My name is Owen Graf and I am from Oxford, Pennsylvania. As a kid, I grew up in a loving, Christian household but always felt a gaping hole in my life. In late middle school and early high school I found summers hard to get through often questioning my purpose in life with so much free time and nothing to do. Eventually, this led to my passion for tennis which was able to temporarily fill some of the hole that felt overwhelming at the time. After pouring my heart into tennis, I ended up injuring my elbow which did not allow me to play tennis for the summer of my junior year. After hearing some of my friends talk about a Bible camp, I decided that I would sign up since I could no longer go to tennis camps with my injury. In this camp, I found a community of people who seemed to have a purpose and some kind of joy that I could not find elsewhere. Watching the campers worship and praise God made me realize that I had not been living my faith to its fullest and led me to pursue my faith with more intention ultimately filling the hole in my life. One testament of my walk of faith comes from my experience in a school club called FCA. When the club started, it had 15 members. Recently during my senior year, a few other club members and I were able to encourage more people to attend, growing the club to 50+ members. What meant the most to me, however, was not the growth of the club, but the growth of the members within the club, including myself. When I became a leader of FCA, I had no previous experience in teaching the Word, in fact I was quite introverted myself. With so many people around me teaching lessons, I decided I would try to as well, wanting to have an impact on others. This was one of the most rewarding choices I could have made. Not only has FCA helped me inspire and instruct others through lessons, but it has also helped me deepen my faith through writing the lessons and trusting in the Lord to speak through me. Other clubs such as Helping Hands and National Honor Society have also encouraged me to serve in my community. This all stemmed from when a tornado hit my neighborhood. My appreciation of the help I received taught me the value of community, inspiring me to contribute to others and join community service clubs as I grew older. Something I am also proud and thankful for is being accepted into the Schreyer Honors college at Penn State University, where I will study mechanical engineering as part of one of the most prestigious and competitive honors colleges in the country. This program offers countless resources to ensure I will be able to get to where I want to be in the future. One career option that stands out to me currently in the stage of life I am in is being an engineer for a Formula 1 racing team. Although this sounds cool, I know it is important not to set eyes on one dream because if you lose sight of the dream, it can feel like your whole identity is lost. What means the most to me is following the plan God has for me which is what I hope to do on my path through college and after it. This scholarship would help ease the financial burden of pursuing mechanical engineering at Penn State, allowing me to focus more fully on my studies, my faith, and the opportunities God places before me.