For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to animals. Whether it was taking care of a sick pet, volunteering at shelters, or just being the go-to person for friends who needed help with their pets, I always knew I wanted to turn that passion into something bigger. Veterinary medicine is more than a career to me, it's a calling rooted in compassion, science, and service. My vision extends beyond treating individual patients; I aim to contribute to a more equitable, sustainable, and progressive veterinary landscape. I believe that each interaction with an animal and its owner is an opportunity to educate, comfort, and empower. Beyond clinical work, I am passionate about increasing access to veterinary care for underserved communities. Many animals suffer not due to a lack of love from their owners, but because of financial or geographic barriers to care. I plan to participate in outreach programs, low-cost clinics, and mobile veterinary units that bring essential services to areas that need them most. Long-term, I envision developing a nonprofit initiative focused on preventative care and education in low-income regions. For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to animals. Whether it was taking care of a sick pet, volunteering at shelters, or just being the go-to person for friends who needed help with their pets, I always knew I wanted to turn that passion into something bigger. I’m also really passionate about improving access to veterinary care. There are so many communities where people love their pets deeply but just don’t have the resources to get them the care they need. I want to be part of the solution to that problem—whether it’s through mobile clinics, community outreach, or starting programs that provide affordable services. I think one of the best ways to make a lasting difference is by bringing veterinary care directly to the people and animals who need it most. I have faced plenty of adversity in my life. In 2021 my dad unexpectedly passed away from a massive heart attack and left my mom as a single parent. My mom is an employee of the Avery County school system and I do have a financial need for scholarships such as this one. My mom works very hard to provide for both my sister and I, but I would never want to put the financial burden of attending college on my family. My mom is my biggest supporter and has given me the opportunity to do anything that I have ever wanted even if it was not easy for her. She has never made me and my sister feel guilty about the things we have wanted to do as she has never burdened us with financial responsibility.

My favorite local community event is the derby fundraiser for Spirit Ride NC. It is a huge event and it truly does make a difference. Spirit Ride is a 100% non profit, volunteer run, therapeutic horseback riding company that works with kids with a wide array of disabilities. For the past 2-3 years I have consistently volunteered at spirit ride during the summer, fall sessions, and volunteered at fundraising events. The most important task that I do at Spirit Ride is interacting with the children and providing these kids with an opportunity to create a bond between them and a horse. I have worked very closely with kids who have very different needs such as kids who have extreme autism, cerebral palsy, and angelmans syndrome. I work hand and hand with the horses and the riders' parents to ensure a safe and fun environment. I personally got to work with Jake who was diagnosed with Angel Mans syndrome, but I also got the opportunity to serve kids with all levels of autism, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. At Spirit ride we get to use horses and other animals such as chickens, goats, and cats as a tool to promote the kids behavioral and physical well being. Therapy riding has been proven to provide physical, mental, and behavioral benefits. I have personally witnessed improvement in kids with physical disabilities as I have seen it improve their balance, muscle tone, and coordination. I volunteer once a week with Jake on a normal week but in the summers or during special events I will volunteer more often and work with other kids. I also help around the farm in doing farm chores, training horses, and participating in fundraisers and events throughout the year as this is a non profit organization run 100% through volunteers. A session with one of the kids is about an hour long and the activities within the lesson may vary depending on the rider. Sometimes we trail ride, other times we play games that focus on building muscles and fine motor skills, or sometimes simply just interacting with horses. Therapy riding is one of the most magical things to witness as you can truly see that you are making a difference in someone's life. I have first hand witnessed a horse and a child build a bond so special that every child should be able to have the opportunity to do so.

Why am I not good enough?" This is a question that me and many others ask themselves every day. For me it started when I was kid. I was never good enough for my father, and to this day it is the biggest obstacle I have faced. He was always so manipulative and his abuse and manipulation left me with much trauma. Ever since I was young, I felt as if I could never be good enough for my dad. He was unbearably hard on me in everything I did. At times it felt as if I was not worthy of his love, that I had to prove to him why I was deserving of his attention. In 2021 when I was a freshman in high school my parents filed for divorce. It felt good not feeling like I had to live up to a certain standard. From that point forward I decided that breaking contact with my dad was best for me and my mental health after me and him got into a physical altercation. For months I did not see or talk to my dad and in return he never reached out. Although losing contact was the best solution, it came with other obstacles. It felt as if he did not care about me anymore. I felt like he was happy to get rid of me. From there forward he started his life without me, and never turned back. Just a few months after we broke communication, my dad passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. Although my dad and I had a complicated relationship, I never meant for our break to last forever. His manipulation continued after his death as I felt so guilty. I felt unbearable guilt. I felt guilty that my anger towards him kept me away from him in his final months. It was a long recovery, but I did recover. When the world feels as if it is falling apart, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. I overcame this hardship. I would consider myself to be successful. I am graduating top of my class, I have the opportunity to run at a D1 school, I have won several state titles, I am the president of the Avery FFA, but the most important thing is that now I am living proof that you are more than the adversity that you face. I am worth more than the things I have won. I can be a mentor to others that have been through tough times, and that it is possible to overcome challenges and to come back stronger. Life has torn me down repeatedly, and I could write a book about all the adversity that I have faced, but in the end, I have always come back stronger. I did not let the obstacles stop me. By being a positive influence and by never giving up I have influenced many others to do the same. The biggest lesson that I have learned that I will forever carry with me and teach to others is that no matter what life throws at you, you can overcome it and come back a stronger and better person. While I may never know if he would be proud of me I am proud of who I am and who I will become.

"Why am I not good enough?" This is a question that me and many others ask themselves every day. For me it started when I was kid. I was never good enough for my father, and to this day it is the biggest obstacle I have faced. He was always so manipulative and his abuse and manipulation left me with much trauma. Ever since I was young, I felt as if I could never be good enough for my dad. He was unbearably hard on me in everything I did. At times it felt as if I was not worthy of his love, that I had to prove to him why I was deserving of his attention. In 2021 when I was a freshman in high school my parents filed for divorce. It felt good not feeling like I had to live up to a certain standard. From that point forward I decided that breaking contact with my dad was best for me and my mental health after me and him got into a physical altercation. For months I did not see or talk to my dad and in return he never reached out. Although losing contact was the best solution, it came with other obstacles. It felt as if he did not care about me anymore. I felt like he was happy to get rid of me. From there forward he started his life without me, and never turned back. Just a few months after we broke communication, my dad passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. Although my dad and I had a complicated relationship, I never meant for our break to last forever. His manipulation continued after his death as I felt so guilty. Would I ever get the chance to make my dad proud? Would he even care about me anymore if he were still alive today? Aside from those questions, I felt unbearable guilt. I felt guilty that my anger towards him kept me away from him in his final months. It took a lot of time to come to terms with my guilt. It was a long recovery, but I did recover. By overcoming this obstacle, it has taught me many important lessons. When the world feels as if it is falling apart, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. I have learned to know my worth, that I am worthy of love, and that I never have to prove myself to anyone. This experience has grown me tremendously as a person. It has taught me to be a better person to others and to always strive to be the person that others can lean on. I would consider myself to be successful. I am graduating top of my class, I have the opportunity to run at a D1 school, I have won several state titles, I am the president of the Avery FFA, but the most important thing is that now I am living proof that you are more than the adversity that you face. I am worth more than the things I have won. I can be a mentor to others that have been through tough times, and that it is possible to overcome challenges and to come back stronger. Life has torn me down repeatedly, and I could write a book about all the adversity that I have faced, but in the end, I have always come back stronger. I did not let the obstacles stop me. By being a positive influence and by never giving up I have influenced many others to do the same. The biggest lesson that I have learned that I will forever carry with me and teach to others is that no matter what life throws at you, you can overcome it and come back a stronger and better person. While I may never know if he would be proud of me I am proud of who I am and who I will become.

A movie that had the greatest impact on my life was Forest Gump. Forest Gump taught me to embrace life’s unpredictability and enjoy the small things in life. Forest Gump overcomes adversity and that really resonates with me. It also reflects on American cultural values, and had a personal impact on my life. He taught me to embrace new experiences, don’t be afraid to fail, and to take life as it comes with an open mind and optimism. Forest Gump reflected American History and cultural values. It reflects on historical events as well as American cultural values such as individualism, equality and the pursuit of happiness through hard work. Forest Gump’s journey was a testament to the power of individual determination. I find myself to be a very determined individual and so I related a lot to this movie. Forest Gump always embraced life’s challenges and never let life teat him down. That is very inspiring to me as I have faced a lot of adversity in my life. Forest Gump showed how even unconventional people can make a difference in the world. It is a story about embracing your true self, appreciating life, and accepting everyone. The quote “life is like a box of chocolates” comes from this movie and it reminds us that life is full of uncertainties. Although Forest Gump had mental and physical disabilities he taught me that everyone had wisdom to share. Forest Gump finds happiness in all things. This is a quality I wish I had. He finds happiness in simple moments such as eating, running, and spending time with others. He shows the value of these moments as it is easy to overlook the simple things of life. Forest Gump was bullied as a child because of his disabilities. The escape the bully he would run. That is where the popular phrase “run forest run” comes form. Just as Forest I use running as an escape. Wether I am stressed, struggling from low self esteem, of am just needing a break, running helps me to clear my mind and escape from the world. Just as running helped Forest Gump heal, running has also helped me to heal from my own personal obstacles. Similar to Forest, I also have a single mom who is my hero. In the movies Forest’s mom did everything she could to give Forest everything. His mom never stopped believing in him just like how my mom is my biggest supporter. For these reasons the movie Forest Gump is the movie that has made the biggest impact in my life.

"Why am I not good enough?" This is a question that me and many others ask themselves every day. For me it started when I was kid. I was never good enough for my father, and to this day it is the biggest obstacle I have faced. He was always so manipulative and his abuse and manipulation left me with much trauma. Ever since I was young, I felt as if I could never be good enough for my dad. He was unbearably hard on me in everything I did. At times it felt as if I was not worthy of his love, that I had to prove to him why I was deserving of his attention. In 2021 when I was a freshman in high school my parents filed for divorce. It felt good not feeling like I had to live up to a certain standard. From that point forward I decided that breaking contact with my dad was best for me and my mental health after me and him got into a physical altercation. For months I did not see or talk to my dad and in return he never reached out. Although losing contact was the best solution, it came with other obstacles. It felt as if he did not care about me anymore. I felt like he was happy to get rid of me. From there forward he started his life without me, and never turned back. Just a few months after we broke communication, my dad passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. His manipulation continued after his death as I felt so guilty. It was a long recovery, but I did recover. I have persevered so much. I am graduating top of my class, I have the opportunity to run at a D1 school, I have won several state titles, I am the president of the Avery FFA, but the most important thing is that now I am living proof that you are more than the adversity that you face. I am worth more than the things I have won. I can be a mentor to others that have been through tough times, and that it is possible to overcome challenges and to come back stronger. Life has torn me down repeatedly, and I could write a book about all the adversity that I have faced, but in the end, I have always come back stronger. I did not let the obstacles stop me. By being a positive influence and by never giving up I have influenced many others to do the same. The biggest lesson that I have learned that I will forever carry with me and teach to others is that no matter what life throws at you, you can overcome it and come back a stronger and better person. While I may never know if he would be proud of me I am proud of who I am and who I will become. I have a passion for helping animals and serving underserved communities. I believe animals are a huge part of our lives. I have seen how animals have helped many kids physically and mentally. Especially in my hometown of Avery County NC there are many people who cannot provide affordable veterinary care. Avery County does not offer affordable spay and neuter programs. There is a huge need for someone who is willing to do that. I have perervered through many obstacles in my life. I want to be able to use my life to help others.

If my life was a movie the title would be “The Hurdles” No matter the hurdles that life has thrown at me, I have overcome them. I have faced a lot of adversity in my life. Not only have I overcome metaphorical hurdles but I jump hurdles every day in real life. I am a High school track and field athlete that is going on to run track in college at a Division 1 program. I am a State Champion in the 300m hurdles and an All-American in the 400m Hurdles. This success has not come without obstacles. In my athletic career it had definitely not been easy. I did not run track until my 10th grade year. The previous year my dad passed away and I had a bad shoulder injury that required a serious shoulder surgery. After that year I almost gave up but I persevered. I later found my love for the 300 hurdles. My 10th grade year started strong, I was working hard but was not necessarily seeing the results. I was forced not to run the 300 hurdles at the state meet , but instead ran the 400m dash. At the State Meet at the finish line at the 400m I passed out and fell face first on the track. This was an event that would be important to start my drive for the future. From that point forward I knew I wanted to redeem myself. I later on worked hard every single day. I worked in the weight room, In the classroom, and most importantly on the track. When no one else believes in you, you must believe in yourself. I worked and trained every single day by myself. I did research on weight lifting and plyometrics for track athletes. I practiced every day without a coach as I am from a very small town and there are no track coaches. I started the college recruitment process all by myself. I emailed hundreds of coaches every day, from all divisions of schools, from all across the country. I was very undecided of where I wanted to go to school. I knew I had to get a scholarship to pay for college because my mom is a single mom and money is tight. I rarely received any email back from coaches and so I took matters into my own hands. I scheduled college visits, found the track offices and walked and started introducing myself. I would tell them who I was, my times and make sure they knew I was interested. Thats when I found my home and Tarleton State University, over 16 hours from my hometown. My opening scene would be clips of me jumping hurdles but failing over and over again. Constantly doing sprint/hurdle repeats but hitting the hurdles and getting frustrated. I would voice over some encouraging quotes about how even though there are hurdles you must keep going. That every athlete that has a success story must have obstacles and adversity that they have faced. That success does not happen without hard work and determination. That when no one else believes in you, believe in yourself.

My biggest community service project I started when I was just a freshman and have been active in participating ever since. I have over 200 hours of service at Spirit Ride NC. I started volunteering at Spirit Ride in 2021 and I have learned so many things. Spirit ride is a 100% non profit therapeutic horseback riding company based out of Banner Elk, NC. Spirit Ride helps kids with a wide array of disabilities. I worked with Jake who has Angelmans syndrome and has been attending Spirit Ride for 9 years. I have also worked with several other kids with a wide array of disabilities both physical and mental. During the Spring and Fall sessions I would go with Jake to Spirit ride once a week. During the summers I attend multiple times a week. Alongside weekly visits I always help with their yearly fundraisers, and also housing and training some of the Spirit Ride Horses. I have contributes a lot of time and effort to Spirit Ride because it is a organization that I believe in and I know the contribution that it makes to the community. It sis truly fulfilling to be able to give kids with disabilities the opportunity to connect with animals and horses just as I do. I would recommend this organization to all parents who have a kid with a disability as it not only helps them mentally and cognitively but it is proven to help them physically. Mentally equine therapy can help to reduce stress as horses are a non judgmental calming presence. They just need a little help as everyone connects a little differently. Outside of Spirit Ride I have done community service work with other organizations including Feeding Avery Families, Disaster relief efforts, First Baptist Church of Newland, Avery YMCA, and I have volunteered at several Elementary school events including Banner Elk fall festival and Crossnore Elementaries Spring Fling. Three reasons why I have decided to pursue a career as a veterinary technician because I want to work in a career that I love, I want to be able to make a difference in the agriculture community, and I want to serve underserved communities in a way that I can help both the animals and the owners. There is a substantial need for affordable emergency medicine for specifically large animals in Western NC and Eastern TN areas. I want to be able to serve my community members and local farmers by providing affordable care for their pets, but also for their livelihoods as many farmers depend on their animals to provide for their families.