In my life, I have experienced many ups and downs throughout my life, especially throughout my softball career. I come from a very loving family who have always supported my endeavors through the years. Both of my parents have been the foundation for the young woman I have become and still strive to become as I continue my education and life. Thankfully, I have always been given the resources to pursue any endeavors my heart desired. Growing up in a big city, there were always many opportunities for growth. My passions have fueled my determination as I've grown. Whether that be volleyball, working, or playing college softball. I was always been to taught that If I were going to do something, do it 100% and I took that personally and applied it to every aspect of my life. It wasn't until about my 9th grade year that I had become aspired to play college softball. From that point forward, it was go time. Getting to that dream became my mission for the next 4 years of my life. On top of trying to achieve that dream, it was time to think about what my future may consists of as well as trying to figure out my identity. What kind of person did I want to come? This led to extreme anxiety followed by many sessions of therapy to sort out all the, what I thought were, complications to help me along the way. I ended up committing to play softball at Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri. My first semester, I got a concussion and was not able to compete with my team the first semester. I missed many practices and games due to constant symptoms, ER visits, and doctors appointment to try to find out what was happening. After all this, I had to drop a class because I was not able to attend. Fast forward to the next summer, I tore my ACL and was not able to play in the fall again due to rehabilitation. I had developed depression which caused my grades to drop because I felt like I would never get back to the player that I use to be. While going through my rehabilitation, I was with my University's athletic trainer everyday working to get back to my normal self and go beyond those limits. She was like my rock because she knew what I was going through as a student-athlete. She is the woman that inspired me to pursue my career in athletic training. The way that she looked at me as more than just an athlete opened my eyes to how I could potentially do the same thing. After finishing my career at Crowder, I continued at Tuskegee University and I was very excited to finally be apart of the majority instead of the minority but it took a turn for the worst pretty soon after that. Despite the ups and downs there, I did very well academically and athletically. My chapter at Tuskegee soon came to a close after I was cut from the team and was no longer attending the University. Little did I know, this would be the most life-changing challenge that I would go through. I am a firm believer that God will close a door for good reason, to open a new one. I decided to finish up my career at the University of West Alabama which skyrocketed my abilities as a player to where I am still able to make a huge impact on the West Alabama community in many ways.

Within my campus and local community, I have been able to give back and impact in various ways with volunteering. I am a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and our main focus is service. Being the chapter president at my college, the University of West Alabama, I have been able to put together community projects. One way that I impacted my community was by collaborating with the Department of Human Services to give toys to children during the holiday season. Also, I collaborated with the Alabama Suicide and Prevention Coalition to bring awareness to my campus about suicide and other mental health issues. Also, every year, my chapter gives out water to freshman and other move-in helpers during move-in day on campus. Along with being the president of my chapter of Zeta Phi Beta, I was also the National Pan Hellenic Council secretary and a member of Order of Omega, a Greek honor society that recognizes the leadership of individuals within their fraternity or sorority. I was also a member of the UWA softball team for two years. On the team, I was considered a leader by my teammates and coaches with gaining numerous awards such as a two time All-American in my two years of participation. Being able to be apart of a team, I had to realize that leaders not only hold others accountable, but also home themselves accountable. My leadership has allowed me to be recognized by people in the West Alabama community, and I have been giving lessons to younger girls around the area for about ten months now. I also had the privilege to coach a 14U softball team this past summer, and I will continue to spread my love, passion, and knowledge of softball this fall by helping coach a 10U team. These are the moments that I am grateful for how the game has developed me into the woman that I am today to be able to pass down my knowledge to future generations of softball players. The Kelly S. Ellis is a scholarship will not only help me achieve my goals of becoming a certified athletic trainer, it will also help the student-athletes that I will help in the future. As we all know, graduate school is expensive, especially athletic training. With my dad being a disabled veteran, tuition takes a toll, this scholarship will help to take some pressure off of my family financially. The profession of athletic training is constantly growing, but as a young black woman, there aren't many of us in the industry. We are often overlooked and underestimated in field where we are considered a minority. My goal is to contribute to the reason as to why that should not be the case. The Kelly S. Ellis scholarship will allow me to achieve my dream of advocating for athletes on and off the field, mentally and physically. What inspired me to pursue athletic training was when I tore my ACL and I had to go through rehabilitation with my school athletic trainer that focused on my recovery mentally and physically.