I was never interested in cars growing up. I’m your girliest girl to the truest definition. I got my Cosmetology license extremely early at 16 and that's what I had my mind set on. I loved being a hairdresser but it became less challenging and I craved more. My fascination with collision repair started when I was 15. My dad owns a detailing company and when his health started affecting his work, I started helping him while working my salon job. He always had me moving, even on a slow day he would pull another car in for me to practice wet sanding and paint correction. I became interested in cars but I never thought it would turn into a career for me until my senior year. I fell in love with Miatas, I researched everything I could about them. The simplicity of this slow tiny sports car had me in a chokehold. My project car dream turned into finding an untouched bright red 1993 with only 11,000 original miles, 10 hours away from where I lived. On a Thursday evening my dad and I brought her home on a trailer. Ruby was one of a kind. My dad and I bonded over it, he taught me how to drive manual and we put time into fixing it up to show quality standard. The car became a symbol of our connection. Then a few days before my birthday, I was driving with my dad and we got rear ended by a Durango. Ruby was declared a total loss. If we fixed it it would turn the car into a rebuild title and it would lose financial and collector value, so we let it go. Then two months after the accident my sister borrowed my daily driver and totaled it. My dad showed up for me again and lent me his truck while I was saving for a car. During this process of uncertainty, I made the decision that I wanted to go to school for collision repair. I visited this school twice before I fully committed, I remember being so nervous mainly because of the financial responsibility and time away from work. One persistent thought was louder than all the anxiety and fear: I wasn’t given the opportunity to save my Miata, that's what really drove me into the art of collision repair. I would be lying if I said that it's been easy for me, every moment to get myself to this point I have fought hard for. I was working 3 jobs pulling 60 hours a week after high school, because of it I was able to buy myself a reliable car to get me to school. Collision repair is my passion and I share this story to show that I am hardworking and unyielding. Whether the goal is finding my dream car, or diving head first into a new career; I am incredibly persistent when I set my mind to something. My top priority right now is absorbing everything I can out of school so I can set myself up for success after graduation. I plan to gain a few years experience in a production shop but my dream job would be in restoration work. I love being challenged and pushed into a new way of thinking. I love failing again and again until I can succeed. I love the rollercoaster of life and I can't wait to see what’s next. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship, the help would mean more to me than I can express.