During my freshman year of high school, I decided to go vegan because I didn't agree with how animals are treated in the food industry. That decision led to a lot of research being done on the benefits of veganism to the environment as well as the human body. For example, eating less or no meat greatly reduces your risk for cardiovascular disease. However, I was told multiple times by a relative that "just because you're vegan, doesn't mean you're healthy." So I was determined to prove that I could be healthy even while I was vegan. I spent a couple of years researching foods and vitamins that I would need to incorporate into my diet. Some of the foods I had never tried before like tofu and some of them I have never even heard of before like tempeh. I enjoyed trying new foods and finding new alternatives to non-vegan foods. This lifestyle change impacted my mood and my physical health. I noticed I started waking up earlier in the morning and having more energy throughout the day. I also became so used to certain food groups that I no longer craved sweeter foods like candies, cookies, and sodas. Instead, I looked forward to juicy fruits and my favorite smoothies. Recently I moved to Hawai'i to attend college. I think the move itself immensely helped with my overall health. Being in Hawai'i helps me with getting enough vitamin D as well as encouraging me to eat healthier, drink more water, and exercise more. Since I do not have a car, I am constantly walking to my destination whether that's two blocks to Walmart or a mile to the beach. Others modes of transportation I frequent are the rentable bikes all around the island, my rollerblades, and my longboard. All of these help me achieve a healthy amount of exercise throughout the week. Being on an island also gives me access to activities such as swimming, surfing, and hiking which help me increase my stamina, balance, and strength. Last semester I also decided to take stairs instead of elevators as often as I could. For the first few weeks, my legs were sore, but slowly I noticed the stairs becoming easier and easier to climb. In the future, I aim to enhance my exercise routine as well as continue to find new healthy foods and meals to incorporate into my diet.

My intended major is marine biology because I've always been drawn to the water whether that was visiting the warm ocean with my family or boating in the colder Lake Michigan. I also have had a love of animals for as long as I can remember which I have expressed through my journey of veganism during my high school years. It was in high school that I realized studying marine life was exactly what I wanted to do, so I took an oceanography class where I was taught about how humans all over the world are affecting the oceans and the animals within them. I learned how certain species' populations were decreasing at fast rates and how humans have put so much pollution in the water that coral reefs and animals are dying. I took that class with one of my best friends who is also majoring in marine biology, and we discussed how badly we wanted to be able to help the animals and the reefs. We wanted to be able to do something about it, even if it was something small. But we can't do much until we we learn all that we can about our oceans and everything inside them. One of the major problems I want to help with is the decline on ocean animal populations due to global warming and hunting. Heatwaves are negatively affecting the dolphin population as well as causing a decreased number of dolphin births each year. Hunters in different countries around the world are the cause of the deaths of thousands of dolphins and other smaller mammals each year for fishing bait and sometimes meat consumption. I also enjoy the more science-y side of things. My favorite science classes where the days we went to the labs to perform experiments. Sometime we were doing something as simple as weighing different items to compare them, but other times we were mixing chemicals and powders to find the culprit for fake murder mysteries. We even extracted our own saliva to see the DNA inside it. No matter what we did in the labs, I found it fascinating.

I am the ideal candidate for this scholarship because I am majoring in marine biology in college as well as planning on studying marine affairs and how to improve the relationship between humans and our oceans. I am also a part of the LGBT+ community as biromantic and more recently, asexual. I know that my labels are not very well known by most people (I have explained the meaning of asexual to multiple friends and family), but they are important to me and help me understand who I am. I have always been drawn to studying marine life and being near the water since I was little, but in an oceanography class I took, I was taught about how humans all over the world are affecting the oceans and the animals within them. I learned how certain species' populations were decreasing at fast rates and how humans have put so much pollution in the water that coral reefs and animals are dying. I took that class with one of my best friends who is also majoring in marine biology, and we discussed how badly we wanted to be able to help the animals and the reefs. We wanted to be able to do something about it, even if it was something small. But we can't do much until we we learn all that we can about our oceans and everything inside them. One of the major problems I want to help with is the decline on ocean animal populations due to global warming and hunting. Heatwaves are negatively affecting the dolphin population as well as causing a decreased number of dolphin births each year. Hunters in different countries around the world are the cause of the deaths of thousands of dolphins and other smaller mammals each year for fishing bait and sometimes meat consumption. Due to human activities, many dolphin species are endangered. I am about to attend my first year at Hawai'i Pacific University on the island of Oahu. The scholarship money would be a huge help to pay for the fast paced residential honors program I was accepted into by the school. With the program and the scholarship, I would be able to dive deep into marine studies and the impact of humans, and hopefully fulfill my dream of helping to restore our oceans' health as well as help educate more people on the importance of keeping all of our oceans clean and safe for their inhabitants and ourselves.

One of my favorites hobbies is reading, usually fantasy. I read quite frequently and use it as my escape from reality for a few hours. It feels like I've been on so many adventures along with the characters in my books. I especially love novels including magic and made up lands because I find it so interesting that someone was able to create their own little world and share it with other people. I often find myself daydreaming about my own worlds but have yet to find the right words to create my own story. I also enjoy archery. I was first introduced to it in Girl Scouts when I was about 11, but I wasn't inclined to actually want my own bow and arrow set until I watched the Marvel movie Hawkeye. I wanted to be just like Clint Barton and Kate Bishop. My parents were a little reluctant to get me my own set at first, but eventually they caved and I spent hours in my back yard shooting arrows at a yellow target.

It's difficult to choose only one book with how many different great stories there are in the world. However, I think my favorite one would have to be the third book in the Harry Potter series: The Prisoner of Azkaban. The novel starts off on the hilarious scene of Harry's Aunt Marge expanding into a blueberry similar to the girl in Willy Wonka, and floating away like a balloon. But it soon turns serious when Harry runs away and is informed that a murderous man is out to get him. Everyone around Harry is convinced that the man escaped prison and and was looking to kill; however they are all uninformed of who the man actually is. Harry goes though multiply fearful event including dementors, boggarts, and giant spiders before meeting people from his past. His new teacher who's a werewolf and the man that was rumored to be out to get Harry end up working together to protect Harry from one of their old friends. The rest of the book shows how it's important to Harry to save everyone even if that involves going back in time to do so. The book promotes the overall idea from the series of Harry being the Savior. He is encouraged and expected to put everyone else's lives before his to save all wizards. I really enjoyed reading this book after watching the movie as I was able to compare the characters details of both. It's interesting to see how the movie directors and actors interpreted the book and it's meaning to create a wonderful movie.

My most amazing pet was a beautiful calico cat named Butterscotch. We had her for about 15 years since I was born and her death at Christmas a few years ago hit me hard. She was part of my family and the pet I've had the longest. She used to always bring us mice as gifts but unfortunately my mother is very afraid of mice. I personally thought it was hilarious. While we had Butterscotch, I had a few other pets including a hamster, guinea pig, and a lot of fish. However, we waited a couple years until we were ready to get another cat. Currently we have two goofballs named Natasha(from Black Widow) and Brennan(from Bones). Natasha is an orange ball of energy who constantly wants attention and food, while Brennan is a fluffy grey angel who enjoys her alone time with a few cuddles here and there. My brothers and I all love them dearly and enjoy watching them chase flys and moths on the front porch.