My family has always been a lower class family, my parents were young when they had children and they both are in the educational field. My mom is a math teacher at a local high school, and my dad is a school psychologist at a different high school. This has been harder, because not only do we have three children in our family, we have a very active family, with all three children doing multiple sports. We have always been tight on money, which seems normal to me. I got a job as soon as I could so that I could pay for my own things and help out the family. The financial situation in my family has made a very big impact on all aspects of my life. My family got lots of help with educational fees because my mom works in the same district as where I go to school, which is very helpful and we are very grateful. However it also has made an impact on my determination in school, from a very young age I would do quite well in school, and as I got older I realized that if I continued to do well in school there could be potential for scholarship opportunities which sounded amazing to me because it would help my family a ton. This meant in school I would always try my hardest, I would get very good grades so that I could be one of the top performing students, always turning work in on time and even helping teachers around the classroom. My plan for the future is to become something in the medical profession, I have not decided 100% on what, but I am planning to get my bachelors in Biology, so that I have multiple paths to go down for my next degree. I am hoping to help people in the hospital, and maybe even try and learn new things that have not been discovered yet to try and help others. This scholarship would help me achieve these goals because it would help fund my education. Without it there is a chance I will not be able to get the education I desire, which is at a university. I am also hoping to continue my athletic career as a competitive cheerleader at this university, funding would help this dream come true as well. Without scholarships, my family will need to go deep into student loans, and my parents have their own student loans to worry about already, scholarships would help my family so much so my parents can focus on their other children as well as themselves. I want to be able to do as much as I can for my educational costs. Throughout my high school career, I have done many science classes, and although they are not my strongest subject, I like how this subject challenged me, but also made me want to learn more about it. I excel in math, which is great, but there is nothing fun about the numbers, whereas learning about Biology, and Anatomy was super interesting to me. I liked learning about how things worked, especially within living things' bodies. I am hoping to go to college for Biology, so that when the time comes, I can try to specialize in many different things, rather than being hooked on one thing.

My name is Victoria Virgil, I live in Arizona and I do cheer. I currently work at Dutch Bros as a barista and have worked there for the past 2 years, it is my first job. I go to Willow Canyon High School and currently I am first in my class with a 4.95 weighted GPA, and 4.0 weighted GPA. I have goals of attending a 4 year college and earning my bachelors degree in Biology. This is because in my future, I am unsure yet exactly what I would like to do but I am very interested in biology and sciences. I am hoping to also cheer in college and compete with a team. I am also hoping to attend San Diego State University as my future college and have already been accepted. In my life I have overcome many obstacles to get to where I am today, especially to get to where I am academically. In my family, I have had many issues with my parents, they got a divorce when I was in 6th grade and do not get along whatsoever. I have an older sister and a younger brother who have also gone through these hardships. My family has been investigated by CPS multiple times due to my father and siblings. I have endured this over the years, being called out of school some times to talk to the CPA workers. This, however, never changed my outlook on life, I always knew I could do better. So during these times I continued to strive to be the best, within all aspects of life. My first years of high school I was playing 3 different sports, so I was almost never home. I would also finish my work quite fast and never had homework. This was not because my parents were pushing me, but rather because I was determined to create a good life. I had told myself in 8th grade that I would end up being the valedictorian, which at first I did not believe, but after freshman year I was at the top of my class already, so that gave me the hope I needed, and I continued to get A's every single semester in every class. I pushed myself hard and the only person that could let myself down was me, so I knew I had to keep pushing and being tutoring if I did not understand something. Both of my parents were also teachers, having 3 kids doing multiple different sports can become a lot financially. So I also realized early, that right when I got a car, I needed to get a job, so that is what I did. I have been working hard to find scholarships and working hard to save money to hopefully be able to afford college and help my parents financially. These family struggles I have endured have brought out the best in me and really kept me motivated to be better. Throughout my high school career, I have done many science classes, and although they are not my strongest subject, I like how this subject challenged me, but also made me want to learn more about it. I excel in math, which is great, but there is nothing fun about the numbers, whereas learning about Biology, and Anatomy was super interesting to me. I liked learning about how things worked, especially within living things' bodies. I am hoping to go to college for Biology, so that when the time comes, I can try to specialize in many different things, rather than being hooked on one thing. I am really hoping to go into the surgeon field, and if this dream comes true, I would love to help those in need. Anyone who comes into the hospital, even if they have never been treated before, I want to try and help them, and they could even help me by teaching me more and more about the body. I know there is so much schooling connected to the job, but it will all be worth it once you save a life. I would also love to not only be a surgeon, but also be able to help create diagnoses, help create new drugs to help those in need, and be able to give people the answers they have been looking for. I just want to create a positive impact on people, not only in my community but throughout the whole country. In college, I am also hoping to do some extracurricular activities to have an open social life, and also continue my athletic career as a cheerleader. However, I will always put school first, just like I have done for the last 4 years. I have been a cheerleader all throughout high school and I am the valedictorian of my class, this is because I know how to balance these two things out and how to stay on a schedule. I have planned this out already and throughout college, I also would like to do hands-on opportunities for my major, such as getting scuba certified and perhaps going on dives with professionals so that I can learn early on. I have had many conversations with my family about how to balance college life out and I have gotten a lot of advice from college students as well. These tips will help me eventually get to my goal of becoming a successful marine biologist, and live my dream life of having a job that I love and want to do, rather than a job that I hate and dread going to. I was always told, do a job you are going to want to go to rather than a job you will try to get out of, if I worked as a marine biologist I would never call out sick.

The horrific past of law enforcement and African American individuals is sad to think about and is totally unacceptable. There needs to be a stop to this continuous rain of horror on these peoples lives, when they have done nothing to deserve this hate. There have been multiple movies made about this hate given to people of color from the police within America. These movies really give perspective to those who are unable to experience it themselves and those who have not been given the chance of seeing it themselves. Within America, there is a lot of hate towards people of color and more specifically African Americans. Law enforcement has been responsible for the worst brutality seen towards these people, the difference between African Americans being talked to by the police and a white person is drastically difference which is what needs to stop. Everyone should be expected to be interogated the same way, rather than white people not having to be scared for their lives while African Americans do. There should be no reason that a white person gets pulled over with their black friend and the passenger gets investigated over the driver just because of their skin color. To fix this inequality throughout the country, all law enforcement must come together and make an informed decisions to stop this hate. I believe that all law enforcement should be given a new protocol to make sure all people are treated equal, there should be tests and anyone that fails to treat all skin colors equal should not be permitted to work in that level of law enforcement where they have accessibility to props that can inflict harm onto someone. When a crime is committed, it should not matter the color of skin on the person, everyone should be treated equal and should be punished equally. To fix this relationship between law enforcement and African Americans, the government needs to give an outgoing statement about how they are going to make changes to how African Americans are treated, and the government should give a formal apology to the population. All skin colors should be treated equally under law enforcements eyes and no body should be scared for their life because they were pulled over for a traffic stop. The police need to take responsibility on the hate that African Americans have endured and should make a law how it is unlawful to be treated unequal because of the way you look.

I have been playing Minecraft since I can remember, anytime I would get a new phone or tablet, that was the first thing I would download to play. My mom was a teacher, so from K-8th grade, I would have to wait at the school for my mom to be done with meetings or whatever else she needed to do. It would take from 1 hour to maybe 5 hours. So as you can imagine, I was at the school for a long time and had lots and lots of free time. These are the times I remember playing Minecraft the most, for just hours on end, and if I wasn't playing Minecraft, I was watching someone on YouTube play Minecraft. The best part about Minecraft in my opinion was the open possibilities, you were able to make a new life whenever you wanted, and create things so easily. My favorite aspect of the game was the building part, being able to build whatever you were in need of, or just whatever you wanted at the time. Building a house in Minecraft was my favorite part of getting a new world, you would create an idea in your head and would put it to life. Going around to gather materials to make the house was fun as well, and you could make it as simple or as complicated as you wanted. I think it was one of my favorite parts of the game because I have always been somewhat interested in engineering and interior design, although it is not my dream job, I always thought it was super cool how people would create houses and decorate, so I think I lived through Minecraft doing that.

Since I was little, I have been extremely interested in the sports of cheer and gymnastics. I thought it was amazing they could flip their bodies like they do, and throw people like they do. Everything was so mesmerizing as a 2nd grader. I even tried gymnastics out, and loved it, but unfortunately lessons were too expensive and had to leave the class after only two weeks. But I did not let this stop me from learning what they do and how they do it. I would follow tutorials for weeks after weeks until I got a new skill. First was a back bend, standing straight up and going down, now comes easily but I struggled. Next was a front and back walkover. The most challenging skill I ever learned, was a side aerial. This skill took me almost two years of trying over and over again, but now that I have it, I will be able to do it until I am 60, just from muscle memory. I would fall over and over again, inside my house on the carpet (which underneath was concrete). This was the first time I realized that determination really helps in the long run, I have always been self motivated but the video of me doing an aerial the first time is something I will never forget. After that, I decided in 6th grade, to try out for my cheer team in middle school, by this time I had my back handspring and I made the team since I was one of the only tumblers. My mom was actually the cheer coach and she was a coach who pushed her team to do the elite skills rather than trying the easier ones over and over. While in middle school, from 6th to 8th grade, I had learned to do my round off backhand spring, as well as many stunts. The highest stunt I learned to do was a ruby slipper to the top, which was impressive for 7th graders. I also got experience side basing, since I am now a main base. We also did things like shoulder inversions, and full downs. I am very thankful for this opportunity because it prepared me for high school cheer. When I got to high school, I ended up being the only freshman on Varsity my year, and I ended up competing on Matt as well. I got my roundoff back handspring tuck as well as my standing tuck. That same year, we ended up winning nationals. The next year I ended up getting my layout, and I am currently working on my running full, and my cartwheel full. I have down a multitude of stunting skills, including full arounds, full ups, full downs, tiktoks, back handspring ups, hand in hands, switchups, rewinds, and many more. I have won 2 nationals championships and 1 state championship. This past year my team went to Florida for nationals and got 11th out of 32 for our first year.

My name is Victoria Virgil, I currently live in Arizona, I cheer and work at a local coffee shop. I attend Willow Canyon High School, where I am proudly the Valedictorian for my class with a 4.95 unweighted GPA, this is because in 8th grade, my grade got offered the chance to start a high school class early, Algebra 1/2. Almost everyone took the chance because this would mean we did not have a math class Senior year, but once I started the course I got done with it much quicker than the others in my grade. I actually ended up completing both Algebra 1 and 2, within the first semester, so we decided to enroll me in Geometry 1/2, to take another year off and give me more credits. This is when I realized I really did like to do good in school, so I started making a goal, which was to never get anything below an A, and to end up being Valedictorian. While I was 13, I honestly did not believe this, but I made the goal just so I would have something to gear towards, but it ended up happening. Throughout my high school career, I have done many science classes, and although they are not my strongest subject, I like how this subject challenged me, but also made me want to learn more about it. I excel in math, which is great, but there is nothing fun about the numbers, whereas learning about Biology, and Anatomy was super interesting to me. I liked learning about how things worked, especially within living things' bodies. I am hoping to go to college for Biology, so that when the time comes, I can try to specialize in many different things, rather than being hooked on one thing. I am really hoping to go into the surgeon field, and if this dream comes true, I would love to help those in need. Anyone who comes into the hospital, even if they have never been treated before, I want to try and help them, and they could even help me by teaching me more and more about the body. I know there is so much schooling connected to the job, but it will all be worth it once you save a life. I would also love to not only be a surgeon, but also be able to help create diagnoses, help create new drugs to help those in need, and be able to give people the answers they have been looking for. I just want to create a positive impact on people, not only in my community but throughout the whole country. Alot of my inspiration has been from people within my family, or my friends that have been hospitalized due to one reason or another. I have a long line of cancer in my family, which is heartbreaking. I have seen family members devastated after their father/mother/sibling passes, with them having nothing to do about it. I have had a family member get his leg decapitated from a motorcycle accident, he was saved due to the medical staff and I look up to that. My own mom had a tumor for years, without it ever being diagnosed until she was near death. I never want someone's family to go through that, not knowing what is wrong but knowing something is wrong. I want to be someone that is able to help others.

My name is Victoria Virgil, I currently live in Arizona, I cheer and work at a local coffee shop. I attend Willow Canyon High School, where I am proudly the Valedictorian for my class with a 4.95 unweighted GPA, this is because in 8th grade, my grade got offered the chance to start a high school class early, Algebra 1/2. Almost everyone took the chance because this would mean we did not have a math class Senior year, but once I started the course I got done with it much quicker than the others in my grade. I actually ended up completing both Algebra 1 and 2, within the first semester, so we decided to enroll me in Geometry 1/2, to take another year off and give me more credits. This is when I realized I really did like to do good in school, so I started making a goal, which was to never get anything below an A, and to end up being Valedictorian. While I was 13, I honestly did not believe this, but I made the goal just so I would have something to gear towards, but it ended up happening. Throughout my high school career, I have done many science classes, and although they are not my strongest subject, I like how this subject challenged me, but also made me want to learn more about it. I excel in math, which is great, but there is nothing fun about the numbers, whereas learning about Biology, and Anatomy was super interesting to me. I liked learning about how things worked, especially within living things' bodies. I am hoping to go to college for Biology, so that when the time comes, I can try to specialize in many different things, rather than being hooked on one thing. I am really hoping to go into the surgeon field, and if this dream comes true, I would love to help those in need. Anyone who comes into the hospital, even if they have never been treated before, I want to try and help them, and they could even help me by teaching me more and more about the body. I know there is so much schooling connected to the job, but it will all be worth it once you save a life. I would also love to not only be a surgeon, but also be able to help create diagnoses, help create new drugs to help those in need, and be able to give people the answers they have been looking for. I just want to create a positive impact on people, not only in my community but throughout the whole country. Within the other aspects of my life, I have been the captain of my cheer team, and on this team I have won three championships, two being nationals, one being state. Also in my work life, I have been asked to move to a shift lead position multiple times, but have had to decline in the past due to scheduling.

My name is Victoria Virgil, I currently live in Arizona, I cheer and work at a local coffee shop. I attend Willow Canyon High School, where I am proudly the Valedictorian for my class with a 4.95 unweighted GPA, this is because in 8th grade, my grade got offered the chance to start a high school class early, Algebra 1/2. Almost everyone took the chance because this would mean we did not have a math class Senior year, but once I started the course I got done with it much quicker than the others in my grade. I actually ended up completing both Algebra 1 and 2, within the first semester, so we decided to enroll me in Geometry 1/2, to take another year off and give me more credits. This is when I realized I really did like to do good in school, so I started making a goal, which was to never get anything below an A, and to end up being Valedictorian. While I was 13, I honestly did not believe this, but I made the goal just so I would have something to gear towards, but it ended up happening. Throughout my high school career, I have done many science classes, and although they are not my strongest subject, I like how this subject challenged me, but also made me want to learn more about it. I excel in math, which is great, but there is nothing fun about the numbers, whereas learning about Biology, and Anatomy was super interesting to me. I liked learning about how things worked, especially within living things' bodies. I am hoping to go to college for Biology, so that when the time comes, I can try to specialize in many different things, rather than being hooked on one thing. I am really hoping to go into the surgeon field, and if this dream comes true, I would love to help those in need. Anyone who comes into the hospital, even if they have never been treated before, I want to try and help them, and they could even help me by teaching me more and more about the body. I know there is so much schooling connected to the job, but it will all be worth it once you save a life. I would also love to not only be a surgeon, but also be able to help create diagnoses, help create new drugs to help those in need, and be able to give people the answers they have been looking for. I just want to create a positive impact on people, not only in my community but throughout the whole country.

My name is Victoria Virgil, I live in Arizona and I do cheer. I currently work at Dutch Bros as a barista and have worked there for the past 2 years, it is my first job. I go to Willow Canyon High School and currently I am first in my class with a 4.95 weighted GPA, and 4.0 weighted GPA. I have goals of attending a 4 year college and earning my bachelors degree in Biology. This is because in my future, I am unsure yet exactly what I would like to do but I am very interested in biology and sciences. I am hoping to also cheer in college and compete with a team. I am also hoping to attend San Diego State University as my future college and have already been accepted. In my life I have overcome many obstacles to get to where I am today, especially to get to where I am academically. In my family, I have had many issues with my parents, they got a divorce when I was in 6th grade and do not get along whatsoever. I have an older sister and a younger brother who have also gone through these hardships. My family has been investigated by CPS multiple times due to my father and siblings. I have endured this over the years, being called out of school some times to talk to the CPA workers. This, however, never changed my outlook on life, I always knew I could do better. So during these times I continued to strive to be the best, within all aspects of life. My first years of high school I was playing 3 different sports, so I was almost never home. I would also finish my work quite fast and never had homework. This was not because my parents were pushing me, but rather because I was determined to create a good life. I had told myself in 8th grade that I would end up being the valedictorian, which at first I did not believe, but after freshman year I was at the top of my class already, so that gave me the hope I needed, and I continued to get A's every single semester in every class. I pushed myself hard and the only person that could let myself down was me, so I knew I had to keep pushing and being at tutoring if I did not understand something. Both of my parents were also teachers, having 3 kids doing multiple different sports can become a lot financially. So I also realized early, that right when I got a car, I needed to get a job, so that is what I did. I have been working hard to find scholarships and working hard to save money to hopefully be able to afford college and help my parents financially. These family struggles I have endured have brought out the best in me and really kept me motivated to be better.

I think the most influential person in my life has been my mom. She has not done anything spectacular or out of the ordinary but she is someone I can look up to when I am making hard decisions or just needing someone to talk to. My mom is a teacher at a high school, and she taught me in 7th grade. I think her being a teacher gave me a good point of view throughout school and gave me a perspective to not hate school but rather try my best. Before I had started school, my older sister was in school, she however, did not have the same mindset as me. She hated school and would try her best to get out of it, a few years later we realized that was also how my brother was. I however always wanted to be at school, and I got super anxious whenever I was going to be late. I believe this changed me for the better, because now I am able to go to school without having to drag myself out of bed, I also think my perspective on school made it easier to do the work there. This, in time, made it easier to get A's in my classes, and eventually I actually ended up being the top of my class in high school (so far). This also made it easier for my to multi-task, and be able to juggle multiple things at once, including school, a job, and a couple sports. My senior year I am ending with just pursuing cheer as my sport, but freshman and sophomore year I played softball and volleyball, as well as cheer. My mom was always on my siblings about their grades and when to turn things in, or deadlines, but never me. She made it so that I was able to be responsible without having to wait for someone to tell me to do it. I think my mom is the reason I am where I am, she has made me see that even if things go wrong, you can always make them better, and that life goes on. My mom has had tremendous health problems over the years as well, which in turn made money an issue as well because of how expensive it was. This past year the doctors finally found what was wrong and she had a tumor removed that was making her blood pressure dangerously high. She was hospitalized multiple times and underwent surgery, but right after that she went straight back to work (after recovering of course). Which just taught me how important it is to be self motivated, because she would not be where she is today if it wasn't for her self motivation. I think the same for myself, determination got me to where I am today, but all thanks to my mom who taught me what determination even means.

My name is Victoria Virgil, I live in Arizona and I do cheer. I currently work at Dutch Bros as a barista and have worked there for the past 2 years, it is my first job. I go to Willow Canyon High School and currently I am first in my class with a 4.95 weighted GPA, and 4.0 weighted GPA. I have goals of attending a 4 year college and gaining my bachelors degree in Biology. This is because in my future, I am unsure yet exactly what I would like to do but I am very interested in biology and sciences. I am hoping to also do cheer in college and compete with a team. I am also hoping to attend San Diego State University as my future college and have already been accepted. In my life I have overcome many obstacles to get to where I am today, especially to get to where I am academically. In my family, I have had many issues with my parents, they got a divorce when I was in 6th grade and do not get along whatsoever. I have an older sister and a younger brother who have also gone through these hardships. My family has been investigated by CPS multiple times due to my father and siblings. I have endured this over the years, being called out of school some times to talk to the CPA workers. This, however, never changed my outlook on life, I always knew I could do better. So during these times I continued to strive to be the best, within all aspects of life. My first years of high school I was playing 3 different sports, so I was almost never home. I would also finish my work quite fast and never had homework. This was not because my parents were pushing me, but rather because I was determined to create a good life. I had told myself in 8th grade that I would end up being the valedictorian, which at first I did not believe, but after freshman year I was at the top of my class already, so that gave me the hope I needed, and I continued to get A's every single semester in every class. I pushed myself hard and the only person that could let myself down was me, so I knew I had to keep pushing and being at tutoring if I did not understand something. Both of my parents were also teachers, having 3 kids doing multiple different sports can become alot financially. So I also realized early, that right when I got a car, I needed to get a job, so that is what I did. I have been working hard to find scholarships and working hard to save money to hopefully be able to afford college and help my parents financially. These family struggles I have endured have brought out the best in me and really kept me motivated to be better.

If I were to look ten years into my future, I would hope to see myself somewhere in the scientific field of professions. I want to be a marine biologist, studying various things about the ocean and the creatures that live there. Since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a Veterinarian. It was my dream to work with animals every single day of my life, until I found out some of the harder things that come with that profession. After that I was very back and forth between doctor and marine biologist, but I eventually decided to go into marine biology, since it would be combining the scientific things about being a doctor, with the fun aspect of the ocean and the animals. This would be a dream of mine to just be able to go to the ocean for my job and study what I see, including the animals, the waves, the rocks, everything. I have always loved the ocean too, which has been hard as I live in Arizona, but whenever we went to California for a trip it would be the best time of my life. My plans to make this happen are already in motion. I have applied to my dream college for a marine biology major, and was accepted as of December of 2024. This was so exciting to me because not only am I starting a major that I really want to be in, I am also starting that career in a place that seems so fitting for me. I have started my intent to enroll for this university and have already started on scholarships, and have finished my FAFSA. My parents are both in education so I really want to try and help pay for my college with some scholarships. In college, I am also hoping to do some extracurricular activities to have an open social life, and also continue my athletic career as a cheerleader. However, I will always put school first, just like I have done for the last 4 years. I have been a cheerleader all throughout high school and I am the valedictorian of my class, this is because I know how to balance these two things out and how to stay on a schedule. I have planned this out already and throughout college, I also would like to do hands-on opportunities for my major, such as getting scuba certified and perhaps going on dives with professionals so that I can learn early on. I have had many conversations with my family about how to balance college life out and I have gotten a lot of advice from college students as well. These tips will help me eventually get to my goal of becoming a successful marine biologist, and live my dream life of having a job that I love and want to do, rather than a job that I hate and dread going to. I was always told, do a job you are going to want to go to rather than a job you will try to get out of, if I worked as a marine biologist I would never call out sick.

Throughout my childhood, we had many different gaming systems, the Wii, the Nintendo switch, the XBox, and more. We have played so many games through the years that it is difficult to remember them all. But, one game that sticks out to me for a multitude of reasons, is Doctor Mario. Yes, I know it is not a traditional Nintendo game from recent years, it is an older game, one from when my mom was a child, but now, it is one of the most played games within my household. We have tournaments every time we go to my aunt and uncles house, and will play at home when we are bored. We have the old Dr. Mario, the game from the 90's, not the new one. There are so many good memories with this game, including when I would go home early from school, being sick, and I would just play Dr. Mario until I beat a level on single player mode and would get to level 25 before losing. But the best memories I have gotten with the game is definitely going over to our aunts house and playing with our uncle. He has been playing since he was a child, and is a video game expert in all. So when we play against him, we never expect much other than just to play and lose. However, me and my family have stumped him a couple times, my mom more than anyone else. Whenever we win a game (not even a full game just one of the three levels), we get so excited and start to brag as if we just won the marathon for a million dollars, but instead of winning anything we just win that one game and lose the other two, but it is so fun when we get to have that experience and get super happy before losing inevitably.

Zendaya is an amazing person, she can do everything, she is one of my favorite celebrities from watching her when I was a child to binge watching Euphoria on Sunday nights in high school. I respect all of her roles and her many different talents. She is an amazing actor and whenever I see her in a film, I NEED to watch it. However, she is a very talented singer, and I think she is overlooked in that aspect. In many of her films she has been able to sing in her roles, including Euphoria, the Greatest Showmen, and even in Shake it Up. I think her singing ability really just accentuates her flexibility to fill any role you put her in. I love her voice and although she is not a professional singer, I always am so excited when I see she gets to use her voice within her movies and shows. I admire this aspect of her because even though she is not singing in her everyday life and doesn't go on tours for her singing specifically, I still think she is one of the most talented singers in pop culture. Without needing that tremendous amount of training that others have gotten, she still sounds amazing within each role she pursues. I just think that her singing career has been overlooked by many, and no one has really talked about how she could really fly if she wanted to pursue a singing career. She is amazing in so many ways though it is tough to choose only one, she is such a valuable person in the media because of her flexibility, of being able to switch from being on Disney Channel, to acting as a drug addict, and making both roles super believable and entertaining.

Our earth is 70% ocean, it covers more than half the planet. This is the majority of the world, and I care about the world, and not just the land piece. The oceans are a very important part of the world and should be important to everyone. It is where many minerals come from, and it has a lot to do with the weather. It is also home to millions of animals and living things, just as our land is. Although many of the ocean is unexplored, we should still care just as much about the things we don't see. Global warming has been an issue for years, yet we have done nothing to stop it. Our glaciers are shrinking, and it is changing the whole dynamic of the world. Our oceans deserve to be protected just as we protect the people who are important to us. The oceans can do alot for us but we continue to take them for granted, which is evident in the amount of trash that is in the ocean, and the amount of animals being killed who are nearly extinct. I have always been fascinated by the ocean and the things that live in it. I was always amazed of how enormous it is and how there are so many things that are unknown, that is why I am getting into marine biology. I would like to continue to explore and learn more about the ocean, and would like to protect the ocean from harmful things, such as trash, oil, humans. The ocean has so much potential and we have treated it like a landfill. I would like to learn about how the ocean works and the organisms inside so that I can have a deeper understanding of this huge area. Protecting our oceans should be on everyone's mind as it is continuing to just get worse and worse as society continues to take it for granted and the animals in it. I want to study oceanography as well as marine biology, so I can understand the oceans physical processes. Understanding how the ocean works can help me do my best to protect it from people and harmful things. I can study the past of the ocean, the present and even the future. Since it is such a huge volume, it is hard to understand the entirety of it without understanding at least some of the mechanics in it. I think everyone should care more about our oceans and learn a little of how to help protect them and the organisms in it.

I do cheer for high school in Arizona, this year we are going to Florida for nationals which is so exciting! But my family has to be on a payment plan to even get close to going to Florida. The minimum we had to pay was $600, and that only includes the trip to actually get there, not the food or things I may need when I am there. My mom was supposed to go but it is not looking like she is going to be able to. I have had a lot of experience with money issues coming from a family of high school teachers. Not only are both of my parents teachers but they got divorced after I started high school which made financial things even worse. Right after I turned 16, I applied to jobs to try and help with payments, especially to cheer since it is such a financially dependent sport. I also have a brother who plays both football and baseball, which are a couple more very expensive sports. This has been tough on us and each week it is a surprise if it is a tight spending week or if we are able to go out to eat one night. Although growing up with less money was a struggle, it also taught me about valuable lessons that I feel rich kids are not able to understand. I understand the value of money and what it can be used for, I understand what saving is and how to build your credit score. I have saved up some money since I have started working and continue to save more than half my paycheck each week. This is how I plan to pay for things whilst in college and hopefully pay for tuition to my school. My parents are not able to pay for the full tuition or fees to my school so I am trying to help as much as I can. I can use this knowledge to better my future by hopefully going into the medical field and being able to provide for my family with ease instead of worry. Though this is my hope, I will always prepare for the worst and always have something in my savings just in case. I will also teach my future kids the value of money and saving, if we are financially wealthy or not. I think learning the importance of saving at a young age is how you set children up for success later in life, knowing they will always have a savings account in case something happens and they need to use it. I will be able to use this scholarship to further my education in college and hopefully earn the degree I am wanting. This would help my family a lot and I want to do all I can to try and let them live comfortably while I go to college.