My greatest inspiration in life are the animals that surround me every day. I am driven to help by some greater power that I cannot explain. I want to be a veterinarian more than anything in this world, and I work every day to reach my goals. As I am putting in anywhere from 20-50 hours as a veterinarian technician at a local animal hospital, I can comfortably say I am setting myself up for success. Ever since the 3rd grade, I have wanted to be a veterinarian so that I could better the world around me. Sitting here as a senior, I cannot picture a different life for myself. Recently, both of my parents were let go from their jobs, and affording college seems harder than ever - especially when I am looking at eight years of schooling. My parents have always inspired me and have instilled greatness in my very being. My biggest dream is to make them proud, and I cannot wait for the day that they can call me Dr. Reed.

I am currently working on going to college. I am not going to school to get a normal nine to five job, though. My dream is to be a veterinarian for the United States Army. Soldiers with four feet typically get over-looked for their service, but I plan on dedicating my future-self to their health. I would use this grant to help afford my education at an university to be able to obtain my DVM certification, so I can serve my country. The direction I want to go is one few others could say they plan to. I don't just want to give back to my country, though; I want to give back to all of the countries that these beautiful K9s serve every year by ensuring a future of healthy four-legged soldiers. In order to prepare myself to pursue my goals, I am working as a veterinary technician. I work anywhere from 20 to 50 hours a week. I am ensuring a bright future for myself.

This photo is of my dog "Jack" and me. For my senior photos, I wanted to captivate all of my hours I have spent as a veterinarian technician during high school, as well as, show off my future goals of being a veterinarian.

https://www.tiktok.com/@sydney.reed/video/6916278554447695109?lang=en&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6916279616295011846&is_from_webapp=v2

My best friend struggles with anxiety, Bipolar disorder, and clinical depression. I originally met this girl in seventh grade, and we instantly became best friends. Starting the summer going into ninth grade, I noticed a change in her personality. Of course, she told me she was alright. Before too long, cuts started to appear on her; they were on her wrists, sides, and hips. I tried to console her as a friend, but as anyone knows who has been around someone with the aforementioned diagnoses, it takes more than a teenage friend to fight those internal demons. Her parents were in denial for a year or so before they admitted she had a problem and sought professional help. Over the course of that year, my friend started smoking cigarettes, using drugs, and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Her parents pulled her out of school shortly after the start of tenth grade. They finally took her to a doctor at this point. She was diagnosed and provided with the proper medication. Unfortunately, this is not where this journey got better. The substance abuse issues got worse, and to add to it, she was saving all of her prescription medication to take at once to get a high, opposed to taking them to help with her disorders. Once again, her parents fell into denial. I got a call on March 8, 2020, from her father. I was informed that the previous night she had not come home and was later found by the police wandering the streets high on marijuana and drunk. She had assaulted a police officer during her detainment. He proceeded to say that she had been taken to a mental hospital. I hung up the phone in tears, and I prayed that everything would be alright, but I knew this was far from the end. She still battles to this day, and I stand by her for that fight. I want to use my experiences with her to help others when I see the beginning signs of mental illness and ensure that they get the treatment they need. Her battle has changed me to be more understanding of others who are struggling. I have become more patient with the people of this world because I know anyone who is struggling with their mental health will have some downfalls, but that is okay because I now have the basic knowledge of how to get them help. And if I can help just one more person who can help one more person then I have done my part to make the world a bit of a better place.

I am currently working on going to college. I am not going to school to get a normal nine to five job, though. My dream is to be a veterinarian for the United States Army. Soldiers with four feet typically get over-looked for their service, but I plan on dedicating my future-self to their health. I would use this grant to help afford my education at an university to be able to obtain my DVM certification, so I can serve my country. The direction I want to go is one few others could say they plan to. I don't just want to give back to my country, though; I want to give back to all of the countries that these beautiful K9s serve every year by ensuring a future of healthy four-legged soldiers.

COVID-19 has shifted everyone's life in the entire world. I was an essential employee. There is no better time to learn about what you're made of than when you are forced to go to work in the middle of a global pandemic. I never missed a day and never called in sick. When the country went into our original lockdown at the beginning of 2020, I was working for an equine reproduction clinic. Unfortunately, the horses were going to have their babies whether or not there was a global pandemic, so I had to go to work. I learned during this time that I had the ability to overcome anything in order to help out a helpless animal. I ended up switching jobs to a veterinary hospital a few weeks after the lockdown was lifted. Currently, I wear a mask continuously during upwards of eleven-hour shifts. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, my clinic works with a bare-bones staff to limit our contact with other people. Before this pandemic, I would have easily said that wearing an uncomfortable mask to be heavily-worked in the hardest job I have ever held would not be something I was capable of, but as I have recently learned, I am adaptable and fierce in the face of new challenges. I hope others in the world can say they have experienced the same about themselves. From what I have observed, though, our world is selfish and not adaptable to new times. I have learned that our world is made up of individuals that are greedy. Our world has made me ashamed to be a part of it. I hope that every citizen of every country can reflect upon the unforgivable actions that we have made as a whole and make a change. A changing world that can see their issues is a world that will be much improved.

I was diagnosed with an all nut allergy at eight months of age. Growing up I was always told to never let my Epi-pen out of my sight, stay away from nuts and people who have had nuts at all costs, and not eat any food that doesn't have a safe ingredient list. I was teased all through elementary school about my allergy and then in sixth grade the only safe option for lunch was to eat in the principal's office. That is when I thought the worst thing had happened. As I continued to grow, I learned how to cope with my allergies in the most efficient way possible. I figured once I was out of high school, my allergies would be a non-issue in the sense that they would not further complicate my life. I could not have been more wrong. I have always had the dream of being a veterinarian in the Army. Serving our country and taking care of animals has always been my dream. Not too long ago, I contacted a recruiter to discuss scholarship information as I planned on enlisting as soon as I turned eighteen. The recruiter informed me that a nut allergy disqualified me from being able to serve as part of any military branch. I had been in the face of adversity before, but no experience had ever topped all my hopes and dreams crumbling before me. Growing up with this disability, though, had prepared me to pick myself up and pick a different path. This roadblock has influenced me to continue with veterinary medicine as my field of study, but my goals have shifted. I plan on advocating for a way for Americans with disabilities to have a way to serve our glorious country. My disability, or anyone's, will not stand in the way of our hopes and dreams. And I plan on being at the forefront of this revolutionary change to our country's military.

To give back to my community, I have joined several clubs and organizations to help out locally. One of these clubs is my local 4H Horse Club. Through this club, I have been able to help local first responders, active military and veterans, women shelters, animal shelters, horse rescues, and so many more local groups. I have helped conduct fundraisers and work projects to ensure that these organizations receive the manpower and funds to continue. Also, as an officer in 4H, I have been able to impart wisdom to the younger generations about equestrian sports and equine ownership. Another organization I volunteer with, Open T.R.A.I.L Ranch, has given me the gift of being able to help and teach special needs children how to ride horses. Hippotherapy changes these peoples' lives, and I feel so blessed to be able to help out with this magical process. Outside of organizational work, a couple of years ago, I teamed up with my grandfather to put on a first responders picnic at my local agriculture barn. Together, we were able to fundraise thousands of dollars to be able to afford tons of food for the picnic, as well as, several free raffle items as a special thank you to our local heroes. I had the opportunity to shake many of the first responders' hands and thank them personally for their service. I also got the chance to serve a lot of the food. I am beyond blessed that I have had the opportunity to give back to my community in all the ways that I have. I would love to see my community, country, and the world find the same passion for giving back locally, as well as, helping out others as I do. Recently, the news has only been covering the hate man has for each other, and I want to see that hate turn to love. A loving world would be a successful one.

I want to study animal science as an undergraduate student because it will give me a solid foundation for my true goal of becoming a veterinarian. Ever since I was in the 3rd grade, I have known that I wanted to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. My passion for helping and my love for animals are characteristics of myself that shine on a daily basis, and I could not imagine myself as anything but a veterinarian. For the past year and a half, I have worked as a veterinary technician and assistant at two different veterinary clinics. This experience has shown me that this is the perfect career path for me. I know I want to study animal science in college and go on to be an amazing veterinarian.

In this image, you can see my horse and me in our sport of pole bending. I would say it is quite bold of a 150lb girl, me, to run a 1,200lb animal full speed around an obstacle course.