"For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you."(Isiah 41:13) I have always loved helped serving my community, I often serve at my church's care center where we provide food, clothing, and most importantly we share the gospel with everyone. I go around and ask people how I can pray for them and it breaks my heart seeing people struggling.I often see people will all different walks of life and it's amazing helping someone while sharing the Lord with someone who may not know who He is. Everyone needs to know who Jesus is and the smallest things can lead to big impacts. I have got to know Jesus when I was eight years old but I never started growing my faith until I was fourteen. After going to church camp and getting plugged into youth at my church, I started wanting to grow and know who He is. My parents don't come to church often and I often go with grandpa (on my dad's side), he has been there every step of my faith. When I was fifteen, it felt as if my life was starting to fall apart. My grandpa (on my mom's side) was sick and it had gotten to the point that we didn't know how much longer he had. During this time, I made the decision to go Salt Lake City, Utah for the first time. I was going to go help serve at a kids camp and help service projects. This was my first mission trip I went to by plane and I was anxious. The day before leaving my grandpa passed away, and all I could of was "Why God? Why now?" I was mad at God and it felt as if the devil was trying to keep me from going. I decided to still go to Utah and that trip was bittersweet. On one hand I was going on mission but also wanted to be home with my family. But that trip changed me, I ended up having a blast and this summer will be my third year going. After my trip, I was depressed and anxious to the point I turned away from God and I started vaping. I felt as if it was helping me but it was only making it worse. I ended up vaping for 1.5 years and it was something I was hiding from my parents. I wanted to stop but I didn't know' how. This year, I gave my addiction and all the weight to Him and I felt peace. There is a verse I think about often, it's Isiah 41:13. It helps remind me that I have the Lord by my side and He is the only thing I need. After I gave up vaping I made a promise to not only myself but also my grandpa who passed away due to cancer caused by smoking. I am going to never do it again and get a tattoo in his honor. Through my trials and tribulations I have seen God in everything. I am striving to be more like Jesus every single day. I have a heart for the LDS church and I will keep going to Utah for as long as I can. I couldn't be anymore grateful to be a child of God and He is the most amazing thing I have.

"Be the best version of yourself, and the mistake you made is just one small piece of the huge puzzle." This was told to me by my counselor, Mrs. Miller. During my freshman year of high school, I noticed that I was on our school's Instagram "tea page". This page was where a student ran this account, and you would send in "tea" about another student, and it would be posted anonymously. One day after I viewed this page, I was posted about the next day. Most of what they said about me was false, but there were some things that were true. Nobody knew about me, and now it felt like everybody knew. People were starting to stare at me and whisper behind my back, and even to my face. A week later, I was called to Mrs. Miller's office, where she was discussing with me the dangers of social media. I told her everything that was true and what was not true, and I felt a huge relief was taking off my shoulders. She told me about how this is just a small piece of the big picture. She also talked to me about how I don't need to let this wear me down. At the time it seemed as if it was a big deal but now after three years I came to realize that she was right. I used to only go to her when my actual school counselor wasn't there, but she was almost like a mom to me. After venting and letting out all of my problems, she made me feel a lot better. Mrs. Miller is also a very close friend of my mom; her son played travel baseball with my brother. When I see her, I call her "Mama Leigh" because she is like a second mom to me. Another reason why Mrs. Miller has had a huge impact on me was helping me pick the smart way to save money for college. Now that I am a graduating senior, I talked for hours about community college, and after completing that, I should transfer to a university. She told me that it would be smart since it would save me a ton of money. After researching, I chose to attend community college, and every week I call her and ask her what she would do about my financial aid. She hasn't just helped me emotionally, but she has also helped prepare me for the future. A few years ago, Mrs. Miller moved with her family to Indiana for her husband's coaching job. Every day I miss her because I feel as if I lost a loved one. For me, it wasn't just a school relationship with her; it was a personal friendship that had developed over the span of many years. She had helped me get through a lot. She has seen me at my best and at my worst. I will always remember that life is a big puzzle and a small mistake is only a tiny piece. I know that in Indiana, she is being another kid's school mama and is looking out for them the same way she looked out for me. I am looking forward to seeing her and her family again in a couple of weekends. It may seem weird that I am friends with my school counselor, but our families are extremely close, and we are family at this point.

Alzheimer's disease has had a huge impact on my family and me. My grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when I was a sophomore. My grandpa was someone I looked up to because he was a firefighter for the City of Cookeville. He was a great person who loved his work and family. He was a godly man, and he always wanted his family to believe in Jesus. My grandpa was also a heavy smoker, and that was a huge factor in his life, but he has always taught me that family is the most important thing, and no worldly thing can change that. When he was diagnosed, I was scared, and I was mad at God because I didn't know how or why he deserved this. He had gotten sick to the point he couldn't remember my birthday or even his kids' names. He would also be confused all the time; he didn't know where he was, and he would frequently argue with people and be angry. I would visit him frequently, and we would talk for hours. It was hard seeing him in that state because the man I saw wasn’t my grandpa; it was a different person. I didn't know how sick he was until I was about to leave for my mission trip to Utah, when I found out he also had cancer. My uncle came over, and he and my mom were talking about planning his funeral, and I was just praying that God would keep him here with me for one more week. It was scary not knowing how much longer he had, and I was pleading that he wasn’t going to take him. He passed away the day before I left for Utah. Even though I just lost my best friend, I ended up going to Utah, and it changed my life. I didn’t want to go to Utah because I wanted to stay with my family, but God still wanted me out in Utah. The entire time I was out there, I felt as if he were there with me. Up until he passed away, no matter what he forgot, he never forgot to tell me these words, "Pa Vickers will always love you." I carry those words with me all the time, and I will never forget them. Throughout this past year, I have learned to trust in Christ. No matter what I am going through, I have my Heavenly Father watching over me day in and day out. Every day, I will put my trust and faith in Jesus, no matter what life throws my way.

My name is Kadi Brewer, I am a senior at Cookeville High School and I want to be a k-5th grade teacher.I have always loved working with children and it's the main reason why I want to go into teaching. I want to make a difference and inspire others by being a mentor to students and help students realize the potential that they have. Another reason why I want to go into teaching is because you never truly know what a child is going through at home and you being in their life could mean a lot to them. I don't just want to make a positive impact on my future students but I also want to be a positive person in their lives. The reason why I want to be a positive impact for my future students is because I had many people like that in my life. My kindergarten teacher Mrs. Laura, she would always make us smile and laugh and would make you feel important. I remember there was one time that another student had made me really mad and I didn't know how to control my anger. Mrs. Laura came over to me and helped me explain what I was feeling and helped me relieve that anger. After that encounter I find myself helping the students I work with deal with anger by having them take a deep breath and in a calm manner explain to me why they are feeling that way. Another person who had a positive impact on me was Mrs. Ross who is still my Early Childhood Teacher. My freshman year there was this instagram page that went around and it talked bad about some of the girls in my grade. I was one of them. One day Mrs. Ross talked to me she told me that she heard what was said about me and she was asking if I was okay. I told her about how I felt about the situation and how I felt as if my reputation was ruined. She didn't judge me or tell me that I was a bad person but instead she told me that she was praying for me. She also told me that none of what was said about me was true. During my freshman year, I may have lost some friends but I knew I had that one person who was by my side. She has taught me that you matter to somebody and that someone will be by your side and go to bat for you. These people in my life has help shape me to be the person that I am now and I couldn't be more grateful for them.

A little bit about me, my name is Kadi Brewer, and I'm a senior at Cookeville High School. After graduating I plan on going to Volunteer State Community College before transferring to Tennessee Tech. I want to major in Early Childhood Education k-5th. I have always loved with children ever since I was little. I have a lot of field experience and I get to do what I love by working at a childcare facility while being a high school student. Next, when it comes to serving my community I do a few things.I currently serve my community by going to different fundraisers in my community and I help by serving food to guests. Going to different fundraisers allows me to hear what each organization is about and what they do to serve the community. I also help at my church's care center which helps provide food and clothes for people who need it. As a christian, I love serving my community and in the midst of it all God has put me in these certain places for a purpose. The last thing I like to do to help my community is by working at Life Church as a practicum where I work with children every day. It's one of the greatest joys in my life. In Conclusion, If I was awarded this scholarship I would use to help me further my education to become a teacher. It will help me by not having to worry about paying out-of-pocket for books or fees. Being a teacher will allow me to be that person I wished I had when I was younger. Being a teacher will allow me to do what I have always loved and I will get paid for doing it.