Hello and thank you in advance. My name is Taylor Thomas, and I am a Senior at Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington and my GPA is 3.2. I have always loved animals and bugs ever since I can remember. My Preschool Teacher told my mother that I was the first student to ever bring a Gardner snake back into the class from recess. I never hesitated to pick up bugs or small critters as a child. My mom has a picture of me holding a rat by its tail, and my smile was bigger than ever! Over the years, my fascination with animals and bugs grew, and I began collecting bug specimens and pinning them onto boards. Entomology was my first hobby, and I loved it. About five years ago, I discovered another passion—taxidermy. I taught myself through online videos and by experimenting on small animals I found by the roadside, or in a few cases, animals like squirrels that my dog Zeus accidentally killed. (Zeus is a Doberman and he doesn't know his strength) One of my most memorable projects was preserving a friend’s little sister’s pet hamster after it passed away. She was heartbroken, and it felt good to help her keep her pet forever and ease her grief. I think that was my best project ever. It felt good to be able to help her feel better and help her grief. For a long time, I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to follow. I considered becoming a taxidermist, a mortician, or even a coroner. However, during my junior year, everything clicked when I took Chemistry. Learning about the chemical processes within living organisms fascinated me, and I realized that my love for taxidermy had sparked a deeper interest in anatomy and the sciences. Now, I’m passionate about studying Science, Chemistry, and Math, even though some might think those subjects are challenging. For me, they’re exciting. For some students, these subjects are boring and hard, but for me, they are fascinating. I want to continue to learn as much as I can so that I can help people in the future. I want to study internal medicine so that I can continue the legacy that many women have done before me. I’m proud to say that in the fall of 2025, I’ll be attending Central Washington University, where I plan to study and major in Biochemistry. I’m eager to continue my knowledge and eventually use my skills to help people in the future. I hope you can consider me for a Scholarship. My parents are both Military Veterans and they have worked hard all their life. I want to help relieve some of the financial burden because college is expensive! And they must pay for my little sister too!

I have always been a little different. By that, I was never the normal girl who played with Barbie or baby dolls. From what I can remember- I have always been fascinated with biology and science. I started at a young age collecting bugs and dabbling in entomology. That quickly turned my interest in the anatomy of small animals. By middle school, I was doing taxidermy. While other girls were worried about social media, I made videos on the dissection of squirrels, mice, and other small animals. By the time I was a freshman in high school, the school paper wrote an article about my strange hobby. Now, that I am a Senior, I want to pursue Biochemistry in college. I want to be in the medical field and expand my knowledge. I have always been curious and have always been eager to learn more.