I want to become an accountant. I have big dreams of living a more stable life than my parents could provide. Go to college, become an accountant, and live happily ever after. I lived by the quote, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” I want to be able to give myself a more prosperous life, but also give my parents the life that I believe they deserve. My family has had their fair share of financial issues that are far from helping pay for my college education. My family is living off of one income due to my father being forced to retire early because he fell ill. My mother is a teacher, and her income is barely enough to support the cost of living as it currently stands. Sadly, my family has had an expensive medical history. My father has the blood condition hemochromatosis as well as heavy metal poisoning, which has caused him yearly surgeries and ER visits, with the blood condition making every minor injury potentially lethal. Even with all of the financial burdens that my family carries, my mom and dad always encouraged my siblings and I to pursue our interests, stopping at nothing to ensure the best life for us they could. Even at the expense of their own interests and goals. When I go to college, I will be attending longer than the average four years to receive my bachelor's degree in accounting because I have the end goal of getting my MBA and becoming a CPA. With most likely attending college for five-plus years to become a CPA and gaining my MBA certification, dealing with the cost of college is a daunting task. Even with the risk of having to take on debt to achieve my goals of helping my parents live the life that they deserve, I would sacrifice the world to achieve it.

Ever since I was young, I have had big dreams of living a more stable life than my parents could provide. Go to college, become an accountant and live happily ever after. I lived by the quote “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Every time I talked about my dreams and desires for the future, both mentors and peers alike shared their skepticisms. Even through all of the doubt, I saw what I could be and what I needed to do to be the person I wanted to be. My father became very ill when I was young, so I spent most of my childhood without an active father figure. This left me to try to learn the difference between right and wrong and left my mother to raise three children by herself, while paying for the medical bills. Even though I was unaware of my family's financial crisis, looking back, it was felt through hand-me-down clothes, thrift store shopping, and saving at any given opportunity. Although my childhood was tough, it only strengthened my dreams of living better. It also instilled a strong work ethic and moral values in me. As I entered high school, my father’s health improved, so he became more involved in my life. Connecting with my father dictated many of my in and out of school activities, which constantly drove me out of my comfort zone and into new activities. In an attempt to connect with him in any way I could, I tried to follow in his footsteps of welding and blue collar work. I added Ag Mechanics to the plethora of extracurricular activities I was already involved in, including Band, FFA, Theater, Football, Basketball, Track & Field, UIL, and Boy Scouts. It slowly became apparent that I could no longer uphold the academic standards put on me in my household. I gradually withdrew from some of my extracurricular activities to center my focus back on academics. To please my father, I tried to become like him. I played the same positions in football; I did the same track events as him; and I wanted to have the same job as him. I thought that if I became my father, I would gain his approval and the time we had lost. While trying to make up for lost time and make my father proud, I lost sight of who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. During the summer of my junior year, I sat down with my father and discussed the distress I was having while trying to make him proud. During that conversation, I realized that my father never wanted me to be like him, but instead, he wanted me to be my own person with my own hobbies and interests. My father dissuaded me from following his path through life; he wanted me to find my own way and provide a better life for myself than he could offer. While my journey through high school was difficult, it made me who I am and through the programs that I have been a part of has helped me develop a diverse set of life skills. The hardships taught me that no matter how hard life gets, I have the strength to push past any problem in order to achieve the better life that I have dreamed of.

When I try to think about what defines me, I keep coming back to the same place. Throughout my life there has been one program that has defined me and given my identity: the Boys Scouts of America. I have been in Scouts since before I was old enough to join. My first memory is racing a Pinewood Derby car when I was three because the leader let siblings participate as well. I first joined scouts because of my older brother and watching him go through the steps to become an Eagle Scout. I admired how he acted around others and the way both young and older people treated him as a friend and as an equal. When I first joined, I loved the outdoors and nature, but as I grew older, I began to enjoy seeing the smiles on people’s faces who we have helped when volunteering. The group that has affected me the most has been veterans and wounded service members our troop has helped every year. At the time, it seemed like we were just doing a flag ceremony and helping run a clay skeet shoot competition; however, for the veterans it meant much more. For them, I wasn’t just a boy scout. I was a future leader, a true patriot, and a reminder of what their sacrifice was all about. After several years of working with the wounded warriors and getting to know them, I was presented with a plaque for my volunteer work by the Military Order of the Purple Heart Department of Texas. They seemed so grateful for something that seemed so small. It made me realize even the littlest act of kindness can make a big impact in other people's lives. Boy Scouts gave me many things. It gave me a love for nature and the outdoors. Boy Scouts taught me how to fish, how to shoot a bow, how to camp and survive in the woods; but most importantly, it taught me how to be courteous and kind to everyone no matter who they are, what they look like, and how they act. Scouts gave me an outlet to share this love of the outdoors with others. While not everyone would be excited to work with the younger scouts who just joined scouts, I don’t mind. On our last camp out the newest scout in the troop who was several years younger than the rest of the troop was interested in fishing, even though he had never gone fishing or learned how to fish. So I brought the scout one of my fishing poles because he did not own one and throughout the trip I taught him how to cast, tie a fishing knot, and bait a hook. During this time, I was able to share my love for fishing with him and he enjoys fishing to this day. Now that I am in the final phase of earning my Eagle Scout rank, I look at the years I have spent and the people’s lives I have helped change. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Scouting and, if given the opportunity to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

Ever since I was young, I have had big dreams of living a more stable life than my parents could provide. Go to college, become an accountant and live happily ever after. I lived by the quote “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Every time I talked about my dreams and desires for the future, both mentors and peers alike shared their skepticisms. Even through all of the doubt, I saw what I could be and what I needed to do to be the person I wanted to be. My father became very ill when I was young, so I spent most of my childhood without an active father figure. This left me to try to learn the difference between right and wrong and left my mother to raise three children by herself, while paying for the medical bills. Even though I was unaware of my family's financial crisis, looking back, it was felt through hand-me-down clothes, thrift store shopping, and saving at any given opportunity. Although my childhood was tough, it only strengthened my dreams of living better. It also instilled a strong work ethic and moral values in me. As I entered high school, my father’s health improved, so he became more involved in my life. Connecting with my father dictated many of my in and out of school activities, which constantly drove me out of my comfort zone and into new activities. In an attempt to connect with him in any way I could, I tried to follow in his footsteps of welding and blue collar work. I added Ag Mechanics to the plethora of extracurricular activities I was already involved in, including Band, FFA, Theater, Football, Basketball, Track & Field, UIL, and Boy Scouts. It slowly became apparent that I could no longer uphold the academic standards put on me in my household. I gradually withdrew from some of my extracurricular activities to center my focus back on academics. To please my father, I tried to become like him. I played the same positions in football; I did the same track events as him; and I wanted to have the same job as him. I thought that if I became my father, I would gain his approval and the time we had lost. While trying to make up for lost time and make my father proud, I lost sight of who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. During the summer of my junior year, I sat down with my father and discussed the distress I was having while trying to make him proud. During that conversation, I realized that my father never wanted me to be like him, but instead, he wanted me to be my own person with my own hobbies and interests. My father dissuaded me from following his path through life; he wanted me to find my own way and provide a better life for myself than he could offer. While my journey through high school was difficult, it made me who I am and through the programs that I have been a part of has helped me develop a diverse set of life skills. The hardships taught me that no matter how hard life gets, I have the strength to push past any problem in order to achieve the better life that I have dreamed of.

Ever since I was young, I have had big dreams of living a more stable life than my parents could provide. Go to college, become an accountant and live happily ever after. I lived by the quote “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Every time I talked about my dreams and desires for the future, both mentors and peers alike shared their skepticisms. Even through all of the doubt, I saw what I could be and what I needed to do to be the person I wanted to be. My father became very ill when I was young, so I spent most of my childhood without an active father figure. This left me to try to learn the difference between right and wrong and left my mother to raise three children by herself, while paying for the medical bills. Even though I was unaware of my family's financial crisis, looking back, it was felt through hand-me-down clothes, thrift store shopping, and saving at any given opportunity. Although my childhood was tough, it only strengthened my dreams of living better. It also instilled a strong work ethic and moral values in me. Even with this strong work ethic I struggled with my reading ability. As early as first grade, I realized my peers were far ahead of me in reading level; when I was struggling to finish picture books while they were finishing chapter books. I was withheld from fun activities to be tutored in school and placed in a catch-up program to meet grade level requirements. I struggled with spelling and reading until my sixth-grade teacher noticed the discrepancy between my reading and writing skill compared to verbal skills and vocabulary. When I was diagnosed with dyslexia, I noticed that my teachers began to treat me differently than the other students and my expectations were lowered without a real understanding of why. I began to resent being different and labeled. I started to refuse help in order to prove them wrong. As I entered high school, I finally accepted the fact that I was dyslexic and needed to find a way to excel in spite of my disability to achieve my goal of going to college. I began to learn coping skills such as listening to audio books and taking notes in every class. I began utilizing my Chromebook features like text to speech and spelling and grammar checks. I realized I had to work harder to understand what I was being taught, having to double and triple check everything I read and wrote. This meant cutting back on extracurricular activities to maintain an A average. While dyslexia has made my educational career difficult, I have had to learn to live with it and work around it in order to succeed as an accountant. I no longer see dyslexia as a disability, but rather as another characteristic of my personality. I know I have the ability and skills to be successful throughout the rest of my life and to not let the label be a stigma of who I am.

When I try to think about what defines me, I keep coming back to the same place. Throughout my life there has been one program that has defined me and given my identity: the Boys Scouts of America. I have been in Scouts since before I was old enough to join. My first memory is racing a Pinewood Derby car when I was three because the leader let siblings participate as well. I first joined scouts because of my older brother and watching him go through the steps to become an Eagle Scout. I admired how he acted around others and the way both young and older people treated him as a friend and as an equal. When I first joined, I loved the outdoors and nature, but as I grew older, I began to enjoy seeing the smiles on people’s faces who we have helped when volunteering. The group that has affected me the most has been veterans and wounded service members our troop has helped every year. At the time, it seemed like we were just doing a flag ceremony and helping run a clay skeet shoot competition; however, for the veterans it meant much more. For them, I wasn’t just a boy scout. I was a future leader, a true patriot, and a reminder of what their sacrifice was all about. After several years of working with the wounded warriors and getting to know them, I was presented with a plaque for my volunteer work by the Military Order of the Purple Heart Department of Texas. They seemed so grateful for something that seemed so small. It made me realize even the littlest act of kindness can make a big impact in other people's lives. Boy Scouts gave me many things. It gave me a love for nature and the outdoors. Boy Scouts taught me how to fish, how to shoot a bow, how to camp and survive in the woods; but most importantly, it taught me how to be courteous and kind to everyone no matter who they are, what they look like, and how they act. Scouts gave me an outlet to share this love of the outdoors with others. While not everyone would be excited to work with the younger scouts who just joined scouts, I don’t mind. On our last camp out the newest scout in the troop who was several years younger than the rest of the troop was interested in fishing, even though he had never gone fishing or learned how to fish. So I brought the scout one of my fishing poles because he did not own one and throughout the trip I taught him how to cast, tie a fishing knot, and bait a hook. During this time, I was able to share my love for fishing with him and he enjoys fishing to this day. Now that I am in the final phase of earning my Eagle Scout rank, I look at the years I have spent and the people’s lives I have helped change. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Scouting and, if given the opportunity to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

Ever since I was young, I have had big dreams of living a more stable life than my parents could provide. Go to college, become an accountant and live happily ever after. I lived by the quote “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Every time I talked about my dreams and desires for the future, both mentors and peers alike shared their skepticisms. Even through all of the doubt, I saw what I could be and what I needed to do to be the person I wanted to be. My father became very ill when I was young, so I spent most of my childhood without an active father figure. This left me to try to learn the difference between right and wrong and left my mother to raise three children by herself, while paying for the medical bills. Even though I was unaware of my family's financial crisis, looking back, it was felt through hand-me-down clothes, thrift store shopping, and saving at any given opportunity. Although my childhood was tough, it only strengthened my dreams of living better. It also instilled a strong work ethic and moral values in me. As I entered high school, my father’s health improved, so he became more involved in my life. Connecting with my father dictated many of my in and out of school activities, which constantly drove me out of my comfort zone and into new activities. In an attempt to connect with him in any way I could, I tried to follow in his footsteps of welding and blue collar work. I added Ag Mechanics to the plethora of extracurricular activities I was already involved in, including Band, FFA, Theater, Football, Basketball, Track & Field, UIL, and Boy Scouts. It slowly became apparent that I could no longer uphold the academic standards put on me in my household. I gradually withdrew from some of my extracurricular activities to center my focus back on academics. To please my father, I tried to become like him. I played the same positions in football; I did the same track events as him; and I wanted to have the same job as him. I thought that if I became my father, I would gain his approval and the time we had lost. While trying to make up for lost time and make my father proud, I lost sight of who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. During the summer of my junior year, I sat down with my father and discussed the distress I was having while trying to make him proud. During that conversation, I realized that my father never wanted me to be like him, but instead, he wanted me to be my own person with my own hobbies and interests. My father dissuaded me from following his path through life; he wanted me to find my own way and provide a better life for myself than he could offer. While my journey through high school was difficult, it made me who I am and through the programs that I have been a part of has helped me develop a diverse set of life skills. The hardships taught me that no matter how hard life gets, I have the strength to push past any problem in order to achieve the better life that I have dreamed of.

I live in a small town called Harper. We don't have a police station or fast food chain, but what we do have is a community that bands together when people are in need. I'm apart of the community and from my seventh grade year to now I have over 520 hours of community service hours. As I ready myself for college I relise how much this community have given me. My community in Harper will always hold a special place in my heart. I have been involved with the BSA and the Harper community for as long as I can remember. When I was young, I viewed community service as a chore. I didn’t think about how holding a fundraiser or helping out could actually make a difference. It wasn’t until 2017 that I realized how important just showing up could be to a person or a group of people. I was volunteering with a group called H4H, raising money for wounded warriors and assisting with raising and lowering the American flag. During that event, a group of veterans met with the scouts, thanked us for being there to help, and awarded us a dedication plaque from the Department of Texas Purple Heart Association. In the days following the event, I wondered how something so small could be so meaningful to them. Since that day, I have viewed volunteering as a privilege rather than a chore. Being able to meet and hear the stories of everyone in my community has shaped who I am today. My community has taught me that you don’t have to face every problem by yourself, and that being a part of a community means taking care of those around you. There’s something comforting in knowing that you’re part of a community that will support you when times get tough. My community means the world to me. It has allowed me to change people’s lives for the better, and I can’t imagine where or who I would be without my tightly-knit community.I plan on going into the field of Accounting which would give me the funds to give more then my time. I have lived my life trying to make a difference in peoples lives, but never felt that I was doing enough. When I become an account I will have the money to realy make a differance in peoples lives. I am and will continue to volunteer and help my community through my life to help those in need.

Ever since I was young, I have had big dreams of living a more stable life than my parents could provide. Go to college, become an accountant and live happily ever after. I lived by the quote “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Every time I talked about my dreams and desires for the future, both mentors and peers alike shared their skepticisms. Even through all of the doubt, I saw what I could be and what I needed to do to be the person I wanted to be. My father became very ill when I was young, so I spent most of my childhood without an active father figure. This left me to try to learn the difference between right and wrong and left my mother to raise three children by herself, while paying for the medical bills. Even though I was unaware of my family's financial crisis, looking back, it was felt through hand-me-down clothes, thrift store shopping, and saving at any given opportunity. Although my childhood was tough, it only strengthened my dreams of living better. It also instilled a strong work ethic and moral values in me. Even with this strong work ethic I struggled with my reading ability. As early as first grade, I realized my peers were far ahead of me in reading level; when I was struggling to finish picture books while they were finishing chapter books. I was withheld from fun activities to be tutored in school and placed in a catch-up program to meet grade level requirements. I struggled with spelling and reading until my sixth-grade teacher noticed the discrepancy between my reading and writing skill compared to verbal skills and vocabulary. When I was diagnosed with dyslexia, I noticed that my teachers began to treat me differently than the other students and my expectations were lowered without a real understanding of why. I began to resent being different and labeled. I started to refuse help in order to prove them wrong. As I entered high school, I finally accepted the fact that I was dyslexic and needed to find a way to excel in spite of my disability to achieve my goal of going to college. I began to learn coping skills such as listening to audio books and taking notes in every class. I began utilizing my Chromebook features like text to speech and spelling and grammar checks. I realized I had to work harder to understand what I was being taught, having to double and triple check everything I read and wrote. This meant cutting back on extracurricular activities to maintain an A average. While dyslexia has made my educational career difficult, I have had to learn to live with it and work around it in order to succeed as an accountant. I no longer see dyslexia as a disability, but rather as another characteristic of my personality. I know I have the ability and skills to be successful throughout the rest of my life and to not let the label be a stigma of who I am.

When I try to think about an identity that defines me, I keep coming back to the same place. Throughout my life there has been one program that has defined me and given my identity: the Boys Scouts of America. I have been in Scouts since before I was old enough to join. My first memory is racing a Pinewood Derby car when I was three because the leader let siblings participate as well. I first joined scouts because of my older brother and watching him go through the steps to become an Eagle Scout. I admired how he acted around others and the way both young and older people treated him as a friend and as an equal. When I first joined, I loved the outdoors and nature, but as I grew older, I began to enjoy seeing the smiles on people’s faces who we have helped when volunteering. The group that has affected me the most has been veterans and wounded service members our troop has helped every year. At the time, it seemed like we were just doing a flag ceremony and helping run a clay skeet shoot competition; however, for the veterans it meant much more. For them, I wasn’t just a boy scout. I was a future leader, a true patriot, and a reminder of what their sacrifice was all about. After several years of working with the wounded warriors and getting to know them, I was presented with a plaque for my volunteer work by the Military Order of the Purple Heart Department of Texas. They seemed so grateful for something that seemed so small. It made me realize even the littlest act of kindness can make a big impact in other people's lives. Boy Scouts gave me many things. It gave me a love for nature and the outdoors. Boy Scouts taught me how to fish, how to shoot a bow, how to camp and survive in the woods; but most importantly, it taught me how to be courteous and kind to everyone no matter who they are, what they look like, and how they act. Scouts gave me an outlet to share this love of the outdoors with others. While not everyone would be excited to work with the younger scouts who just joined scouts, I don’t mind. On our last camp out the newest scout in the troop who was several years younger than the rest of the troop was interested in fishing, even though he had never gone fishing or learned how to fish. So I brought the scout one of my fishing poles because he did not own one and throughout the trip I taught him how to cast, tie a fishing knot, and bait a hook. During this time, I was able to share my love for fishing with him and he enjoys fishing to this day. Now that I am in the final phase of earning my Eagle Scout rank, I look at the years I have spent and the people’s lives I have helped change. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Scouting and, if given the opportunity to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

My name is William Clark I'm part of my Harper Boy Scouts of America Troop 139. We make extensive efforts into providing our assistance wherever it is needed throughout our community. I have been in Scouts since before I was old enough to join. My first memory is racing a Pinewood Derby car when I was three because the leader let siblings participate as well. I first joined scouts because of my older brother and watching him go through the steps to become an Eagle Scout. I admired how he acted around others and the way both young and older people treated him as a friend and as an equal. When I first joined, I loved the outdoors and nature, but as I grew older, I began to enjoy seeing the smiles on people’s faces who we have helped when volunteering. The group that has affected me the most has been veterans and wounded service members our troop has helped every year. At the time, it seemed like we were just doing a flag ceremony and helping run a clay skeet shoot competition; however, for the veterans it meant much more. For them, I wasn’t just a boy scout. I was a future leader, a true patriot, and a reminder of what their sacrifice was all about. After several years of working with the wounded warriors and getting to know them, I was presented with a plaque for my volunteer work by the Military Order of the Purple Heart Department of Texas. They seemed so grateful for something that seemed so small. It made me realize even the littlest act of kindness can make a big impact in other people's lives. The Boy Scouts of America has given me a love for raising people up when they're down or just offering a helping hand when needed. The Boy Scouts of America program gave me a doorway into helping my community and the surrounding areas even though my Boy Scout troop has become less active as more and more boys have aged out and become Eagle Scouts, I still participate with several other programs to help my community. With some of these programs being the H4H wounded warriors, the Harper Volunteer Fire Department, And the Harper ISD Veterans Day. As much as I've helped people around me, I can't help but realize how much they've helped me I carry the Stories and experiences of everyone I have met into my everyday life. Volunteering has made such a massive impact on my daily life I do not know who I would be without it.

Ever since I was young, I have had big dreams of living a more stable life than my parents could provide. Go to college, become an accountant and live happily ever after. I lived by the quote “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Every time I talked about my dreams and desires for the future, both mentors and peers alike shared their skepticisms. Even through all of the doubt, I saw what I could be and what I needed to do to be the person I wanted to be. My father became very ill when I was young, so I spent most of my childhood without an active father figure. This left me to try to learn the difference between right and wrong and left my mother to raise three children by herself, while paying for the medical bills. Even though I was unaware of my family's financial crisis, looking back, it was felt through hand-me-down clothes, thrift store shopping, and saving at any given opportunity. Although my childhood was tough, it only strengthened my dreams of living better. It also instilled a strong work ethic and moral values in me. As I entered high school, my father’s health improved, so he became more involved in my life. Connecting with my father dictated many of my in and out of school activities, which constantly drove me out of my comfort zone and into new activities. In an attempt to connect with him in any way I could, I tried to follow in his footsteps of welding and blue-collar work. I added Ag Mechanics to the plethora of extracurricular activities I was already involved in, including Band, FFA, Theater, Football, Basketball, Track & Field, UIL, and Boy Scouts. It slowly became apparent that I could no longer uphold the academic standards put on me in my household. I gradually withdrew from some of my extracurricular activities to center my focus back on academics. To please my father, I tried to become like him. I played the same positions in football; I did the same track events as him; and I wanted to have the same job as him. I thought that if I became my father, I would gain his approval and the time we had lost. While trying to make up for lost time and make my father proud, I lost sight of who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. During the summer of my junior year, I sat down with my father and discussed the distress I was having while trying to make him proud. During that conversation, I realized that my father never wanted me to be like him, but instead, he wanted me to be my own person with my own hobbies and interests. My father dissuaded me from following his path through life; he wanted me to find my own way and provide a better life for myself than he could offer. While my journey through high school was difficult, it made me who I am and through the programs that I have been a part of has helped me develop a diverse set of life skills. The hardships taught me that no matter how hard life gets, I have the strength to push past any problem in order to achieve the better life that I have dreamed of.

Why do I need scholarships? The primary motivation behind my need for scholarships is my desire to avoid becoming a statistic. The truth is, in the second quarter of 2024, the USA has 1.74 trillion dollars of student loan debt. Based on a recent survey my class conducted, in my community alone, there is half a million dollars in student loan debt still being paid off. My family has had their fair share of financial issues that are far from helping pay for my college education. My family is living off of one income due to my father being forced to retire early because he fell ill. My mother is a teacher, and her income is barely enough to support the cost of living as it currently stands. My mom has stretched this money thin, assisting in putting my older brother through college; however, as my senior year is approaching, I see the difficulties that my family will have to endure to attempt to put my brother and me through college at the same time. Even with my brother almost being finished with college, it offers no relief as my sister, who will be entering high school in the coming year, is looking to attend college. So I will be in college while she is entering college. Sadly, my family has had an expensive medical history. My father has the blood condition hemochromatosis as well as heavy metal poisoning, which has caused him yearly surgeries and ER visits, with the blood condition making every minor injury potentially lethal. Throughout my high school career, I had been plagued with crippling migraines, leaving me to have multiple CT scans, visits with neurologists, and visits with allergy specialists. My sister, who until recently has had an excellent medical history, has had to have multiple knee surgeries to repair her meniscus, which tore while she was playing volleyball. With all of these medical issues, it has been hard to be financially prepared for me to enter college. When I do go to college, I will be attending longer than the average four years to receive my bachelor's degree in accounting because I have the end goal of getting my MBA certification and CPA. The CPA is a very difficult test that few accountants are able to gain with a bachelor's alone. The most common path to becoming a CPA is to earn a Master's Degree in accounting, then attempt the test. After I have gained my MBA certificate, I will work towards the ultimate goal of getting my CPA. With most likely attending college for five-plus years to become a CPA and gaining my MBA certification, dealing with the cost of college is a daunting task. With my family's financial and medical troubles and my desire to pursue a long and hard, but lucrative career, the cost of college is looming overhead. The thought of having to join those that have had to take out student loans is seemingly the most likely path to offset the costs; however, I don’t wish to have any debt going into or leaving college. It is possible for this dream to become reality, but I can’t reach this goal without the help of scholarships. I won't stop trying to be debt-free no matter what. That's why I need this scholarship.

Why do I need scholarships? The primary motivation behind my need for scholarships is my desire to avoid becoming a statistic. The truth is, in the second quarter of 2024, the USA has 1.74 trillion dollars of student loan debt. Based on a recent survey my class conducted, in my community alone, there is half a million dollars in student loan debt still being paid off. My family has had their fair share of financial issues that are far from helping pay for my college education. My family is living off of one income due to my father being forced to retire early because he fell ill. My mother is a teacher, and her income is barely enough to support the cost of living as it currently stands. My mom has stretched this money thin, assisting in putting my older brother through college; however, as my senior year is approaching, I see the difficulties that my family will have to endure to attempt to put my brother and me through college at the same time. Even with my brother almost being finished with college, it offers no relief as my sister, who will be entering high school in the coming year, is looking to attend college. So, I will be in college while she is entering college. Sadly, my family has had an expensive medical history. My father has the blood condition hemochromatosis as well as heavy metal poisoning, which has caused him yearly surgeries and ER visits, with the blood condition making every minor injury potentially lethal. Throughout my high school career, I had been plagued with crippling migraines, leaving me to have multiple CT scans, visits with neurologists, and visits with allergy specialists. My sister, who until recently has had an excellent medical history, has had to have multiple knee surgeries to repair her meniscus, which tore while she was playing volleyball. With all of these medical issues, it has been hard to be financially prepared for me to enter college. When I do go to college, I will be attending longer than the average four years to receive my bachelor's degree in accounting because I have the end goal of getting my MBA certification and CPA. The CPA is a very difficult test that few accountants are able to gain with a bachelor's alone. The most common path to becoming a CPA is to earn a master's degree in accounting, then attempt the test. After I have gained my MBA certificate, I will work towards the ultimate goal of getting my CPA. With most likely attending college for five-plus years to become a CPA and gaining my MBA certification, dealing with the cost of college is a daunting task. With my family's financial and medical troubles and my desire to pursue a long and hard, but lucrative career, the cost of college is looming overhead. The thought of having to join those that have had to take out student loans is seemingly the most likely path to offset the costs; however, I don’t wish to have any debt going into or leaving college. It is possible for this dream to become reality, but I can’t reach this goal without the help of scholarships. I won't stop trying to be debt-free no matter what. That's why I need this scholarship.

Ever since I was young, I have had big dreams of living a more stable life than my parents could provide. Go to college, become an accountant and live happily ever after. I lived by the quote “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Every time I talked about my dreams and desires for the future, both mentors and peers alike shared their skepticisms. Even through all of the doubt, I saw what I could be and what I needed to do to be the person I wanted to be. My father became very ill when I was young, so I spent most of my childhood without an active father figure. This left me to try to learn the difference between right and wrong and left my mother to raise three children by herself, while paying for the medical bills. Even though I was unaware of my family's financial crisis, looking back, it was felt through hand-me-down clothes, thrift store shopping, and saving at any given opportunity. Although my childhood was tough, it only strengthened my dreams of living better. It also instilled a strong work ethic and moral values in me. Even with this strong work ethic I struggled with my reading ability. As early as first grade, I realized my peers were far ahead of me in reading level; when I was struggling to finish picture books while they were finishing chapter books. I was withheld from fun activities to be tutored in school and placed in a catch-up program to meet grade level requirements. I struggled with spelling and reading until my sixth-grade teacher noticed the discrepancy between my reading and writing skill compared to verbal skills and vocabulary. When I was diagnosed with dyslexia, I noticed that my teachers began to treat me differently than the other students and my expectations were lowered without a real understanding of why. I began to resent being different and labeled. I started to refuse help in order to prove them wrong. As I entered high school, I finally accepted the fact that I was dyslexic and needed to find a way to excel in spite of my disability to achieve my goal of going to college. I began to learn coping skills such as listening to audio books and taking notes in every class. I began utilizing my Chromebook features like text to speech and spelling and grammar checks. I realized I had to work harder to understand what I was being taught, having to double and triple check everything I read and wrote. This meant cutting back on extracurricular activities to maintain an A average. While dyslexia has made my educational career difficult, I have had to learn to live with it and work around it in order to succeed as an accountant. I no longer see dyslexia as a disability, but rather as another characteristic of my personality. I know I have the ability and skills to be successful throughout the rest of my life and to not let the label be a stigma of who I am.