Faith and my relationship with Christ are the most important aspects of my life. My faith has shaped who I am as a person, student, and athlete, and it continues to guide every decision I make about my future. I believe that God has a purpose for my life, and trusting Him has given me the strength to overcome challenges and pursue opportunities that once seemed impossible. My faith was tested the most during my junior year of high school when I suffered an ACL injury. As an athlete, that injury was devastating physically, mentally, and emotionally. This injury broke me, I was angry at God and strayed from his arms. I was discouraged and uncertain about my future in basketball and about my overall goals. During that difficult time, with the help of my family and mentors, I realized that God has a purpose for my plan and I needed to rely completely on God and trust His plan for my life. Through prayer, patience, and perseverance, my faith grew stronger. I learned that setbacks do not define me and that God can use challenges to strengthen my character and prepare me for His work. More recently, I had to take another step in faith when my family moved from Louisville to Warner Robins just a few months ago. Moving to a new place as I entered the fourth quarter of my senior year brought many changes and uncertainties, but it also reminded me to trust God’s direction for my life. Adjusting to a new environment while continuing to pursue my academic and athletic goals has not been easy, but my faith has kept me grounded and motivated through the transition. That same faith ultimately led me to Toccoa Falls College, where I will study interpersonal communications and compete on the women’s basketball team. I believe God opened this door for me for a reason. Toccoa Falls allows me to continue growing spiritually while also pursuing my academic and athletic goals in a Christ-centered environment. Studying interpersonal communications will help me build meaningful connections with others and prepare me for a future where I can positively impact people through communication, leadership, and service. As I prepare for college, I am continuing to trust God to provide financially as I work hard to help pay my school bills. Having faith does not mean life is always easy, but it gives me confidence that God will make a way even when situations feel overwhelming and impossible. In addition to my faith, my family, coaches, teammates, and mentors have pushed me to pursue higher education. They have encouraged me to keep working hard even during difficult moments and reminded me of my potential when I doubted myself. My parents have specifically inspired me through their hard work and dedication to provide for my three sisters and me. My father grew up in a very low-income family, and despite all of the setbacks in his life, earned a master’s degree in theology and is a full-time head pastor of a growing and thriving church. My mom has a bachelor’s degree in education and runs a growing small business from home. Through it all they have had many ups and downs, but they have trusted in God, following where he leads, walking through doors he opens, and trusting in his plan for their lives. Their support, combined with my faith in Christ, has motivated me to continue striving for excellence both in the classroom and on the court. Higher education is important to me because it gives me the opportunity to grow academically, spiritually, and personally while preparing for the future God has planned for me. God calls us to grow and learn all throughout our lives, to further His kingdom. I want to use my education, experiences, and faith to inspire others and make a positive difference in the lives of those around me. Feel free to reach out and look through any and all of my social media platforms. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship! Instagram: @lily.brothers TikTok: @lilyyy0297 Facebook: Lily Brothers

Faith and service have always been at the center of my life. I believe God calls all of us to serve others with compassion, humility, and love, and that belief is what motivates me to make a positive impact in my community and wherever life takes me after college. Whether through missions, mentoring, volunteering, or coaching, I want my life to reflect Christ by helping and encouraging others. Serving others has already become an important part of who I am. In middle school, I went on a missions trip to Panama where I participated in a homeless outreach in downtown areas, volunteered at an orphanage, served at an at-risk school, helped lead a school chapel, and took part in many other opportunities to serve the local community. That experience opened my eyes to the importance of compassion and meeting people where they are. I have also been involved in mission work within the United States including serving at food banks, disaster relief centers, women’s pregnancy centers, local non-profits, local churches in need of help, and much more, which has continued to strengthen my passion for serving others and sharing God’s love through action. Two months ago, my family and I packed up our lives, took a step of faith, and moved from Louisville, Kentucky to Warner Robbins, Georgia. I am finding ways to become more involved in my new community, and currently volunteer every Wednesday at a community lunch that provides free meals to families in need. Serving there has reminded me how meaningful even small acts of kindness can be. This lunch has shown me that people aren’t just looking for food and comfort, although both are important, they are looking for real connection and kindness. Sometimes a smile and a loving conversation can have a much stronger impact than providing food alone. Serving at the lunch has also helped grow my personal relationship with Christ, as I have grown to be more grateful and positive. This opportunity has helped me understand why God is so intent on his people serving those in need, and it has sparked a stronger passion for service in my life. In college, I plan to continue serving by joining the missions and service team so I can remain involved in outreach opportunities and continue growing as both a leader and servant. In addition to service opportunities, I hope to use basketball as a way to positively impact others after college. In the fall I will attend Toccoa Falls College in North Georgia, where I will study interpersonal communications and compete on the women’s basketball team. There, I hope to gain the skills and experiences needed to become a women’s basketball coach. My goal is not only to help young women become better athletes, but also to help guide them into becoming confident, strong, and compassionate women of God. I want to create an environment where athletes feel encouraged, supported, and reminded of their purpose both on and off the court. Studying interpersonal communications will help me better connect with and lead others from different backgrounds and experiences. I want to learn how to effectively encourage, mentor, and communicate with the people I serve so I can make a lasting impact in my community. As I continue through college, I pray God opens more opportunities for me to serve others and be a positive influence in their lives. Whether through missions, coaching, mentoring, or volunteering, I want to use my passions, education, and faith to reflect God’s love and make my community, and the world around me, a better place.

Growing up, my personal experience with finances has been shaped largely by my family’s lifestyle and our faith. My father grew up in a very low-income family that relied on God to provide every meal. They had no financial stability. Now, my dad is a pastor, a role that is deeply meaningful but often comes with financial limitations. Because of this, my family has moved frequently in search of new opportunities and stability. Through it all, we have learned to trust in God’s provision, even during times of uncertainty. Our most recent move, from Kentucky to Georgia just two months ago, had a significant impact on me. It required me to complete my high school education through homeschooling, which pushed me to become more independent and disciplined. During this transition, I saw how significantly financial challenges can affect everyday life. However, I also witnessed how my family relied not only on careful budgeting and wise decisions but ultimately on faith, trusting that God would provide for our needs. These experiences have taught me that while financial knowledge is extremely important, it is not the most important thing. Understanding how to manage money wisely is a valuable skill that can create stability and open doors for the future. However, faith and trust in God’s provision are even more important. Finances can change, but faith provides a constant foundation, guiding decisions and offering peace in uncertain times. Although I have not yet received formal financial education, my life experiences have motivated me to learn more. I plan to develop strong financial literacy skills so I can make responsible decisions, avoid unnecessary debt, and build a stable future. At the same time, I want to continue relying on my faith to guide how I use those skills, remembering that true security does not come from money alone. In the future, I hope to use both my financial knowledge and my faith to create opportunities for myself and to support others. I know God is calling me to be generous with what he has already blessed me with and with what he will provide in the future. I want to be someone who manages resources wisely while also trusting God fully, using what I have been given to make a positive impact in my family and community. In the fall, I will attend Toccoa Falls College, pursue a degree in interpersonal communications, and compete on the women's basketball team. I will also have an on-campus job working for my athletic department. I pray that through all of these experiences in college, I grow my understanding of finances and how to be truly financially responsible.

God has called us all to a life of service, whether that is serving our church, our neighbors, our family, serving people around the world, or even serving our country. All of us are called to serve. In my everyday life I strive to serve Christ and others in whatever ways possible. At my church I volunteer every Wednesday afternoon at our lunch ministry. Every Wednesday members from my church cook food, make sandwiches, prepare desserts, and pour drinks for the community and those in need. This ministry has been extremely impactful on my life since I began volunteering. Each Wednesday I get to engage in diverse conversations and meet people from all different stages and circumstances of life, I form get to form relationships with the people in the community and share the love of Jesus through each and every conversation. This act of service that I get to be involved in through my church is very meaningful to me and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to serve and be a positive light to people who are going through hard times. Another life changing service project I had the opportunity to be involved with was going on a missions trip to Panama a few years ago with my church. During the missions trip I served at a local church, helped teach an ESL class, met amazing people, took part in a homeless outreach, helped at a high risk school, worked at an orphanage, and much more. This mission trip is what sparked my love for serving others, and taught me how important it is to be the hands and feet of Christ. It was a blessing teaching people about God and his love for us, and I pray God allows me to continue to share the amazing truth of God's love for us, throughout my life. I will attend Toccoa Falls College in the fall, and compete on the women's basketball team. In college, I plan on joining the missions team, and pray God opens doors for bold service and leadership opportunities. I will study interpersonal communications and work under my basketball coach. Through all I learn from my classes and coach, I pray to be a women's basketball coach, and that God would use my coaching as a ministry to reach women and help develop them to be the women God calls them to be. I want to be the kind of coach who coaches with love and passion. I want to coach something bigger than the game of basketball: how to live for God. I pray that the women I coach someday will see the love of Jesus through what I say, what I do, how I serve them and others around me, and how I respond in difficult circumstances. In all, I know God has called me to serve, and I am willing to answer the call to teach others about him and and show Christ love through service.

Without God, I would be nothing. My dad is a pastor, so naturally, all my life I have been surrounded by the Bible, fellow Christians, and church. I accepted Christ when I was six years old and was baptized shortly after. As I grew older and entered middle school, I began to drift away from Christ. I lived life my way, doing and saying whatever I wanted. No matter how much Christian influence I was surrounded by, I still lived for the world. During the summer of my Freshman year of high school, I attended a church summer camp with my youth group. I went into camp ready to have fun and get into trouble, but left camp a changed person. God spoke to me through the final sermon of camp, and I rededicated my life to Christ. That night, I promised God that no matter what happened in my life, I would remain in him, living for him. God really tested that faith my Junior year, when I suffered a major injury. During one of the first volleyball practices of the season, I landed awkwardly after a spike and tore my ACL and meniscus. This was a heartbreaking injury, because basketball came to a halting stop. All my life I have worked at basketball and I was prepared for my Junior season of basketball to be my breakout year. I was ready to speak with college coaches and get my name out into the basketball world, but I would be out for all of my season that year with a long and hard recovery. For the first few months of my recovery, I was angry. Every day I would ask God why he would allow this. Was it a punishment? Was he mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Eventually, through much prayer and guidance from family, I found the answer to all my questions. This was not a punishment, but instead something God used to get my attention. I had realized that basketball was an idol. It held the number one spot in my life. The gift God had blessed me with took all of my attention and effort. I was living for myself rather than Christ, just like how I had in middle school. I surrendered basketball and gave God the first priority back in my life. After my surrender, things were still not easy, but everything began to look up. God was opening doors, closing doors, and guiding me all the way through. Today, I am fully recovered and by the grace of God am committed to play collegiate basketball at Toccoa Falls College, in North Georgia next Fall. I praise God for allowing this injury in my life, and for using it to teach me that I am nothing without him, and for teaching me how to truly seek and yearn for Christ daily. I pray that God would continue to use basketball in my life, throughout college, and long after I graduate. I plan on studying interpersonal communications in college and will work under my basketball coach. Through all I learn, I pray God allows me to coach girls basketball after I graduate college, and pray he will use this as a ministry to reach women and help them become the women God is calling them to be, through being a light for him and coaching with love. I am prayerfully waiting and encouraged to see how God will move in me and through me to further his kingdom.

I am a “YOU GOT IT GIRL” because I have overcome multiple major obstacles that have tried to come in the way of me pursuing my dreams of playing collegiate women’s basketball. I persevered through the pain and hardship of each obstacle and have grown mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially. I take on challenges and obstacles with confidence and strength, because I know I will only get stronger in the end. I currently compete in basketball, but growing up I played volleyball and softball as well. I have been playing basketball since I was six years old, started playing volleyball in sixth grade, and softball in seventh grade. During my basketball career I have received awards including: KCAA All-Tournament, All-A Regional Team, KCAA Super Regional MVP, Valentine’s Classic All-Tournament, KCAA All-State, NC 1A Honorable Mention, WBCA Player of the Week, and KHSAA All-District Team. I led my team to the KCAA varsity championship game my sophomore season, led my team to the KCAC varsity championship game this season, and have had two forty-point games. I faced a major setback in the fall of my junior year when I tore my ACL and meniscus. This injury caused me to miss volleyball season, basketball season, softball season, and my last season of volleyball. The injury was truly heart breaking, as it paused all recruitment for basketball, all training, and took away countless games. For the first few months of recovery I was mad at God for allowing the injury to happen, and was convinced my basketball career was over. Through prayer and wise counsel from family, I realized that I was all wrong. Basketball was the first priority in my life and I had placed it before God. I let basketball run my life instead of the one who gave me life. Because of this realization, I surrendered basketball, my future, my health, and ultimately my life to Christ. Once I gave God his place back in my life, everything changed. Nothing got easier though. In fact, the recovery process became longer and harder, but now I was not going through it alone. I was overcoming this injury with Christ. Today, I praise God for allowing the injury in my life, because I am now a better leader, a harder worker, and have a new faithful and determined mindset. I admire and look up to Jon Brothers, my dad. My dad has faced many obstacles throughout his life including: death of both parents, major surgeries in his neck and arms, manipulating work environments, and living in major poverty throughout his childhood. My dad has faced each of these obstacles with faith and strength. He is a God-fearing pastor, father of four, husband, and coach. Despite my father’s childhood in poverty he worked to obtain a master’s degree in biblical studies and theology, and was able to play collegiate basketball. He is a very accomplished man, but what inspires me about him most of all is his love for God and his dedication to serving Christ. He has had a hard life, but my dad thanks God for the hardships and trials, and uses them to grow. My dad and all he does will never cease to amaze me, and he will always be my biggest inspiration. This scholarship would help lift a major financial burden off of my shoulders, as I begin college at Toccoa Falls College and compete on the women’s basketball team. This scholarship will allow me to focus more on my academics and my athletics, and will give me the chance to fully engage with the opportunities that Toccoa Falls offers. I plan to pursue a degree in interpersonal communications and work under my basketball coach. I plan on becoming a women’s basketball coach, with my dream being to coach at a high level, but my main goal is to be a loving coach that develops high level athletes, and helps girls become Godly women. Your scholarship puts me another big step closer to pursuing this dream. I would love the opportunity to represent YGIG! I am an incoming Freshman and will be competing in Women's Basketball. I am attending Toccoa Falls College on academic scholarships, but no athletic scholarship as they cannot offer them. Being a student-athlete brings growth and requires balance. It means committing to excellence and hard work, on and off the court, while also holding the responsibility of being a leader and role model. I am beginning to venture into content creation, and I am very passionate about the content I share. I know being a part of YGIG would allow me to continue to share my passions and be a positive role model for women in sports. I am eager to share my story and represent YGIG!

God has always been a part of my life, but he wasn't always my life. I have been raised in a strong Christian household, with my father and grandfathers all being active pastors. I got saved at the age of six because I was afraid of hell. As I got older, my life started to drift away from Christ, and by middle school, my whole life was consumed by sin. I was lost, struggling, and living for myself and myself only. Eventually, through a church camp sermon during the summer of my freshman year, God opened my eyes to the lifestyle I had been living for so long. That night at camp, I recommited my life to Christ. Since then, I still struggle and sin every day, but I am changed. I am convicted when I sin, and I want a relationship with Christ and strive to grow that relationship every day. Though this is still true about my relationship with Christ, today, it hasn't always been this way. At the beginning of my junior year of high school, God allowed a major hardship in my life that changed my life and my mindset. During one of the first practices of my volleyball season, I landed strangely after a spike and tore my ACL and meniscus. With sports, especially basketball, being a huge part of my life, the injury was heartbreaking. I had reconstruction and repair surgery, and began physical therapy and recovery, knowing I would be out for my basketball season that year. The recovery of an ACL is extremely difficult and lengthy. Most athletes who suffer this injury either re-tear their ACL or don't ever return to their sport. Both of these circumstances were huge fears in my life for a very long time. This injury not only impacted me physically, but also spiritually. I was angry at God. I thought God was mad at me and that the injury was a punishment for sin, which caused me to be even angrier. I sat for weeks wallowing in my pain and stayed angry at God. People started to see that I had let the injury and my anger at God overcome me. I had become fearful, constantly mad, resentful, very similar to my years in middle school. With the help of family and friends, I realized that basketball had become an idol in my life. It had taken such a big place in my life that I was so angry at God because of it. The gift that God had given me became my god. Through much prayer, I finally placed God first in my life above all things. I surrendered basketball, my health, and my future. The people around me began to see a change in my life, and so did I. It was comforting and refreshing to be back in the arms of Christ, allowing him to be my Father. Today, I praise him and thank him for the injury and hardship he allowed in my life, because it has strengthened my relationship with Christ, and has led me to the college God is calling me to. In the Fall, I will attend Toccoa Falls College, a Christian college in North Georgia. There, I will be a member of the women's basketball team and pursue a degree in interpersonal communications. On the basketball team, I will grow my leadership skills and strengthen my work ethic. During my studies, I will learn how to professionally communicate with people and how to respond with love during tough situations. Using all I learned on the basketball team and in my interpersonal communications studies, I plan to become a girls'/women's basketball coach. I pray that God uses me through my passion for basketball and my passion for sharing the Gospel to reach girls and women for His kingdom. Coaches have major opportunities to share the Word and be a light for Christ, but unfortunately, those opportunities are rarely taken. Therefore, I want to be a coach who takes those opportunities and who not only builds basketball champions but, more importantly, champions for Christ. This scholarship will help me achieve my goals, because it will help lift a huge financial burden off the shoulders of my family and me. This scholarship will also help me be able to take more opportunities presented to me with less stress and more confidence.