Take every opportunity! I selected this guiding statement as my official sign-off on the senior mat during my last cheerleading practice in high school. Sports have been an integral part of my everyday life and have given me so many opportunities, experiences, friendships, challenges, and celebrations over the last eighteen years. As a child, I quickly realized that body sports, not ball sports, were going to be for me. I have done gymnastics, swimming, taekwondo, wrestling, jui jitsu, track and cheerleading. I have competed in national level competitions in three sports as an Xcel Gold gymnast, as a second degree black belt in taekwondo, and at high school cheer nationals. I have been selected as an UCA All-American cheerleader twice and a scholar athlete at my high school twice. Being able to compete at this high level has taught me many lessons. First, consistent, daily hard work leads to high levels of performance. This was very true in cheerleading as every single move had to be precise and strong, especially when lifting my teammates over my head. Second, by helping others succeed, I learned we could raise the bar to the next level as a team. Teamwork is everything in sports, as well as my future healthcare career. Being able to identify strengths in others and encourage them to reach their potential will help our whole team have more success. I will take this dedication to hard work and maximum effort into my future nursing career to make sure I am ready to deliver the best nursing care. In high school I realized I wanted to become a nurse. My mom is an emergency room nurse and my dad is a firefighter. I have grown up watching both of them fill critical roles helping others in our community. I set a goal in my junior year to become a certified nurse assistant (CNA). I became certified as a CNA at the end of my junior year and was one of only twelve students from my high school to be chosen for a senior-year internship at a local hospital. Two to three times a week, I spent the first half of my school day at the hospital providing direct care to patients. I know I have found my future role, and strongly desire to become a nurse. I have been admitted to Indiana University in the exercise science program. Within the first two years, I have a goal to complete the required coursework to apply to the nursing program. Once accepted, my goal will be to finish my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in the next two years and graduate in the spring of 2030. I plan to apply to work in a level one trauma center in the emergency department as a registered nurse. I would like to do volunteer work in my church’s community health center as a nurse helping some of the most vulnerable people in my community. I would also like to do travel nursing and work in a variety of communities as an emergency room nurse. Finally, within ten years, I hope to complete my master’s degree as a nurse practitioner. This scholarship will be a tremendous help to supporting me in my pursuit of my Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree at Indiana University. The financial support will be directly applied to my tuition fees at Indiana University to help me take every opportunity to learn and grow in my future nursing career.