Throughout my life, I’ve had a lot of challenges to overcome. I was born with many physical and mental disabilities. I’ve been in therapy since I was nine months old. I’ve struggled with diagnoses such as Tourette's Syndrome, mitochondrial disease, metabolic disorder, pancreatic hormone dysfunction, extreme fatigue, severe migraines, and ADHD. I’ve been to hundreds of doctor appointments, to try to help me. Every direction we have taken leads to more unanswered questions, or doctors not knowing how to help. It has been tremendously frustrating, and it has affected me my whole life. I went through a period of my life for about two years, when I was doing much better. I stopped having as many issues as I normally did! However, I started to suffer from fatigue and muscle issues again. Part of having mitochondrial disease is that its severity can come and go. When it got bad again, it hit me hard. I started getting sick and was sick for seven months of the year. Throughout this experience, I developed a passion for hair and nails. Being able to focus on something for hours and block out the world helped me and gave me confidence when I realized I could succeed somewhere. Therefore, when it came time to graduate in May, I realized pretty quickly I wanted to go to Cosmetology School, obtain my licenses, and become a hair stylist. I come from a low-income family, which made it not always possible to do extracurriculars, or what my friends could do. My mom is a single mom since she chose to divorce my father in 2017 and get out of an abusive relationship, even though it meant being a single mother with sole custody of six kids, who all have special needs. Because I was homeschooled, I learned to adapt to an inconsistent schedule with learning, such as doing school in the car because of so many medical appointments and therapies. For eight years, we had a Domestic Violence Order against my Father. We moved around to hide from him, and we tried to keep our address and life quite private. Because of this, growing up was quite challenging. I always had to be careful and on the lookout for him if I went out with friends or family. I was only ten when this happened. I didn’t just lose my father in the divorce; I lost that whole side of the family. My cousins, aunts, uncles, and even grandparents. I don’t feel like I’ve overcome my health issues; I still deal with them every single day in my life, or control my life or identity. All of these things have made me who I am today. They have taught me to stay resilient, and that family isn’t always by blood, but by choice. The most important thing I've learned is not to give up, no matter how hard life may get. It’s not always about finding a cure for difficulties, but discovering ways to lessen the struggles.

I'm Willow Carter. My dream is to be a hairstylist, but throughout my life, I’ve had a lot of challenges to overcome. I was born with many physical, health, and learning disabilities and have worked with therapists and specialists since I was 9 months old to overcome them. Being in therapy to learn how to eat, speak, sit, and walk, as well as going to specialists for my diagnoses, taught me perseverance and determination from a very young age. While there were many times when the frustration was overwhelming, I never let my obstacles defeat me or define me as a person, even if I may have to work harder than a lot of people to achieve my goals. Throughout school, I always struggled with traditional subjects. Still, because I was homeschooled, I’ve learned over the years how to work and push through, and in the process, I quickly discovered I was a hands-on learner, specifically when I took “Intro to Cosmetology.” I applied what I learned in the online class to my mannequin head and also used a kit to do my own nails. I absolutely loved every second of it, and everything started to finally click. Cosmetology isn’t just a career for me; it's my coping mechanism during hard times or when I am struggling with my health issues. Being able to focus on something for hours at a time and feel good about it healed me. It’s a way to inspire others to feel beautiful and confident, not just on the outside but on the inside, just as my mom helped me find strength and confidence in myself. My goal is to make a positive impact on the community, not the world. Being able to inspire confidence from the inside by helping people on the outside is a dream. Being awarded this scholarship would not only help me financially and take the stress off so I can focus fully on school—it would also inspire me to pay it forward. I want to put everything I have into my education and use my skills to reach the biggest clientele I can. I have been learning ASL with the hopes of being able to provide services to the Deaf community. I grew up in a home where many of us have disabilities, and all six of us kids have Tourette's Syndrome. Because of this, I feel I will excel in being able to extend my services to people with disabilities, such as autism, which can make getting a haircut quite challenging. With my hard work and serious determination, I know I will be able to not only inspire others who dream of entering this field but also help others feel and look their best. Cosmetology allows me to express my creative and artistic side in a way that feels natural to me. The beauty industry has always been something I understood easily, especially compared to traditional subjects. I’m so excited to go to cosmetology school to learn even more and achieve my license. The more I practiced and learned on my own, the more I knew this was the path I should take. Knowing this is my passion made choosing what I wanted to do for a career quite easy. Being able to learn and do what I love in the process sounds like the perfect career to me. Being awarded a scholarship would also mean that my goals and dreams are recognized and noticed, as well as the obstacles I have overcome to get where I am today. It would be life-changing.

Being a first-generation student means setting a new standard for my family and future generations. It means to rise above your situations and exceed your family's expectations for you. Growing up wasn't always easy. I was born with many physical and mental disabilities. I’ve been in therapy since I was nine months old. Many specialists came to my house to teach me how to eat, speak, walk, and even just sit up as a baby. I’ve struggled with diagnoses such as Tourette's Syndrome, mitochondrial disease, metabolic disorder, pancreatic hormone dysfunction, POTS, extreme fatigue, learning disabilities, and ADHD. I’ve been to hundreds of doctor appointments. Every direction we have taken just leads to more unanswered questions, or doctors just not knowing how to help me. It has been tremendously frustrating, and it has affected me my whole life. No matter how hard it gets, I never let it define me as a person, even if it means I have to work harder than most people my age. I went through a period of my life for about two years, when I was doing much better health-wise. I stopped having as many issues as I normally did, and I thought at the time, it wouldn’t get worse again. However, eventually, I started to suffer from severe fatigue and muscle issues again. When it got bad again, it hit me hard. I started getting sick and was seven months of the year. I barely graduated on time because of this, and with my learning disability, it made school quite challenging. During all of this, I developed a love for hair, nails, and makeup. Being able to focus on something for hours and block out the world helped me mentally and gave me so much confidence when I realized I could succeed somewhere. Therefore, when it came time to graduate in May 2025, I realized pretty quickly I wanted to go to Cosmetology School, obtain my licenses, and be a hair stylist. I come from a low-income family, which made extracurriculars not always possible, or what my friends could do. My mom is a single mom since she made the brave choice to divorce my father in 2017 and get out of an abusive relationship, even though it meant being a single mother with sole custody of six kids, who all have special needs. Because I was homeschooled, I learned to adapt to an inconsistent schedule with learning, such as doing school in the car or later in the evenings, because of so many medical appointments and therapies. I don’t feel like I’ve overcome my health issues; I still deal with them every single day in my life. However, I now manage and cope with these issues, and I don’t allow them to take over or control my life or identity. All of these things have made me who I am today. They have taught me to stay resilient and reach my goals, no matter how hard it may be to get there.

My mom inspired me to go to Cosmetology school and become a hairstylist. In 2017, my Mom made the brave choice to divorce my father and get out of an abusive relationship, even though it meant being a single mother with sole custody of six kids who are all homeschooled and all have special needs. For eight years, we had a Domestic Violence Order against my Father. We moved around a couple of times to hide from him, and we tried to keep our address and life quite private. Because of this, growing up was quite challenging. Constantly being in fear for a long time that he would show up at our house and find us was very hard, and it brought stress and anxiety. I always had to be careful and on the lookout for him if I went out with friends or Mom’s side of the family. I was ten when this all happened. I didn’t just lose my father in the divorce; I lost that whole side of the family. My cousins, aunt, uncles, and even grandparents. Throughout my life, I’ve had a lot of challenges to overcome. I was born with many physical and learning disabilities, such as Tourette's Syndrome and Mitochondrial disease, and have worked with therapists and specialists since I was 9 months old to overcome them. Being in therapy to learn how to eat, speak, sit, and walk, as well as going to specialists for my diagnoses, taught me perseverance and determination from a very young age. While I struggled in school due to learning disabilities, because I was homeschooled (and there were times I didn’t want to be), I’m grateful I was. I learned independence through learning and extreme self-motivation to push through difficult classes. In the process, I quickly discovered I was a hands-on learner, specifically when I took “Into Cosmetology.” I took what I learned in the online class and put it to work on my mannequin head, as well as getting a kit, and doing my own nails and others' as well! I absolutely loved every second of it, and everything started to finally click. I realized this was the path where I could succeed, and my mom always encouraged me, knowing this was my passion Throughout all of that, I learned the importance of asking for help when needed. The obstacles I have overcome have made me so much stronger, and I've learned from my Mom what it's like to really push yourself to succeed during hard times. Growing up was hard; I wasn't always able to afford things my friends could, or join extracurricular activities, unless it was free, but it taught me not to put importance on things or materialistic items, but people and relationships. Watching my mom work hard and give everything she has to everyone else and our family inspires me to work hard every day to reach my dreams and goals, no matter how hard life gets or what challenges I may face.

I'm Willow Carter. My dream is to be a hairstylist, but throughout my life, I’ve had a lot of challenges to overcome. I was born with many physical, health, and learning disabilities and have worked with therapists and specialists since I was 9 months old to overcome them. Being in therapy to learn how to eat, speak, sit, and walk, as well as going to specialists for my diagnoses, taught me perseverance and determination from a very young age. While there were many times when the frustration was overwhelming, I never let my obstacles defeat me or define me as a person, even if I may have to work harder than a lot of people to achieve my goals. Throughout school, I always struggled with traditional subjects. Still, because I was homeschooled, I’ve learned over the years how to work and push through, and in the process, I quickly discovered I was a hands-on learner, specifically when I took “Intro to Cosmetology.” I applied what I learned in the online class to my mannequin head and also used a kit to do my own nails. I absolutely loved every second of it, and everything started to finally click. Cosmetology isn’t just a career for me; it's my coping mechanism during hard times or when I am struggling with my health issues. Being able to focus on something for hours at a time and feel good about it healed me. It’s a way to inspire others to feel beautiful and confident, not just on the outside but on the inside, just as my mom helped me find strength and confidence in myself. My goal is to make a positive impact on the community, not the world. Being able to inspire confidence from the inside by helping people on the outside is a dream. Being awarded this scholarship would not only help me financially and take the stress off so I can focus fully on school—it would also inspire me to pay it forward. I want to put everything I have into my education and use my skills to reach the biggest clientele I can. I have been learning ASL with the hopes of being able to provide services to the Deaf community. I grew up in a home where many of us have disabilities, and all six of us kids have Tourette's Syndrome. Because of this, I feel I will excel in being able to extend my services to people with disabilities, such as autism, which can make getting a haircut quite challenging. With my hard work and serious determination, I know I will be able to not only inspire others who dream of entering this field but also help others feel and look their best. Cosmetology allows me to express my creative and artistic side in a way that feels natural to me. The beauty industry has always been something I understood easily, especially compared to traditional subjects. I’m so excited to go to cosmetology school to learn even more and achieve my license. The more I practiced and learned on my own, the more I knew this was the path I should take. Knowing this is my passion made choosing what I wanted to do for a career quite easy. Being able to learn and do what I love in the process sounds like the perfect career to me. Being awarded a scholarship would also mean that my goals and dreams are recognized and noticed, as well as the obstacles I have overcome to get where I am today. It would be life-changing.

My mom inspired me to go to Cosmetology school and become a hairstylist. In 2017, my Mom made the brave choice to divorce my father and get out of an abusive relationship, even though it meant being a single mother with sole custody of six kids who are all homeschooled and all have special needs. I learned to adapt to an inconsistent schedule with learning, such as doing school in the car, because of so many medical appointments and therapies. My mom's decision came with a lot of extra challenges, financial struggles, and emotional struggles for my whole family. Throughout all of that, I learned the importance of asking for help when needed. The obstacles I have overcome have made me so much stronger, and I've learned from my Mom what it's like to really push yourself to succeed during hard times. Growing up was hard; I wasn't always able to afford things my friends could, or join extracurricular activities, unless it was free, but it taught me not to put importance on things or materialistic items, but people and relationships. Watching my mom work hard and give everything she has to everyone else and our family inspires me to work hard every day to reach my dreams and goals, no matter how hard life gets or what challenges I may face. Throughout my life, I’ve had a lot of challenges to overcome. I was born with many physical and learning disabilities, such as Tourette's Syndrome and Mitochondrial disease, and have worked with therapists and specialists since I was 9 months old to overcome them. Being in therapy to learn how to eat, speak, sit, and walk, as well as going to specialists for my diagnoses, taught me perseverance and determination from a very young age. While I struggled in school due to learning disabilities, because I was homeschooled (and there were times I didn’t want to be), I’m grateful I was. I learned independence through learning and extreme self-motivation to push through difficult classes. In the process, I quickly discovered I was a hands-on learner, specifically when I took “Into Cosmetology.” I took what I learned in the online class and put it to work on my mannequin head, as well as getting a kit, and doing my own nails and others' as well! I absolutely loved every second of it, and everything started to finally click. I realized this was the path where I could succeed, and my mom always encouraged me, knowing this was my passion. Being awarded this scholarship would not only help me financially and take the stress off so I can focus fully on school—it would also inspire me to pay it forward. I want to put everything I have into my education and use my skills to reach the biggest clientele I can. I have been learning ASL with the hopes of being able to provide services to the deaf community. I grew up in a home where many of us have disabilities, and all six of us kids have Tourette's Syndrome. Because of this, I feel I will excel in being able to extend my services to specialize with people who have disabilities, such as autism, that can make getting a haircut quite challenging. Cosmetology isn’t just a career for me, it's my coping mechanism during the hard times or when I am struggling with my health issues. It’s a way to inspire others to feel beautiful and confident, not just on the outside but on the inside, just as my mom helped me find strength and confidence in myself.