Hey, there! My name is Zach Krebs and I was diagnosed with NF1 shortly after being adopted at age four. My early years were not a breeze, as I not only had NF1 but had also not been in the best living situation before adoption. This gave me physical and mental challenges, as my feet grew in a way that hindered walking. I attended early preschool to build motor and mental skills with other special needs students and entered kindergarten with an IEP. From first to fourth grade, I hated school because NF1 affected my ability to read and do math, requiring me to leave class for those subjects while my classmates explored science and social studies. My fourth-grade teacher changed my view of school by convincing those over my IEP to let me stay in class for social studies and science. Under his watchful eye, I overcame reading struggles and gained a lasting love for books. Around this time, I participated in a University of Utah study to better understand NF1. By fifteen, I progressed to needing only a 504 instead of an IEP. This was a major milestone, helping me feel more like my peers. By the end of my senior year, I graduated from needing a 504. Beyond academics, I gained leadership experience. While pursuing my degree, I work at Chrysalis in special needs services, a rewarding job. One of my clients was almost entirely non-verbal when I met him; this week, I accompanied him to the Special Olympics, where his basketball team won silver. At twelve, I served as a second counselor in a church youth presidency, responsible for leading boys aged twelve to thirteen. I learned to consider others' perspectives when making decisions. I later served in presidencies for ages fourteen to fifteen and sixteen to eighteen. I also worked at McDonald's, earning a trainer position for the grill area and often stepping into customer service. Additionally, I assisted my school’s student council as a committee member. These experiences helped me gain confidence and grow into the person I am today. Now, as a student at Southern Utah University, I am pursuing a Political Science degree to develop skills like public speaking and deepen my understanding of government in preparation for law school. Looking back, I am proud of my journey and excited for what lies ahead. While I am not perfect, I thank you for considering me for this scholarship.

The two shows I would choose would be Lab Rats and K.C. Undercover. The episode would take place on K.C.'s show; it would be titled "My Bionic Allies." It would start with K.C. and Ernie in a foreign government building, as it is falling apart. She is talking on her earpiece to someone at "The Organization." She discusses that the building is becoming unstable, and as we see the ceiling about to collapse, we see a blur of motion shoot across the screen and grab them and bring them to a room where we see the blur is Bree, then Adam and Chase get introduced as they are using their powers to mitigate an explosion. (cut to commercial break) We come back to see them sitting in the now stable building as K.C. and Ernie realize that these three teens have powers. Here we get a little context for those who haven't seen Lab Rats as they explain how they came about their powers and crime-fighting ways. We proceeded to find out why the building was falling apart, and they agreed to work together on this mission. We cut to Douglas getting frustrated that his plans were thwarted just before he gets a call from an Other Side rep. We cut back to K.C., Ernie, and their family in their home with the Lab Rats as they are comparing notes. During this time, we see Ernie try to flirt with Bree and get brutally shut down, and Judy shows off, calling "a mix of humans and machines dumb, and why ruin something when it's perfect?" We also see Chase and K.C. get a moment being the smart ones. With Adam making a joke at their expense. At the end of this scene, they get the info they need about where the next attack is going to be and they have a moment where K.C. and Ernie are about to go to the car, and Chase, Adam, and Bree are confused, and point out that "Bree has super speed, so why would we need a car?!" We then get a cool fight scene combining Adam, Bree, and Chase's powers. Here we see Douglas and a faceless other side agent get defeated with a mix of the Copper's training and the Lab Rats' powers right before they trade information. We end with them agreeing to be friends and an invitation to join The Organization with a quick decline saying "Mr. Davenport is probably mad that we have been gone for this long already". The last scene shows K.C. and Ernie returning the stolen info and when asked how they did it, K.C. just simply says they had help from "a few friends".

My life has been greatly influenced by my mother. From the time I was adopted at a very young age, I was taught the ways of the Lord. One of the first things she taught me was the value that service brings, especially "by love, serve one another." (Galatians 5:13 KJV) It was rarely that a week would go by when I wouldn't see her serving those around her in some way, whether that was through bringing meals to those going through a hard time, serving in the church, or volunteering at the school to direct the elementary school play. One particular event that comes to mind is the time that my parents led our family to visit an elderly member of our congregation who was in a nursing home and needed company because no one else in the family could take care of him. She also performed many acts of service as I was growing up. She might believe that all the rides to and from work as well as other places and the countless hours she spent helping me with my homework while I battled a learning disability went unnoticed, but I gained a lot of knowledge from the way that time was spent. It was through these acts of service that I was able to learn to love my fellow man. She not only taught me to love my fellow man but to forgive those who I felt had wronged me. I remember reading Matthew 5:39 with her after I got into a fight with my brother. She helped me see that even when I feel wronged, I can be the bigger person and forgive. It was through her guiding eye that I also learned the principle of praying like everything depends on the Lord and working like it all depends on you. Put simply, she taught me diligence. There is one time in particular that stood out to me, even when I was a child. The congregational leader had been inspired to ask her to help lead our church's Cub Scout program. This was a task that she struggled with significantly at the time, but knowing that the Lord needed her in that place at that time was what brought her through it. This ties into another principle she taught me, which is perseverance. In early 2022, she was diagnosed with leukemia. During this time, I never saw her view it through a negative lens, and when she broke the news to me, the first thing she said afterward was to not worry and trust in the Lord. Now that she has recovered, she continues to serve our church and the community at large. My mother has taught me many things in my life, and it is through her influence that I am the man that I am today.

I was diagnosed with NF1 within a short time of being adopted at age four. My early years were not a breeze as I not only had NF1 but had not been in the best homing situation before my adoption giving me physical challenges to overcome, not just mental ones as my feet had grown in a way that hindered my walking. This made me go into an early preschool to help me build my motor and mental skills with other special needs students. I came into kindergarten with an IEP. When I went from first grade to fourth grade I hated school. This was because my NF1 affected my ability to read and to do math, so I would be in class for reading and math and then have to go to the school resource center for reading and math while my classmates got to learn about the wonders of science and social studies. Then my fourth grade teacher changed my entire view of school as he met with those over my IEP and convinced them to let me stay in class for social studies and science. It was under his watchful eye that I was able to overcome my reading struggles and gain a love for reading that has lasted up till now. It was also at this time that I participated in a study at the University of Utah to understand NF1 more clearly. Skipping ahead to when I was fifteen, I was able to progress to the point where I only needed a 504 instead of an IEP. This was a really big moment for me as I grew to be more like my fellow students despite the challenges put in my way. This gave me more confidence as at the end of my senior year, I graduated from needing a 504. Aside from my educational feats, I started gaining leadership opportunities. For example, when I was only twelve, I was able to serve as a second counselor in a presidency within my church. In the context of the title of second counselor, it is a committee overseen by an adult advisor, but the responsibility rests solely on the youth. I was able to serve in this presidency over about five other boys, ranging in age from twelve to thirteen. I learned a lot in this position like voting on behalf of others and not just keeping my own opinions in mind when deciding on an activity. I was subsequently a counselor in both the fourteen- to fifteen-year-old presidency and the sixteen- to eighteen-year-old presidencies. I also worked at McDonald's and was able to receive the position of trainer for the grill area, and often I was drafted into the customer service area. I would be expected to train them in nearly any position with very little notice. Another position was when I was also able to assist my school's student council. While I didn’t hold a formal position, I held the position of a committee member. All of these were able to help me boost my confidence and come out of my shell, making me into the man I am today. Now as I am a student at Southern Utah University, I am pursuing a degree in Political Science where I hope to be able to get the skills I need to go to Law school. Looking back I am proud of all that I have accomplished in getting here and recognize I still have much further to go. So while I may not be perfect, I thank you for considering me for the scholarship.

I was sorted into the Ravenclaw house. Despite this, I do think that my better house would be Hufflepuff. While I do have a natural affinity for knowledge and gaining it, I really love serving my fellow man. I have recently returned from a two year mission for my church in Montana for which I received no monetary compensation, where besides bringing others into my church have performed a lot of service, such as helped stack a lot of hay and wood, brand cattle, pull weeds, dig holes for trees, cut wood, help folks move, learning how to do basic repair on home appliances. These experiences as well as my time in high school practicing the violin have taught me diligence and a job is not over until it is finished, the wood always needs to be stacked, things in the home have to be repaired and, I won’t keep my talents of playing the violin if I don’t keep on practicing. I love helping people see the love that God has for them. My study of the scriptures has given me a great view of justice and mercy. Justice should happen when it has to in cases of great crime, but if my roommate drinks the last of my milk without asking how is that a crime that must have justice served? It is simply not. I have a great love for nature as well as knowledge. While I do have a good strong love for knowledge, which I plan on using as a future Lawyer, I do not feel this should be an attribute that should only apply to a Ravenclaw as there have been many who were sorted into Hufflepuff with awesome knowledge such as Cedric Diggory, Newt Scamander, Tonks and, Professor Sprout. I believe very strongly that kindness is the way to change the world, which ties in to why I want to be a Lawyer. If my future wife approves, I would love to take in children from the foster care system, even if I don’t have a chance at adopting them. I want to care for them and give them a good environment to grow up in where they will be loved and accepted. As someone who was adopted themself this is a big goal for me. In the scouting program where I was able to reach the point of being a Star Scout (the one right above first class and right under life.) I was able to learn and value hard work. I may not have earned the most merit badges, but I had fun earning the ones that I did earn. I have also learned about patience, which is not something that comes naturally to me but patience is so important because in my religion it is the ability to view things from an eternal perspective and be able to reason that the one bad thing is not going to last forever. It is not lying down and letting it be “oh well, it won’t last forever” it is doing what I can without getting downtrodden and wallowing in my circumstances. I would like to attend Southern Utah University on this scholarship for a degree in law. I thank you for considering me for this scholarship.