workers food for their entire family because he sees them every day during coffee hour and believes they’re a hard worker. He really is a blessing to everyone he comes in contact with which is what I strive to do. It just feels so good to help other people and it doesn’t seem like a chore to give to others when you put in perspective how fortunate we have it compared to other people. The way I look at it is no matter how bad you have it, chances are somewhere in the world someone has it worse, so be thankful and give for what you have. All throughout school, elementary to high school, I always tried to give or help other people. Not because I was born like this because I was more to myself and played with my own toys when I was very young. It was because of my grandpa that I subconsciously learned to just want to help others, which then made me happy and I continued from there. I didn’t give much, not many high schoolers have a large number of assets to give, but I did give my time and did little things. For example, I volunteered at concession stands for sporting events, fundraisers, elementary carnivals, pep fests, and just the usual high school things. Because of my actions, I was given multiple awards during graduation which were a surprise. My two proudest were the citizenship award and student of the year. One even came with a $1500 scholarship. It was such a delightful shock to me! The awards and the scholarship is very nice, but that wasn’t my favorite part of helping it. The confession stands and pep fests, are standard things for students to volunteer for, which usually had plenty of people to help. Other acts of selflessness would be the little things like sitting by the people who sat by themselves at lunch (especially young kids because it makes the most difference with their peers) and painting a mural in the weight room to bring morale to our athletes in the school. However, helping janitors was my favorite. I would often help janitors clean windows, clean the cafeteria, or even just ask them how they were doing. They have a job that many people would despise doing, yet they always had a smile on their faces and helped others everyday whenever someone asks. I built such a good relationship with them that I had our janitor, Larry, put on my dress coat and walk down the walkway with the boys during our prom ceremony. Just writing down these examples makes me smile and that’s what the spirit of selflessness is all about; it’s all the memories and relationships you build while helping others. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a great day!

Background My sister, father, and I lived in the small town of Nicollet, Minnesota of 1,037 people. We lived right outside of town on a two-acre farm which also had a grove around the property to protect us from the wind. I had a class of only 20 when I entered elementary school which grew to 35 by the time I graduated, but something always stayed the same. My dad was always known as a scary and tough parent. There were many reasons for this while growing up. I would get in trouble for getting anything less than an A, I had to call him sir for most of my childhood, I would spend all summer splitting wood, there was the devil to pay even if I was a minute late, and when I was 16 I had to pay for all expenses besides my phone bill and insurance. When I was younger I did think he was scary and tough, but as I grew older, especially after going to the military, I saw the effects of my dad’s parental tactics. I believe he laid the groundwork to naturally make me a motivated individual who may seem like a workaholic. Challenges Faced For the last 12 months, I have been attempting to graduate from college on an accelerated plan by taking 15 credits per semester while still working full-time between two jobs. There have been some hiccups along the way that has made maintaining college a challenge; I was a victim of a hit and run from a stolen car where my car was totaled and I sustained a concussion, and I was sent on an out-of-state mission for 40 days where I worked 60 hours per week, and most recently my apartment was robbed at gunpoint in June. Each hiccup I have been able to bounce back and maintain a strong GPA and high performance at work. For example, the most recent occurrence was on June 25th, 2022. I was living in St. Paul, Minnesota just outside of downtown. It’s not a horrible neighborhood, but it isn’t the best. There are fatal shootings or a SWAT raid every couple of weeks within a two-mile radius of my one-bedroom apartment. My roommate and I have bunk beds and share our one-bedroom apartment to save money and invest extra money in our ROTH accounts. Well, I was working an overnight shift and I got a call from my roommate's mother at 11:30 P.M. My roommate brought a date to our house and 20 minutes later 2 men with pistols walked in; one was interrogating him by slapping him and stating he was going to kill him and the other trashed our apartment looking for valuables. In the end, it was a setup; the girl left with the man who had stolen his phone, car, and wallet. I went home and he was understandably emotional. Fortunately for us, we live like we are broke. We don’t have a TV, furniture, or even turn on the electricity so you can imagine the disappointment the robbers had when they came in which is a positive, haha. I needed to use my strong work ethic to clean our destroyed apartment, pack and move out of our apartment in 5 days while simultaneously working my average 45-50 hour week and balancing two summer classes. I accomplished those goals while maintaining an A in both classes. Today, as I write this, I still work my two jobs with my average hours and have an A in both classes, but now there is an added challenge. Unfortunately, since we have moved out of our apartment, I have not been able to move into an apartment so I am bouncing between my friends’ houses. It doesn’t affect my life a ton. My normal day is that I either work at my first job or work on school-related things at a random coffee shop from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. and then work from 4 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. at my second job. This is where most of my friends or family call me a workaholic, but personally, I see it as being motivated and invigorating. I absolutely love being productive and I know each one of these hiccups is just building character and strengthening my grit. The outcome of these actions has resulted in a strong, callused mind that will do whatever is necessary to reach my goals. I am very proud of my accomplishments and the things I have overcome. Conclusion One thing I always remember and that keeps me in good spirits when a hiccup happens is that someone always has it worse than me. There is always another person that has been through the same things I have, but hasn’t been as lucky to come out the other side as fortunate, so who am I to complain? My inspiration is to count my blessings and use them to the best of my ability or reach my lifelong goals of making a difference by not only making a difference in the opportunities provided in my community, but to solve problems around the world with a tactic used by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. Instead of leaving my money to cities, I would like to start four different funds which focus on clean water, food, and low-income housing/homelessness. If I could accomplish my idea of non-profit organizations like this I could help countless people, forever which is my motivation and ultimately inspires me. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship; have a great day!

I do agree with this statement and I will explain why after giving my background, relating to a parent with substance abuse. My parents divorced when I was three and I stayed with my dad. My mom disappeared from my life for two years. My grandpa Glen or neighbor Marlin used to watch my sister and me while my dad worked to keep up on bills and the house payment. When my mom came back around when I was in elementary school I started seeing her every couple of months which would turn to every couple of weeks and then back to every couple of months. My mom had substance abuse and alcoholism issues which resulted in her going to jail a couple of times and I would no longer be able to see her. My dad and grandpa did their best to shield me from my mother's struggles but allowed me to see her when she got back on her feet, and they did a good job. As a result of her addictions, when I would see my mom it was not unusual for her to fall asleep in the other room for hours or have her electricity or water shut off. We usually would light candles, play board games and make forts with boxes. Ultimately, when I was 10, my mom left the state for eight years to get back on her feet and today, she is doing better. Playing board games, eating Little Caesar's every day, and having no electricity never bothered me and still doesn't bother me today. The thing that bothers me the most is the time we missed together. Because of substances when I turned 18, my mother was gone for 10 years of my life and we can never get that time back which I am learning to accept. My childhood was not perfect, but no one is. I consider myself fortunate because I have plenty of friends who have had it much worse than me, but I did learn two big lessons. It taught me one, not what to do with my life, and second, how to respond to life's challenges. First, I can go to my mom to ask her questions about what led to her substance abuse which helps steer me away from trouble. After my experiences with her, I gained the motivation to do something better to make sure I don't follow the same path. Secondly, when disappointment struck I learned to accept other people's actions were not my responsibility and that the disappointment made my mind stronger. The experience with my mom allowed me to face disappointment or a problem and work past it to find a solution to fix the problem. Personally, I would not change my upbringing for anything. I feel negative and the positive helped shape me into the individual I am today and I am proud of what I have created. Today I am enrolled in 2 summer classes while working two jobs and finishing a private pilot license on the side. I plan to become a pilot for the Air Force at the age of 22. The reason I believe I can balance so much and be hyper-focused is because of the experiences with my mother and the motivation I get from her and my father today. A parent or both parents struggling with addiction is not something I wish on anyone, but for people who do go through it, you can use it as motivation and a tool to better yourself. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

Hi, my name is Joshua Chadderdon. I am 21 years old, I go to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and am majoring in Finance and Economics. My sister, father, and I lived in the small town of Nicollet, Minnesota. I played basketball and football in high school and have snowboarded for most of my life. Unfortunately, I must not be very good at snowboarding because I’ve broken 7 bones, haha! After graduating high school in 2019 I joined the military and left Minnesota for a year while I trained to be a loadmaster in Texas, Washington state, and Arkansas before returning home to Minnesota. Today I have two jobs in which I work an average of 45-50 hours, am enrolled in 2 summer classes and am working on my private pilot license on the side. I like to stay busy with productive activities. I still have fun by saving money and travel to different military bases to see my friends from tech school in the Air Force. Being in the military has also been able to help me travel quite frequently which is great for personal experiences, but can be hectic for balancing the rest of my schedule, but that’s a good problem to have. Between traveling for fun and the military I’ve been fortunate to see and help people all around the world. One thing I love about traveling over anything else is that you see new people in different living situation which really gives you a new perspective on life, for example I helped the Afghanistan refugees on a mission in New Jersey. That was a very eye opening experience. My aspirations for the future include becoming a pilot in the Air Force after my deployment to Africa in 2023. After becoming a pilot I would like to become an entrepreneur which is my lifelong goal. I would like create a mass of wealth and help change the world with a tactic used by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years. The power of compound interest to took over and now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. My focus would be a fund that could help low-income housing in Minnesota forever, in theory, like Franklin's fund. However, I would not wait 100 years to allow a portion of the funds to be used. I've seen the Twin Cities crime rise recently first hand and something needs to be done now. This year I was in a serious accident when I was a victim of a hit and run by a stolen car and was also the victim of an armed robbery. My solution is to focus on the kids and strive for equal opportunity for everyone by providing aid and additional funds in poor communities toward education and extracurricular activities. This change will not happen overnight, but I believe it is a long-term, effective plan. In a Ted Talk I viewed in my last semester a statistic was brought to my attention. It stated, if low-income areas had an equal amount of opportunities that teen pregnancies and serious crimes such as murder and robbery would go down by 60%. Who knows, if a difference was made in those areas it could start a chain reaction where people might attempt help others when they reach their grow up! That is my plan to help the lives of others in Minnesota. Thank you for your consideration have a great day!

Dogs have always been a huge part of my life which is why animal advocacy is so important to me. From my first memory until moving out of the house for the military I grew up with dogs. My childhood dog was a small white dog, Parker, that neither my dad nor sister knew the breed, but it was a very big part of my development years. We would go ice fishing together in the winter and play on the farm together all day in the daytime. Unfortunately, the dog got cancer when I was 8 and my dad put it down but told me the dog ran away. I actually just found that my dad put him down when my stepmom accidentally told me and I am now 22, haha! Soon after my mother saw the effect Parker had on my sister, she got a rescue boxer and named it blue! My mother is very affectionate, especially to animals. Within a year she got another rescue, Max who is a 130-pound pitbull, followed by an 8-pound chihuahua named Chi Chi; they are quite the combination. Unfortunately, my mother left my sister and me when I was ten so I only got to be with the dogs for a couple of years. My dad didn't want to get another dog and I was leaving for the military after high school so I couldn't adopt one myself. My solution was to become a certified dog walker at the humane society Benches in Mankato, Minnesota! I had to take a class and meet the supervisor, but soon enough I could meet new dogs every week and take them on walks! It made me so happy! I started with small, very nice dogs and gradually made my way to helping larger dogs that were still very scared and or aggressive. Being able to volunteer as a dog walker was a great opportunity to not only get to enjoy my own happiness of playing with dogs, but to make a difference in dogs' lives and the communities. I had to leave Benches once I joined the military where I was gone for a year moving from place to place for training. About a year later after returning to Minnesota, attending college, and getting a girlfriend, I watch a Doxle with bright blue eyes! His name is Blue for his bright blue eyes and just over a year old. He was a little naughty from 8 to 12 months, but after some training and patience, he knows how to sit and come when I whistle! We're still working on him peeing from excitement when we come home. I love all animals, but dogs are special because they always seem to be happy and love you no matter if you're a millionaire or a broke college kid. Also when you come back after a couple of hours they greet you like you've been done for six months so that is always nice. If I were to be chosen for the scholarship the money would go toward covering some of Blue's expenses such as food, toys, doggy daycare for when I'm on out-of-state missions, and most importantly, wet wipes and disinfectant spray because he pees a lot when he gets excited! Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

I look at a healthy lifestyle like a car; specifically a Mercedes AMG GT Track Series with over 500 pounds of horsepower and a top speed of 200 mph and butterfly doors. If I were to get my dream car, described above, I'd never get another car again. As a result I would treat that car with the absolute top priority. Regular check ups, best gasoline, best equipment for it and I would drive it multiple time to make sure all systems worked correctly. That is how I try to look at the health of my body. It's the only one I have and there's no way to get a new one. I get check ups from the doctor, put in quality food (occasionally cheat, haha), get good running shoes and workout equipment which I use frequently to exercise all my systems. I love giving, my family, my friends, working, everything about life, but everything is nothing without my health. A healthy lifestyle needs to be my number one concern or I cannot enjoy the wonders of life.

Dogs have always been a huge part of my life. From my first memory until moving out of the house for the military I grew up with dogs. My childhood dog was a small white dog, Parker, that neither my dad nor sister knew the breed, but it was a very big part of my development years. We would go ice fishing together in the winter and play on the farm together all day in the daytime. Unfortunately, the dog got cancer when I was 8 and my dad put it down but told me the dog ran away. I actually just found that my dad put him down when my stepmom accidentally told me and I am now 22, haha! Soon after my mother saw the effect Parker had on my sister, she got a rescue boxer and named it blue! My mother is very affectionate, especially to animals. Within a year she got another rescue, Max who is a 130-pound pitbull, followed by an 8-pound chihuahua named Chi Chi; they are quite the combination. Unfortunately, my mother left my sister and me when I was ten so I only got to be with the dogs for a couple of years. My dad didn't want to get another dog and I was leaving for the military after high school so I couldn't adopt one myself. My solution was to become a certified dog walker at the humane society Benches in Mankato, Minnesota! I had to take a class and meet the supervisor, but soon enough I could meet new dogs every week and take them on walks! It made me so happy! I started with small, very nice dogs and gradually made my way to helping larger dogs that were still very scared and or aggressive. Being able to volunteer as a dog walker was a great opportunity to not only get to enjoy my own happiness of playing with dogs, but to make a difference in dogs' lives and the communities. I had to leave Benches once I joined the military where I was gone for a year moving from place to place for training. About a year later after returning to Minnesota, attending college, and getting a girlfriend, I watch a Doxle with bright blue eyes! His name is Blue for his bright blue eyes and just over a year old. He was a little naughty from 8 to 12 months, but after some training and patience, he knows how to sit and come when I whistle! We're still working on him peeing from excitement when we come home. I love all animals, but dogs are special because they always seem to be happy and love you no matter if you're a millionaire or a broke college kid. Also when you come back after a couple of hours they greet you like you've been done for six months so that is always nice. If I were to be chosen for the scholarship the money would go toward covering some of Blue's expenses such as food, toys, doggy daycare for when I'm on out-of-state missions, and most importantly, wet wipes and disinfectant spray because he pees a lot when he gets excited! Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

Dogs have always been a huge part of my life. From my first memory until moving out of the house for the military I grew up with dogs. My childhood dog was a small white dog, Parker, that neither my dad nor sister knew the breed, but it was a very big part of my development years. We would go ice fishing together in the winter and play on the farm together all day in the daytime. Unfortunately, the dog got cancer when I was 8 and my dad put it down but told me the dog ran away. I actually just found that my dad put him down when my stepmom accidentally told me and I am now 22, haha! Soon after my mother saw the effect Parker had on my sister, she got a rescue boxer and named it blue! My mother is very affectionate, especially to animals. Within a year she got another rescue, Max who is a 130-pound pitbull, followed by an 8-pound chihuahua named Chi Chi; they are quite the combination. Unfortunately, my mother left my sister and me when I was ten so I only got to be with the dogs for a couple of years. My dad didn't want to get another dog and I was leaving for the military after high school so I couldn't adopt one myself. My solution was to become a certified dog walker at the humane society Benches in Mankato, Minnesota! I had to take a class and meet the supervisor, but soon enough I could meet new dogs every week and take them on walks! It made me so happy! I started with small, very nice dogs and gradually made my way to helping larger dogs that were still very scared and or aggressive. Being able to volunteer as a dog walker was a great opportunity to not only get to enjoy my own happiness of playing with dogs, but to make a difference in dogs' lives and the communities. I had to leave Benches once I joined the military where I was gone for a year moving from place to place for training. About a year later after returning to Minnesota, attending college, and getting a girlfriend, I watch a Doxle with bright blue eyes! His name is Blue for his bright blue eyes and just over a year old. He was a little naughty from 8 to 12 months, but after some training and patience, he knows how to sit and come when I whistle! We're still working on him peeing from excitement when we come home. I love all animals, but dogs are special because they always seem to be happy and love you no matter if you're a millionaire or a broke college kid. Also when you come back after a couple of hours they greet you like you've been done for six months so that is always nice. If I were to be chosen for the scholarship the money would go toward covering some of Blue's expenses such as food, toys, doggy daycare for when I'm on out-of-state missions, and most importantly, wet wipes and disinfectant spray because he pees a lot when he gets excited! Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

God has given my life a direction and purpose. I was first introduced to God and the Assembly of God church through my grandpa Glen. At first I didn't know what to think about God, but after getting a little older I realized how much God and religion effected my life. The 10 commandments gave me direction to live by and when I lived by the commandments my life got better in every aspect. One specific area was lying. I would break this commandment all the time for dumb reasons like when I was in elementary saying no I didn't eat the last of the cereal. Of course I did, I was the only person home the whole day and it was there the time my father left the house. Realistically the cereal was only $3, what was more important was the principle and trust that was being broken. To me the commandments are not only rules God gave us to follow, but the blueprint to happiness by being a good human which in result creates a high functioning, ethical society. Back to my grandpa Glen who taught me about God, I really think my grandpa is an angel or put in my life to show me the way of the Lord. He is the kindest and one of the most devoted Christians I know. One of the biggest things my grandpa does help others whenever he can at 80 years old. My pastor also stresses the importance of giving and said in one of his sermons, "pray to be the answer to someone's prayers." I really took that to heart and I intend to complete that task through working. I plan to finish college, commission as an officer and become an entrepreneur, using the capital I get from being a pilot. I then plan to create a non-profit that will provide food, clean water and housing for billions of people for hundreds of years. My plan to create this non-profit organizations using a technique by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790, but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. If I could accomplish my idea of non-profit organizations like this I could help countless people, forever, in theory. That is how I will implement faith into my career. Thank you for your time and consideration.

My name is Joshua Chadderdon and I am a University of Minnesota - Twin Cities junior enrolled in the CCAPS program. The CCAPS program I chose focuses on Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Economics. I am also in the 133rd Airlift Wing of the Minnesota National Guard. My parents divorced when I was three and I stayed with my dad my mom disappeared from my life for two years. My grandpa Glen or neighbor Marlin use to watch my sister and me while my dad worked to keep up on bills and the house payment. When my mom came back around when I was in elementary school I started seeing her every couple of months which would turn to every couple of weeks and then back to every couple of months. My mom had substance abuse issues which resulted in her going to jail a couple of times and I would no longer be able to see her. My dad and grandpa did their best to shield me from my mother's struggles but allowed me to see her when she got back on her feet. Ultimately my mom left the state for eight years to get back on her feet and today, she is doing much better. Throughout my childhood, I saw my parents struggle with money and financial management. My dad was a deputy but sometimes struggled to be a single father of two young kids with a car and house payment. My mother on the other hand had and still does have serious financial management issues. Ever since I was young I was always analyzing the financial scenarios of both of my parents which encouraged me to strive for a major in areas of financial management because I wanted to help them with the knowledge I learn and provide for my children if I do have some one day. However, I did not have an idea how to pay for college. I started mowing lawns, picking up sticks, and helping the old ladies around town starting at twelve until I got my first real job at fifteen. I worked a part-time job at a meat market throughout high school (full-time in the summer) and saved as much as I could. Ultimately I studied like crazy and got good grades in high school and joined a college in schools program that allowed me to get my first year of college done in high school which was difficult, but worth it. I also joined the military right after high school to assist in tuition. I left my family for a year while I was in training as a loadmaster which I believe was the right choice. I learned many valuable skills and experiences I use every day. I currently have forty-eight credits left in college which I am going to complete by the end of next summer. Once graduated I will use my knowledge of finance to help my family and friends avoid financial mistakes my parents made in the past and I will use my degree to become a pilot for the Air Force and use that capital to become an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, I plan to plant my financial seed to change the world by buying real estate and small businesses with little overhead like a parking ramp or storage unit to provide cash flow for larger business purchases. From there I will grow to larger businesses and the financial seed I planted will start to grow. I plan and will create a positive impact in the world by providing food, clean water, and housing to billions of people for hundreds of years. I plan to create non-profit organizations using a technique by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million. If I could accomplish my idea of non-profit organizations like this I could help countless people, forever, in theory. I will do whatever is necessary to make sure my plan of action is accomplished. My upbringing was not perfect, but it was far from bad. I believe if you are born in America, you are living in the top one percent of income earners in the world. It is my moral obligation of myself to make the most out of this opportunity and to do my share of making a positive impact on the world. I have started ferociously saving money by only buying necessities. I buy chicken, rice, and vegetables which I eat almost every day, buy all second-hand clothes, and even didn't turn my heat on in my apartment until February which was an accomplishment because I live in Minnesota. To say I am committed to my goals is an understatement. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

My name is Joshua Chadderdon and I am a University of Minnesota - Twin Cities junior enrolled in the CCAPS program. The CCAPS program I chose focuses on Entrepreneurship, Finance and Economics. I am also in the 133rd Airlift Wing of the Minnesota National Guard. I plan to create a positive impact in the world by providing food, clean water and housing to billions of people for hundreds of years. My plan is to create non-profit organizations using a technique by Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790, but left $4,400 to both Boston and Philadelphia with the stipulation that the cities could start using a portion of the funds after 100 years to allow the power of compound interest to take over. Now, 200 years later, the combined budgets are $6.5 million dollars. If I could accomplish my idea of non-profit organizations like this I could help countless people, forever, in theory. The reason I am so passionate about leadership came from my dad which was further strengthen in the military. I have been an enlisted member of the Air Guard as a loadmaster since 2019 and through basic training and other missions I have seen the consequences of an effective leader. Efficiency, motivation, morale, consistency, loyalty and innovation are all consequences of an effective leader. Leaders help organize masses of individuals so everyone can reach their common goal. They can help the structure of an organization to delegate individuals to tasks so everyone is working on something as a team to make progress rather everyone working on overlapping objectives that could result in loss of time and counter productivity. I plan to use leadership when I commission as an officer in the Air Force to become a pilot, and I plan to be an effective leader when I eventually own my own business or businesses to start my goal of helping billions of people through my non-profit organizations. Thank you for your time and consideration; have a terrific day!

The different financial management experiences with my family has inspired me to strive to be an entrepreneur. When I was growing up I saw three different aspects of money management. One of my fathers who was a deputy, steady income and stable life. My Papa Glen who was a farmer ALWAYS checked stocks, and his income depends on the market. Finally, my mom who has multiple jobs and struggled with money which resulted in her having to leave my sister and me while she moved out of state to get back on her feet when I was ten. I was exposed to three drastic ways of making and managing money which sparked my financial interest at a young age. I told myself I was going to do everything I could to have an abundance of cash flow to help others around me, especially my mother. Since that point, saying financial management is my passion and obsession is an understatement and I am often called crazy for my goals and actions. Since high school, I have been analyzing different aspects of how to build money through Youtube videos, books, and my favorite, from successful entrepreneurs. Some people I follow are Robert Kiyosaki, Dave Ramsey, Graham Stephen, Mark Cuban, Dan Pena, and Tony Robbins. What I have learned in a nutshell is to invest early, avoid any get-rich short methods, live below your means, be the best in your work field, and finally work your tail off. I live by these points and have started a Roth IRA and invest 15% of my income, invest in index funds, and have had two jobs working full time throughout the school. I live well below my means by buying only second-hand clothes, eating and buying chicken, rice and vegetables every day, and even didn't turn my heat on in my apartment until February in Minnesota which is when people start to question my sanity. Some people think I'm crazy, but I see it as laser-focused. I came from a small town called Nicollet which holds 1,000 people and a high school graduation class of 32. I want to be the next Mark Cuban or Glen Taylor which is a completely different world from where I come from and I know it takes extreme dedication and work. I simply see myself doing what is necessary to give me the best possible chance to reach my goals; it somewhat seems like a very exciting game that I am playing! I completed my generals through a program in high school and one year at a community college to save money. Now I am enrolled at the University of Minnesota in a CCAPS program where an individual can mix majors to create their own bachelor's degree. My degree plan is focused on Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Economics. I felt this was the best combination to have to understand the market and develop business communication, business analytics, and investment strategies. If I was selected for this scholarship I would use the funds toward tuition to avoid debt, course books, registration fees, and my college meal plan. Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!

Dogs have always been a huge part of my life. Since my first memory until moving out of the house for the military I grew up with dogs. My childhood dog was a small white dog, Parker, that neither my dad nor sister knew the breed, but it was a very big part of my development years. We would go ice fishing together in the winter and play on the farm together all day in the day time. Unfortunately the dog got cancer when I was 8 and my dad put it down, but told me the dog ran away. I actually just found that my dad put him down when my step mom accidentally told me and I am now 22, haha! Soon after my mother saw the effect Parker had on my sister, she got a rescue boxer and named it blue! My mother is very affectionate, especially to animals. Within a year she got another rescue, Max who is a 130 pound pitbull, followed by an 8 pound chihuahua named Chi Chi; they are quite the combination. Unfortunately my mother left my sister and I when I was ten so I only got to be with the dogs for a couple years. My dad didn't want to get another dog and I was leaving for the military after high school so I couldn't adopt one myself. My solution was to become a certified dog walker at the humane society Benches in Mankato, Minnesota! I had to take a class and meet the supervisor, but soon enough I could meet new dogs every week and take them on walks! It made me so happy! I started with small, very nice dogs and gradually made my way to help larger dogs that were still very scared and or aggressive. Being able to volunteer as a dog walker was a great opportunity to not only get to enjoy my own happiness of playing with dogs, but to make a difference in dogs lives and the communities. I had to leave Benches once I joined the military where I was gone for a year moving from place to place for training. About a year later after returning to Minnesota, attending college, and getting a girlfriend, I watch a Doxle with bright blue eyes! His name is Blue for his bright blue eyes and just over a year old. He was a little naughty from 8 to 12 months, but after some training and patience he knows how to sit and come when I whistle! We're still working on him peeing from excitement when we come home. I love all animals, but dogs are special because they always seem to be happy and love you no matter if you're a millionaire or a broke college kid. Also when you come back after a couple hours they greet you like you've been done for six months so that is always nice. If I were to be chosen for the scholarship the money would go toward covering some of Blue's expenses such as food, toys, doggy day care for when I'm on out of state missions, and most importantly, wet wipes and disinfectant spray because he pees a lot when he gets excited! Thank you for your time and consideration, have a terrific day!