Hello, Honor Society Foundation and the Cochener Family, My name is Yana Oshurko. I am a seventeen-year-old, second-year, first-generation pre-law, undergraduate college student. I attend Regent University Online. I hope to continue my education at RU and pursue a J.D. I graduated high-school online at Penn Foster High-school from Pennsylvania with a 4.0 GPA at 15 years-old. I chose to study pre-law at Regent because of the injustice I see in this world, many are not heard and not treated right by our legal system. I dream of being able to be a difference maker in the legal field. I want to stand up and speak up for those who do not have a voice in the legal system. Many people do not get justice in their situations because they are poor, and do not have the money to pay for a good attorney who will fight hard for their rights. I want to become a great attorney who know the law well and uses this knowledge to help whoever it is that will need help, no matter who they are, or how much they can pay, or even if they cannot pay at all, I will help and speak up and fight for their rights as human beings. Personally, in my life I have known of individuals who got unjustly treated by attorneys and the legal system and I really want to become a person and attorney that will stand up and treat everyone with respect and kindness and love. Thank you, Honor Society Foundation and Cochener Family, for creating this scholarship for students like me who want to make an impact in our communities through our professions. My condolences for the loss of John Young, he sounds like he was an amazing person, and I hope his legacy continues on. God bless, -Yana Oshurko

Hello, Drew Huff, My name is Yana Oshurko. I am a seventeen-year-old college student, in my second year of college. I am a first-generation college student. I live in Bellingham, WA, the community I live in, I would not consider rural. Currently, I am pursuing my Bachelor of Arts in Law at Regent University. I grew up in a low-income household, but I had always had a dream of attending university to gain higher education so that I can start a good career. I ended up doing a fully online high school program that allowed me to graduate high school in two years instead of four and then I faced the question of whether I should attend university. My mom encouraged me to go for it. She told me that she and my dad would work extra hard (because they have always worked really hard, ever since coming from Ukraine, 21 years ago, to provide a better life for me and my brother) to be able to pay for my education. I then, decided I should start praying about what degree to go for. Then a few months after my graduation, I found Regent University online, and their new degree program, the B.A in Law, which also has the option (for those who wish to become attorney's) to enroll into the 3+3 program in which I could receive my bachelors and J.D in six years instead of seven. Me and my mama talked about it, and she encouraged me to enroll immediately. The fact that law school is really expensive is not going to stop me. I am studying hard to earn good grades now in my undergraduate program so that I can earn some scholarships based on academic achievements, and I believe that I can do this, because I have already graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA. My career goal is to become an attorney. I see so much injustice in today's world, especially in the legal system, and I want to make a difference. I want to stand up and speak up for those who do not have a voice in the legal system and cannot defend themselves. I want to make sure that I listen and show love to everyone no matter who they are, everyone deserves to be heard. I believe that many do not have access to the legal system because they are poor, and do not have the funds to get an attorney when they get into some legal problems. After graduating, and becoming an attorney working in a law firm, I want to be able to provide a lot of pro-bono services to people who many not have all the funds needed to afford an attorney or none at all.

Greetings, to the person reading this from ADHDAdvisor.org, My name is Yana Oshurko. I am a 17-year-old, second-year, first-generation college student, studying pre-law at Regent University. I believe that mental health is a really important issue that many struggle with, and sometimes (not every time) all they need is a person who will listen to them and talk with them. I am a strong believer, and I believe that going to God with all our worries and anxieties is important, because He will listen and help and comfort us, because He loves us. Not everyone understands this though, and I believe that God gives us each other for support and to point each other to Him. I try very hard to talk with and listen to the people in my life who need a listening ear, and I always tell them that I will pray for them, and that they should pray and talk with God, because He will listen and hear them. God uses His people to help those who need help. I pray that I will become a person that God will use greatly. I plan to study for a J.D. degree at RU and to become an attorney. I feel like people who have legal problems have a lot of stress and worries over it, because not everyone understands the way that the legal system works, all the terminology, it's foreign to them. I want to become an attorney whose clients can see how much I really care for them and want to help them with their legal problems, I want to become a confident for them, someone who they can talk to and trust. I want to use my career to increase the Kingdom of God. I hope you find me a worthy recipient of this scholarship. God bless you.

Greetings, to the person who is reading this, My name is Yana Oshurko. I am seventeen years old, and I am a second-year, first generation college student. I am studying pre-law at Regent University, planning to obtain my B.A in Law at 20 years old and my J.D at 22. I dream of becoming an attorney, so that I can stand up and speak up for those who cannot defend themselves in the legal system. I believe that my greatest achievement to date is graduating high school two years early during covid-19. My entire life, up to 8th grade, I had been going to school for two days per week, and for the rest of the week I would be homeschooled. So, when covid hit, and the school I had attended closed for the rest of the year during 8th grade, I had to decide whether I would continue my high-school education online from that school or enroll somewhere else. That summer I saw my cousin one day at the park, and we started talking a little bit, she told me that she just graduated from Penn Foster, a few months ago. She showed me the website and told me the details about enrolling and how the program works. A couple of months later, after talking it out with my mom, I decided to enroll on the 20th of July in 2020. Being fully online was a huge change. And it came with its ups and downs. This experience taught me perseverance and to be resilient and taught me a lot about integrity and honesty. Being online in this program, I took one class at a time, and each of these classes had a certain number of sections with a test at the end of each. There were no set deadlines for each section to be complete, so I had the opportunity to set my own deadlines, but I had to make sure to have everything finished before the program deadline in three years. Some sections would be harder than others, so I would study late into the night to be able to complete the sections in time. My goal was to complete everything in two years, and I was sticking to that goal. Because of my resilience and with God's help (because I would not be able to do anything without Him), I had completed the program in a little under two years, a week before my 16th birthday. I want to thank WC & EJ Thornton Foundation for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. I hope you will find me a worthy recipient for this scholarship, as it would help me achieve me goal of going to law school. God bless.

Hello reader, First, I want to thank the person who has created this scholarship for first-generation, undergraduate students just like me who come from a low-income family. Allow me to introduce myself, I am a 17-year-old, first-generation college student, in my second year of Bachelor of Arts in Law program. And I graduated high school (online, at Penn Foster) a month before my sixteenth birthday. Now a little about my dreams: I dream of getting into the 3+3 program that my university has made, which would allow me to complete my Bachelors and J.D all together in 6 years. I dream of completing this program with a 4.0 GPA. I dream of taking the bar exam and passing with flying colors. I dream of becoming a lawyer and making a change in my community through my law career. And I dream of changing the world. The biggest obstacle in achieving my dreams is my family's financial situation. Law school is really expensive, probably the most expensive subject to study in college. But this dream is worth it. Just imagining what I can do with my law degree is pushing me to study hard to attain my B.A in law. I believe that by studying hard in all my classes but especially in my law majors, I can have a perfect 4.0 GPA, and I hope to receive scholarships based on my academic achievements. And I know that I can do this, because I graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA and I plan to continue my streak of good grades. Currently I have completed five major requirement courses, and I aced four of them. While at the moment, I am a fully online student, I plan to move on-campus after three years online, and start the 3+3 program at my college during my fourth year of my B.A. I am super excited to be a part of the campus community and plan to join a club or two, and possibly do an internship. I am excited for when I finally graduate, to be able start practicing in family law and make a difference in my community with my legal education. I believe that by becoming a family law attorney, I can make a huge difference in our nation, because the foundation of our nation is the individual families that make up the communities. It is important that every child grows up in a healthy and happy family, so they can be a light in their communities, and a lot of family law cases deal with children, including adoption, child custody, guardianship cases. Something that is very common in family law cases is domestic violence, and this also effects children, if the couple has them, so I want to make sure that when I go practice family law, I will make sure to put the children in top priority, while being fair to both the mother and father. Thank you, dear reader, for reading my scholarship essay. I hope you will consider me a worthy candidate for this scholarship.

As a first-generation college student, and a second-generation immigrant, who is studying pre-law, I feel a calling to make a difference in my community, because growing up in America (as a U.S born citizen), but being around the Ukrainian community here in Washington, I have seen many times that people who are not natural-born citizens have suffered injustices in the legal system of America, and I want to make sure that with my legal degree I will defend and give everyone a chance to be heard in the court, because everyone deserves a chance to be heard, no matter where they come from or who they are. The area of law that I want to go into and make a difference in is family law and immigration law. A book I have read before (completely fictional, but the problem is sadly a realty in real life), called "Evidence of Mercy", told a story of a female lawyer who was working on a pro-bono case where a women who had a small child was attempting to receive full custody of her young girl, because her ex-husband had been abusive to her, and she was worried that he would harm the child. Thing is, she got a restraining order against him, but he attempted multiple times to take the child from the day care she stayed at during the day while the mother worked. When the mother went to the police station, they did not do anything to help her since he still had the right to see the child, because he was the father. In the beginning of the book, even the lawyer who was working on the pro-bono case, did not prioritize this woman because she did not want to see how big the problem was because she was not going to get paid much. Later of course, she did realize how wrong she was and started helping the woman. This story made me realize that it is important to provide pro-bono services to those who otherwise could not afford to get a lawyer and end up being discouraged from seeking help because they think it will break them financially. But it is also important to not forget about these cases and let those cases of others who will pay something, get piled on top of the pro-bono. This story also made me realize how big a difference I could make in the world by going into family law. Domestic violence is a real issue in a lot of family law cases. So, with my law education, I plan to help the victims of domestic violence get restraining orders and other types of protections provided in the legal system, and I want to make sure that if they have kids, they will also be protected. Although in the story, the father was the offender, sometimes it can be the opposite. And it is believed that the legal system in America in the child custody cases almost always is on the side of the mother. I want to make sure that there is equal fairness towards the mother and father, while making sure to keep the child best interest in mind.

I have loved to read ever since I was a little child. Books have always been a big part of my life, if I wasn't in school, you would usually find me sitting on my little chair in the corner of my living room, reading a book. Of course, like many other young readers out there, the genre of books that I read changes over time. Like, when I was little, I loved reading fiction stories about animal adventure stories, then as I got older, I fell in love with historical fiction. An example of a series I read is the American girl series. These books inspired me to become a leader in my community and to try and make a difference even if I thought I was not able to. A lot, if not all, of these books, were faith-based and I really love that, because they taught me that, really, in my own strength I can do nothing, but with God I can do anything that He calls me to do. One of these faith-based books that I read, that really inspired me, was a little later in life, during middle school. It was when I fell in love with historical Christian Romance fiction (and this is definitely still my favorite genre), that I found this book, which is part of a series called "Mark of the Lion": The first book, "A Voice in the Wind", tells the story of a young Jewish girl, Hadassah, who lost her family during the Roman attack on Jerusalem during the first century, and then she is taken captive as a slave and sold to a Roman family. But despite all that has happened to her, and even though she even believed that she was lacking in her faith, she made a huge difference in this family, and through her obedience to Christ, showing His love through her, she led them to be saved and they all accepted Jesus into their hearts and became Christians. This victory did not come at a small cost, because she had to go through so much abuse from her young mistress, ridicule from the young son of the master (who she eventually married, and he fell in love with her), and she was even thrown to the lions in the end of the book one (spoiler alert), but she survived, because God was with her and she stood strong in her faith. This book was beautifully written by Francine Rivers and inspired me to stand up for what I believe in and be obedient to Christ and show love to those around me and bring the people to his Kingdom. I hope that whoever is reading my essay has enjoyed it, and I hope you read this book because it is really good and inspiring. Thank you! God bless.

Privit, (Hello), My name is Yana Oshurko. I am a first-generation college and pre-law student attending Regent University Online in my sophomore year of college. I am also a second-generation immigrant. My dream since I was little was to become a lawyer. What motivated me to become a lawyer is all the injustice I saw in this world and sadly often times this injustice was pointed toward non-English speakers who came here from other countries, but it definitely is not limited to that. I want to make a difference in the legal system and stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. No matter who someone is or where they are from, everyone deserves a chance to be heard. My first language is Ukrainian. While I am a U.S born citizen, both of my parents came to America from Ukraine twenty years ago, along with my brother who was born in Ukraine and came here as a one-year-old. Growing up until the age of five I was really only around Ukrainian-speaking people, including my family and my aunt and three cousins who also came from Ukraine. So, I really only spoke Ukrainian even if I did watch a lot of kid movies in English because my mom wanted for me to know English well when I went to school. And I learned English with ease actually, and when I finally went to school, I spoke really well with the teachers and other kids, even though I was shy, so it wasn't a lot at first. But then as I started to get comfortable, I began speaking more and more in English with my classmates. One of the struggles though of being bilingual (and this is quite funny to me), is that while I am speaking in English or even in Ukrainian, I will accidently let a word from the other language slip out in a sentence even if the rest of it is in the other. Another challenge in being bilingual and having English as my second language while living in America, is being surrounded now mostly by English speaking unless at home with my family, but trying not to forget my first language, Ukrainian. Some pros of speaking two languages: helping people who only speak Ukrainian and translating to them what English speakers are saying. Especially now in these recent years since the war started, and many Ukrainian refugees have fled the war with their families, I have met many people who came and were having trouble communicating with others, so it is a blessing to be able to speak both languages and help those who have come here during this time to communicate with others and teach them to speak English.

I am a first-generation college student studying law. As a first-generation college student, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to be able to attend a prestigious Christian University. I am thankful to God and my amazing parents for this. My parents have worked so hard their entire lives to be able to provide a better and brighter life and future for their kids than they had, and 20 years ago they came to America from Ukraine and have continued to work hard and provided everything that me and my brother needed all our lives. And when I graduated high school at 15 at Penn Foster online, my mom encouraged me to continue my education and get a college degree. I had decided to go into law because of all the injustice I see in the world and especially in the legal world, and I want to make a difference. Starting college as a first-generation college student and enrolling online to a university all the way across the country was definitely not easy, but thankfully the amazing admissions counselors did a great job explaining everything to me and I had enrolled within a few days. Pre-law is a very challenging and expensive field of study, and I am thankful for all the support I receive from my parents both emotionally and financially, but it is challenging, and this scholarship would help me to not have to worry about the financial burden. Right now, I am an online student, but soon I am hoping to be on-campus and to be more involved in things around campus and I wish to volunteer somewhere in the future. While on-campus I hope to have many internship positions so that I can have experience in my field when I graduate. At the moment, I am not sure what area of law I wish to pursue, but I am figuring that out right now, and in whatever area I end up being in, I hope to be able to do a lot of pro-bono work as I understand that some people do not get justice because they don't have the funds or they don't have enough to hire an attorney, and I want to help as many people as I can and not just half-heartedly but doing the best I can do help them with their legal problems. A Bible verse that leads me is, "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8, NIV). Thank you for reading my essay, and I hope I will be considered for this scholarship.

My favorite quote that I read about traveling is this, "The world is a book and those who don't travel read only one page." I love traveling as much as I love to read, so this quote stood out to me. It is said that by reading a book you can "travel" to many places in your lifetime, but I believe while reading can be a wonderful experience, you can learn about other cultures, but it is different than actually being there and seeing it with your own eyes. Travel can transform a person greatly, I read an article on travel that says, "And just as travel provides an opportunity to be someone different for a little while, some researchers argue that it also changes who you are upon returning home. Studies have found that travelers become more creative, open-minded and trusting, for example." (Smith), I agree with this because I just recently came back from a trip to Hawaii after not going anywhere for a while, and I felt like a completely different person while on the trip and when I came back home. I think that on a trip, I am more likely to start up conversations with a person on the street, and this can be a very interesting experience. For example, on my last trip, and on the last day of that trip, I met a young women who was a Christian, and attended a local Christian University. She told me about herself and her family a little bit and then I told her about myself and we just had a good conversation. After we talked, she gave me a little Christmas card that she had made. On another trip I rememeber, when I was younger, me and my mom were talking with a homeless person, and this person was telling us about there life, and my mom shared something very important with this person, she told her about Jesus and how he loves us, and this person prayed with my mom and hopefully is living a good life right now. My point is, when we travel, we are more likely to have random conversations with people, and we can be impacted by them and they can impact us too. Another article I read about this topic, titled, "How Diversity Makes Us Smarter", says this, "Diversity enhances creativity. It encourages the search for novel information and perspectives, leading to better decision making and problem solving. Diversity can improve the bottom line of companies and lead to unfettered discoveries and breakthrough innovations. Even simply being exposed to diversity can change the way you think." (Phillips). Thank you for reading my essay, and I hope I will be considered a worthy candidate for this scholarship. Citations: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/psychology-travel-vacation-identity-transformation/2021/10/07/19e2615c-2204-11ec-8200-5e3fd4c49f5e_story.html - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_diversity_makes_us_smarter#:~:text=Diversity%20enhances%20creativity.%20It%20encourages%20the%20search%20for,to%20diversity%20can%20change%20the%20way%20you%20think.

I have loved to read ever since I was a little kid, and I have always preferred to read a book rather than watch a TV show. At the age of 6, I read my first chapter book and found my first favorite series, Animal Ark, which was about a young girl whose parents were vets; she grew up next door to their vet clinic and she often helped out at the clinic when not in school. When I grew older I found a love for historical fiction, some of my favorite series were American Girl and Dear America. Both of these book series were about young girls who were strong leaders in their families and communities, and they taught me so much and inspired me significantly to become a difference-maker in my own community. My all-time favorite historical fiction book is part of a series called "The Mark of the Lion" by Francine Rivers, this book is titled, "A Voice in the Wind." This book is about a young Jewish Christian girl who was in Jerusalem during the attack from Rome. During this siege, her father was killed for preaching the gospel, her mother died from starvation, and her brother was killed by a Roman soldier while trying to protect her and their little sister. Then, when she was taken into captivity, her sister died from starvation in her arms. But, despite all of the hardship she went through when Hadassah was bought by a Roman family to be their slave and was mistreated by the young Roman girl to whom she was a slave, she served them humbly with love. This book taught me about how if one really loves God, one will trust and obey him no matter their circumstances, and God will use them greatly, as he used Hadassah to bring the entire Roman family and some of the slaves to Jesus. I hope that I will be used greatly by God to bring more people to him. Right now I am studying at Regent University, completing my bachelor's in Law degree, and then I dream of continuing my education at Regent University School of Law to complete my J.D. Growing up in a low-income household, my family has been faced with some tough financial situations, and my parents have worked so hard ever since coming to America from Ukraine 20 years ago to provide for me and my brother. My parents have always encouraged me and my brother to pursue higher education since they did not get the chance to. As a 17-year-old first-generation college student (who also has a disability, I can't walk and I use a wheelchair) pursuing something as tough as a law degree, I have been faced with many challenges, but I have always trusted that God will help me through these challenges and provide financially for me to complete my law degree and follow the path I believe he is leading me through. I dream of becoming a lawyer who will fight for the rights of those who are not heard by the legal system. I really hope you will consider me for this scholarship as it will truly help me pursue my dreams of helping others.

"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader." (Margaret Fuller). Ever since I was little, I have loved to read. Books have been and still are a big part of my life. From books you can learn many things, there are books for a variety of topics, including cooking, auto mechanics, science, history, math, health, and so much more. Another quote I read said this, "A word after a word after a word is powerful" (Margaret Atwood). This is very true, words are powerful, and a whole book which is usually more than 100 pages of words must be incredibly powerful. The first quote I stated in this essay, "Today a reader, tomorrow a leader" is very real, many books can inspire us to become leaders in our community. I believe that the most inspiring book I have ever read that has encouraged me to be a strong leader is The Holy Bible. This book, which is really a collection of 66 books, written over the course of 1500 years, by about 40 different people, is a wonderful book that I believe everyone should read. The Bible has inspired me to become a strong leader because of the many strong leaders that are written about in this book, and many are listed in Hebrews 11 as the heroes of faith, and the real hero, of the entire Bible, the world, and the entire universe is Jesus Christ. And the entire Bible centers around this hero. Therefore I believe that if one wants to become a leader in their community they should read the Bible and get to know the greatest hero who forever lives.

It was a rare warm October morning; the different colored leaves were flowing down from the trees with the warm breeze, filling the streets and sidewalk where I and my friend were walking. We were going to our local Starbucks, where we were going to study and enjoy the delicious coffee that they made. As usual, we were talking about what we were going to get; up until that day, we had not tried any of the fall drinks that they had, but we wanted to, so we went over all the drinks that they had. My friend decided to try the new Apple Crisp Macchiato, and I decided to try the trending Iced Pumpkin Cream (Dirty) Chai Tea Latte. When we got to Starbucks, we greeted the baristas, who at this point, knew us well, and we stood in the long line. When we got to the counter, my friend went to order first; She first asked the girl if she had any recommendations, and the girl told her that the new Apple Crisp Macchiato was super good, so my friend ordered that. I went to order after my friend, and I ordered the drink that I had decided on when we were walking. We got our drinks pretty quickly after, and we sat down to study. I was starting college at that time, and I was super excited to get to look over my classes, so I sat down, opened my laptop, and then took a sip of my drink. I had to stop all I was doing because this drink was so good, it truly tasted like Fall in a cup. The flavors of the chai tea with blonde expresso and the pumpkin cream foam were absolutely a perfect mix and it tasted phenomenal. I had my friend try it, but it wasn’t really her thing since she doesn’t like the taste of cinnamon, but that’s alright, everyone has their own taste preferences. I also tried her drink, and it was good, but not as great as the chai. After trying each other's drinks, we started to study. After a bit, we both got hungry, so we both got the pumpkin cream muffin, which was really amazing. And then we continued studying and having a great time, enjoying our drinks and laughing. This soon became a thing that we did often, and we also came with other friends as well. This is the story of how the fall season at Starbucks became a part of my fall traditions. I hope I will be considered for this Starbucks Stan scholarship because I really am a Starbucks fan.

Hi, my name is Yana, and you’re reading my Disney scholarship essay. I have been a fan of Disney Channel since I was little. I have watched almost all of the shows and most of the Disney Channel original movies, but my favorite has to be, “Princess Protection Program” or PPP. This movie came out in 2009, it was directed by Allison Liddi-brown and starred Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. In the movie, Selena Gomez played the role of the daughter of the man who worked for the PPP, and one day he got an assignment to protect Princess Rosalinda Maria Montoya Flore, or Rosie as she was called later in the movie. He brings her home to his daughter and tells Rosie to go to school with his daughter Carson and act like a “normal” teenager. And he tells his daughter to watch out for Rosalinda. The girls form an amazing friendship over time and teach each other things. For example, Carter teaches Rosie self-confidence, and how to act in a school environment, and Rosie teaches Carter proper etiquette and to turn the other cheek when people mistreat her, in one amazing scene in the movie, when Rosie is at work at an ice cream shop, and one girl from her high school makes fun of her and somehow gets ice cream all over her, and when Carter tries to convince her to give payback, Princess Rosalinda says that she will turn the other cheek, “because that is what a princess does” she says, and she walks out with her chin held high, but Carter does smash an ice cream cone in the girls face, which she does sort of regret later. This friendship pair was the most amazing part of the whole movie, and it teaches young and older kids alike how to treat friends. This movie overall was just amazing, it holds a few valuable lessons for anyone who watches it, such as strong friendship values, turning the other cheek to anyone who mistreats you, and treating others how you would like to be treated. As a young Christian, who was raised in a Christian household, I grew up reading the Bible and going to church, and there were many around me who were not Christians, and especially in middle school there were a few people who acted like the mean girl in the PPP movie, and I always knew these values of being a kind person and turning the other cheek when people mistreated or weren't as nice to me from reading the Bible, and I practiced them as much as possible, but it was also nice seeing this movie that taught valuable lessons that are also found in the Bible, like the value of friendship and how a friendship should look like, and also turning the other cheek and treating others how I would like to be treated. Thank you for reading my essay and for creating this scholarship for people like me who love Disney Channel and have learned many valuable lessons from movies on there. I hope I will be considered for this scholarship essay so that I can continue my educational journey, and display these characteristic traits of self-confidence, love, and care to those around me in my university and in my workplace as an attorney.

Hello, I would like to say thank you to those who have created this scholarship that will encourage healthy eating habits among college students. I agree wholeheartedly with what the description of this scholarship says, “Not only can more nutritious foods improve students' physical health, but they can also improve students’ well-being and how they feel.” Having healthy eating habits can and will improve one's physical health, but it will also improve one’s mental health and will improve their well-being overall. I believe that while eating greens and fruits and vegetables is important, a “healthy eating habit” is more than just eating greens, it is a healthy relationship with food when you don’t worry so much if you it a cookie or something of the sort, because this may lead one into self-discouragement, and one may judge themselves for eating something “bad”, and this can lead to bad mental health, and even if you have a healthy physical body, but your mental health is bad, it will affect your physical body eventually as well. Growing up, I was a picky eater, and I did not eat many greens at all, and this poorly affected my physical health, and I also started to gain weight. I realized that I need to change a few things about my eating habits. I gave up eating junk food and I started exploring new foods that I haven't tried before, and I loved to look up new recipes and new fun ways to incorporate healthy foods into my diet. I have found a love of baking and cooking now, and this has also helped my mental health because I feel happy when I am cooking and exploring new healthy recipes, and I also started a recipe blog recently. Ever since I started eating better, I have felt happier not only because I found a new hobby, but I feel happier because my physical health is better, and I have more energy for everyday activities. I also love to swim and when I was not eating as healthy, I was not that much of a strong swimmer, but after I started eating healthy, I became a stronger swimmer, and this also brings me happiness. As a student, I often have had late nights and I have realized that when I eat healthily, I am more focused on what I am learning, and I am less tired. Eating a healthier diet has also given me more confidence, and I am not as nervous and stressed about things that other students might stress about. Overall, eating healthier has changed my life a lot, and since I have been in college this past year, studying law, I realize just how much a healthy diet helps me be more focused, driven, productive, and motivated in my classes. I hope I will be considered for this scholarship as it will help me keep up my healthy diet while I am studying at university. Thank you.

What makes me a “non-traditional college student” are two things, one is that I am a first-generation college and pre=law student, and two is that I enrolled at the young age of 16 into Regent University online as a high school graduate. What makes me what to do more in this world? My family, for starters. My parents and my older brother came to America 20 years ago from Ukraine, and my parents have worked hard from that time to be able to provide a better life for me and my brother, and they dreamed of us going to college and getting higher education. My parents always motivated me to do the best I could in school and supported me through all difficulties, and they supported me when I decided to go to university and pursue a bachelor's in law. What else motivated me to do more and what specifically motivated me to pursue law, was the injustice that I see in the world towards a lot of people, especially in the legal system. And I want to make a difference and a big impact in the legal field, I will defend and stand up for my clients, no matter what, I believe everyone needs to be heard.

Hello, my name is Yana Oshurko, I am 17 years old, a first-generation college and pre-law student at Regent University, and this coming fall I will be starting my sophomore year at Regent. I chose to pursue a career in the law field because I see much injustice in the legal field, some lawyers only go into their field because of money, and they don’t really care for their clients, but I want to make a difference in the legal field, I will truly care for and defend my clients the best I can. No matter who they are, I believe everyone needs to be heard and cared for. If I did not make it clear yet, I wish to become a lawyer. I believe that some important attributes to have when becoming a lawyer are responsibility, integrity, trustworthiness, honesty, and caring. And I believe I have all these. From kindergarten to 8th grade, I went to a private school called “Lynden Academy.” but in 2020 when the pandemic hit, it changed my plan of continuing my high school education there, and I am very glad that it did happen, (not the pandemic, of course, but the plan change). So, at the end of the summer of 2020, I enrolled in Penn Foster, an online high school program. Doing Penn Foster online was a big change from going to a physical school with teachers. But it taught me responsibility because I did not have any set due dates, so I had to be responsible and do my homework, and all my other chores. Through high school, I also learned and showed integrity by being honest when completing my assignments. All my friends and people who know me know that I am trustworthy and will not tell anyone else of their personal secrets. I know that this is an important part of being a lawyer, because of attorney-client confidentiality. I also care about my family and friends, and everyone. Anytime I see a person who is sad or stressed, I care and want to hear them out if they need to talk. If I see a person struggling with life, it breaks my heart, and I wish to help anyone and everyone if I can. In the near future, I hope to volunteer somewhere where I can make a difference for even one person, most likely, at my local church, where they hold a food drive and a toy drive during the Christmas season. In my career and in other areas of my life I dream of making a big difference and a lasting impact in the lives of people, using the attributes that God has given me. A person I know once said, “I believe that one person can make an impact to change the world, and I am ready to become this person.” With God’s help, I am ready to become this person too. I hope I will be considered for this scholarship so that I can earn my degree and make a lasting impact in this world. Thank you.

In the future, I will be a strong, godly hard-working, and caring lawyer, who stands up for my clients, and I will also be a loving and caring mom and wife and will be an adventurous, and outgoing world explorer, and I will give back to my community by volunteering and community service.

My name is Yana, I am 16 years old, and I am a first-year online student at Regent University. Since I was about 10 years old, my dream has been to become a lawyer. I learned well in school and always strived to keep God first place in my life, and I always believed that if I kept Him first place, he would guide me to my divine destiny and help me with my dream, and he did. For elementary and middle school, I went to this place called «Lynden Academy» and when I was 13, covid-19 started, and the school locked its doors and began to teach students remotely. I was worried at first about how I was going to finish middle school and start high school remotely if the school didn’t open again, but I then remembered that a few months prior to this happening I had met my cousin, who told me about this online high-school called «Penn Foster», she told me that the curriculum was awesome and that it gave the chance for students to graduate as much as two years earlier than usual. So later, after finishing middle school remotely, I enrolled in Penn Foster, and I graduated two years later in June of 2022. God then led me to Regent University where I found this wonderful online program that allows me to get my B.A in Law and J.D in as little as six years. So, I enrolled, and I am excited to see what God leads me to next. I cannot wait to earn my degree and become a lawyer so that I can inspire and protect the rights of the people who cannot do so themselves. The reason I decided to go into law is because I see so much injustice in this world, and I heard of some lawyers who only do what they do for money, a lot are good though, and I want to be like those who care and defend and stand up for their clients, like TJ Crowson. And I have a similar passion as TJ Crowson, to fight to enable higher education for all, and to defend human rights. I want to fight for justice like God commanded us to do, in Deuteronomy 16: 18-20, “'You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 16: 18-20) And also Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:17. ESV) Citation: The Holy Bible. Deuteronomy chapter 16, verses 18 through 20. Isaiah chapter 1, verse 17. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2001.

Hello, thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to read my essay. My name is Yana, I am a 17-year-old, first-generation college and pre-law student and Regent University. I graduated high school at fifteen years old about a month before my sixteenth birthday. When I was around 10 years old, someone I know got into an accident and was wrongly accused of being at fault for the accident just because they were not heard by the officers who were investigating the accident, and the lawyer that they hired did not care to help them and only wanted money. This left a lasting impact on me and since that time, I decided that I would become a lawyer and defend my clients honestly and care about their legal problems. So, after graduating high school, I enrolled in Regent University’s B.A in Law Program which has a special program where I can enroll in and get my B.A and J.D. in 6 years. During these 6 years, I plan to gain a lot of knowledge not only about the subject I am studying in school but a variety of other subjects. I enjoy reading, and books are a great way to gain knowledge, about any question you can think of has an answer written somewhere in a book. I like reading about history, science (especially human biology), music, art, and of course, law, and I also love to read the Bible, because knowing more about God my Saviour is the most important. Another way to gain knowledge is by traveling and seeing other cultures and learning about them with your own eyes and ears. I enjoy traveling with my family and I have been to a lot of places, and traveling is definitely something I will be doing more of in the future. I am currently an online student in Washington State and my university is in Virginia, in the fourth year of my program I will need to move to continue my education on-campus. After I move, I might look into internships in the area, and I also wish to volunteer somewhere where I can help and support those who need it, and after graduating I plan to stay and work there, but I am unsure about that yet. All I know is that God will lead me to where He wants me to be, and for right now, I am studying hard so that I can be the best lawyer that I can be. I hope I will be considered for this scholarship, as it will help me with my educational journey so that I can fulfill my dream of helping people.

Hello, my name is Yana, I am a first-generation college student at Regent University studying to get my B.A in Law. My greatest achievement to date is graduating high school at fifteen years old with a 4.0 GPA and enrolling in university at 16 years old. This is something that I am proud of. Completing high school online after being a student inside a classroom from when I was in kindergarten, and in the middle of the covid pandemic, which forced my school to shut down before I even finished 8th grade, was tough, and it took a lot of perseverance and hard work to get through it. Thankfully, a few months before the close of my school, my cousin told me about Penn Foster online high school, and I decided to enroll at the end of the summer since my old school was going to be online either way. When I was doing Penn Foster, I was practically teaching myself since there were no online classes held, and it was just a bunch of reading and homework. But I did it, and I tried my hardest to always finish each exam on the suggested due date so that I could keep on track and graduate. While in high school and even before that, I always dreamed of going to a Christian University, so that I can learn academically and learn about God more, this was very important to me. I was blessed to get into Regent University in October of 2022. The process of looking for a perfect university that would be a good fit for me, deciding what field to study, and enrolling was hard, especially since I am a first-generation student. But eventually, I enrolled and got ready for my first year with the help of God and support from my parents and older brother. I chose to go into Law so that I can become a lawyer and stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. Many times, when people get into legal trouble it can greatly affect their future and I want to help them to solve their legal problems. I also want to give back to my community and my family for everything they have done for me. I hope that I will be considered for this scholarship because it will greatly help me to complete my B.A in Law and in the future my J.D. degree, so that I can become a lawyer and help people in need. Thank you, God bless.

Hello, First, I would like to say that I am sorry for the loss of Dr. Alexanderia K. Lane to her family and friends. My heart goes out to them, and I hope that God's peace will be with them in this horrible moment. I would also like to thank them for making this scholarship in her honor. As for the question "Why is it important to help others?", I believe that it is good to help others. It can strengthen a community, when people help each other, and overall, you can make the whole world a better place when you help people. Also, when you help someone, you can change their entire life. When you help someone it can also inspire others and they will begin helping others, and the whole world can change because of one person, as a friend of mine said once, “I believe one person can make a big impact to change the world, and I am ready to become that person”, and I completely agree with her. For instance, reading about Dr. Lane’s life and the way that she has helped others has inspired me and, I believe, countless others, to help people in need. For me, as a Christian, helping others means obeying God and becoming more like Jesus Christ, the son of God. There are countless verses in the Bible that speak of the importance of helping others. For example, Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (ESV) another verse states, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, ESV), another verse says, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” (Proverbs 19:17, ESV), the last verse I want to share (my favorite one), Jesus is speaking, and he says this, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, ESV). Currently, I am a student at Regent University, and I am studying to get my bachelor's in law, and then I plan to get my J.D and become a lawyer. When I finish school, I plan to help people with their legal needs. Getting into legal problems causes big issues for the future of people, and I want to help them to solve this problem. I want to stand up and defend those who cannot defend themselves. I hope that I will be considered for this scholarship, it will help me complete law school, and I promise that when I become a lawyer, I will help people just as Dr. Lane did in her life.

Hello, my name is Yana, I am a first-generation college student pursuing a bachelor's degree in law at Regent University. I have been a Christian all my life, ever since I was little, I have been going to church. My mama always taught me to put God first in my life and has been a wonderful example of how putting God first should look in one's life. I learned a lot from my mom and the Church about the love of God and how amazing God is. As a kid, I always knew that God loved me and cared for me, but it wasn’t until I was in middle school that I understood this fully, and started reading the Bible more and more and praying to God about everything. God has helped me and my family so much in our life that I can’t even begin to list all the amazing things He has done. Both of my parents are from Ukraine, and they came to America 20 years ago to start a new life and to be able to provide a better future for me and my older brother, and God has helped them through all the difficulties that came from moving to a new country. Now, with God's help, I have been blessed to find out about Regent University, a Christian University, which was a dream of mine since I was little. I always dreamed of growing up and going to a Christian University, where I could learn and grow in my faith, and God has helped me find such a university and be accepted into it. I believe that God will guide me through my journey at Regent, he will strengthen me through the difficulties, help me excel in my classes, and give me wisdom to learn more about him. Law school is a hard path, and still, I chose to take it because I felt led by God, and I know that I am doing the right thing by listening to His calling, and He will give me strength so that I can continue down the path he is leading me through. A few verses that have helped me through the process of deciding what to do with my future are these: “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11), “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:17).

When I was about 5-6, the original Barbie Life in the Dream House came out, and I have watched all the episodes of the movie series, and I always dreamed as a little kid of living in a house like in the movie, with the walk-in closet, with the built-in outfit picker iPad, the elevator, big kitchen, and indoor dolphin pool, and many other cool features. But now that I'm older and know that not all of it can become a reality, especially not the dolphin pool, I have a bit more realistic expectation for a dream home. So, for my more realistic dream house, I want it to be located somewhere tropical; I am thinking Hawaii or Southern California; I want it to be right on the beach so that I can see the sunrise and sunsets from the comfort of home or on the beach, right next to my house. My dream house would give off some beach vibes, so I would want the color of the exterior to be a shade of blue and black outline and two stories tall. A big front porch with a swing, and on the other side, a place for a hammock, two lanterns for late-night reading time, and two swinging gardens. I also want a patio on the second floor for a small garden to grow fresh fruits and vegetables, a small-sized family table for sunset dinners, and a comfy light gray couch, and the floor would be light brown. I want a spacious living room on the first floor with 1 or 2 couches, light or dark gray with two cute couch pillows on each, and a small coffee table. The colors in the interiors are going to be light blue, gray, and white, and some black, maybe; the floor would be between light and dark gray. Next, the kitchen; I enjoy cooking and baking, so the kitchen is important; I want a cute, somewhat fancy kitchen with large granite countertops and an island counter in the middle, where sometimes I would do work while looking out the window and just enjoying the sound of the ocean. And the kitchen cabinets will be dark gray, and the refrigerator will be stainless steel. The counters will have a special area for storage and prep for coffee and tea. Fresh flowers on the island are a must. Next, the upstairs, 2-3 rooms, the master bedroom will have the opening for the patio where I can enjoy coffee while looking out on the beach. The interior of the room would have a color scheme of light blue and light gray and white, a queen bed, a gray cabinet with flowers, next to the cabinet dresser, would be a huge bookshelf with all my books, and a desk facing the balcony window, where I can do my work when I become a lawyer. And, a walk-in closet, no outfit picker iPad though. That is all for my dream house tour. Thank you, and I hope you will consider me for this scholarship so that I can be one step closer to completing my law degree.

Reading has been my favorite hobby since I was old enough to start reading simple sentences. At 9 years old, I discovered a love for fiction and non-fiction history books. I read almost all of the books in the “My America” series and a lot of other history books. At 12 years old, I started reading a lot of historical Christian romances, and this genre is where my most favorite book is from. While I read a lot of historical Christian romance books, including the “Out of Egypt” series, the “Cities of Refuge” series, and “The Covenant House” series, all by Connilyn Cossette (my favorite author), and a lot more, my favorite series is “The Mark of the Lion” by Francine Rivers. The first book of the series is titled “A Voice in the Wind,” and it is the one that touched me the most. The book starts off by describing the scene when the Roman army raided Jerusalem, and it talks about how horrible it looked, the buildings burned down, towers collapsed, and people lying dead in the street. The main character of this book is Haddasah; in the beginning, she is a teenage girl, about 15-16 years of age, and she is in the city of Jerusalem during the raid. Her father is killed by the Romans when he goes out to preach the gospel outside, despite the situation. Her brother is killed by a Roman soldier when he attempts to protect his two little sisters, and her mom and sister die of starvation. This young girl survived through all the hardship and was taken captive to be sold as a slave. She is later sold to a rich Roman merchant family and becomes a slave to the younger daughter, who treats her badly. But despite the harsh treatment, Hadassah serves Julia with care, love, and loyalty. (This is the first lesson this book taught me; it reminded me how a Christian should act, even if mistreated, and a true Christian should love, care, and serve). Another thing that stood out to me was that Haddasah was so young, and even though she thought that she was weak and didn’t have enough faith to stand up for what she believed and save the family and bring them to God, her actions told a different story. When it mattered, Hadassah stood up and spoke up to the older brother of Julia, and she ended up saving the slaves of the first husband of Julia when Julia wanted to send them to the lions. She also spoke out about her belief that abortion is wrong; when Julia had an abortion, she spoke about this to the brother, who had the power to get her killed if he told someone that she was a Christian. Haddasah eventually, by the end of the first two books, told everyone about God, and everyone was saved, the daughter, the brother (who she later married), the mother, and the father. This series taught me two things: first, I should serve with love and care, and second, I should stand up for what I believe in, no matter the consequences. Books are wonderful; many of them can teach us wonderful things and encourage and inspire us. I wish to volunteer at a library sometime in my life, possibly at the library of my university campus, so that I can help others find books that will encourage and inspire them. This series has inspired me to serve with love and care and to speak up for what I believe; that is why I am becoming a lawyer.

If I had to pick just one book I would want everyone to read, I would say The Holy Bible. The Bible is amazing; it is the Book of all books. The Bible is a collection of 66 books, and there are various genres; there are historical books that tell of Israel's history, law books, narratives, poetry books, and even a little romance! The most important thing about the Bible is how all these books are connected, even if they were written over the course of about 1,600 years and by many different authors, about 40 different authors, to be almost exact. The books of the Bible are all connected because they all have one hero, and this hero is Jesus Christ. And really, although the Bible has 40 different people who wrote it, there is only one author, God. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV). Let me talk a little bit about my journey with reading the Bible; I have been a Christian since I was a child, I was born and raised in a Christian household, and we went to church every Sunday. I started reading children's Bibles when I first learned to read, and it may be even the first book I read. I loved reading the little kids Bible, and looking at the pictures, and learning about how God loves me and everyone. When I was twelve, I started reading the "adult" Bible, and my eyes were open more than they were before; it was even more amazing than the kids' Bible. Reading it changed my life so much; the Bible is written so beautifully, and it tells about even when Adam and Eve first messed up in the Garden of Eden, God still loved his creation and spared their lives, and made a way that they would be brought back to him, and even when humanity kept messing up God forgave them again and again. The Bible is a Book that tells about how "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, ESV). The Bible is my favorite book, and I hope that everyone in the World will read it.

"The Mark of the Lion" is a series that had a great impact on me. This series has three books, the first one (which has made the biggest impact on me) is about this Jewish Christian young girl who was in Jerusalem when the romans attacked the city, and she was taken captive to be sold as a slave. During the walk from the city to Rome, she was almost sold as a temple slave, but the author wrote about how God had protected her from this destiny. When the group but captives and soldiers made it to Rome, Hadassah (the girl), was bought by another Jewish slave who worked for a rich Roman family, and was brought to the villa in which they lived. She was made the personal slave of the youngest daughter, and later, in the second book, she married the older brother, Marcus. What really inspired me, was that throughout this book, Hadassah doesn’t believe that she has enough faith, she always thinks that she isn’t as great as her younger sister and brother were and her parents, but she really was an inspirational character who showcased a lot of faith and stood up for what she believed even though it would eventually almost cause her death. One specific scene is when after Julia (the sister) gets an abortion, and commands Hadassah to “dispose of it”, and then the brother comes and he finds Hadassah in the Garden, crying and her fingernails dirty from digging in the dirt, trying to bury the child, he tries to comfort her by saying that it wasn’t a “real” child yet, and that is wasn’t a big deal. Hadassah looked up at him and started quoting verses from the Bible that talks about how God knitted the child in the womb, and she starts talking about how God’s judgment is going to come upon them if they don’t repent. This book had a really great impression on me, and taught me that no matter what I should not be afraid to stand up for what I believe in, and that even if you spiritually save one life , it makes a huge difference. After reading this book, I really thought about how I could make a difference in the world, and how I could tell people about Christ. The answer came to me a few years later. In 2020, when covid-19 hit, my school was shut down in the springs, about two months before summer break, and I had to start distance learning, and it was hard of course, but the Lord helped me through it and I had great grades finishing middle school. But then I also thought about how I was going to continue my education like this, and start high-school. And then I remember that my cousin a few months back, had told me about an online high-school program that would allow me to graduate earlier if I studied hard. And, two months later, I enrolled. A little less than two years after, in June 2022, I graduated. And the question of how I could make a difference in the world, and after graduating I started thinking about what field of study I should do in college, and I prayed about it and was looking for college options and degrees, and one day, God lead to me Regent University Online, and I found a B.A in law degree. And immediately I felt that I need to enroll, and so I did. After, I plan to become a lawyer, and defend those who can not defend themselves.