During Covid, my parents encouraged me to pay attention to who was working when everyone else was either laid off or sent home. My dad is a nurse and he was considered "essential" while my mom is a teacher who was sent home during this time and working remotely. While there are many important jobs in the world and many different fields, I noticed at a young age that the people in the trades were some of our country's most "essential" people. Our air conditioner did not take a holiday during this break and neither did leaky pipes. Thankfully, most of the companies in our area were still operating during this time. I also see a lot of AI in today's society, but nothing replaces the plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians. AI has it's flaws and nothing beats a human assessing and looking at a problem. AI cannot climb into a crawl space or trouble shoot problems like a human being. In a world where people are being replaced to do many jobs, there will always be a need for hands on people in the trades. I hope to work toward attaining certifications in electrical, plumbing, and HVAC so that I can build my dream. I plan to build a business in which I can have electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians all under one roof. I would be blessed if chosen for this scholarship because it would help me in the attainment of the skills I will need for this goal. Whether I am blessed to be able to gain the skills in one, two or all three of these fields, I plan to build something that will not only benefit the future family I hope to have, but also to better my community. I plan to not accumulate too much debt along the way and this scholarship would help greatly. I am currently the operator of my own neighborhood lawn care business in which I have around a dozen lawns to mow and maintain. In the winter I build fences and do pressure washing as well. I work hard for the things I want and am determined to succeed. I recently paid off my first zero turn lawn mower and it was a big day for me because I know that I put in the work and it was earned, not given. My parents have always said "nothing is free, it costs someone, somewhere, something". I carry this with me because even though I am only 17 years old, I know it's true. Even salvation is not free, it cost Jesus on my behalf. While in college I plan on continuing to mow lawns and expanding my small business with a trailer so that I can gain more yards to tend. Continuing this will allow me to have flexibility for college while still gaining income. I appreciate your consideration for this scholarship opportunity and hope to hear from you in the near future.

In modern society there is a great need for the trades. Take the COVID-19 shut down as a recent example. My parents encouraged me to pay attention to who was working during the times that everyone else was either laid off or sent home. My dad is a nurse and he was considered "essential" while my mom is a teacher who was sent home during this time and working remotely. While there are many important jobs in the world and many different fields, I noticed at a young age that the people in the trades were some of our country's most "essential" people. Our air conditioner did not take a holiday during this break and neither did leaky pipes. Thankfully, most of the companies in our area were still operating during this time. I also see a lot of AI in today's society, but nothing replaces the plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians. AI has it's flaws and nothing beats a human assessing and looking at a problem. AI cannot climb into a crawl space or trouble shoot problems like a human being. In a world where people are being replaced to do many jobs, there will always be a need for hands on people in the trades. I hope to work toward attaining certifications in electrical, plumbing, and HVAC so that I can build my dream. I hope to build a business in which I can have electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians all under one roof. I would be blessed if chosen for this scholarship because it would help me in the attainment of the skills I will need for this goal. Whether I am blessed to be able to gain the skills in one, two or all three of these fields, I plan to build something that will not only benefit the future family I hope to have, but also to better my community. I am currently the operator of my own neighborhood lawn care business in which I have around a dozen lawns to mow and maintain. I work hard for the things I want and am determined to succeed. I recently paid off my first zero turn lawn mower and it was a big day for me because I know that I put in the work and it was earned, not given. My parents have always said "nothing is free, it costs someone, somewhere, something". I carry this with me because even though I am only 17 years old, I know it's true. Even salvation is not free, it cost Jesus on my behalf. I am active in school and do a lot of volunteering with sports broadcasting. I am also on the school competitive FFA Shotgun Team and I love being with my family and church family. I am an officer in my local 4H club and show numerous projects each year while also working hard in school to keep my grades up. While in college I plan on continuing to mow lawns and expanding my small business with a trailer so that I can gain more yards to tend. Continuing this will allow me to have flexibility for college while still gaining income. I appreciate your consideration for this scholarship and thank you for taking the time to read my essay.

It is my hope to make a positive impact on the world by continuing my love for volunteering and by receiving my education in trade school. It is my hope to attend a trade school that would allow me to pursue my love for construction management, electricity, plumbing and HVAC. I would love to someday be in a position of excess so that I can bless others. I am a 17 year old high school junior and I am involved in many activities including 4H, FFA, the school golf club, church youth group, choir, school sports broadcasting, yearbook and camping. Although I have a lot of activities to attend, I always strive to put God and my family first. In the business that I hope to build in the future, I want to provide people of all walks of life the opportunity to build their dreams and to be able to repair those things that many companies overcharge for. I have a heart especially for the elderly people in my community and want to do more for this specific population. I currently have a small lawn care business in my neighborhood at 17 years old and I donate or significantly reduce my prices for the elderly. Some of the elderly people in my community do not want "charity" so it is sometimes difficult to get them to accept help for free, that is where I significantly reduce my bid. I feel as though they have worked their whole lives and I see that a lot of them struggle to keep up with rising costs in medication, bills, and general living expenses. I also volunteer at my church and school am always striving to make them better. I am a sports broadcasting student for my school and volunteer many of my weekends to assist in live streaming events and I do the same for my church as well. At these events I assist with many things including livestream, digital scoreboard set up and keeping it all updated so that the people at home can receive accurate information on demand. Another place I love to volunteer is at my local county show barn. I enjoy helping with the annual Exceptional Kids Show. This is an event that happens every spring. It allows teen volunteers like myself to assist special needs children have the county livestock show experience. During this event the smiles and excitement that these kids have are the best, most rewarding thing I have ever been a part of. The child that I have been paired with for the last 5 years has autism and he has sensory issues. I have been able to see him grow from a little kid who was afraid to touch a real rabbit to one who is now handling them like a pro. His very first year he showed a stuffed rabbit because of his sensory issues. This is huge for his family and they have requested me every year because he is comfortable with me. I have shown dozens of projects over the years and this is by far my favorite activity of the year. Academically, I do not always have top grades, but I work hard. I was diagnosed with dyslexia and auditory processing disorder when I was in third grade. This makes it hard to do school work at times involving spelling, reading and writing on paper. After a few years of intervention I have improved my skills and implement the tools that are designed for people like me. I hope you will consider me when considering applicants.

There is something so calming about golf. It reminds me a lot of fishing in a way. To me, the best part about golf is that it can be enjoyed in a group or as a solitary activity. I am a 17 year old high school junior and this is my sport of choice. I love the ability to be outdoors while playing such an awesome sport. Most of the people in the golf community are awesome people and I have met some of the nicest. I have loved going to the golf course with my dad even before I learned to walk. I even had one of those Fisher Price golf sets. I remember feeling "just like dad". I asked my parents for a "real" golf set for Christmas and at the time it was hard to locate a left handed set. I went to every store with my parents and I may have touched everything in the stores. I was disappointed when we could not find one locally. I remember Christmas morning, there was a beautiful left handed youth golf set sitting in the living room with a big bow on it and it was awesome! Since then, my dad and I have enjoyed this sport together a lot because he is not in the best physical shape these days, but he can still play and teach me. I love that we can share this. Life is about family and connections and this is a great "connector". We even bring mom along, she struggles a bit with her swing, but even she enjoys it! I have been a member of my high school golf club for 3 years now and I absolutely love it. I enjoy the connections and relationships built on the golf course with my peers and the others from surrounding districts. Even when golfing by myself, it is never lonely because there is always someone new to meet. Being a young golfer, lots of those interactions end up teaching me something new. I have learned that if I stay "teachable" people are very helpful. I am the type of person that is not afraid to ask for pointers or meet new people and I think that is a skill that I learned on the golf course. Getting out there and networking is so helpful. This wonderful sport has taught me patience and resilience because as most golfers know, not every day is perfect, but on the good days, IT IS SOOOO GOOD! I am so blessed to be able to enjoy this sport by myself and with family and friends. Some of my best memories with my cousin are on the local golf course. There is always friendly competition and the sport really brings people together. I truly enjoy it and I look forward to this being a lifelong sport for me. I love that it spans such a wide range of ages and physical abilities and I hope to share my enjoyment with my own kids and wife someday.