I am a weird kid. I have always been a weird kid. Looking back on my grade school years, classmates found reasons to tease me over my weight, my name, or how I read aloud. But over time, I realized that instead of hiding my “weirdness,” I could embrace it. That shift in perspective became one of the most defining lessons of my life. In my elementary school days, they found a problem with my weight, my name, and the I read. My favorite story of elementary school is when we had to do presentations on our origins, the presentation was on where our ancestors are from and the origins of our names. If you look at my name you can tell that it is unique, the origin of my name is a kind of moose that lives across the Midwest and Canada. My father chose my name in a very unique way and it's my favorite story. When he was young his family was poor. They lived on a farm and after a bad harvest they couldn't afford to feed all the animals, so what was their solution you may ask. My dad and uncle went hunting, they were hoping for bucks or a bear so they could sell the meat and pelt but instead a huge moose came along. They kill the moose and bring it back to the family farm where they sell the meat and pelt but keep the head as a prize. That moose head lives in my grandfather's garage as a reminder of what my dad and uncle did. I'm always in awe of that story, but my peers didn't think so! I was nicknamed Moosey for the next few years. I used to hate my name because of it but with my switch in perspective made me realize how amazing my name is. When I started middle school, I embraced the weird in a new way. I stopped caring what the world thought about me and started doing things for me. I stopped caring about who I should be friends with within the social hierarchy and that is when I met my real friends. The first time I dyed my hair was with those friends, I wanted purple hair. I faced judgement at school for my hair, but they always stayed by my side. They helped me realize that personal confidence is stronger than the judgement of others. I would go on to dye my hair for years until about 2 years ago when I decided to stop. In doing so I embraced my natural hair color and learned to be even more confident in myself. Through all the stories I could tell about my schooling experience there is one question that always arises in me. Why do others act the way they do? That is what Anthropology is, learning about humans to better understand why they do what they do. Instead of judging back or being mean back I would much rather understand the why. The question is bigger than that now, why did humans do what they did throughout history? What do we not understand about the cultures we don't see every day? I want to answer these questions, not just for myself but for the people who are still looking for answers. Thank you for considering my application to the Silver Maple Fund Legacy Scholarship. With your support, I hope to continue transforming the curiosity that once set me apart into the foundation of my studies in anthropology, so that I can better understand others, and help others feel understood.

I am a historian, a scientist, an anthropologist, an archeologist, a student, a sister, an aunt, a niece, and a daughter. In my life I play many roles, and I will continue to play those roles as I get older. I dream of traveling the world and learning everything this world will let me. Not only do I want to learn about the world but I will get my PhD and become a pioneer for women in the field of archeology and anthropology in a male dominated field. I hope to influence the people and the next generation of my family to be their own person despite societal norms. I do not want children or a family, my legacy is my nieces and nephew and the work I do. I play many roles in my life but my favorite is an aunt. My nieces and nephew are one of my biggest drives in life. I want to do whatever I can to help them be successful in life because they deserve the world. In my travels across the globe I hope to teach them and immerse them in experiences they wouldn't otherwise be able to try and do. I may not be able to spoil them in my riches, because that won't exist, but I can spoil them in knowledge and the love that I have for them and with a college degree I can do that. Furthermore, I hope to show them a different lifestyle and that it's ok to not conform to what everyone else wants. I want those kids to be comfortable in whatever they do and don't feel like they are being judged for it, and I want them to be able to stand up for themselves when they do get judged for going against what others want. A college degree to me means living a life that I can love. I find people fascinating and a degree in anthropology will set me up to become a field archeologist. I will travel around the world and learn about the people past and present in this world. Every part of humans from their ways of life to how they evolved. Humans are constantly changing and that's what makes them so different from the other species I could study. Humans have existed for 2 million years, we have created societies, domesticated animals, and fought wars. Even the day to day lives of people are always changing. Just in the last 150 years we have gained cars, the internet, and given women and people of color rights. There is so much history in this world to learn and there is so much history in the making that we can be a part of and I want to be a part of it. I am passionate about people, more specifically studying them. I ask questions like what makes them tick, what are their lives like, why do they do what they do. I have researched and learned as much as I can about history, I took AP US History, and I read the AP world history textbook just so I can learn more. I also have researched field schools and colleges and picked out the best ones I can to get the best education I can. I try putting my research into practice by asking questions to people and I have learned so much because of it and I have become a better human because of it. Thank you for your consideration and remember there is a lot to learn in this world so we should never stop learning.

Hello, my name is Shyra Krueger, I plan on going to UW Milwaukee for Anthropology and becoming a researcher. I have always had a fascination with how humans work and why they do what they do. I hope after college I can travel around the world to be able to learn about the unknowns of cultures and ways of life that humans experience and that takes a college degree in which this scholarship can help me afford to go. As an anthropologist I want to do archeology and be the first to discover something incredible and be able to show the rest of the world what I have found. I also wish to go to cultures that people like me don't get to see everyday and learn their way of life. I want to know what lessons I can learn from them to improve and then continue sharing the lessons. My entire career plan is to become a field researcher until I am physically not able then continue as a college professor until I'm no longer able to. I wish to learn and share knowledge for all of my life and this is the best way I can do that. Learning from our past can launch us into a better future and as the next generation takes over I have high hopes that the past can teach us to be better humans and humble us when remembering where we came from. Another way I can make the world a better place is by going into villages of isolated communities and learning about them. Shedding their world in the modern world could help people be less ignorant and maybe take the lessons we learn from them and maybe their lessons will help the rest of the world become better people. We will never know until we actually try. I chose Anthropology and Archeology because I find people fascinating. Every part of them from their ways of life to how they evolved. Humans are constantly changing and that's what makes them so different from the other species I could study. Humans have existed for 2 million years, we have created societies, domesticated animals, and fought wars. Even the day to day lives of people are always changing. Just in the last 150 years we have gained cars, the internet, and given women and people of color rights. There is so much history in this world to learn and there is so much history in the making that we can be a part of and I want to be a part of it.

The world has so much knowledge to offer and I want to know it all. The scholarship will launch my education in Anthropology and Archeology by funding my college education and field school. I dream of traveling the world and learning everything this world will let me. Not only do I want to learn about the world but I will get my PhD and become a pioneer for women in the field of archeology and anthropology because it is a male dominated field. I chose Anthropology and Archeology because I find people fascinating. Every part of them from their ways of life to how they evolved. Humans are constantly changing and that's what makes them so different from the other species I could study. Humans have existed for 2 million years, we have created societies, domesticated animals, and fought wars. Even the day to day lives of people are always changing. Just in the last 150 years we have gained cars, the internet, and given women and people of color rights. There is so much history in this world to learn and there is so much history in the making that we can be a part of and I want to be a part of it. After I am done with college I hope to work as a field archeologist in Central America in a Mayan dig or I will go into the small villages dotted around the Amazon rainforest in hopes of shedding light about the cultures of the people and disprove the myths about the amazon people. I would also like to go to the Nordic countries to study Viking culture and their ways of life. Being a woman in archeology is a rare thing, there are plenty of reasons for that. There is a lot of sexism in the field, especially in field work. I hope with powerful women joining the field we can change the notion that women are not as qualified for field work as their male counterparts. We can learn to stand up for ourselves and bring a brighter future for all women. Thank you for your consideration and remember there is a lot to learn in this world so we should never stop learning.

I'm so sorry for your loss, he must have had the same fascination of the past I do and the fascination of humans and how they work. I plan on going to UW Milwaukee for Anthropology and become a researcher. I have always had a fascination on how humans work and why they do what they do. I hope after college I can travel around the world to be able to learn about the unknowns of cultures and ways of life that humans experience. As an anthropologist I want to do archeology and be the first to discover something incredible and be able to show the rest of the world what I had found. I also wish to go to cultures that people like me don't get to see everyday and learn their way of life. I want to know what lessons I can learn from them to improve and then continue sharing the lessons. My entire career plan is to become a field researcher until I am physically not able then continue as a college professor until I'm no longer able to. I wish to learn and share knowledge for all of my life and this is the best way I can do that. Learning from our past can launch us into a better future and as the next generation takes over I have high hopes that the past can teach us to be better humans and humble us when remembering where we came. Another way I can make the world a better place is by going into villages of isolated communities and learning about them. Shedding their world in the modern world could help people be less ignorant and maybe take the lessons we learn from them and maybe their lessons will help the rest of the world become better people. We will never know until we actually try. I chose Anthropology and Archeology because I find people fascinating. Every part of them from their ways of life to how they evolved. Humans are constantly changing and that's what makes them so different from the other species I could study. Humans have existed for 2 million years, we have created societies, domesticated animals, and fought wars. Even the day to day lives of people are always changing. Just in the last 150 years we have gained cars, the internet, and given women and people of color rights. There is so much history in this world to learn and there is so much history in the making that we can be a part of and I want to be a part of it.