I fell in love with Wicked when I first saw the Broadway in October of 2021. I was drawn to Elphaba and related to her in a way. She was green and different. I have hearing loss and am different. Despite the odds against her, Elphaba stood out and remained empowered. She encouraged me to do the same. I also love the girl power surrounding Wicked. I love all of my girl friends and know how empowering and special those friendships can be. Not to mention, of course, Wicked has a killer soundtrack. I mean "Defying Gravity" just leaves me in awe every time. I know its one if the most popular songs, but rightfully so. Wicked will always hold a special place in my heart because it was my first Broadway and first true musical. The movie was on a whole other level. It was captivating from start to finish. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo....FLAWLESS. It was a wonderful adaption and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. If I could sum Wicked up into one word, it would be...breakthrough. It demonstrates the breakthrough of Elphaba's character as well as a breakthrough of the background of the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba). It shows there is more to the story, and that we truly never know someone's story. It's their own to tell.

I was born and raised in a Christian family. We went to church every Sunday and Wednesday. I have never known a life without the knowledge of Jesus Christ. However, I did know a life without Jesus living in my heart. My spiritual journey cannot be discussed without discussing my hearing loss because this adversity played a key role in my faith. I was diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of 3. My hearing continued to decline until it become severe to profound at the age of 9. I was then told I would have to receive a cochlear implant. This would require surgery. As a 9 year old, the idea of surgery scared me. Having doctors operate on the outside of my skull terrified me. I knew if one thing went wrong, I could die. I also knew that if I died, I was going to go to hell and spend an eternity apart from my Lord, and that terrified me most of all. I remember expressing this fear to my parents and telling them how I knew I needed to be saved but didn't know what to do. My parents helped me pray a prayer of salvation. At the age of 9, I received my Lord Jesus Christ into my heart and my life, and it is the best decision I have ever made. I truly could not imagine my life without Jesus. I long to live a life pleasing to Him and strive to do so each and every day. Without my Savior, I am nothing. I have been blessed beyond measure. God is so, so good. My faith is a defining characteristic of who I am. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ and enjoy sharing my story of salvation. Growing up, I always felt like I had a bland testimony because I had grown up in church and Jesus was all I had ever known. Now I know that every testimony is exciting to Jesus, even mine. My journey to Christ is largely attributed to my parents. I was blessed to be raised by them and to have parents who showed the love of Christ in everything they did and still do. They are my earthly inspirations. My journey in the Lord is ongoing. It will never end, and that excites me. I love that there are so many facets to the Christian faith. I could never say it enough: God is so, so good! I long for the day I get to worship my Lord for an eternity, but I also love getting to be His hands and feet with every day he has given me. I know my days are numbered, and I will spend everyday loving my Jesus. My faith has gotten me through many difficult trials, losing my house to a fire being one of the biggest ones. I have never had to grasp on to my faith more tightly then I did after my family and I lost everything we owned other than each other and our faith and salvation. The Lord played a huge role in the events of October 10, 2022. It is because of His grace and mercy that my family and I are still alive. We lived in a two story house. There are six of us. Even the fire investigators told us how uncommon it was to hear of six people escaping a two story fire. The Lord never left our side. In fact, I believe He spoke words of encouragement to us. The next day, my dad was walking around the perimeter of the house, now ashes, looking for anything that might have survived. He found one thing. A Bible page. It was charred around the edges and only a couple verses were visible. Psalms 27:1 was the most clear and easy to read. "The Lord is my light and salvation---whom shall I fear?" Wow. God knew exactly what we needed to hear. This was how He gave us a hug and told us it was in His hands. He took care of us and provided for us. This event shaped my faith tremendously, and I remind myself of this Ebenezer constantly. My number one dream is to be a godly wife and mother and raise my children up in the Lord. I pray for the Lord's guidance over my future constantly. The career path I have chosen is financial advising, My dad is one of my biggest role models, spiritually and professionally. We have very similar personalities and have had many discussions over financial advising. I have always loved math, numbers, and helping people. Financial advising is the perfect fit for me! I look forward to being able to help my clients each and every day. I want to spread Jesus' light and love with every professional and personal interaction I have. After earning my degree, I plan to return to my hometown and serve my community here. I am the oldest of four girls. I have always hated having to ask my parents for money. This scholarship would allow me to be able to put myself through college and also avoid taking out student loans. I am currently renovating a house with my future husband. He does not have student loans and will not be bringing debt into our marriage. He will finish school before I do. We plan to get married while I am still in school, but towards the tail end of my school career. I would love to not bring debt into our marriage as I know how hard financial struggles can be on a newlywed couple. As I mentioned above, we are renovating a house. This scholarship would help me not have to use all my money on school fees. I would be able to help finance our house with my money and school with this scholarship. I want to ease as much financial burden as possible for myself, my parents, and my future husband. It would also allow me to save money to put toward starting out as a financial advisor. It is an honor to be considered for this scholarship. Thank you for allowing me to share my story.

I have not always considered finance as my career dream. My dad played a huge role in shaping my decision to join the finance field. I have always loved math, numbers, and helping others. What better fit is there than a job in the financial career path? My dad switched jobs from coaching/teaching to a financial advisor when I was in the first grade. I grew up watching him adapt and excel in this field, which is what inspired me to consider financial advising/planning as my dream job. Earlier this year, he switched companies. Through his new company, I had the privilege of attending a zoom meeting with the female advising agent for our region. This meeting opened my eyes. It was a meeting about women in the company and finance. I enjoyed hearing and learning about the different experiences these women have had to get to where they are now. I have always enjoyed helping others. Finance gives me the perfect pathway to do this. However, I believe there is stipulations around having a female financial advisor. Most people prefer a male as they seem to make them feel more safe and secure. I believe one way to improve this is simply by advertising different financial jobs. Had it not been for my dad becoming a financial advisor, I would have no awareness of the different job fields in finance. Having women market their jobs in finance would help improve the system. Our culture has become a lot more accepting of women in traditionally male fields, but we still have some work to do. I have always believed in hard work, determination, and teamwork. If we women in the finance field would continue to work together and show our strength, we could make a remarkable difference. I am not saying we should run the men out. I am saying both men and women in finance should work together to promote the system, the many job opportunities, and benefits. Passion is a part of my personality. If you don't have passion behind what you are doing, is it even worth it? I am diligently working hard in school so that I may improve and expand my knowledge and experience. This will help me become the best financial advisor I could be as well as shape me into a better person. Trustworthiness comes from experience done well. I don't have a lot of experience yet, but I am willing to but in the work to gain it. I want to make a difference in my hometown, my state, my career, and I will do the best I can all day everyday. That is who I am and what I promise to bring to the wonderful world of finance.