My desire to become an educator stemmed from my love for learning and my willingness to help others. From a young age, I have had a heart for service, creating a nonprofit organization at the age of eleven, Morgan Bisel’s Helping Hands Project: an annual winter clothing drive for the homeless in my community. Six years later, my dream to make a difference in my small community has become a reality and has sparked my passion for becoming a teacher. For the past three years, I have presented “Morgan Bisel’s Helping Hands Project,” to classes at our local primary school to teach the value of community service to young children. During these presentations to classrooms of captivated first graders, I realized how much of a positive impact a teacher can have on the lives of their students. I felt a calling to become a teacher, so I, too, may change the lives of young children. I plan to pursue a master’s degree in education and return to a small town to teach because, growing up in rural Montana, I have experienced firsthand that the smaller and more remote schools in Montana rarely have the same educational opportunities as school districts in larger communities. For example, most high schools in Montana don’t offer AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses. I feel passionately that simply because students grow up in a small town doesn’t mean they should receive any less of an education. With my teaching degree, I will work in a rural school district and spend my teaching career striving to provide more educational opportunities to students attending schools in rural communities. The support of those around me, especially from my teachers, will immensely influence my journey in the field of education. The teacher who has had the most positive impact on my life is, without a doubt, my high school English teacher, Ms. Parson. She brings her love for teaching into the classroom daily without fail and teaches with genuine passion. She is the most understanding woman I have ever known and many students, including myself, constantly look to her for guidance, in school and life. Once I obtain a master’s degree in education, I wish to become the kind of educator that students turn to in times of uncertainty for advice, just like Ms. Parson. I will encourage students who may not receive the emotional support they need at home and provide worthwhile reasons for students who use school as an “escape” to attend class. I want to live in a rural community, uplifting students regardless of their financial background or small-town environment. Most of all, I wish for my future students to know and take to heart that they are worth investing time in and there will always be someone believing in them, a message that Ms. Parson has impressed upon me in my stages of discouragement and self-doubt. I will strive to continue giving back to the community that has given me so much and shaped who I am. I will impart my love of learning to the next generation by showing up to school each day with a positive attitude and a desire to positively impact my students’ lives with valuable education, encouraging students to discover and follow their passions so we can continue to change the world together. This scholarship will aid me immensely in my journey to return to a rural community with a master’s degree and become a teacher the esteemed Bob Deats would be proud of.

What makes me a leader is my dedication to personal development and helping others grow. If you met me five years ago, the first word you thought of would not be “leader.” It would be more along the lines of “shy,” “awkward,” or “antisocial.” I used to live in constant fear of failure or not meeting the standards of others, which led me to retreat into myself and hardly talk at all for fear of rejection. I had the opportunity to grow into a leader when I transferred schools in the eighth grade. Walking into the new classroom on my first day, I knew I had a decision to make. I could either continue to live my introverted life or take a frightening step and make an effort to talk to others. I chose the second option. Even though I was terrified to step outside my comfort zone, looking back, it was worth every moment of discomfort. I made friends within minutes and the confidence I was faking at first quickly became substantial. Since then, I have assumed several leadership positions and in doing so, have found who I am. I am the president of my 4-H club, 2nd vice president of my FFA chapter, the reporter of the Interact Club, the student body secretary, and the junior board member of the local Rotary Club. Each office has grown my leadership skills exponentially and taught me valuable life lessons and social skills. Although undertaking these positions was not easy or comfortable at first, I can proudly say I have grown to fit these roles. In addition, I believe the exceptional qualities of a leader include considering all opinions and encouraging others to embrace their authentic selves. When I was a freshman in high school, I often felt my voice and opinions were silenced or ignored when discussing items of business in club meetings. I felt overshadowed and intimidated by the upperclassmen. As I enter my senior year of high school, I can consider all ideas and prompt underclassmen to voice their ideas before approaching a decision because I have experienced feeling silenced and overlooked. My journey of self-discovery through leadership has grown my confidence and leadership ability. With this newfound knowledge, I have assisted others tremendously in their leadership journeys as well. Now I can encourage underclassmen to pursue leadership positions, describing how doing so has changed my life and made me a more confident individual. While I am not defined by my leadership positions, they have helped shape me into the young woman I am today. I have become an excellent leader by taking initiative and leading with humor, confidence, and a team-oriented attitude. In the future, I will continue to pursue other leadership roles, always being a listening ear and a helping hand to those who need it.

When people first look at me, they see an organized, put-together young woman. They see a valedictorian and a leader. But often they don’t notice the struggle I have gone through every day trying to prove to myself that I am enough just as I am. Although it may seem to many others that I am successful: Student Body Secretary, 4-H President, FFA Vice President; in reality, I felt as though nothing I did was enough. Even if perfectionism is not medically classified as a mental illness, it has severely impacted my life. From a young age, I always strived for bigger and better things, even at the expense of my well-being. I achieved As in school but strived for an A+. I made the cut for the basketball team but wanted to be a starter. I was one of the top ten public speakers at an FFA convention, but I wanted first place. Always working to improve myself beyond my abilities was exhausting. Instead of reflecting on my personal growth and capabilities, I threw myself into my work. I spent every free moment studying for school, aimlessly refining my already perfect grades. I was focused on attaining a level of perfection that doesn’t exist. One day in middle school, tired of trying to shape myself into something I wasn’t, I decided to stop focusing on myself and instead, open my eyes to the needs of those around me. On the way to school, I passed a homeless camp on the side of the road only a few miles from my house. Previously, I had been under the impression that homelessness existed primarily in big cities and was shocked to discover it was present in my hometown. Shocked by the extent of poverty in my community, I took the initiative and founded “Morgan Bisel’s Helping Hands Project,” an annual winter clothing drive for the homeless population. I placed collection bins at several businesses throughout my community, drew posters, and handed out flyers asking for new or gently used winter clothing donations. At the end of the collecting period, I gathered all the donations, numbering over a thousand, and my dad drove the truckload of clothing and me up to a nearby homeless shelter. As I helped unload the truck into a storage room, I was filled with a sense of immense fulfillment as I watched the bags of clothing I had worked so hard to collect pile up in the room. I knew my hours of hard work had paid off, both assisting others and myself. I had been searching for this fulfillment for many years and finally felt I had found my purpose. In a way, “Morgan Bisel’s Helping Hands Project” has saved me. By focusing on helping others, I put my perfectionism on the back burner, which helped me out of that mental habit I had been in. I came to terms with the fact that I was not perfect, and neither was my life; nor would they ever be. I realized I have the power to change my life and the lives of others, one article of clothing at a time, making a positive difference in the lives of others while at the same time improving mine. By adopting the principles of Agape love and giving of myself to the service of others, my life has truly changed dramatically for the better.

Growing up in a rural community, I have seen the hardships of local families trying to make ends meet and have experienced it firsthand. I decided at the age of eleven to diminish the poverty endured by so many in my hometown. My mom was driving me to school one day when I noticed a homeless camp on the side of the road, only a few miles from my house. Previously, I had been under the impression that homelessness existed primarily in big cities and was shocked to discover it was prevalent in my hometown. I realized during Montana winters, the homeless would struggle to stay warm in the freezing temperatures. Even though I was only in the sixth grade, I had a heart for service and helping others, so I founded “Morgan Bisel’s Helping Hands Project,” an annual winter clothing drive for the homeless in my community. I placed collection bins at several businesses throughout my community, drew posters, and handed out flyers asking for new or gently used winter clothing donations. I gathered all the donations, numbering over a thousand, and delivered them to a homeless shelter in a neighboring county. Six years later, an 11-year-old's dream to make a difference in her small community became a reality. "Morgan Bisel's Helping Hands Project" is now an official nonprofit organization, over 250,000 warm clothing donations have been collected and distributed, and it has expanded to include summer food drives for a local food bank. Furthermore, for the past three years, I have presented “Morgan Bisel’s Helping Hands Project,” to classes at our local primary school to teach the value of community service to young children. During these presentations to classrooms of captivated first graders, I realized how much of a positive impact a teacher can have on the lives of their students. I felt a calling to become a teacher, so I, too, may change the lives of young children. I plan to attend a university in Montana, pursue a master's degree in elementary education, and teach in a rural community. Growing up in rural Montana, I have experienced firsthand that the smaller and more remote schools in Montana often don’t have the same educational opportunities as school districts in larger communities. For example, most high schools in Montana don’t offer AP, IB, or dual-enrollment classes. With my teaching degree, I will work in a rural school district and spend my teaching career striving to provide more educational opportunities to students attending schools in rural communities. This scholarship will assist me in pursuing my dreams of serving students like me in small towns. My biggest goal is to graduate from college debt-free and this scholarship will help me tremendously. I hope to inspire others, especially low-income students, to pursue their educational goals as I am pursuing mine: persistently and unwaveringly.