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Sarah Dover

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Finalist

General information

Gender
Female

Hobbies & Interests

  • Cheerleading
  • Dance
  • Student Council or Student Government
  • Exercise And Fitness
  • Baking
  • Painting and Studio Art
  • History
  • Reading
  • Pilates

Reading

  • Thriller
  • Chick Lit
  • Christianity
  • Health
  • Humor
  • Politics
  • Leadership
  • Suspense
  • Sports and Games
  • Academic
  • Novels

I read books daily.

Bio

I am a first-generation college student majoring in political science at Coastal Carolina University, where I maintain a 3.8 GPA and pursue minors in Political and Economic Thought, Pre-Law, and Marketing. I am a Dean’s List scholar and member of Pi Alpha Sigma, a political science honor society, where I currently serve as Vice President. After being cut from a university dance team, I founded Coastal Carolina’s first competitive dance organization, the CINO Dance Company. As founder and president, I led twenty dancers, choreographed routines, and secured funding through advocacy to sponsors and university partners, strengthening my leadership, communication, and organizational skills. I am actively involved in campus leadership through Alpha Delta Pi Sorority as the Director of Facilities Management and Order of Omega, where I currently serve as Executive Secretary. I also participate in the Forum on Liberty and the American Founding, engaging in advanced discussions on social justice and political theory. In addition to campus involvement, I am committed to service through Moped to Memphis, a charity supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. My academic focus, leadership experience, and commitment to service have shaped my goal of attending law school and pursuing a career in advocacy and public service.

Education

Coastal Carolina University

Bachelor's degree program

2022 – 2026

Majors:
  • Political Science and Government
Minors:
  • Law
  • Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
  • Marketing
GPA3.8 GPA

Clover High

High School

2018 – 2022

GPA3.8 GPA

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)
Graduate schools of interest:
Campbell University, Elon University, Charleston School of Law, University of South Carolina-Columbia
Majors of interest:
Political Science and Government
Medical school interest:
No

Career

  • Lifeguard

    pool management · Spring lake country club

    Jan 2020 – Jan 2020

  • Cashier

    Automotive · Express Lube of York

    Jan 2018 – Present

  • Waitress

    Food & Beverages · McGill's Feedroom

    Jan 2019 – Jan 2020

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Law Practice
Dream career goals:
Probate and Estate Attorney
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Politics
  • Volunteering
  • Philanthropy
Bick First Generation Scholarship
As a first-generation college student, applying to college came with intense anxiety since I had no one to turn to for help or advice. Despite these feelings, I decided to face my fears and attend college. At this point, I knew I wanted to become a lawyer, and the first step in this direction was pursuing a degree in political science at Coastal Carolina University. I assumed I knew how my college experience and career path would look, but this vision did not play out as I expected. Early in my college career, I faced disappointment when I was cut from the Chanticleer Girls Dance Team, an experience I hoped would give me belonging and stability as I transitioned to college. Rather than allowing that setback to discourage me, I chose to create opportunity where none existed by founding Coastal Carolina’s first competitive dance team, the CINO Dance Company. Leading twenty dancers, choreographing routines, and securing funding required discipline, communication, and advocacy. Building the organization from the ground up taught me how to lead with resilience and how to turn rejection into growth. During my sophomore year, I encountered an unexpected and defining challenge when I began experiencing serious health issues that forced me to step away from dance. I struggled with chronic fatigue, fainting episodes, and cognitive difficulties that interfered with daily life. After months of medical appointments and uncertainty, I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Managing a chronic illness while balancing rigorous coursework required persistence and self-advocacy, but I remained fully engaged academically and refused to let my diagnosis derail my education. Although my illness slowed me physically, it sharpened my academic focus and clarified my purpose. With dance no longer central to my routine, I devoted more time to studying political theory, where I found renewed motivation and direction. Joining the Forum on Liberty and the American Founding allowed me to engage in meaningful discussions about justice, rights, and the role of law in shaping society. These experiences reinforced my desire to become a lawyer who advocates for others navigating complex and often overwhelming systems. Being a first-generation student and someone who has had to advocate for herself in unfamiliar and challenging environments has shaped my determination to succeed. My goal is to attend law school and pursue a career rooted in advocacy, service, and justice. This scholarship would ease the financial burden of my education and allow me to focus more fully on preparing for law school through academic excellence and leadership. More than financial support, it represents belief in my journey and the resilience that drives me to turn challenges into meaningful impact.
Bold Career Goals Scholarship
I plan on becoming a successful sports agent. Sports have played a major role in my life, so becoming a sports agent will allow for me to keep a firm grasp of this important part of my life. Since the NCAA has recently allowed to college athletes to profit from their brand, the demand for a sports agent will drastically increase. In college I plan to double major in political science and marketing. After my undergraduate I plan to attend law school. After all my schooling is complete I plan to work as a sports and become one of the best. With the skills I have obtained from law school along with graduating with a degree in marketing, I plan to be unstoppable. I want to be known as the most success female sports agent the world has ever seen. I want to create diversity in this male dominated profession. Nothing is going to stop me from achieving my goals.
Bold Books Scholarship
The most inspiring book I have read is "The Kite Runner." This novel follows the story of a young man and his family on their pursuit of freedom, not only from religious persecution but also past mistakes. This book inspires me because it demonstrates what can happen if you do not own up to your mistakes. "The Kite Runner" takes the reader through the lives of these two characters and shows us how badly lying and avoiding the past can affect people. This book is based on true events, so it really brings these themes to life and sends the message that avoiding something may seem like the best idea in the moment but it can hurt you in the past. Sadly, another family lost their lives because of one person's negligence. This book inspired me to always try and tell the truth because it is always the best option in the long run.
Bold Loving Others Scholarship
Love is felt in different ways by different people. Some people feel love by acts of service others is quality time. I do my very best to make sure people around know that I love them. My mom loves acts of service or words of kindness. When I know my mom is having a rough day at work, I will just let her know that everything is going to be okay and that I love her. I also will clean the house for her to let her know that I am thinking about her and that I want her to be less stressed. My sister and friends enjoy quality time, so to show that I love them I offer to take them to ice cream or coffee so we can just spend time together talking about life and what is happening to us. Love is a word that is defined differently by many people. I believe love is showing someone that you care and want them to be happy.
Bold Reflection Scholarship
"What happened to you? You are nothing like you used to be." I replied to this middle aged man with tears in my eyes, sobbing, "I do not know." Elite gymnastics is one of the most grueling activities I have ever participated in. It took literal blood, sweat, and tears. I spent thirty hours or more in the gym a week, so this meant that I had to give up activities that are considered normal for young children. I no longer had time to be enrolled in public school, I had no time to have sleepovers with my friends, and I sacrificed my summers that should have been spent in the sun to spend them in a hot, muggy gym. My coaches were not the nicest people, and since I did not know what life was like outside of the gym I assumed all people, especially adults, were filled filled with this much hatred. I was so hesitant to leave the sport because it was all I knew. When I decided these sacrifices were no longer worth it, I was left with no identity. I went back into the public school system with no friends and no clue how to navigate a social setting outside of an athlete facility. After my first day of school, I had met so many incredible people who welcomed me with open arms. These people were so kind me. The showed me the importance of kindness, and It has impacted me greatly. It has shaped me to always be kind to someone because you never know what kind of an impact you can have on you life. I have vowed to always show kindness because it truly changes the world for the better.
Bold Joy Scholarship
"Mom, what was Dolly Parton's first song?" "Honey I don't know." "Give me a second, I'll figure it out." "Mom, Dolly's first song was Puppy Love." A warm feeling came over me because I was able to find a piece of information that added to a conversation between my mom and I. This warm, fuzzy feeling you get after learning something new; that is what joy means to me. In my opinion, joy comes from knowledge. Learning something new brings me joy because I feel like I am bettering myself and my future. I seek joy by taking in any information thrown at me. I want to learn as much as I possibly can. I learn from reading books or articles. I also learn by watching videos and listening to podcasts. Joy comes from learning because it creates an opportunity for me to create a bright and beautiful future for myself. If I want to know the answer to any question, there a hundreds of resources I can use to find the answer. This brings me joy because I know I am contributing to the future.
Bold Perseverance Scholarship
Pop...the noise that spread through the dance studio as I fell to the ground letting out an ear piercing scream. Some of my peers backed away, others rushed to my side to see what was wrong with me. I felt up and down leg frantically to see if a bone was sticking out if my leg or if my knee cap was on the underside of leg. To my dismay there was nothing visibly wrong with my knee besides maybe a little swelling. I finally calmed down and sat up. My two dance teachers tried to help me walk to the next class room, but I my leg felt like jello and I could not walk. I knew at this moment something was drastically wrong. I called my mom and asked her to take me to the doctor, but it was so late at night that the only that was open was urgent care. Since we are in the middle of a pandemic, my mom decided that she was not going to take me there and risk me getting the coronavirus, so we decided to wait until the morning to see an orthopedic. My x-ray came back clean but my MRI was a completely different story. It showed that I had tore my anterior cruciate ligament or ACL for short. The orthopedic explained that I need surgery and that I have a six month or longer recovery ahead of me. The doctor complete the surgery and explained I would have to relearn how to walk, run, and jump. Relearning how to walk has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done, but I still overcame the adversity. I have a long road ahead of me still, but I plan to not let this injury define me.
Bold Longevity Scholarship
I believe the best way to a long, healthy life is balance. The balance of mental and physical health is crucial to living the best life you can possible live. Exercising and eating a well balanced diet takes care of the physical portion of a healthy life, but creating a stable mentality is the part where most people fall short. Mental health is just as important as physical health because the brain is the control center of the body, so if we are not taking care of it; it is not functioning to its fullest potential. Taking care of your mental health means finding things that relax your mind. This can be reading a good book in a quiet place or even taking a warm bubble bath after a stressful day. Writing your thoughts in a journal and reflecting is a great way to take care of your mental health. Mediation is also a good way to create a clear and healthy thought process. Creating a balance between mental and physical health is the best way to a long, healthy life.
Bold Make Your Mark Scholarship
I hope to make this world a little more kind. Kindness is something that you can show to someone for free, so it is something anyone can do. Kindness goes a very long way because it shows humility. I plan to make the world more of a kind place by leading by example. I can create this example of kindness by simply smiling at a stranger and complimenting one of their features or something they are wearing. I can also make the world more kind by going out into my community and talking to younger people about the importance of kindness. Paying it forward is also a great way I can make this world a little more kind. Kindness seems to be something that this world is lacking these days, but I plan to make this change by showing others that it is wonderful to be kind. Kindness builds people up and makes the world operate in a smoother manner.
Bold Acts of Service Scholarship
I have donated over $200 to a foundation called Cure SMA by making and selling paracord bracelets. I have also helped at countless Relay for Life events to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. I am involved with student council at my school and on the MLK day of service we go out into the community and clean up the run down parks and community centers by picking up trash and doing basic landscaping. With student council, I have also helped organize many canned food drives where we donated all good raised to the pantry at our school. This pantry is a place for students who cannot afford groceries to come and pick up food for them and their family. I also started a blanket drive for homeless people in my area, so that no one has to go cold during the winter. I have donated to many toiletry drives and clothing dries. Before the pandemic hit, my dance studio and I went into nursing and performed for the residents. We also put together gift bags for the residents in these homes.
Bold Passion Scholarship
I am passionate about helping those in need. I believe that no one should go without the basic necessities such as food, hygiene products, and clothing. I have helped with numerous canned food drives as well as hygiene product collects. I have also helped package bookbags for students in my school district who could not afford new school supplies. While we packaged the bookbags, we also gathered gentled used jackets and new shoes so these children could have a wear coat and a new pair of shoes for the school year. I am also passionate about helping anyone who just needs someone to listen to what they are going through. Listening to someone is a simple act of kindness that can go a long way and truly help someone. People could always use a reliable friends and I want to be that friend for people. I want to help people by providing someone to confide in about anything. Helping people is my passion and this is one reason I want to become a lawyer. Lawyers can help families receive for a wrong that has been done to them or a loved one.
Bold Study Strategies Scholarship
I personally get the most success from group study sessions. In my dual enrollment anatomy class my teachers sets aside time for our class to prepare for tests so a few people in my class meet at one of the lab tables and quiz each other on possible test material. Group study sessions are a great way for me to achieve academic success because the people in my group encourage me to try my absolute hardest. My group members also make learning entertaining by making jokes and creating conversation that has to do with the topic we are discussing. The members of my group also push me to study harder so we can compete to see who gets the most number of questions right. Playing games such as Quizzizz and Quizlet also help me achieve success because they are engaging and entertaining. They are fast passed and help me to quicken my response times.
Bold Driven Scholarship
In the future, my main goal is to become a successful lawyer and possibly even own my own law firm. Of course I have other small goals, one being able becoming a collegiate dancer, but becoming a lawyer is my main goal. I have wanted to be a lawyer ever since my mom introduced me to the movie "Legally Blonde." I have always found the story of how Elle Woods became a lawyer fascinating. She had to overcome so many obstacles, but she never gave up. Many people saw her as an object because she was classified and a pretty, blonde woman, but she proved those around her wrong time and time again. I want to be like her and never quit no matter what is thrown at me. Through perseverance and a lot of hard work, I plan on making my dream of becoming a successful lawyer come true just like Elle Woods.
Bold Simple Pleasures Scholarship
One simple pleasure in my life that has always brought me joy, is sitting by the fireplace with a warm drink. This is something that I have enjoyed since I was kid. The feeling of a warm, cozy blanket cuddle up in a comfortable chair next to the fireplace has always brought me happiness. The warm embrace of hot chocolate or even wassil is something I have loved since the age of three. My grandmother always used to set me right near the fireplace with a nice warm, big mug of hot chocolate. She would then turn on a movie for both of us to watch and slowly I would start to get very sleepy. Before I knew it, I was asleep. Being by the fireplace with a nice warm drink reminds me of a warm, tight hug of a loved one, making it one simple pleasure I will always cherish.
Bold Giving Scholarship
Giving is important to me because it makes me feel like I am helping other, and helping others is my passion. Giving is a great way to show someone you care by a simple act of kindness and it goes a long way. Kindness shows others that you care what they are going through. I give back by offering people struggling with something my time and support for their issues. I enjoy giving to others because it makes me feel like I am doing something important. I also give back to my community by volunteering for events through my school's student council. We are currently doing canned food drive for the holidays to ensure those in need in our community have food for the holiday break. I have also done a blanket drive for the homeless, so that any homeless person I saw on the street would have a warm blanket for the winter because no one should go cold. I have given back to my community by donating toiletries to a drive student council sponsored. I give back to my friends by picking up little things they like and randomly surprising them with them when they are having a rough day. In summary, giving back is extremely important to me.
Bold Listening Scholarship
I practice actively listening to those around me by engaging in meaningful conversations that relate to the topic the individual is discussing. I also put away all distractions when someone is discussing something serious with me. These distractions include: my cell phone, laptop, or I will pause my music or television. When I am in school, I will ask questions that relate to the topic my teachers are discussing to show that I am actively listening to the topics they are trying teaching us about. Listening to me means that someone is engaging in an in depth conversation with you as you are trying to explain a topic or situation. It also means showing that you care about the topic an individual is discussing. In my opinion active listening can be shown through adding to the conversation, asking meaningful questions about the topic, putting away distractions, and making eye contact with the individual who is speaking.
Sarah Dover Student Profile | Bold.org