My name is Makayla Amador, and the qualities that make me a YGIG are my independence and my work drive/ ethic. The honor of receiving this scholarship would help me out tremendously with tuition costs as well as the books I may need to be able to take my classes and progress. I believe my experiences with responsibilities at a young age and my ability to stay motivated to reach my goals are what make me the way I am. As of right now, I am a freshman college athlete studying at The University of Montevallo. I have received an athletic scholarship as well as an academic scholarship from the University, but am still in need of financial help with tuition. I am a part of the Track and field team at Montevallo, and it is my second season being affiliated with the sport at all. Last season (my very first time running track) was my senior year at Skyline High School. During my first season of Track, Skyline had gotten new track coaches, and more and more people started to sign up for the sport. Many people came up to me with the idea that I should join the team as well due to my athletic ability. I decided to try it out, and I ended up falling in love with the sport. During the season, I give it my all every practice, every meet, and even when I train alone. Not only for me but for my team. After the season ended, I was awarded MVP, State Qualifier, State Placer, and State Champion, as well as the many medals I was awarded throughout the season. I look back at the medals and awards, and they give me the motivation I need. They also remind me of the blessings I have been given to be able to get where I am now. During my first season of track, I became ill with food poisoning for about a week. For that week, I also had to stay out of practice. After the food poisoning was over, I started to go back to practice and get back on track. I still wasn't feeling too well, but I was ok to get back to work. We had a meet a few days later, and I still wasn't feeling well, but I still gave my all in my events, not just for self-improvement, but for my team. In the results of the meet, I ended up winning three top-three placings medals. Even though it was a big challenge to compete even when not feeling well, I still gave my all and pulled through for my team. Looking back at it, I feel that it grew me as an individual, showing that getting through the tough challenges and always giving your all will always give you good results. Even when it's not winning 1st, you can always learn something new. The person I look up to the most is my mother. She is the strongest, most independent woman I know. She was 19 when she had me and raised me on her own. All my childhood, we lived in multiple trailers and had many financial struggles, but t were happy. When I turned 15, my baby brother was born, and we were left to raise him the best we could. At this point,t my mother had already owned her own house, so she was having to keep up with all the bills. Although there were the two of us to raise my brother, I was barely home to help with my brother due to school, sports, and work. My mother took in a lot during this time of our lives, and I will always look up to her independence and ability to raise me and my brother on her own, on top of taking on the many struggles in day-to-day life. This scholarship would help my journey with the University of Montevallo by financially helping with my schooling so that I can afford other expenses such as nutrition, doctor's appointments, car expenses, etc. The expense for tuition, books, and fees together brings stress to the table when you don't know if you can cover it. Having help financially would take a bit of stress off of me and give me more time to focus on other things, such as my sport, classes, and the enjoyment of my new journey at the University of Montevallo.