I feel that very few modern artists feel that they can be be vulnerable in their lyrics, but Olivia Rodrigo is an exception. Her songs are very relatable to myself and other young girls. In her song “Making the Bed”, the line, “Counting all of the beautiful things I regret” reflects my own journey through academic and personal choices. In high school, I was relentless in my pursuit of achievement. I did everything I could to ensure that I was well liked, thorough in my work, spending endless nights perfecting assignments. On paper, these achievements were "beautiful things"—milestones that looked impressive to mentors, peers, and admissions panels. Yet, as I stood amidst those accomplishments, I found myself quietly regretting the sacrifices that bought them: the missed family dinners, the neglected friendships, and the quiet moments of rest I denied myself in the name of success. Her lyric really resonates because it acknowledges the complex reality of self-imposed pressure. The challenge in my life has rarely been a lack of opportunity; rather, it has actually been the difficulty of managing the consequences of my own choices. When you construct a life centered entirely around constant output, you eventually have to sleep in the bed you made. Confronting that reality required me to take a step back and re-evaluate what truly defined my worth. However, my journey did not end in regret; it became a springboard for a major personal triumph. Recognizing the weight of my overcommitment forced me to practice genuine self-advocacy and intentionality. I learned to distinguish between pursuing excellence for personal growth versus seeking validation through burnout. I began setting firmer boundaries, prioritizing meaningful relationships, and approaching my goals with balance rather than desperation. The "regrets" transformed into valuable insights about my limits and core values. As I prepare for the next chapter of my education, this perspective shapes how I approach future ambitions. I carry forward the understanding that true success is not measured solely by a list of flawless achievements, but by the intention, integrity, and personal peace behind them. Her reflection in her lyrics reminds me that while we may occasionally regret the path we built, we always retain the agency to redesign it. Through this scholarship, I hope to continue building a future that reflects not just hard work, but a balanced and deliberate commitment to my community and myself. Thank you for this opportunity!

Sabrina Carpenter has inspired me in ways that go far beyond her music. As a fan, I admire how she has grown throughout her career while remaining authentic to herself. Her journey reminds me that success does not happen overnight and that staying committed to your goals, even when things do not go as planned, can eventually lead you somewhere meaningful. I connect with Sabrina’s music because it captures so many different emotions and experiences. Her songs can be fun and lighthearted, but they can also express vulnerability, heartbreak, confidence, and personal growth, all things that are important for young girls like me to learn to power through. Listening to her music has often given me something to relate to during both difficult and exciting moments in my life. Her ability to turn personal experiences into music encourages me to embrace my own experiences rather than be ashamed of them. What inspires me most is Sabrina’s perseverance. She has worked for years on end to build her career, and watching her continue pursuing her dreams and her success has taught me the importance of patience and determination. Her story reminds me that everyone has their own timeline, and just because you have setbacks do not mean you should give up. Being a fan of Sabrina Carpenter has given me more than just some songs to listen to. Her music has encouraged me to be confident in who I am, continue working toward all of my goals, and appreciate the journey along the way. I plan to carry those lessons with me as I pursue my own education and career. Her example reminds me that believing in yourself is the first step toward achieving something great.

My academic goal is to become a paramedic. However, my ultimate goal in life is to become successful as a whole. Successful at what I do for a career, successful as a daughter, a sister, a wife and mother someday, and an important and helpful part of my community. I want to become a paramedic so that I can help people in moments where they need it the most. I am a very kind and empathetic person. I also enjoy the medical field, and the “gory” stuff that a lot of people cannot handle, so I am perfect for the job. I have been working towards this career since I entered high school. I took a lot of time, even outside of my general education, to study and introduce myself to the content included in the college’s curriculum even before being enrolled. I knew from the start that paying for school would be a challenge. Paying for ANYTHING these days is a challenge. I began working when I was in high school. I had a few different jobs. I was balancing school work, my jobs, and doing ride alongs with my local fire department all while enduring other stuff teenagers endure. I also got diagnosed with POTS, also known as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome around this time. This took a major toll on me, and made everything so much harder. Even so, I have continued to push through. My biggest obstacles at the moment are feeling sick most days, as well as money. Gas, groceries, house payment, phone bill, car insurance and unexpected costs are very difficult to manage. On average, monthly, my costs total are around 5K. I am currently enrolled in college and working two jobs. Neither job pays enough to live. I am working as a phlebotomist in a hospital laboratory, as well as working as an EMT at a nearby fire department. Balancing time to work two jobs, do online schooling, in-person schooling, and everything else I have to health-wise is hard, and very pricey. My ultimate plan to achieve my goal is to continue working as much as I can despite my ongoing health issues, pick up extra shifts, work overtime, and study as hard as I can in order to maintain my good grades. I’ll have to manage my time wisely and stay on top of all of my assignments from not only my main program instructor, but my other general education instructors. I have faith that doing all of this will help me achieve my goals, and be able to help others on the long run.

My name is Kaci Kennedy. I am a 20 year old upcoming college senior from Aroostook County Northern Maine. I am attending my local community college to become a paramedic. I have always known I wanted to do something in the medical field. While I wasn’t quite sure what exactly, maybe a doctor, nurse, phlebotomist, dialysis technician? I had some ideas. But one day in 2021, I figured it out. On the day in question, June 18th of 2021, my dad was supposed to be coming home from work. We ended up getting a phone call that my father was on the way to the hospital. My mother left me, a 15 year old girl, my 12 year old sister, and 2 year old sister with my aunt, while she rushed to the hospital to see him. After a while, my mother came home from the hospital and told us that my father had passed away. He suffered from a widowmaker heart attack, his first and only cardiac event. Of course, we were all in shock. There were no symptoms whatsoever. No warnings. nothing could have ever prepared us for this tragedy. I was angry. I was angry that my Dad couldn’t be saved. After a long time of being in denial, and even more time just thinking, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the medic’s fault. Not at all. I realized that all the EMS crew can do is try their hardest, and that is exactly what they did. I still get very upset, don't get me wrong. It will never get any easier, but at least I know they tried their hardest to help save my father. Years later, I am now 20 years old, and working for a local fire and ambulance service. My patients begin to feel comforted when I assure them that they are in good hands and that I will perform the care they need to the best of my ability. My father was a very good man. He was a hard worker, loyal, funny, and the best Dad ever. I miss him so much every single day. I know he would be very proud of me for doing what I am doing. I now work with the paramedic that worked on my dad. He is a very good role model and someone I look up to at work. It’s no secret that a career in EMS is rough. Being a female in a very much male-dominated field makes it that much harder. I hope that by succeeding in my career path, and becoming the best provider I can, that I inspire other young girls to follow their heart, and believe that they can do anything they set their mind to. We see things every day that many others can’t handle, and sometimes, even we might not handle it well. But at the end of the day, somebody has to do the job, and I am more than happy to give it my all serve my community. Paramedics save lives. We are trained to help you on your worst days. We are always ready when those tones drop. I want to help people at their worst, so they have the opportunity to become their best selves the next day.

If I received the Fire and EMS Academy scholarship, it would immensely help me obtain my associates degree in EMS, as well as obtain my paramedic license, at both the state and national level. I have moved out into my own apartment, bought my own car, began working two part time jobs, juggled studying all while attending up to 6 classes per week at my college. Being in school, having opportunities to work and make money are scarce. I have been scraping by paying rent, my electricity bill, car insurance, phone bill, and gas. Managing my time and money while being stressed to the max 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is difficult, and most days it feels almost impossible. Receiving this scholarship would help lighten up my load, even if it's only a fraction of what I'd need to succeed. My goal has stayed the same since I made up my mind of my career path way back in middle school: Get my paramedic license and become the best provider I can be. I have added on a few "side-quest" goals since then. I am now about to enroll in a Fire Fighter I and II class to get my certifications in Fire Fighting, so as to be more marketable in this field, and I have also recently gained interest in obtaining my "green pin", a part time police officer in the state of Maine. All three of these goals are ways to help my community, one person and one task at a time. My community is small, made up of about 8,000 people, and while that may seem like a lot of people, I personally believe that if the Public Service branches stick together and keep our chins up, we can help everyone. I have always been the person to drop everything on my plate if it means helping someone to not spill the contents of their own. I love helping people, and seeing them smile. Granted, if someone in my community sees me while I am in uniform, they are probably enduring one of the worst days of their life. But, I believe that if I have a smile on my face and my arms open, I can make a difference I one of the most critical moments in that persons' life. I want to remind everyone that they are NOT alone, and that I understand completely. I want to help be the calm in someone' storm. I want to be someone to look up to. It is no secret that EMS, Fire, and Law Enforcement are male-dominated fields. I hope that by becoming successful in my career path, that I can inspire other young girls to follow their hearts. I want everyone to feel as though they can do absolutely ANYTHING they set their mind to... because they can. It is not easy, being a student, employee, friend, girlfriend, and daughter all at once. It is not easy to juggle two jobs, school, and finding time to study. And worrying about paying for school and everyday expenses rising by the day? Almost impossible. Even so, I choose to remain optimistic. Receiving this scholarship would benefit me in so many ways, but the main reason is to help ease my financial worries. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I sincerely thank you for your consideration.

I have known I wanted to work in the medical field since I was just a mere child. It wasn't until late middle school that I decided just what exactly I wanted to do. After my father passed away unexpectedly at the end of my freshman year, I was even more definitive about my career path. My father and I were very close. He was always super healthy and never stopped working. My mother, sisters and I meant the world to him. One day, at the end of my freshman year, my mother got a phone call that changed our lives forever. My father's boss called to tell my mother that my dad was being brought to the hospital by ambulance. That is all of the information he knew, and my mother was hysterical. She left to meet him at the hospital, along with his brother and left me and two younger sisters at home with my aunt. I asked my aunt if my dad would be okay, and I remember she told me, "Your dad is a strong man, of course he'll be okay". That made me feel a little bit better, but I was still anxious. After what seemed like eternity, my mother arrived home, and my uncle stayed outside. My mothers' face appeared as though she had just seen a ghost. I asked her where Dad was, and she looked at my sisters and I through a window of tears and struggled to utter, "He passed away". I was in shock immediately. My aunt told me he would be okay! How could this happen? One of my sisters, who was 12 at the time, was speechless as well. Our other sister was only 2 and had absolutely no idea anything was wrong. I felt so bad for her. I couldn't help but think about the possibility that she could think our dad just left home and never came back. That upset me a lot, because our father was the best, and he would have given anything to return back home. It turned out that my father had a heart attack. They called it a widow-maker. For quite some time following that day, everything was a blur. I don't remember much of the days shortly following the loss of my father; however, I remember that day, June 18th, very vividly. Returning to what made me officially decide on my career path: the loss of my father. I told myself when I was of sound mind again that if I could help save lives and possibly prevent other kids and family members from going what I had to go through, I would do just that. I have always loved to help people and have gone out of my way countless times before to do that. My career choice I decided upon is becoming a paramedic. I completed some college general education classes during my senior year of high school to lighten up my first year of colleges' course load. I completed my basic EMT course at the end of my senior year, as well. I am no going into the advanced EMT program this coming fall semester. I have done ride-along emergency calls with my local fire department to get my foot in the door, and I absolutely love it. I have even performed some skills! Due to my mother being disabled and the fact that I am still in school, as well as my sisters, I do have financial need. This scholarship could help me tremendously. I thank you for your time.

My name is Kaci Kennedy. I am a 17 year old high school senior from Maine. I am attending my local community college to become a paramedic. I have always known I wanted to do something in the medical field. I wasn’t quite sure what exactly, but in 2021, I figured it out. One day, my dad was supposed to be coming home from work. We ended up getting a phone call that my father was on the way to the hospital. After a while, my mother came home from the hospital and told us that my father had passed away. He suffered from a widowmaker heart attack, his first ever. Of course, we were all in shock. There were no symptoms whatsoever. I was angry. I was angry that my Dad couldn’t be saved. After a long time of thinking, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the medic’s fault. Not at all. I realized that all the EMS crew can do is try their hardest, and that is exactly what they did. I still get very upset, don't get me wrong. It will never get any easier, but at least I know they tried their hardest to help save my father. I have been doing ride alongs with my local fire department, going on calls, and even performing some skills when needed. The patients begin to feel comforted when we assure them that they are in good hands and that we will perform the care they need professionally. My father was a very good man. He was a hard worker, loyal, funny, and the best Dad ever. I miss him on the daily! I know he would be very proud of me for doing what I am doing. It’s no secret that a career in EMS is rough. We see things that many others can’t handle, and sometimes even we might not handle it well. But alas, somebody has to do the job, and I am more than happy to serve my community. Paramedics save lives. We are trained to help you at your worst. We are always ready and at your call when an emergency arises. If I can at least try my hardest to help prevent families from going through what I did, I am all for it. I want to help people at their worst, so they have the opportunity to become their best selves once again.

My name is Kaci Kennedy. I am a senior in high school, getting ready to graduate in early June. I’ve had an interest in healthcare for as long as I can remember, but up until a little over a year ago I wasn’t absolutely sure what it was that I wanted to do. In June of 2021, the last day of my freshman year, my father passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. That is easily the most heartbreaking and hardest thing that has happened to me. I was broken, and lost. I didn’t know what to do, or how I would ever move on. After a while, I finally had the courage to do some research on the heart. I learned that there are several different conditions relating to the heart. I did some research on some specific ones, and even did a slideshow for it in a class at school. I ended up finding myself watching medical videos on YouTube. Most of the time, videos about emergency services were the ones I clicked on. I thought it was so cool. You have to be a quick thinker and problem solver. You also need to be able to handle graphic scenes. Not everyone is suited for that job, but I thought it was very interesting. Eventually my junior came along. During the middle of the year, I decided that I wanted to sit in on a couple of EMS classes at my local community college. In my first sit in class, the instructors had me do CPR on a mannequin. I had been CPR certified twice before, so I knew what I was doing. They had the mannequin hooked up to a device that showed how fast and how deep I was pressing, and I was spot on! They were impressed. During this class, students who were currently taking the class arrived, and shortly after began a mock emergency call. I was amazed at how fast and thoroughly the students worked. I recognized some terms and lingo they were using. I heard some I didn’t quite know what they meant, so I was sure to ask. It was a lot of fun. As hard as losing my father was, and as much as I miss him, I really do think that the tragedy of losing my father helped me realize what I wanted to do in life. I would love to help people, and if me helping someone saves their life and helps someone else from going through what I did, then I am all for it!

Since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to do something in the medical field. I wasn’t quite sure what, until towards the end of my freshman year in high school. I’ve had a few events with my family members that have led me to my decision. As much as I wish those events never happened, such as the loss of my father, those very events made my career choice much easier. Now, what is my career choice? It’s something you typically hear about as a “man’s job”, or you barely ever see women in this occupation. I have decided to become a paramedic. Countless people have told me how hard the job will be, both mentally and physically. I am aware that I may see some things I will never unsee, but I would much rather that than someone potentially losing their life. Since the pandemic began in 2020, we have lost several workers in the medical field. Medical field workers are so important, because they are the ones that keep us all healthy and bring us back (or at least try their hardest) to bring us back to a better state of health. There is a severe shortage of EMS workers. I have heard that sentence numerous times. It is very much true. It takes a lot of strength, again, both mentally and physically for the job. Some people simply cannot handle the graphic events they would come upon. It is important that we have people who can. Anyone in the medical field is important, but EMS workers especially so. EMS workers are the ones who keep you as content as possible in the pre-hospital setting. Once you get there, the nurses take charge of the situation, and you go from there. If it weren’t for EMS workers, some people might not make it to the hospital. EMS is a form of science and math. You look at the body all day, while on the job. You have to figure out how much of a specific medication to give while using mathematic formulas. You have to estimate height and weight sometimes, and you may have to be able to convert certain forms of measurement into a different form. You have to know basic anatomy and physiology, as well. You want to help the person correctly, after all. I want to become a paramedic so I can help people. I want to help be the reason that someone makes it after a tragic accident. I would never wish someone losing a family member on anyone, and if I can help prevent that, I am all for it.