Growing up, I have always been a hardcore Nintendo fan, playing Mario, Zelda, Kirby, you name it. I even at one point when I was really little collected Mario stuffed animals. Mario has always stuck out to me more than the other Nintendo games. I have a range of games from standard Super Mario games to Mario sports games, to Mario games that are just unique in their own way. My favorite game to play in co-op is definitely Super Mario 3D World on the Wii U. This always spoke to me as me and my brother would play this together almost daily growing up. Sure, the goal is to "work together" and defeat Bowser, the enemy of the game, but we turned into a competition. Every level, the more you defeat enemies or collect level specific tokens, such as stars, you gain these points and at the end of the level the person who had more points gets a nice shiny crown for the next level. The goal for us was never to beat the game, which happened naturally, but to be the one wearing the awesome crown. The best part about this is this resulted in more laughs and arguments than playing normally would, having countless sabotages against each other and game overs. Eventually we beat the game, but we didn't stop playing. One feature of Super Mario 3D World is they challenge you to beat every. Single. Level. Every last one with every. Single. Character. Having 5 characters, but only two of us, we replayed levels countlessly to achieve this goal because we enjoy the game so much. Even today we find the time to revisit our past and play together like when the game came out, never abandoning this treasure of a game. Another reason I prefer this game as multiplayer is that I am playing with people I know and can bond with through this game. Mario kart is thrilling, don't get me wrong, but when you play online with random people it is less memorable than having your friends. Also, another thing I enjoy is the privacy of it being just me and whoever I invite to play, typically my brother. Not having to deal with computer players also competiting is a relief. Also, by having this extra competition me and my brother or friends cannot sabotage each other, or the computer players win, which is the ultimate worst outcome for everyone. In addition, with Super Mario 3D World, it is an easy to learn game. Although my best memory and a lot of my time on this game is played with my brother, I am not limited to just him. I have played this game with several friends as well as my dad. This is significant because quite a few of my friends, and my dad especially, are not big gamers. This is why Super Mario 3D World is so convenient. I can take anyone who has never played this game before and teach them how to play in about five minutes. The controls of the game are very simple allowing everyone to have fun and participate. Super Mario 3D World has allowed me to not only play a phenomenal game but make amazing memories with my friends and my brother for years through the co-op component. I sure hope that if you have not played this game, you look into it and have a just as much joy playing the game as I did. Like any level, I hope I earned the crown and would so grateful you invest in my future.

Motivation. This word represents me every day. I face struggles just like most teens, whether it be in my academics, having chosen to take rigorous college classes, in my sports, struggling to reach new heights in my swim times, or even mentally, where personal insecurities can trick you into a false perception of your own life. However, despite the challenges, I persevere, not only for myself, but for others. I always aim to be one of the more positive people in the room regardless of what I am going through to make sure that others are supported and encouraged even when I do not feel the same. Motivating others is a big reason why I started volunteering. I have volunteered in the Special Olympics, a prom for exceptional people, and the SECU Family House, to support families going through a medical crisis. All of these experiences gave me so much joy as I got to fill others with motivation. While I motivate others to be their best selves, I also am able to motivate myself and use this motivation to reach my own goals. While I cannot speak for other schools, my senior class is very competitive academically. I knew going into high school that I wanted to be in the top few of my class and I did just that. I took classes that were outside of my comfort zone, such as AP Language and Composition, a college class dedicated to writing and other rigorous classes such as AP Calculus and AP Biology. By the end of my junior year, I was 9th in my class earning me a spot as a Junior Marshall to help encourage and support the graduates of 2023. My academics matter to me so much and taught me that I have a competitive side. This is how even from the young age of eight years old I found myself joining a summer swim team. I did not know much when I first joined other than my friends asked me to join. This helped me find my competitive spirit during swim races as well as finding something I love to do. Now in high school I continue my passion for swim, successfully earning a spot as a team captain as well as qualifying for regionals every year of my high school swim career. So many people struggle with intense stress or depression. While I get stressed often, staying organized and working hard allows me to manage this. I am successfully able to distribute my time between my academics, extracurriculars, such as swim and marching band, my job (lifeguarding), volunteering, college applications, scholarships, summer camps, and my free time. Just listing everything makes me realize how much I do and by keeping an organized system and working hard, I am able to participate in all of these and remain motivated. I have always known that if I wanted to reach my goal of going to college, that I would need to work hard to earn some scholarships. I believe my actions have demonstrated how hard I have worked to have an opportunity to improve my future and feel this makes me a great candidate for this scholarship. I would be so grateful if you, the Walters Family, invests in my future so I can in turn invest into others as well.

Throughout my life, I have been a role model and leader to those around me in my classes and extracurriculars. As a member of my school's marching band, I play the trumpet. For my first three years, I was assigned to play the lower split as the band calls it, it is not the melody everyone recognizes, but the harmony that bonds with the music to make it sound pretty and full. I was able to guide others who joined the band on how to march and play their parts properly. Even though every instrument has a section leader, typically a senior, I was not a leader and was still sought out for guidance. I remember we had just received a brand new part and had to perform it just days later. My band director trusted me, not my "leader" to direct us to success. He gave me ten minutes. Only ten minutes before our competition to pull them aside; and I succeeded. By growing close to them they respected me and my advice and were willing to push themselves to success under my wing. As a senior now, they still come to me for advice and I see the band as a family. Another family close to me is my swim family. Aside from high school swim, I swim on a local summer swim team. I originally did this to hang with my friends. However, as time went on, friendships changed, and people lost interest. This past summer I joined the team and I was the only boy in my age group of 15-18 years old. I used this chance to help younger swimmers. Half the practices I went to I spent helping to coach or bonding with the other swimmers. I not only led them in how to become a faster swimmer, improving their technique, but I also taught them traditions and sportsmanship. By walking around asking and gathering people to cheer, I united the team. I know even when I leave they will continue on the traditions I have shown them and will become amazing swimmers. I still see some of the kids and get emotional knowing my summer swim career has come to an end. Along with my leadership, I have shown service. I have not only served all these kids but have assisted in many places such as the SECU Family House in Winston-Salem. I was privileged to learn from the directors about their non-profit and serve the people staying at the house. Knowing the hard times everyone at the house is going through motivates me to serve them and aid them as best as I can. Not only aiding the guests, I aid the house staff by setting up fundraisers and events to fund the cause. The house still keeps in touch with me today as they enjoy my company and help. While maintaining my service and leadership, I also have thrived in my academics. I am very competitive academically with myself. I have pushed myself to take challenging classes such as AP Biology, AP Literature and Composition, and AP Calculus. I can not stand procrastinating and always am on top of my work. I have excelled, always having a high A in every class, and have reached the top ten ranks in my class, ranking 9th and earning me a junior marshall position. I also have successfully become Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint certified, along with CPR, Red Cross First Aid, and Lifeguard certified. By constantly displaying leadership, serving others, and excelling in academics I believe I am fit for this scholarship.