My name is Wyatt Gradowski, I am 17 years old and a Senior at Clio High School in Clio Michigan. I am the youngest in my family. I am living with my Mom, Dad, and Brother. I live on ten acres with my dog Axel, cat Skunk, and over twenty chickens and turkeys. My family had three gardens this year. I helped my dad by driving the Ford tractor and getting the ground ready. I like to watch the garden grow and then harvest the vegetables. We also have thirty apple trees and those all had to be trimmed for the upcoming season. I help collect the chicken eggs and let them all out to free range. I love the outdoors, whether it is warm or cold. I love to go fishing, hunting, riding dirt bikes, going to truck meets, jet skiing, and going for boat rides. I have worked part-time jobs all through high school. Everything from a gas station, Christmas tree farm, construction, a dirt bike race track, and small jobs around my family's home. My life goal is to be a Lineman with Consumers Power. I just found out that I was accepted to Jackson College in Michigan. I need to help people when traumatic things happen to make their lives easier. I plan to go to college, at Jackson college where I plan on staying in a dorm on campus. I have already researched that Consumers pick their future Linemen from. I have already started working out physically to get myself ready. My goals are to do great in college, work hard and put 100% into it. Get picked up with Consumers. Learn as I go and put in the hours needed to earn the trust of my boss. After the apprenticeship, I then will want to travel for Consumers. I want to know that due to the crew I am working with we fixed the power grid that was down. I want to be able to walk away from the job and see instant results. Power on for that grid that was down. So a hard-working job but one that I can see positive results. Winning this scholarship would be helping my family financially. I want to know that by writing an essay and telling my story I was able to contribute a little. My dream is to travel, live comfortably, and enjoy the small things in life. With the help from this scholarship and any others that I may get will help me tremendously. It would help me achieve my goal and lessen the burden on myself and my family financially. I want to make my family proud of me. With my hard work and determination, I know I can make this dream a reality. My Mom and Dad work hard and have given myself and my brother everything they could. They have given their time and money to me. Supporting me in my travel baseball, basketball and football seasons. Always cheering my team on, taking me to my practices and games. My mom was on the sidelines taking her pictures. My parents supported me in my hobbies of riding dirt bikes, jet skis, our farm tractor and anything else that I could find to do for fun. They have taught me how to take accountability for my actions. I would appreciate any help to get to these goals. To reach and grab onto my dream. And to be able to hold my head high knowing I was able to help my family financially get there.

Hello, my name is Wyatt Gradowski. I am a seventeen-year-old Senior at Clio High School. I live at home with my Mom, Dad and older brother Carsen. I have a Great Dane named Axel and a cat named Skunk. We live on a farm and have four large gardens, multiple chickens and turkeys. On our farm, we have over thirty apple trees and a few pear trees. What vegetables and fruits we do not eat or share with family and friends we sit out by the road at our donation vegetable stand. I help my family by working on the farm. Everything from driving the 1960s Ford tractor and plowing fields. To help harvest the fruits and vegetables. I know how to ride dirt bikes, four-wheelers, jet skis and heavy equipment like excavators, backhoe loaders and skid-steer loaders. I enjoy working with my family and seeing the results of all the hard work we do. It brings pride to my family and myself knowing that we can respect the land and work the land and produce food. And my family and I love knowing that what we do not eat or give away we can put at our vegetable stand at the end of our driveway and people can donate whatever they can for fresh homegrown, no chemicals fruits and vegetables. I enjoy helping with the livestock. I help feed and water and clean the chicken coop. Our chickens and turkeys are free-range most days. And they come when whistled at. It makes me very proud to know that what hard work my family put into our farm can help feed our neighbors, family and friends. Being a Senior at Clio High School I am looking back at the last three years and realized I have had a great time. I have played Varsity Football for three years. I played basketball for one year then COVID hit. And then all the indoor sports were cut out. I have enjoyed these last three and a half years working in the metals and wood shop class. I have helped at the community Halloween party in the park. Setting up and taking down the decorations. I have helped multiple times in the concession stands with my teammates earning money for whichever sport that was our turn. I have been in our town's parades with whichever sport I was in at the time. I was involved in travel baseball for six years. What I have learned from my coaches, teammates and parents is that winning isn't everything. Coming together as teammates and giving it your all is everything. To be both a gracious winner and loser. That was a tough life lesson but well worth it. It has made me into a better young man, who will bounce back when down. With my family's support and all the coaches, I have had I think that I can tackle anything. I work hard, play hard and put in one hundred percent. If I fail the first time I keep trying. I am a quick learner and am determined to succeed in my career. I have been accepted into Jackson College where I plan on working towards a Lineman position with Consumer Power. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Wyatt Gradowski

Hi, my name is Wyatt Gradowski, I am seventeen years old. I currently am a senior at Clio High School. I was accepted into Jackson College and my goal is to become a Lineman for Consumers Power. I plan on living on campus due to the distance from home. So I have been applying for multiple scholarships. I have been working and saving my money. I am currently working on FASFA and getting help from my Mom. My goal of becoming a Lineman is what I want to do. I know I have three months in a classroom and three months at a climbing school. I have researched and found out that Consumer Power picks from Jackson College to work for them. I know I work best outdoors. Rain, sun or snow. I don't mind working in difficult environments and love challenges. With the help from this scholarship and any others that I may get will help me tremendously. It would help me achieve my goal and lessen the burden on myself and my family financially. I want to make my family proud of me. With my hard work and determination I know I can make this dream a reality. My Mom and Dad work hard and have given myself and my brother everything they could. They have given their time and money to me. Supporting me in my travel baseball, basketball and football seasons. Always cheering my team on, taking me to my practices and games. My mom was on the sidelines taking her pictures. With my open house soon approaching I now understand why she loved doing it. One million pictures going up at my Open house. My parents supported me in my hobbies of riding dirt bikes, jet skis, our farm tractor and anything else that I could find to do for fun. My family means the world to me. They have taught me how to take accountability for my actions. My Dad has taught me how to fish and hunt. He also taught me how to respect nature and to always pick up after myself. My Mom taught me how to do arts and crafts. I enjoy painting with her. So my end goal is to make my family proud of me. To work hard and achieve my goal of working with Consumers Power as a Lineman. I would appreciate any help to get to these goals. To reach and grab onto my dream. And to be able to hold my head high knowing I was able to help my family financially get there. Thank you for reading, Wyatt Gradowski

My name is Wyatt Gradowski I am 17 years old, a Clio High School Senior. I live with my Mom, Dad and brother. We own a farm and have multiple gardens and chickens and turkeys. I have a Great Dane named Axel, who is my best friend. I come from a large and very close family. Vacations are always up north with the family. Holidays are always a big deal. I enjoy riding dirt bikes, jet skis and our old Ford tractor from my great Grandpa. I have played Varsity Football for my high school. I have played travel baseball for five years. I have learned teamwork, leadership and accepting that every game I will not win at. I still gave it my all and fought through to be a gracious loser. The games that my team and I won were invigorating. My goal is to become a Lineman for Consumers Power. I have already been accepted to Jackson College in Jackson Michigan. I have already done my research and know that it will be three months of college classes and three months of climbing school. I know I have to be physically fit. I learn easily and study hard for tests. I have joined a gym to fulfill the physical requirement. I need to be outside and work. I need to stay busy and active. I work best with my hands and enjoy working in hard situations. I stay focused until a job is done and done correctly. I have worked at Baja Acres which is a dirt bike race track. Where I drove excavators, lawn trackers, bobcats and their old Ford tractor to maintain the grounds and track. I have worked at Runyan's Country Tree Farm. Where I got to work outside and help people find their Christmas tree for the holidays. I have worked at Conlee Gas station and did not enjoy it that much. I did not like working inside always. I would get done with my duties in two hours and still had six hours to wait. I figured out that I am not an office, an inside worker. I would appreciate this help greatly. Not only for the financial aspect but to prove to myself that I can help out my family. My family and I work hard each day. My parents are my rock, my support team and they call me out on my bad decisions. I want to prove to them that I can help in any way that I can. Thank you for taking the time to read this, Wyatt Gradowski

My name is Wyatt Gradowski. I am a seventeen-year-old Senior at Clio High School. My current height is 6,5 inches and I weigh 220 lbs. I got put on my Varsity football team as a freshman due to my size. With my size, I was a coach's favorite on the line. I am like a draft horse charging at the other team, and my coaches loved it. I have always been the big boy in class, from an early age. All of my friends have always been armpit or lower to me. My funny story is that during Halloween we as seniors had to put in community hours. Well, I decided to help out at the Clio Park Trick or Treat. Each class had a pavilion to decorate. Well, guess who got the tall jobs? I had a lot of work to do. As my classmates had to use ladders to put things on the rafters of the pavilion, I just had to reach up. So I helped put everything up and then at the end of the night I got to take it all down. It was a great time, and I ended up being the creepy tall evil clown. Then when the little kids started showing up I got to play the nice-evil clown and kind of scare them. Some of my other senior classmates dressed up and one of the girls was a short doll on a chair. The pictures we have of us together are great. I have always been called Andre the Giant and Paul Bunyan. I act tough but really everyone knows I wear my heart on my shoulder. I treat everyone as they treat me. I love my height and my weight. I have gotten jobs due to my size when I know other kids my age would not have gotten them due to their size. So yes I am seventeen years old but I have a man body and that is what made me successful in football and the jobs I have worked.

My name is Wyatt Gradowski, I am 17 years old and a Senior at Clio High School in Clio Michigan. I am the youngest in my family. I am living with my Mom, Dad, and Brother. I live on ten acres with my dog Axel, cat Skunk, and over twenty chickens and turkeys. My family had three gardens this year. I helped my dad by driving the Ford tractor and getting the ground ready. I like to watch the garden grow and then harvest the vegetables. We also have thirty apple trees and those all had to be trimmed for the upcoming season. I help collect the chicken eggs and let them all out to free range. I love the outdoors, whether it is warm or cold. I love to go fishing, hunting, riding dirt bikes, going to truck meets, jet skiing, and going for boat rides. I have worked part-time jobs all through high school. Everything from a gas station, Christmas tree farm, construction, a dirt bike race track, and small jobs around my family's home. My dream is to become a Consumers Power Lineman. I plan to go to college, hopefully at this moment Jackson college. Where I have already researched that Consumers pick their future Linemen from. I have already started working out physically to get myself ready. My goals are to do great in college, work hard and put 100% into it. Get picked up with Consumers. Learn as I go and put in the hours needed to earn the trust of my boss. After the apprenticeship, I then will want to travel for Consumers. I want to know that due to the crew I am working with we fixed the power grid that was down. I want to be able to walk away from the job and see instant results. Power on for that grid that was down. So a hard working job but one that I can see the positive end results. Winning this scholarship would be helping my family financially. I want to know that by writing an essay and telling my story I was able to contribute a little. I do not want a lot of debt in student loans. My dream is to travel, live comfortably, and enjoy the small things in life. I want to work hard and play hard. I want to see the world and experience everything. I would love to bring my family on great trips and the only thing they have to do is relax. I do want a wife, someday. And kids will have to be discussed between my wife and me. So at this point no kids. But if my future wife and I decide to have no kids to fifteen kids I want to make sure that I am set financially. Thank you for taking the time to read, Wyatt Gradowski

My name is Wyatt Gradowski, I am 17 years old and a Senior at Clio High School, Clio Michigan. I do believe that mental health is very important. I know that I need my own "Me time". To regroup, to re-evaluate, to laugh, to cry, to scream and to come up with my next step. I am a outdoors type of guy. I love to go fishing, hunting, working around my families farm, dirt bike riding, helping my grandparents with their chores, going to truck meets, hanging with friends and just trying to enjoy my senior year in High School. For the most part I love my life. I want more and I know it will come with hard work and determination. But like most people I have my own worries and I have my weak moments. Grades, friends, family, a broken down truck or dirt bike, trying to make money and graduation are all on my mind. I try to get rid of these dark feelings by going fishing and hunting with my Dad and friends. Just the outdoors relaxes me tremendously. To be able to take a big deep breath of fresh air, either the sun on my face or rain clouds letting loose their tears, to hear the birds and frogs doing their little song. The motion of casting and reeling in the bait. I always hope for a fish or deer, but not every fishing or hunting trip is a good one. This is my "Me" time. This is the time that I start to think, analyze and try to plan out what I should do next. I need this, I need this space of quiet for myself even if I am not alone. I always come back from these trips more relaxed and at ease. School issues I do have a good Guidance Counselor Mrs. Hall and she does help. Whenever I have a question about what my next step should be I know I can go to Mrs. Hall and ask her advice. This year I have had a harder time trying to stay motivated and take school serious. I am stuck doing alternative classes. So frustrating that my Senior year is alternative style classes due to me currently having all of the required credits. My Mom and Dad are very determined for me to stay on course. And I think Mrs. Hall and myself have come up with a good solution for my remaining time in High School. I will be starting a co-op program and going to work and earn credits for that. My dirt bikes, jet skis', the farm tractor and my truck are some of my favorite things to work and play on. The maintenance and up keep on all of them are time consuming and rewarding after figuring out what's broken on them. I have added to, changed and upgraded my truck. I take pride in what I have done. It was hard work and long hours to make the improvements on the truck. I have made many friends and started going to truck meets. I feel like I have found a group that are honest, puts their money where their mouths are and big dreamers. So again my "Me" time hanging with positive people who enjoy life to the fullest. So to sum up as to how do I maintain my mental wellness....I stay busy. I get out into nature. I hang with my family and do things with them. I look for positive people in my life and keep the drama to a minimum. Wyatt Gradowski

I have a best friend named Axel. He is a Harlequin Great Dane. Axel is 2 years old and is full of himself. He is the size of a small pony....but thinks that he is a lap dog. He goes with me everywhere. To the park, stores like TSC, up north, the car wash and his favorite the fast food take out lines. Axel is very important to myself and my family. After our last dog Tyson passed away at the age of 13 years old, we knew we were missing something in our house. We rescued Axel at 12 months old. He came to us with no obedience training. No manners, and he thought it was okay to grab your hand and walk you to where he wanted to go. He learned very fast with the whole family on board training him, correcting him when he was doing something wrong and praising him when he did something correctly. He is now stuck to me like glue. He sleeps in the same bed.....which I get very little of. He thinks its okay to sit in the lazy boy chair with me. And he is a cover hog. He has taught myself the power of positive actions. He has showed me that through hard work...anything is possible. Like teaching him to sit and stay, or to shake his paw. And he has made me realize that when I say "NO" to him I mean "NO". Which has now made me think about when my parents say it to me!!! My family has taught Axel many things. And through patience, persists, hard work and having a great attitude he has shown me how to grow up into the man I want to be. He is the best of friend, always there, always ready to play and you can just tell he is so happy to see me. I don't know how I got so blessed to have my best friend with four paws. But I am so thankful. Thank you for reading, Wyatt Gradowski