When I realized I was transgender, I was terrified of telling my parents. Growing up in a Mormon family, I was taught that anything queer was wrong and that it was a sin to be queer. After realizing I was a boy, I quickly grew to feel unsafe in my home and around my parents. I became closed off, watching what I said at every moment. The world was also unfriendly, as the Utah legislature banned transgender rights as quickly as they could. Navigating an unsafe home life and facing a world that did not understand or accept me was overwhelming. I became paranoid about going to public bathrooms, conscious constantly of other's eyes on me, and constantly berated by my peers who refused to understand me. Luckily, I had a friend who was going through the same thing I was. My best friend of eight years was always there for me and had come out to me as trans a few months earlier. We vented our frustrations to each other and provided a safe space for us to be ourselves. I became confident in who I was, and I tried less to hide it. My family learned of my queerness, and after a long period of uncertainty, have come to respect my decisions, even if they do not agree with me. With less stress about my safety on my mind, I was able to focus more on my interests, passions, and education. I quickly discovered my love for gardening and agriculture. Working with the earth and growing food helped me understand myself and my space in the world. My hands hardened with dirt comforted me when people would berate me for who I was. The long days in the sunshine, the hard work, and the sweat got me out of my depressional ruts. I became confident in myself, and I was able to talk to my doctor about my mental health. I got access to mental healthcare and have grown as a person. Depression, anxiety, stress, and pain were still a part of my daily life. The strange looks I receive in public make me worry about my safety, bathrooms still scare me, and every day I stress about the transphobic bills and laws restricting me and my community. Through my friends, and my passion for agriculture, these stressors are not as big as they used to be. I am incredibly lucky to have found my people and my space. As I entered my senior year of high school, I decided to pursue agriculture. I want to share my love for the earth, and the healing it has brought me with as many people as I can, and college is the next stop in my journey. Though there are still many limitations and challenges in my life due to my queerness, I have fought for my own safe space, and through that, have learned to fight for myself.

I wish to use a degree in horticulture to educate the current and future generations on the importance of the natural environment, and the healing that gardening can bring. My biggest goal is to graduate with a four-year horticulture degree. I hope to find a career in botanical gardens to maintain a public resource for agricultural education and awareness. I have a passion for pollinators and organic gardening and how food and culture connect the world, individuals, and the economy. Gardening has changed the course of my life in just three years. I first gardened with my classmates, in an agriculture class I took simply for the credits. I discovered the joy and the work that goes into working with the earth. Soon after integrating my garden into my home, I desired that others could also experience the same thing. I got in contact with a neighbor of mine, who is very involved with urban gardening, and asked if I could work for her for the summer. She said yes, and through the following months, I learned essential lessons about gardening and other people. At the end of the summer, I was able to teach my peers about gardening. I taught them about compost, water usage, planting crops, and the importance of pollinators and fertilizers. This experience was exciting, as well as nerve-wracking. I loved teaching my peers about the garden and using my knowledge to help people achieve their goals. As I transitioned into my senior year, I instantly knew I wanted to pursue agriculture. After much research, I discovered most agricultural colleges were not in my home state. If I wanted to pursue this dream, I would have to leave behind everything I've known. This was scary as I never lived anywhere but Utah- my home state. After discussing it with my family and friends I decided to pursue my degree out-of-state. My education is important, and I do not want to settle for less to protect my comfort. I have since been accepted to my college of choice- Montana State University. As I begin my journey to higher education, I have become concerned about the costs of college. Now that I am working towards getting my degree, the most pressing matter stopping me from fully investing myself in my education is the cost of it, as my family has never had money to save for college. With covid, it has been hard to secure many jobs, and I find my savings lacking. With this scholarship, I'll adjust to college life in a new state much easier, as I will have a financial cushion while I begin my first independent learning journey.

My creative passion is learning. Learning new ways to occupy my hands and make something beautiful has always captured my mind. At the start of the 2023 year, I was introduced to the art of crochet. I instantly became hooked, and I began creating whatever I could. Eventually, I began making my own patterns and started a shop to share my creations with the world. This pattern of learning, becoming invested, and sharing my art has been a theme for my whole life. The main form of art I practice is drawing, whether traditional or digital. Drawing has allowed me to escape from reality and helped me get my ideas out to other people. For many years, drawing was my output, and I didn't know of any other way to create. When I was very young, 8, 9, 10, I was given a small amount of clay to play with. I was instantly enamored. I created people, creatures, dragons, animals, worlds. I never thought that my drawings and creations could become real. The clay soon became full of hair, dust, and dirt, but that didn't stop me. I made cars, pianos, and puppets, my mind flooded with the details of it all. One day I lost my precious clay, and I forgot about my creations for a long time. Sculpture appeared on my schedule senior year, and I became excited; Memories of my childhood creations molded into my mind were recognized. The first project: create a skull. This project was exciting, and as my mind raced for ideas, I found myself wanting to challenge myself to make a non-human skull. With permission from my teacher, I began work on a clay cat skull. The process was therapeutic, as I had lost my cat a few months prior. As I worked, I recollected how I sculpted as a child, how the clay bent under my fingertips and changed with the softest touch. I soon finished my first official sculpture. Continuing with pottery, I learned how to use the pottery wheel. My first bowl was wobbly, uneven, and had lots of variation in thicknesses. I was proud of it. As I inscribed my name on the bottom of the bowl, a rush of pride and excitement that comes with learning a new skill enveloped me. Though not quite the same, and not quite as recent, I have also found joy in the art of gardening. It started with a class I took simply because I wanted the credits that came out of it: Agriculture. The class was a unique end to my day. Being outside, playing in the dirt, pulling weeds, planting seeds, It was all so new. Most art forms I knew took place inside, where the sun only greeted me through an open window. Conflicted, I disliked the time outside, the strain on my body and the dirt that taunted me underneath my fingernails -But I could not find it in me to leave the class. There was something about it, a small, almost undetectable spark of creativity it lit in me that I had never felt before. As the year passed by, I grew to love the towering sunflowers, the sweet smell of earth, the sprouts that seemed so happy to be alive, and so very happy to see me. The activity I once loathed soon became a comfort. I grew anywhere I could. My backyard becoming overrun with strawberries, lettuce and herbs. I was happy. If I had an extra 24 hours in a day then I would surely use it to learn something new.

@washed.away.here

As a child, I would look at the stars every chance I could get. I would be blown away at how many stars can occupy the sky at one time on camping trips, and I would find comfort in the culture created around them. I remember watching Bill Nye talk about the universe and start dreaming for hours about meeting aliens and looking through telescopes to unlock the mysteries of the universe. As I grew older, I became increasingly interested in space. I learned about wormholes, black holes, and new planets being discovered, It was so exciting to me that for months it would be all I would talk about. I would wander on NASA's website for hours, soaking in the pictures of distant galaxies, and information about exciting discoveries, wondering all the while what was out there for me to explore. We inhabit the universe, yet we do not understand it. We understand how planets move, are made, and how stars burn out, But we do not know why these things happen, and why it's happening at all. The universe holds millions of secrets, discovery, and wonder that can help the human race reach new heights. Wormholes could be the key to future time travel, black holes could be our renewable trashcans. We can populate other planets, learn more about how different star systems function, and possibly find alien life. The possibilities of the universe are endless, and I want to do further research so we can understand it a little more. Anything from charting planets and collecting data from satellites to helping astronauts take off from the surface of the earth to see what's out there. I want to work with as much of the universe as I can. I am particularly interested in black holes. My interest was sparked after I saw the first picture of one. The beauty of it was unparalleled. It introduced me to new questions I had never asked before. What purpose do they serve in the universe? What would happen if two black holes were next to each other? What happens when a black hole is entered? I aim to research these questions and shed some new information that has never been discovered before. I have only recently rediscovered my love for the universe. The infinite possibilities and knowledge are waiting to be discovered, and I want to take steps to find them.

Last summer I taught a group of my peers about urban gardening and agriculture. For the whole summer, I had been working with a neighbor in their garden as an intern, and at the same time, I was attending a college class for urban gardening and communities. I was excited when I learned these two things would collide, as my class was taking a visit to my neighbor's garden. My neighbor told me that she wanted me to teach my peers during the lesson. I was excited, however, I did not think I was prepared to teach the class about what I had been learning. I expressed this to my neighbor, and she immediately started teaching me and reminding me of all the things I had learned. She talked with such vigor, and she encouraged me to take the step to educate my peers. I was blown away at my neighbor's kindness and service, and that she had let me into her home and garden and truly taught me everything she knew. My neighbor never asked for anything in return, and it furthered my education. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to be like my neighbor. I want to pass on knowledge and be kind to the earth and the people around me. When the day came for me to give my lesson, I was confident and prepared. I walked through the garden, telling my peers about sustainable growth, plant diversity, chemical-free pest control, composting, and more. My peers had questions about all of these things, and I was able to help them learn while also learning myself. This was an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my career.