I believe that my greatest achievement to date is surviving. I was able to survive living an abusive household starting at the age of 4. I was able to survive having an estranged father who caused nothing but harm to my outlook on life. I survived dealing with two parents who suffered from substance abuse for 10 plus years. I survived losing a cousin to suicide while in middle school. I survived high school and college applications. I survived working through my financial aid all alone with no knowledge of financial jargon. I survived losing my mother after being in the ICU after a drug overdose and making the decision to take her off of life support. I survived because I had too and needed to show others that it was the only way to get through the lows in life. Without strong examples in ones life they only see negative outcomes for themselves. I survived because I needed to be a role model for my brothers and show that people with upbringings like me can do great things in this world. By utilizing this achievement I have been able to be a shoulder to cry on and emotional support to those that need it. I have been able to give back to the community in many ways because I survived. Even when I didn't think I wanted to I knew I had to because I hadn't shown the world that surviving is the only way to overcome turmoil. Without survivors we wouldn't have the amazing stories of grief, greed, and gratitude from those born before us. If I am awarded this scholarship that is exactly what I will do. I will show the world that we can only push through to obtain our goals and dreams. Now I am sure you were wondering how this is the greatest achievement to date and I will explain why. It is my greatest achievement because like many young adults with similar upbringings don't survive. They either fall into the stereotype surrounding their community or unfortunately die by suicide. I didn't and I want to show the world that you can come out of bad situations and make something of yourself. Your past will not be a precursor of your future and you have the ability to have the greatest achievement of all time. That achievement is surviving obstacles out of your control and turning those obstacles into something great!

1.) I deserve this scholarship because I come from an extremely rich family. The only reason I even am applying is to take the money from the poor and needy. 2.) I want to become a male stripper and use my degree as a prop in my performances. 3.) Well one time I slipped in Target and was able to overcome it by suing and making a fortune from them.

I am currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in dental hygiene. I am hoping to use this degree to support the large community of addicts in our nation. I am looking to use my skills to help various addicts in recovery get better dental care. This will be done once I am able to be financially stable and pay off my loans. With the help of this scholarship I will be able to pay my loan debt quicker and begin giving back to this often overlooked community. By being able to complete my degree and work with addicts in recovery I hope to increase the availability to dental care. Due to addiction this community is often labeled as a "junkie" since they have major oral problems from years of substance abuse. If we can get a better grasp on their oral care then this will hopefully help them obtain jobs and give them a confidence boost that many need to maintain their sobriety.

Throughout 14 years of my life my mother battled alcohol and drug addiction. Right around the time my brothers when I was 4 going on 5 is when her addiction began. She started out casually drinking and before any of us could intervene she was heavily drinking and experimenting with drugs. After years of substance abuse and abusive relationships my brothers and I were taken to my grandparents who became our legal guardians. We have lived with them since we were initially taken from my mother and they have taken great care of us. Unfortunately they are unable to stay on top of groceries, mortgages and other expenses leaving me in charge of my college finances. As it was coming to me receiving my acceptance letters to the various universities I applied to the unimaginable happened. On my way home from my technical high school after assisting dentists at Tufts University my grandfather told me I needed to get home as soon as possible. I would later find out my mom had overdosed from laced heroin and was in critical care. This had happened multiple times at first but when I had discovered she was being transported to a larger hospital I knew it was serious. My mother was left after overdosing by a "boyfriend" where she was losing oxygen to her brain. This level of hypoxia left her almost completely brain dead with just her brainstem surviving. After her initial overdose we spent an entire month moving to larger critical care units, various brain function tests and many sleepless nights until we made the worst decision I had ever made in my life. I simply could not watch my mother waste away and couldn't do the two in the morning forty-five minute drives because she was spiking a fever or gurgling on her ventilator tube too often. That is when we made the decision to take her off of life support. We lost my mother on January 11th, 2020 right before I found out I was accepted to all the universities I had applied to. I was never able to tell her and see how proud of me she was. After her death we came into an even larger financial burden with funeral costs, losing time at work from being at the hospital and eventually my grandfather losing his job from a genetic bone disorder. This has left an immense financial strain on my family and myself making loans my only option to complete school. Half way through my undergraduate degree I lost the only co-signer I had for loans and am now struggling to have the financial stability to complete my degree. This scholarship would allow for me to overcome the only barrier holding me back from completing my degree. Along with finally being able to make my mom proud as I know she has been my guiding light since she unfortunately left us. Thank you for your considering me for this privilege and taking the time to read my story.