Hello, my name is NIcholas Roberts. I am a single father of two. My youngest being my son 14, who is from my second marriage his mother is out off the picture and has moved away. My daughter is my oldest having just turned 18. Her mother past away during covid when my daughter was 13. I do not receive any support for either of my children. I was laid off from my job in the oil industry at the end of January of 2026. My position was a field technician for an oil testing company, I was tasked with taking a sample of oil from each well I tested along with performing a flow test. the current job market in the area I live in is very bleak, therefor I have made the decision to return to school. After much research I have settled on a trade school program that will see me graduating within 10 months into an expanding field that is not affected by AI. I am born and raised in Bakersfield California. After high school I worked as a Wildland Firefighter trying to get hired on a Fire Department after completing a fire academy however the local departments went into a hiring freeze. I then pivoted to law enforcement being selected by the local sheriffs department and state corrections only to see both organizations enter a hiring freeze. Eventually finding work as a truck driver in the oil field only to see the work dry up. I then went to work for Frito Lay driving a truck. however after my divorce i needed a job that kept me home as I have full custody of both my children. I found a job in the oil field testing wells which kept me in town and had better hours and pay than my driving job. everything seemed like it was going well until the work slowed down and I was laid off. I seem to always have bad timing with jobs. Which is why I have put a lot of long hours into choosing this program, this is the right time to switch my career path into this field. If selected this scholarship would be greatly appreciated paying to go back to school and for 2 children while unemployed is no easy and the money would pay for 1/3 of my out of pocket expenses. I thank you for your time and consideration.