I am a hardworking and enthusiastic college sophomore seeking to use my influential people skills, trustworthy nature, critical thinking, and excellent writing skills to serve my community. I am a lifelong learner who strives for excellence and is excited about growing and developing into an effective leader and influencer. I do college to prove to myself that I can go far. I strive to do my best, and finishing with the degree will reward all of my hard work. One of my main influences was my grandparents. As a child, I visited my grandparents' house often and always learned impactful lessons. My grandparents showed me what happens when you treat children well and how it ultimately blesses them. They showed me what I should do to improve our people's lives. I try to be calm, understanding, and hardworking with the people around me at work, school, and in other social situations. I believe that I make better decisions in crucial times, allow myself to understand another person's situation, and try to make their day better when I keep his lessons in mind. My grandmother was more complex than my grandfather because she liked creating drama in the family. I learned some things I did not want to do from her, but she taught me compassion for others. Because of her actions, she taught me to care for people who are lonely or ignored. I learned that many people are not kind and take care of themselves first. I try to be the opposite of that in my life. I have worked at the Boy's and Girl's Club of Jackson. Volunteering at the Boy's and Girl's Club also allowed me to take care of a different type of group and show my leadership skills. I had a group of children I was assigned to take care of and ensure they were at their location on the schedule. I had to show the children where to go and help serve them during lunch. One day at lunch, I saw a child eating by himself. Of course, eating by oneself doesn't automatically mean one is alone. Some people, like myself, like to eat by themselves sometimes. I asked him how he was doing. He told me he was fine, but I saw a tear from his eye. It somewhat surprised me. I told him not to worry and that I wanted to eat with him. The best part about that moment was the big smile he gave me. This has allowed me to respond to different situations and make different intellectual decisions. Thanks to these experiences. I believe I'm more hardworking, calmer, and a better person. I believe that I make better decisions in crucial times, allow myself to understand another person's situation, and try to make their day better. This is why this scholarship title resonates with me. The more I help, encourage, and lead people, the more production and success will return. The more I can make history happen. That is why I believe this scholarship can have a major impact. This scholarship will allow me to be more accessible and less of a burden on my parents with the money. Hopefully, in the future, this will allow me to become closer to my goal as a President or CEO of a business where I can show and use my values to change not only the life of the customer but also the workers.

I am a hardworking and enthusiastic college sophomore seeking to use my effective people skills, trustworthy nature, critical thinking, and excellent writing skills to serve my community. A lifelong learner who strives for excellence and is excited about growing and developing into an effective leader and influencer. As a child, I visited my grandparents’ house often and always learned impactful lessons. My grandparents showed me what happens when you treat children well and how it blesses them in the end. They showed me what I should do to change our people’s lives for the better. When I am at work, school, and in other social situations, I try to be calm, understanding, and hardworking with the people around me. I believe that I make better decisions in crucial times and allow myself to understand the situation of another person and try to make their day better when I keep his lessons in mind. My grandmother was a more complex person than my grandfather because she liked to create drama in the family. I learned some things I did not want to do from her, but she taught me compassion for others. Because of her actions, she taught me to care for people who are lonely or ignored. I learned that many people are not kind and take care of themselves first. I try to be the opposite of that in my life. I have been worked at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Jackson. Volunteering at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club also allowed me to take care of a different type of group and show my leadership skills. I had a group of children that I was assigned to take care of and make sure that they were at their location on the schedule. I had to show the children where to go during lunch and help serve them. One day at lunch, I saw a child eating by himself. Of course, eating by oneself doesn’t automatically mean one is alone. Some people, like myself, like to eat by themselves sometimes. I asked him how he was doing. He told me that he was fine, but I saw a tear come from his eye. It somewhat surprised me. I told him not to worry and that I wanted to eat with him. The best part about that moment was the big smile he gave me. This has allowed me to respond to different situations and make different intellectual decisions. Thanks to these experiences, I believe I’m more hardworking, calmer, and a better person. I believe that I make better decisions in crucial times and allow myself to understand the situation of another person and try to make their day better. This is why this title resonates with me. The more I help, encourage, and lead people, the more production and success will return. The more I can make history happen. That is why I believe this scholarship can have a major impact. This scholarship will allow me to be freer and less of a burden on my parents with the money. Hopefully, in the future, this will allow me to become closer to my goal as a President or CEO of a business where I can show and use my values to change not only the life of the customer but also the workers will use this to show Black people in a better life. Show them side no one wants to talk about and allow other's to see what type of talents we truly have.

I have always been a fan of Lebron James, who is a major influence. When I started to get into sports, I only liked football because, as a kid, I was always a bulkier dude and didn't have a basketball athlete to look up to. So when I saw Lebron James, something lit up inside. I wanted to be like Lebron. I trained to dunk and shoot like him, which made me like basketball. I started to realize that he was the greatest player of all time. The day I became a fan of Lebron was during the 2016 Finals, where he showed me what it means to be a true leader. At the time, I was not really into the NBA and focused only on football. I would play games such as 2k, but I only played my career and didn't understand how the NBA worked. But after seeing that final, I wanted to watch actual NBA games. I started to get more into the NBA, which started me becoming a true fan of Lebron James. Sadly, I had to go through the 2017-2018 Finals, which showed me how glorious he truly is. He showed that he could carry a team to the finals (without Kyrie) and did it twice while also having record-breaking stats. That showed me that he could take a bad team by himself. Not even MJ could do that. Lebron has shown throughout his career that he is still consistent, even with his age. Not only that, but he was able to win another ring with the Lakers when everyone thought he was old and done for. He showed me that he genuinely is the G.O.A.T. Lebron is the greatest basketball player ever and the best at helping the community. He created a school, reached out, helped many in need, and allowed different communities, such as the dropout communities, more opportunities in life and the workforce. I will always respect Lebron when it comes to his hilarious commercials and what he has done for the community. I will always see Lebron as the man I want to become. Lebron not only showed how good a person he is but also how great a father figure he is. Allowing his son to make it to the draft and vouching for him shows his influence. Being a supportive father completes the puzzle of why he is the greatest basketball player ever. I have always been a fan of Lebron James. When I started to get into sports, I only liked football because, as a kid, Lebron showed me another side of sports for me. To this day, I'm still watching NBA games because of Lebron, and I can not wait to see what he does this year.

My name is Paul Jones. I am a hardworking and enthusiastic college freshman seeking to use my influential people skills, trustworthy nature, critical thinking, and excellent writing skills to serve my community. I also seek to be a lifelong learner who strives for excellence and is excited about growing and developing into an effective leader and influencer. I am from Jackson, TN. I come from a family of four (five)—my mother, father, brother, dog, and myself. I love my family and grandparents. Growing up, I would be at their house every day. That is where my best life lessons were learned. My grandparents taught me to treat others with kindness, behave in good character, allow others to help when needed, and have a strong faith. I’ve learned to be a productive citizen. I love them so much, and their example allowed me to become a better person. When my grandparents both passed away (PawPaw in July and Granny the following year on Christmas morning), a very important piece of my heart was missing. Before their passing, my parents became their sole financial support and primary caregivers, taking on all their bills and our own. They even had to cover the complete cost of both funerals. In the mist, my mom would lose her job. Mom has a job now. Yet, the cost of taking on those bills puts them in a financial hole as they try to recover. My mental health was truly struggling during this time. Being around 11-12, I didn’t understand why I always felt so sad. Even at around 10, I believe I had some type of depression due to constantly feeling sadness and depressing thoughts. Before this heartbreaking time, we also had family issues, and I had to watch and felt traumatized throughout the whole experience. It affected me hard, and once I grew older, I realized the symptoms I had. Thankfully, I had parents who would talk to me through all the hardships—saving me many times. My parents wanted me to stay strong, learn from their stories, help others, and succeed. That’s why I listen to my teachers and show the utmost respect. I study as hard as possible to get the best grades and do everything to the best of my ability. My parents and grandparents have been significant factors in my life, teaching me to do what’s right because it’s right. Before my grandfather passed, he told my parents to “Make sure he becomes great.” That is why I believe these scholarships will majorly impact my life. I plan to help my parents until the end, just as they did theirs. This scholarship will allow me to contribute to the cost of my education. I can finish paying the rest of my tuition for this year and, hopefully, the upcoming years. This will allow me to become closer to my goals, have less stress, and help me to do everything to the best of my ability.