My personal experiences with finances is that I have a single mother who has worked full times jobs to help provide for us and my athletics. My mom has done everything she can to support me and been that person to tell me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. She hasn't ever given up on me and because of that I am now going to be a first generation going to college where I will not only be continues my academics but play on the colleges first ever women NCAA division 3 ice hockey team and being on the sailing team. If my mom hadn't worked so hard to put me in things that made me happy I wouldn't be living my dream. The down side of this is that college is expensive and finding a loan or funds to help me attend college is really stressful on not only me but my mom. After all this hard work to get me to this point the only negative is the cost and the fact that would be graduating college with almost $80,000 in student debt. Which is not only a burden on me but my mom who would have to co-sign on the loans. Receiving this scholarship would help me in a large way that would take the stress of me and my mom. She has worked so hard to get me here and I can only do so much as a full time student to help. After I graduate I plan to take my degree in business and use it to create my own business where I will not only pay off my student debt but help my mom as she gets older. I believe its right to give back to her and support like she has done for me. I plan to take what I have learned and better my future so that I can live a debt free life and be able to send my kids to college where they can receive a good education as well. I don't want them to feel the stress of money and I want to be able to provide them and my mom with a comfortable life. I also want my mom to be proud of the daughter she has raised and that I was able to accomplish so much not only in athletics but with my education and what I use it for.

I believe that I am a perfect candidate for the "YOU GOT IT GIRL" scholarship. The reason I say that is because all throughout my childhood I have competed in two male dominated sports since the age of 5. One being ice hockey and the other being sailing. While growing up it was either being the only girl on my hockey team where I had to get dressed in some small room by myself or being the only female on my sailing team where I would have to race in a different fleet so I didn't get to be apart of what the boys did. But none of this stopped me, instead it encouraged me to start my own high school sailing team and even be part of Utah's first ever girls Tier 1 hockey team. So I may have faced challenges of being the only female but it has pushed me to go farther. One accomplishment was qualifying for the US Olympic Team Trials in 2024, I was the first and only person from Park City Sailing to reach that far of a National stage. This sailing was some not only the most physical but mental sailing I have done. It was about staying focused and using my body to its full potential. I came in last ever race, that was hard and made me feel like I didn't deserve to be there. On the last race I came in 15th out of 26, my best score. Through all nine days of racing I didn't give up because I knew that I was here to prove not only to everyone else but myself that I belong and I can do it. Although I didn't make it to the Olympics I faced some of the toughest and most demanding sailing all on my own. For the women's ice hockey we have made it to Nationals 3 times and put girls hockey on the map for Utah where we have gone from only 3 teams to having now having 9 teams that young girls can play on. Through all of these accomplishments, my most recent is now taking me to Roger Williams University in Rhode Island where I will not only continue my academics but I will be playing on their first ever women's NCAA Division 3 hockey team and I will be racing with the sailing team. Not only would this scholarship help me reach this goal but it would be changing the path for so many girls to follow because growing up I didn't have that path and I didn't have someone to show me what to do. I had to create it on my own and for the someone that inspires me is myself, I have come from such a hard spot with no idea of what I could do with my athletics and now I have the opportunity to take them even further. For me it that shows that no matter if you are the only girl or you don't know how far you can take it, there is no limit. Being awarded this scholarship would help provide me with the cost of school because I am being given such an amazing opportunity to compete in both sports at a high level while receiving a very strong education. This money would go towards that and helping me with cost of paying for the school which would help me greatly.

I went to the US Olympic Sailing Team Trials, and all I got was this stupid t-shirt. Actually, I should probably start from the beginning. Growing up in Park City, Utah, a town known better for skiing than sailing, I created my own path. Hockey was my first passion, but I also found an unlikely desire for sailing. That desire took me all the way to the US Sailing Olympic Team Trials, a sport hardly anyone knew in my mountain town. My mom encouraged me to try everything, but I became absorbed in hockey and sailing. I play on Utah’s first Tier 1 Girls Hockey team, founded my high school sailing team, and became the first female sailor from Utah to reach the national stage. For me, hockey taught me to battle in corners, to keep pushing through the exhaustion, and to trust my teammates. Sailing provided a rivalry against myself: training hours alone, reading the wind, and working through the waves. Balancing two sports has always been part of my life. But in February 2024, they collided in a way that not only challenged me as an athlete, but as a person. I was invited to the US Olympic Sailing Team Trials. As I walked off the airplane in Florida, everything set in. I was about to compete against the best female sailors in the country. Most were twice my age, knew each other, and trained all year round. My story couldn’t have been more different. The only people I knew were my coach and mom. I had no idea what I was up against. The first race on the Atlantic Ocean was a wake-up call. So was the second and third. By the end of each day, my name was at the bottom of the standings. I wasn’t only losing, I was finishing in last place, over and over again. At night I replayed every mistake: missing a wind shift, over shooting a mark, losing my focus, and most of all, my hope. For someone who was used to high level hockey, experiencing failure was heartbreaking. But the ocean doesn’t let you quit. Every morning I showed up on time, rigged my boat, and fought through every wind shift and wave. I reminded myself that I was from a small town 2,500 miles away, here to prove everyone wrong. I wasn’t just the girl in last place. I was the girl who kept on fighting. On the last day I was determined. I was no longer focused on where I was on the leaderboard but on every mark rounding, each wave. At the end of the day, I finished in 15th place out of 26, my best result in nine days. To anyone else it didn’t matter, but to me it proof that being consistent mattered. During those days I was taught more than any medal could have. I learned that your standards can be pushed farther. I learned that showing up is what matters, no matter what the outcome is. Sometimes you grow through the most difficult moments when no one else is watching. Now bring those lessons with me on ice. Hockey will always be my passion, but sailing taught me to be the best version of myself. When we are losing in the game, I don’t get down, I lift them up. When my teammates struggle, I encourage them. When I am faced with my own personal challenges, I know how to keep fighting. The US Sailing Olympic Team Trials gave me the mindset to never stop, no matter how big the obstacle may be.