I am pursuing my Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a concentration in Performance and choreography to perfect my craft and fuel my passion for dance. I have always thrived in a classroom environment being pushed to my fullest potential and at Dean College that possibility is my reality. I am forever grateful for the chance to pursue a higher education doing what I love. Throughout my past two years at Dean, I have looked forward to every class because I love what I do and learning about it. With my degree I plan on auditioning everywhere I can and I would be grateful for any opportunity to perform as long as I am dancing. My ultimate end goal is Broadway; I have always had a love for Theatrical dance and have been in love with the art form since I was little. This all would not have been possible without my dad, Kris Hayward, who died of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) January 9th, 2025. My Dad was one of my biggest supporters and always pushed me to follow my dreams, he is the reason I am across the country following my dreams. He supported me in my dance career, helping me switch studios, giving advice and being the most supportive person. He is my biggest inspiration and he always will be. He persevered so much throughout his journey with ALS till he passed. My dad drove a golf cart with his knees five miles back and forth to coach wrestling, typed long paragraphs of advice with his toes when he couldn't speak or use his hands. He never was negative about one aspect of his diagnosis; he always had a smile on his face and joke to tell me. That is why I admire him so much and he will always be my biggest inspiration. ALS has impacted my educational journey by my dad not being able to attend all my performances as much as he would like or be present as often as he would like. With ALS it has been hard throughout my educational journey by my dad never getting to see me perform at college or being able to see me graduate college and pursue my dream career. My dad will not be able to see me perform on Broadway achieving my dream. This scholarship will take a humongous weight off my mom's shoulders for having to pay two college tuitions. It will help her be able to take care of both my brother and I pursue our dream careers. Without my dad I would not be who I am today. He has believed in me and pushed me to follow my dreams. He was the one person that really pushed me to go to school as far as I did, anything to help me get closer to my dreams. I remember sitting down with him multiple times having conversations about dance, what I wanted to do, how far I was willing to go, college, and etc. When choosing a school, I auditioned at multiple schools in the southeast, after auditioning at each school I wasn’t satisfied. He pushed me to go to Dean, which is definitely not in the southeast. He said to promise him one thing he said and I quote “If you go far, you cannot come back if something happens to me, you can come and visit but you cannot quit and come home” and I promised him that so I am going to go and finish what I started for him.