My life changed on February 24th, 2023. I find immense happiness in helping my community. Last year, I was a part of creating an influential community service project for an organization at my school called Skills USA. I cannot even express how excited I was to have the opportunity to influence my community. Two other women and I came up with the idea of creating a day to celebrate and spread awareness for individuals with special needs. This noteworthy event was called the Special Needs Fun Day. In all, over 250 community members attended the Special Needs Fun Day. Everyone from individuals with special needs, high school volunteers, workers from Goodwill Industries, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and even the news were preset for this life-changing event. I knew I could make a difference, but this project turned out to be more valuable than I had ever imagined. Aside from preparing and serving lunch, running a dance, taking pictures, conducting bingo, and karaoke stations, we volunteers discovered ourselves leading congo dance lines, helping individuals sing karaoke songs, and engaging in various conversations throughout the day. Being upon these remarkable individuals opened my eyes to a whole new world of love - innocent, carefree love. It changed my perspective on life and opened my eyes to real inclusion and empathy. I found myself in tears at one point, overwhelmed with emotion. I have no doubt every individual present that day was extremely moved as well. I am so proud of this experience and project. We were able to make the community stronger and give a voice to those drowned out or ignored. Since it was such an influential day, we submitted this project to State Skills USA to spread awareness and love toward special needs individuals. We ended up getting 1st place in the Community Service competition. Because of this, I was able to attend Nationals in Atlanta to continue spreading awareness and promoting our community service. I am so grateful to have been a part of creating such a successful outcome and experiencing all of these life-changing events. To this day, I have continued to volunteer in the special needs community. I have always tried to live through the idea of "Love is Kind." Ever since I was little, I have been an emotionally intelligent individual. It has always come naturally to me to want to help and love others. In my eyes, the phrase "Love is Kind" entails a sense of compassion, empathy, and genuine care for others. It is treating people with understanding and generosity, even in challenging situations. People should always want to put their best foot forward towards others' feelings and emotions when needed. Even more, the phrase signifies a commitment to uplifting others and upholding positive relationships through acts of kindness and empathy. I hope this life-altering circumstance will remain a significant reminder to always live by this motto. My actions of love have shaped me into the person I am today. My next chapter in life is going to college. Molding into an adult, I know I will continue my passion for helping with empathy. Someday, I hope to become a dentist. As a dentist, I would be able to change lives. Because of the moving experiences I encountered with special needs individuals, I aim to someday provide a rural special needs community with free dental care. I want to be known as an individual who is always there for anyone. I know I can accomplish my aspirations if I work for them. I am ecstatic to see what my future holds.

Ever since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of becoming a dentist. This passion erupted from my mom’s influence. I have so many fond memories of visiting my mom at the dental office when I was little. I would find her, give her a big ‘ole hug, and then proceed to greet everyone else working at the office. My mom has worked as a dental assistant for over twenty-five years. Seeing her passion for helping individuals and improving their oral health has inspired me to pursue a similar career path as a dentist. Acquiring this scholarship would help assemble this initial dream into becoming a reality. My mom has ultimately inspired me to strive to become a dentist. She has been the ultimate role model for what it means to have a fulfilling career. Her experiences in the field have solidified my choice to pursue this career path. She knows the ins and outs of dentistry and absolutely loves the environment. Being around it myself, I quickly fell in love with it. This passion has stemmed from being around this environment my whole life. The dentists in the office have been my idols ever since I learned how to talk. Back then, they would let me do chores like cleaning around the office. While being a helpful misfit, I remember talking their ears off and asking questions about the world of dentistry. Even today, I will come into the office to visit my mom and observe my idols. They all give me an abundance of support and provide useful knowledge for my long road ahead. I still regularly bother the dentists with questions, but what’s the harm? That's how I will learn and grow! Because I have this beneficial knowledge of the work environment and its multiple aspects, I believe I am a perfect fit for the job. I am a natural-born leader, and when I am in an authoritative position as a dentist, I will thrive. I believe that my enthusiasm and strong character traits will make me a perfect candidate for the dental profession in the future. Now that this dream of becoming a dentist is gradually becoming true, I am doing all I can to set myself up for success. I have job shadowed multiple dentists in different specialties and acquired an abundance of knowledge and guidance from it. I have also recently applied as a dental technician at a pediatric dental office in my town and am excited to hear that I have the summer position! Receiving this scholarship would help me immensely in furthering my long financial path to becoming a dentist. Dental school is notoriously expensive. This scholarship would provide me with a massive feeling of relief and encouragement to endure the long journey. Any financial stability I can receive would help me to chip at schooling costs, focus on my studies, and further my career. A generous $1,000 scholarship would be incredibly valuable as I work towards gradually blooming towards dentistry. I would be eternally grateful. It would provide me with validation and encouragement as I work towards my dream. I would make my mom, my peers, and myself tremendously proud. The dental profession is perfect for me, and this scholarship would be proof I can do this. I can become a dentist.

In a world full of hate, darkness, and jealousy, there are still beams of joy, light, and selflessness. My name is Olivia, and I am one of those beams of light. I am a senior this year, and by participating in activities and organizations, I have made the most of my high school career. I am ecstatic to see what my next chapter in life has in store for me. I anticipate it's full of college knowledge, life-long friendships, and everlasting memories. Sometimes, being in high school can be very difficult. There are bullies, drama, and negativity. However, whenever instances like that are around me, I try my best to do what is right and express positivity to try and help the dark situation. Because I am a positive peer, a member of the National Honor Society, president of Skills USA, a leader on the dance team and Spanish club, an A- honor roll student, and an individual who gives back to my community, I have always been looked up to in my school. I have found that spreading positivity throughout my community has been my most cherished aspect throughout high school. I will never forget the substantial project that two women in my school and I conducted last year. We had the idea to create awareness for individuals with special needs. This noteworthy event was called the Special Needs Fun Day. We had twenty volunteers and over 200 individuals with special needs who attended. It was held in a local church in our rural community. The special needs individuals spent the day eating their favorite snacks, dancing, taking pictures, playing bingo, and singing karaoke. The volunteers found themselves leading congo dance lines, helping individuals sing their favorite songs, and engaging in various conversations throughout the day. Since it was such an influential day, we submitted this project to State Skills USA and got 1st place. That led us young women to nationals in Atlanta to show awareness and promote our service. We put our whole hearts into this project, made our rural community proud, and gave awareness to those unable to. This event will forever be a huge part of my life, and my community will never forget it. Because of this event, I acquired knowledge and empathy that will help me immensely when I blossom into adulthood. With that, I decided on a path because of the people I look up to and the experiences I have acquired like the Special Needs Fun Day. My dream is to become a Physician Assistant and to have a specialty in Obstetrics and Gynecology. My friend's mom has this exact job, and she helps women every single day. I have looked up to her ever since I was a little girl, and I want to be like her someday. I have had a huge appreciation for this specialty, and I believe it is my calling to help the women in my community. Once I am finished with schooling and a few years into this occupation, my dream is to someday give pro bono care to women with special needs. I know I can achieve these goals if I put my whole heart into it just like that Special Needs Fun Day. I already made an impact on my rural community with the Special Needs Fun Day, so I know I can do it again by becoming a Physician Assistant and helping out the women in my community. I cannot wait to make my community proud once again.