I love math because it is the most applicable subject across the entire world. While we learn English, not every country does, but almost everyone learns math. Math is not just numbers, it’s the applicable way to solve problems. One of my favorite examples of this happened this past winter, I was on a job site helping my brother build an ice rink and there was some issues with the measurements of putting the rink up to make sure there would be space for it. The rink is a rectangle, and he needed to know the diagonal length. He went to grab a tape measure to try to do the measurements, and I stopped him. “You know how long the rink is, you know how wide the rink is, why not just use the Pythagorean Theorem to find it.” When I said this he looked at me like I had three heads, but from some simple calculations found out the diagonal length and were able to finish the project. I was blessed to be a math tutor at Hocking College, and there were students who really struggled. I found that helping these students understand math by applying to to real life scenarios also made me find a deeper love for it. Once I explained a simple algebraic equation, there was a student who realized that the x’s and y’s were just like trying to figure out money. This helped his mind to comprehend how it worked and changed his perspective on the class. For me, math is a universal language of problem solving, and that is why I love math!

Sobriety/Recovery have played a very prominent role in my life. My wife and I both come from families that are both filled with addiction. We have had family members who have lost their life to drug and alcohol use, family that is in recovery and celebrate every day, and family that are still actively using that we pray find recovery. For me personally, I struggled with an alcohol and marijuana addiction from the age of 19 and have been completely sober for over one year, and sober for two years from any alcohol use. While I was in active addiction, my life was a constant battle, I believed in God, but not with my entire heart. I was not a fully devoted follower of Christ, but that changed, and when I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit active in my life I began to not only change my behavior, but it became a mission of mine to help others around me change as well. I am now 23 years old, and the Grace of Jesus has been so evident in my life. Both my younger brother and brother-in-law are no longer addicted to opioids, while not completely sober, I believe that step is an answered prayer. I also decided to become a student at Valor College and am pursuing a degree in Pastoral Leadership. This degree is important for me for many reasons, but I believe that God has anointed both myself and my wife to make a difference in His Kingdom, and one of the ways we believe he will use us is to help people fight the battle of addiction. We believe that our identity in Christ calls us out of who we once were, and the Blood of Jesus is stronger than any sin that we commit, but we need to be present in the lives of those we love and exemplify what discipleship truly means. Discipleship is not just about an internal relationship, but it is about external transformation and multiplication. Being a fully devoted follower of Jesus allows our minds to be transformed as we see in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This verse holds so much power because God calls us to be transformed. The world will say that once you are an addict, you will always be an addict, and I disagree. I believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit, and living a life trying to be more like Jesus, we are transformed and our identity of who we once were is washed clean by the Blood of Jesus Christ. I believe that teaching this new mindset, despite what the world tells us, will allow more people to not feel chained to their desires and who they once were. Addiction has caused much heartache in my life, even death to the ones I love, but we have hope in Jesus that it can be defeated. I know this because my testimony is just that, the Grace of Jesus on my life to put down the bottle and put down the blunt and live away from all that once held me captive, because I am freed by the blood He shed. Thank you so much for your consideration and God Bless!

Bring a first generation student for me is different than for other first generation students. My parents have had many accomplishments without a college degree, my father was an Olympic figure skater and a mayor of our local community, my mom owned and operated a successful business and never graduated high school. While these accomplishments are great, my parents sacrificed a lot, and being a first generation college student is the answer to their sacrifice. My college path has not been an easy one, I started school in 2021 at a small junior college after I lost my senior season of football. In high school I graduated with a GPA above a 4.0, served many different parts of my local community through volunteer hours (over 200 hours), and had a successful football career. After COVID-19, a lot of my college plans changed. I ended up having to leave school after I lost many scholarships I qualified for, and my parents lost almost all of their income due to the pandemic. I started a family, and I went to work, and after hours of prayer and encouragement from my family, I made the decision to go back to school. I had a successful career in the automotive industry for over five years, but I felt that higher education was the best way for me to pursue what I am passionate about, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am currently in my second year and have achieved the Dean’s List each semester. I also am setting the precedent for my children, hard work is important, but education is equally as important. This scholarship would mean a lot for my family and I. My wife is also a first generation student and she is a stay at home mom. I work forty or more hours a week and also have a full-time class schedule. This scholarship would be a vessel to help me graduate school in less debt, and award back time with my family and I. I am also taking 18 credit hours each semester and am planning to step away from my current job into a ministry role upon graduation. This scholarship will allow those options to be a reality. I believe that God has opened up many doors in my life, and closed some to be in the position we are currently in. I want my kids to know that despite what circumstances can be, we can overcome. Thank you so much for your consideration and God Bless!

My journey into Christianity started at a young age, my journey into being a Disciple of Christ came much later. I’m from a small community in the heart of the “Bible Belt.” Everyone was a Christian, but I never even knew what that meant. I went to church, served in church, volunteered in the community, but never understood who Christ is. When I met my beautiful wife at the age of 17 we read scripture together and prayed together, but I still didn’t know Christ. She did. Through her prayers and a lot of time we moved away and God used our change of environment to reveal Himself to me. When I was 22 years old I prayed that if God was with me that he would wake me up at 3am (studying Matthew 14:22-33, specifically Matthew 14:25 about the 4th Watch) and on 01.14.25 I experienced the holiness of God and realized the Spirit of the Living God that raised Christ from the dead, and the Spirit that we read about in the Bible, is the Spirit that dwells in us today. This changed my life. I became completely sober, began to learn more, ask mentors for help, reading the scriptures and trying to dive deeper in every way I could. I transitioned out of my career at the time and am now working full time and attending Valor Christian College pursuing a major in Pastoral Leadership. My journey into Christianity was one that moved me from a mindset of Heaven is the default and that I don’t need to crave a personal relationship with Jesus. I thought as long as I sent in my tithe and showed up on Sunday that I was going to Heaven, but God. He found me, and I learned that living a disciplined life under the submission of His Word and His Spirit is far more important and valuable than anything the world can offer. My career aspirations and goals are to share the Gospel, and teach Discipleship through evangelical, missional, and practical steps. I plan to either start or join a church here locally, or to serve in a role at a non profit. I stepped away from what I thought was my career, and took more than a six-figure pay cut but through the Grace of Jesus we have made it through and have actually found much more peace. I believe that God has used this season to refine us into what’s next. Downsizing has been new for myself, my wife, and our children, but through it we’ve learned what needed to be cut out. Through losing the extra income we’ve had, paying for school has been tougher and as we are working to become debt free so we can further serve the Lord in where he calls us, this scholarship would help us to achieve this goal. I receive a partial scholarship for both the fall and summer courses, but during the summer the scholarship does not apply, this will help me to be able to help me complete my degree sooner without financial stress. My future plans are to allow the Lord to lead me to answer this question daily “How can I be the Hands and Feet of Jesus today?” This scholarship will help me to finish my education quicker and allow me to accrue less debt, which will allow me to transition from the job I have now into ministry full-time. All of this life will turn to dust, but people are important, and everyone will live eternally. I feel that the call to my life is to share the love of Christ and to make Heaven as crowded as it can possibly be through letting the Spirit lead every step. Thank you for your consideration!

I embody a life or service through waking up everyday and asking, “How can I be the hands and feet of Jesus today?” The application changes for this daily, some days it’s being an extra set of hands in a children’s ministry room or on the prayer team. Some days it’s missional work, and doing things behind the scenes or going and seeking the lost. Providing a meal for someone, a simple outreach to ask if someone is okay and how can you pray for them, or some days it’s being in prayer and asking God to help those who you know need prayer. In addition to that I have a heart for serving young people. I believe this upcoming generation lacks a true sense of community. So many things have moved to remote settings, and many kids do not have the same camaraderie and even lack mentorship compared to the past. I believe that how we best represent the love of Christ has to start by loving people, and then discipling them. It took me 22 years of life for someone to come up and explain a disciple wasn’t just someone in the Bible, but that we are all called to be disciples who make disciples (Matthew 28:19). I plan to use my education and degree in Pastoral Leadership to either start a church, or join a non-profit leadership team. I feel that God has placed a responsibility on my wife and I to love others and to be involved in our community. I plan to teach others about Christ, and exemplify love through missional, evangelical, and practical outreach. From a missional standpoint, I think that there are times and places to travel, but there are a lot of people here in the United States that don’t know the love of Christ whether it’s from being hurt by a church or just never even heard the Gospel. I believe that there is a mission here that is being missed. I see from an evangelical standpoint to go out and preach the Gospel to anyone who will listen, again this is very important, but I also see a practical way to share God’s love that I think is missed. Having communion, creating communities, caring for those who are lost, I believe that all of these are commonly missed because church has become about singing and a message. I hope to resemble the book of Acts, and have leadership that exemplifies the Word, and prayer. I pray that is God will use me and that I will stay faithful to Him in that. I appreciate your consideration!