I am a freshman in college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology, and then studying veterinary medicine. I chose my major because of my dog. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude.Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happinesses she brought me was something I have never felt before. In highschool I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school but then I started to think, is this really something I wanted to do. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. My dream is to one day have my own non-profit conversation to help injured animals. I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. My dream is to own a non-profit conversation dedicated to helping injured animals. I want to dedicate the short time I have on this earth to helping animals.

Nothing in mother nature has a voice to speak up and advocate for itself. There is no way for a tree or a small animal to communicate with humans and share what it needs. I would not be here if mother nature was not as perfect as it is. I feel it is my duty as a human to protect the environment. This strong passion stems from my feeling of being connected to the earth. All the plants, the sun, and water are all things that humans rely on. My best way to say thank you to mother nature is to protect the environment. I have loved being outside since I was little and always felt the need t take care of the earth. I am currently going into my sophomore year of college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology. I plan on using my degree in order to work against climate change along with helping animals. Due to me studying biology I will have a through understanding about how life on earth works and how human involvement affects the environment. With this knowledge I would like to be apart of congress and advocate for more sustainable laws when it comes to fossil fuels, or anything that could have a negative effect on the environment. Being in congress allows me to make a direct impact on the earth in a positive way. By implanting laws, that reduce carbon footprint, it greatly benefit the future of earth. Advice I would give to my family and friends on reducing there carbon footprint I would tell them to really think about their everyday actions. From small things like how long they let the water run when brushing their teeth, or taking a fabric bag to the grocery store to reduce plastic waste. I would explain to my family members that climate change would easily become a existential crisis, if action is not taken immediately. The earth will be fine without human but humans would never be okay without the earth. I would share my knowledge with them on the drastic effects that their everyday actions have on climate change. I would tell them to try their absolute best to reduce their carbon foot print and to truly think about their actions. I would also suggest that they stay current with the research on climate in order to be aware of what is happening around them

I am entering my sophomore year in college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology, and then studying veterinary medicine. I chose my major because of my dog. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude .Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness she brought me was something I have never felt before. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. I do not just mean land animals but all animals on earth. My degree covers every type of animal, I feel as though animals are precious beings and must be protected at all costs. This is why am dedicated to not only protecting nature, but the oceans on earth as well. With my degree I will be able to have the knowledge to know how to properly take care of our oceans, and properly protect them. Ocean play an enormous role in human survival, in addition to housing thousands or marine animals. I will use my knowledge from my degree in order to spread awareness and advocated for laws that protect the ocean .

I am going into my sophomore year in college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology, and then studying veterinary medicine. I chose my major because of my dog. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude. Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness she brought me was something I have never felt before. In high school I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school but then I started to think, is this really something I wanted to do. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. My dream is to one day have my own non-profit conversation to help injured animals. I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. My dream is to own a non-profit conversation dedicated to helping injured animals. I want to dedicate the short time I have on this earth to helping animals.

Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude. Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness she brought me was something I have never felt before. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. My dream is to one day have my own non-profit conversation to help injured animals. I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. My dream is to own a non-profit conversation dedicated to helping injured animals. I want to dedicate the short time I have on this earth to helping animals.

Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude .Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness she brought me was something I have never felt before. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. My dream is to one day have my own non-profit conversation to help injured animals. I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. My dream is to own a non-profit conversation dedicated to helping injured animals. I want to dedicate the short time I have on this earth to helping animals. How I envision my role in animal care and welfare in conservation is simply to give back to those(animals) that do not have a voice. Mother nature provides humans with everything necessary for survival, it would only be right to take the utmost care of the animals that mother nature produces. I would dedicate my life to make sure that an animal's basic needs are met and that they are happy and will be taken care of, that is what I envision as a person in animal care and welfare in conservation.

I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology, and then studying veterinary medicine. I chose my major because of my dog. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude. Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness she brought me was something I have never felt before. In high school I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school but then I started to think, is this really something I wanted to do. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. My dream is to one day have my own non-profit conversation to help injured animals. I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. My dream is to own a non-profit conversation dedicated to helping injured animals. I want to dedicate the short time I have on this earth to helping animals.

My love for learning has made me the person I am today. I grew up in a predominantly Christian household and always had some time of skepticism, but I would always brush it off because my parents would ensure me that God is real and there should be no doubt about it . Christmas was my favorite holiday of the year. I loved the crispy cold weather, and how everyone around me was in an extraordinarily happy . I attend church every Sunday and was told not to question my faith or I would go to hell and never deny God's existence or that would be a automatic entrance into hell. As I got older I started to secretly question god, I had so many questions but was too afraid to ask. A wide variety of things in the Christianity did not make sense, I wanted to believe in God with certainty, but I just could not. I realized that in 100 years nothing that I do will matter, I will be dead and my time spent on earth is truly useless. In my early years of high school, after coming home from crunch, I made the choice that I would be agonistic. I made this choice so that way I would not be denying that god exists, but rather saying my human brain does not have the capacity to know for certain if God exists. Christmas was no longer my favorite holiday, I felt too ashamed to enjoy Christmas because of the impurity of my thoughts. I felt miserable and felt this way until the start of my junior year when I decided I was atheist. I chose to stop denying the way I feel, and realized the only reason I stayed agonistic so long was out of fear, fear of going to hell. There was no longer a God for me to love, no longer a purpose for my existence. I felt that their was no place in this world for me. Around this time I came across the philosophy nihilism. Nihilism states that life is useless and nothing matters. All humans have an inherent want to be apart of something bigger. This is why religions were invited to portray something beyond humans. I was determined that my life had no meaning or purpose so I decided that I was going to kill my self. Following the incident, I spent a week in a psychiatric facility where I learned that my life does have a purpose even without the presence of a god. Even till this day I am still learning how much meaning my life has and how each individual is responsible for their own purpose in this life. I know have a true love for philosophy and learned about so many more positive philosophies. In fact one of my favorite philosophies is epicureanism.

This scholarship will help me reach my longer term goals of owing a non-profit conservation dedicated to helping animals by helping me pursue my college degree of biology with a concentration in animal ecology. Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. Junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy and how can I make the biggest impact while I am on this earth. The two things that came to my mind were my two dogs, Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career.

I am a freshman in college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology. I chose my major because of my dog. My dream is to own a non-profit conservation dedicated to helping animals. I want to devote the rest of my life to helping animals. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school, I was devastated but I knew she would be in a better place. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia from our local animal shelter, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness's she brought me was something I have never felt before. In high school I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school but then I started to think, is this really something I wanted to do. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. I volunteered at a summer camp at the Houston Humane Society called camp PAWSOME. Camp PAWSOME taught children all about animals, the children learned about animal cruelty and how to properly treat animals. I was able to teach the next upcoming generation how to treat animals. When times get tough I always turn to my pets, they help me the most in any situation. I can not wait until the future were everyday I get to wake up and help animals.

Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health.

I am a freshman in college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology, and then studying veterinary medicine. I chose my major because of my dog. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude. Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness's she brought me was something I have never felt before. In high school I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school but then I started to think, is this really something I wanted to do. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. My dream is to one day have my own non-profit conversation to help injured animals. I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. My dream is to own a non-profit conversation dedicated to helping injured animals. I want to dedicate the short time I have on this earth to helping animals.

I am a freshman in college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology, and then studying veterinary medicine. I chose my major because of my dog. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude. Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness's she brought me was something I have never felt before. In high school I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school but then I started to think, is this really something I wanted to do. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. My dream is to one day have my own non-profit conversation to help injured animals. I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. My dream is to own a non-profit conversation dedicated to helping injured animals. I want to dedicate the short time I have on this earth to helping animals.

Pursuing a career in STEM will allow me to benefit society by helping animals. I am a freshman in college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology. I chose my major because of my dog. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude. Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happiness's she brought me was something I have never felt before. In high school I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school but then I started to think, is this really something I wanted to do. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. My dream is to one day have my own non-profit conversation to help injured animals. I would like to spend my limited time on this earth giving back to animals. My dream is to own a non-profit conversation dedicated to helping injured animals. I want to dedicate the short time I have on this earth to helping animals.

I chose my major because of my dog. My dream is to own a non-profit conservation dedicated to helping animals. Any time I see an injured animal I try to help and call my local animal shelter for assistance on what to do.Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mother. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion, if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school, I was devastated but I knew she would be in a better place. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia from our local animal shelter, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. The joy she brought me was something I have never felt before. In high school I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school. When it came time to pick out a college had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. I loved Mia and animals so much I left as though it was only right for me to volunteer at an animal shelter. I did a summer camp at the Houston Humane Society called camp pawsome.Camp pawsome taught children all about animals, the children learned about animal cruelty and how to properly treat animals. I was able to teach the next upcoming generation how to treat animals and at the same time I was able to spend time with them. Animals at the shelter will always have a special place in my heart, they do not have a home or a family and that is something that every animal should have. I believe that all animals are a precious form of life, people often think that humans are superior to animals, but this is not the case. Humans and animals are equal, and animals deserve to be treated with the utmost respect. When times get tough I always turn to my pets, they help me the most in any situation. I can not wait until the future where everyday I get to wake up and help animals.

Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health.

Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mominto the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health.

Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mominto the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health.

Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mominto the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health.

I am a freshman in college and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in animal ecology. I chose my major because of my dog. My dream is to own a non-profit conservation dedicated to helping animals.I want to devote the rest of my life to helping animals, I feel as though they are often overlooked and people do not pay much mind to them, but I surely do. Any time I see an injured animal I try to help and call my local animal shelter for assistance on what to do. Growing up there was always a dog a part of the family. I never saw my dog as a pet but more of a family member. My first dog was a boxer named Lailah, she was the sweetest dog ever. Almost every day after school I would take her on walks with my mom. Seeing how excited she would get when we would get ready brought me great amounts of joy. Lailah was a very well trained dog who we walked off leash and she would stay right by my side no matter what. There have been countless times when a squirrel or aggressive dog would be near but that did not bother Lailah at all. Lailah was my first true example of loyalty and unconditional love. No matter my emotion if I was mad or sad Lailah was always there and was happy as can be. This taught me to give the same love and loyalty to people who were close to me. Unfortunately Lailah passed away when I was in elementary school, I was devastated but I knew she would be in a better place. A few years later me and my family got a puppy named Mia from our local animal shelter, it is safe to say Mia changed my life. Mia was full of personality, if she did not get something she wanted she would give the biggest attitude.Mia was a small dog and came everywhere with me and family. Mia would go on camping trips, vacation, any thing we did she was there, I loved this. I truly loved having Mia by my side. The happinesses she brought me was something I have never felt before. In highschool I was on the pre-law track. My schedule was packed with classes about criminology and law, I was almost certain that I wanted to go to law school but then I started to think, is this really something I wanted to do. When it came time to pick out a college I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life, I then thought about what brings me the most joy. The two things that came to my mind were Mia and Lailah. Mia was able to teach me patience and Lailah was able to show me loyalty and unconditional love. I realized that I wanted to do something with animals for my career. My two dogs were able to make me feel so much joy and taught me so much throughout life, I wanted to continue my education to learn more about animals. I loved Mia and animals so much I left as though it was only right for me to volunteer at an animal shelter. I did a summer camp at the Houston Humane Society called camp PAWSOME. Camp pawsome taught children all about animals, the children learned about animal cruelty and how to properly treat animals. The camp allowed children to have spend an hour with the animals at the shelter each day, this was my favorite part if the camp. I was able to teach the next upcoming generation how to treat animals and at the same time I was able to spend time with them. Animals at the shelter will always have a special place in my heart, they do not have a home or a family and that is something that every animal should have. I believe that all animals are a precious from of life, people often think that humans are superior to animals, but this is not the case. Humans and animals are equal, and animals deserve to be treated with the utter most respect. You can not even talk to animal and yet you can still feel there unconditional love. Not to just mention animals unconditional, they also show unwavering loyalty. When times get tough I always turn to my pets, they help me the most in any situation. I can not wait until the future were everyday I get to wake up and help animals.

Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health. Winners and Finalists

Throughout my journey, I have actively sought to support others with their mental health in various ways. As a peer mentor, I’ve facilitated support groups where individuals can share their experiences in a safe, judgment-free environment. By fostering open conversations about mental health, I've helped participants feel less isolated and more understood. I’ve also volunteered at local mental health organizations, assisting with workshops that educate community members on coping strategies, mindfulness techniques, and the importance of seeking help. Additionally, I’ve utilized my skills in active listening and empathy to be a reliable friend and confidant. Many people confide in me about their struggles, and I strive to provide them with validation and encouragement. I believe that sometimes, simply being there for someone can make a significant difference in their emotional well-being. As I pursue my studies in psychology, my goal is to deepen my understanding of mental health issues and effective therapeutic techniques. I plan to specialize in counseling, focusing on evidence-based practices that promote resilience and coping skills. In my future career, I envision creating programs that not only provide individual therapy but also promote community mental health awareness. By collaborating with schools and organizations, I hope to implement workshops that equip individuals with tools to manage stress and anxiety, fostering a culture of support and openness. I also intend to leverage technology to reach those who may not have access to traditional mental health services. Teletherapy and online resources can bridge the gap for individuals seeking support but facing barriers such as stigma or geographical limitations. By combining in-person and virtual support systems, I aim to create a more inclusive approach to mental health care. Ultimately, my aspiration is to be a compassionate advocate for mental health, using my knowledge and personal experiences to inspire others to prioritize their well-being. I believe that emotional support is vital, and I am committed to making a positive impact on the lives of those around me, ensuring that everyone feels heard, valued, and empowered on their mental health journeys.

By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health. I plan to help others with mental health by letting people know that I am always there with a open non-judgmental ear. I will generate awareness by often posting on social media and letting people know that it is okay to reach out.

Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely, this loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life. Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health. Growing up, my first dog, Lailah, taught me about loyalty and unconditional love. After she passed away, my family adopted Mia from a shelter. Mia brought immense joy and taught me patience. I realized my true passion lies in animal care. My experiences with Lailah and Mia inspired me to pursue a career dedicated to helping animals. Thought high school I volunteered at my local animal shelter for two summers in a row. I then went on to college to major in biology with a concertation in animal ecology. My major will help me fulfill my dream of establishing a non-profit conservation dedicated to helping animals.

By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health. For advice to someone else in my situation I would tell them that it is impossible to handle this world on your own. This world can be a cruel place and it is okay to lean on others for help, there is no rule in life that states you must handle challenges on your own. I which that everyone would know that it is okay not to be okay.

I have impacted the community in numerous ways throughout the span of my life. I would like to go to college in order to continue my impact on my community. Since I was a little kid I always had a love for nature, I wanted to take care of it and I deeply admire its beauty. From a young age when every I would see litter in public I would always make sure to pick it up in order to keep the beauty of earth pristine. When I got into high school I realized I had a love for nature and law. I volunteered at my local animal shelter for two years, and through those two years I was able to give back to my community. I volunteered to be a camp counselor at the animal shelter that taught kids all about nature and animals. This camp taught kids how to treat the environment that surrounds them and also taught them how to treat animals. I took pride in being a counselor because I was able to explain to kids why we should take such good care of our earth. My junior and senior year of high school I joined the debate club and became a officer my senior year. Through debate I was able to expand my knowledge on varying topics regarding the law. Debate taught me how to communicate professionally and to advocate for change in my community in a professional manner. I took what I learned from debate and volunteered at my city's municipal court. I came to a realization that I would like to study environmental law. At the cities municipal court I would represent and prosecute teens convicted of traffic violations. Due to the fact that I am a teen with myself, I was able to connect with the defendants on a personal level. Rather I was prosecuting or defending a defiant I would always make sure to to treat everyone equally. I ensured that the defendant understood what they did was wrong and offered them ways to better themselves in the future to make sure their violation does not happen again. As for my career I would like to work in congress drafting laws that would help protect the environment. I plan to study environmental science and then go to law school. I would like to study environmental law in order to safeguard the earth. Proctoring the environment not only helps the earth, but all organisms that inhabit it. Humans are only given one earth, earth provides humans with everything they need for survival, therefore it must be protected at all costs. With my career in environmental law I will be able to make positive impacts for earth in a variety of ways. I will first work on laws that combat climate change because that is earth's number one killer, I will then work on laws that contribute society to live more sustainability. I want to make such an impact that the future generations have nothing to worry about and get to prosper in a society that embraces the beauty and grace of earth. Educating society is also something that I will strive to do with my career, change starts when people are informed and I would like to be the one to start the well needed change.

By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health. For advice to someone else in my situation I would tell them that it is impossible to handle this world on your own. This world can be a cruel place and it is okay to lean on others for help, there is no rule in life that states you must handle challenges on your own. I which that everyone would know that it is okay not to be okay.

I have impacted the community in numerous ways throughout the span of my life. I would like to go to college in order to continue my impact on my community. Since I was a little kid I always had a love for nature, I wanted to take care of it and I deeply admire its beauty. From a young age when every I would see litter in public I would always make sure to pick it up in order to keep the beauty of earth pristine. When I got into high school I realized I had a love for nature and law. I volunteered at my local animal shelter for two years, and through those two years I was able to give back to my community. I volunteered to be a camp counselor at the animal shelter that taught kids all about nature and animals. This camp taught kids how to treat the environment that surrounds them and also taught them how to treat animals. I took pride in being a counselor because I was able to explain to kids why we should take such good care of our earth. My junior and senior year of high school I joined the debate club and became a officer my senior year. Debate taught me how to communicate professionally and to advocate for change in my community in a professional manner. I took what I learned from debate and volunteered at my city's municipal court. I came to a realization that I would like to study environmental law. At the cities municipal court I would represent and prosecute teens convicted of traffic violations. Due to the fact that I am a teen with myself, I was able to connect with the defendants on a personal level. Rather I was prosecuting or defending a defiant I would always make sure to to treat everyone equally. As for my career I would like to work in congress drafting laws that would help protect the environment. I plan to study environmental science and then go to law school. I would like to study environmental law in order to safeguard the earth. Proctoring the environment not only helps the earth, but all organisms that inhabit it. Humans are only given one earth, earth provides humans with everything they need for survival, therefore it must be protected at all costs. With my career in environmental law I will be able to make positive impacts for earth in a variety of ways. I will first work on laws that combat climate change, I will then work on laws that influence society to live more sustainability. I want to make such an impact that the future generations have nothing to worry about and get to prosper in a society that embraces the beauty and grace of earth. Educating society is also something that I will strive to do with my career, change starts when people are informed and I would like to be the one to start the change.

I have impacted the community in numerous ways throughout the span of my life. I would like to go to college in order to continue my impact on my community. Since I was a little kid I always had a love for nature, I wanted to take care of it and I deeply admire its beauty. From a young age when every I would see litter in public I would always make sure to pick it up in order to keep the beauty of earth pristine. When I got into high school I realized I had a love for nature and law. I volunteered at my local animal shelter for two years, and through those two years I was able to give back to my community. I volunteered to be a camp counselor at the animal shelter that taught kids all about nature and animals. This camp taught kids how to treat the environment that surrounds them and also taught them how to treat animals. I took pride in being a counselor because I was able to explain to kids why we should take such good care of our earth. My junior and senior year of high school I joined the debate club and became a officer my senior year. Through debate I was able to expand my knowledge on varying topics regarding the law. Debate taught me how to communicate professionally and to advocate for change in my community in a professional manner. I took what I learned from debate and volunteered at my city's municipal court. I came to a realization that I would like to study environmental law. At the cities municipal court I would represent and prosecute teens convicted of traffic violations. Due to the fact that I am a teen with myself, I was able to connect with the defendants on a personal level. Rather I was prosecuting or defending a defiant I would always make sure to to treat everyone equally. I ensured that the defendant understood what they did was wrong and offered them ways to better themselves in the future to make sure their violation does not happen again. As for my career I would like to work in congress drafting laws that would help protect the environment. I plan to study environmental science and then go to law school. I would like to study environmental law in order to safeguard the earth. Proctoring the environment not only helps the earth, but all organisms that inhabit it. Humans are only given one earth, earth provides humans with everything they need for survival, therefore it must be protected at all costs. With my career in environmental law I will be able to make positive impacts for earth in a variety of ways. I will first work on laws that combat climate change because that is earth's number one killer, I will then work on laws that force society to live more sustainability. I want to make such an impact that the future generations have nothing to worry about and get to prosper in a society that embraces the beauty and grace of earth. Educating society is also something that I will strive to do with my career, change starts when people are informed and I would like to be the one to start the well needed change.

When I got into high school I realized I had a love for nature and law. I volunteered at my local animal shelter for two years, I was a camp counselor at a the animal shelter that taught kids all about nature and animals. My junior and senior year of high school I joined the debate club and became a officer my senior year. Through debate I was able to expand my knowledge on varying topics regarding the law. I took what I learned from debate and volunteered at my city's municipal court. At the cities municipal court I would represent and prosecute teens convicted of traffic violations. Due to the fact that I am a teen with myself, I was able to connect with the defendants on a personal level. As for my career I would like to work in congress drafting laws that would help protect the environment. I plan to study environmental science and then go to law school. Proctoring the environment not only helps the earth but it helps the community. With my career in environmental law I will be able to make positive impacts for earth and my community.

Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I throughout long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I now reach out to people when I am feeling down, and have a very positive outlook on life .Life will throw me some of the hardest challenges I will ever come to face to face with, but with support of others and knowing I can take on absolutely anything life throws at me, I was able to overcome the adversity of my mental health.

As surprising as it sounds tennis has had one of the biggest impacts on my life. The National Junior Tennis League has influenced my life in many ways. From teaching me how to be a team player to helping me enhance my tennis skills. Through participating in NJTL I was able to embrace all the physical benefits of tennis. Tennis requires constant movement and you must be agile in order to succeed. I enjoyed the workouts due to the fact they worked out all parts of the body from head to toe. Not only did tennis improve my cardiovascular health but it also helped my hand eye coordination. Tennis is a sport that requires immense focus and having a strong mentality is crucial to the sport, along with remaining composed under pressure. I loved the quietness of the sport, the ball hitting the racket each pass allowed me to keep my head in the game and remain attentive. The sheer focus that tennis requires was able to help me with my academics. In class I never had any problem paying attention because I was so used to what I learned from playing tennis. Reliance is also a life skill I was able to take from tennis and apply it to all aspects of life. When I would lose a match I would have to come back even stronger for the next, I never had any time to dwell on my loss I would just come back even stronger. The reliance that I learned in tennis really helped me get through high school because any problem I faced I was able to overcome and become a stronger individual. I gained numerous interpersonal skills from tennis. I learned how to be polite and courteous to my opponents and keep the game professional even when I was losing. Playing doubles also taught me how to have proper sportsmanship and not to overstep my boundaries when playing with a partner. Playing tennis in high school required a great amount of discipline. Being a student athlete required me to balance my work and tennis simultaneously. I had to have good time management skills along with making sure that my schooling came first. Tennis has impacted my life in so many positive ways and I am very thankful to have played the sport. Tennis has even helped me overcome one of my biggest adversities. Throughout life I have faced many adversities, from my mom losing her job due to medical reasons, and from losing relatives close to me. By far the biggest adversity I had to overcome in life is my mental health. Mental health is something I struggled with since the eighth grade. The end of my eighth grade year is when Covid happened and schools being shut down, as a result I began to feel very lonely This loneliness caused me to isolate and draw away from those close to me, I felt as though I had no one. I still continued to play tennis because it was the only thing that would provide me with ease. Sophomore year of high school I decided that I would try to do something about my persistent feelings of loneliness. I set a goal for myself to try my hardest to make more friends, and I did just that, I made a lot of friends, at every tennis my match I made it my goal to talk to at least one person.. The next thing that happened surprised me. I was surrounded by people, but still constantly felt lonely. Not a single person in my life knew what was really going on. I then began to feel extremely sad, I felt as though this world was such a harsh place and I had to get through alone. School work was the least of my concern, I just felt horrible. This was my junior year of high school and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I spent my days sleeping and crying because I was just so sad. I went to school every day but everything was just a blur, I felt like a robot just going through the motions daily. I no longer played tennis for the school but I would often go to the tennis court in my neighborhood and play with my little sister. Playing tennis was the only thing that brought joy into my life, but the joy was only temporary. I thought long and hard about what I could do to make me feel better and put me out of my misery and I made the decision that I no longer wanted to live anymore. One day after school and brought sleeping pills to take, I was terrified of the outcome but, at the time I thought what I was doing was best. I was in so much pain and I did not even feel as though I was a person, life was just life nothing special, nothing of value. The moment I was about to take the sleeping pills I started to cry uncontrollably and could not think straight. I then called my mom into the room and had no choice but to explain to her why I crying with pills in my hand. I was then sent to a mental hospital, which was followed by an outpatient program. When I finished the out of patient program it was time for me to go back to school, I was extremely behind on my school work, but with time I got my school work done. My stay at the mental hospital taught me that, yeah this world is harsh but, I do not have to figure it out all alone. I now have a completely different outlook on life and am so grateful that I am still here. Life is a gift of great value that is meant to be shared and cherished with others. I still play tennis to this day and I truly think that playing tenis really helped me push through and persevere.

I have impacted the community in numerous ways throughout the span of my life. I would like to go to college in order to continue my impact on my community. Since I was a little kid I always had a love for nature, I wanted to take care of it and I deeply admire its beauty. From a young age when every I would see litter in public I would always make sure to pick it up in order to keep the beauty of earth pristine. When I got into high school I realized I had a love for nature and law. I volunteered at my local animal shelter for two years, and through those two years I was able to give back to my community. I volunteered to be a camp counselor at the animal shelter that taught kids all about nature and animals. This camp taught kids how to treat the environment that surrounds them and also taught them how to treat animals. I took pride in being a counselor because I was able to explain to kids why we should take such good care of our earth. My junior and senior year of high school I joined the debate club and became a officer my senior year. Through debate I was able to expand my knowledge on varying topics regarding the law. Debate taught me how to communicate professionally and to advocate for change in my community in a professional manner. I took what I learned from debate and volunteered at my city's municipal court. I came to a realization that I would like to study environmental law. At the cities municipal court I would represent and prosecute teens convicted of traffic violations. Due to the fact that I am a teen with myself, I was able to connect with the defendants on a personal level. Rather I was prosecuting or defending a defiant I would always make sure to to treat everyone equally. I really enjoyed volunteering at the municipal court because I was able to connect with members of my community on a personal level. I ensured that the defendant understood what they did was wrong and offered them ways to better themselves in the future to make sure their violation does not happen again. As for my career I would like to work in congress drafting laws that would help protect the environment. I plan to study environmental science and then go to law school. I would like to study environmental law in order to safeguard the earth. Proctoring the environment not only helps the earth, but all organisms that inhabit it. Humans are only given one earth, earth provides humans with everything they need for survival, therefore it must be protected at all costs. With my career in environmental law I will be able to make positive impacts for earth in a variety of ways. I will first work on laws that combat climate change because that is earth's number one killer, I will then work on laws that force society to live more sustainability. I want to make such an impact that the future generations have nothing to worry about and get to prosper in a society that embraces the beauty and grace of earth. Educating society is also something that I will strive to do with my career, change starts when people are informed and I would like to be the one to start the well needed change.

I have impacted the community in numerous ways throughout the span of my life. I would like to go to college in order to continue my impact on my community. Since I was a little kid I always had a love for nature, I wanted to take care of it and I deeply admire its beauty. From a young age when every I would see litter in public I would always make sure to pick it up in order to keep the beauty of earth pristine. When I got into high school I realized I had a love for nature and law. I volunteered at my local animal shelter for two years, and through those two years I was able to give back to my community. I volunteered to be a camp counselor at the animal shelter that taught kids all about nature and animals. This camp taught kids how to treat the environment that surrounds them and also taught them how to treat animals. I took pride in being a counselor because I was able to explain to kids why we should take such good care of our earth. My junior and senior year of high school I joined the debate club and became a officer my senior year. Through debate I was able to expand my knowledge on varying topics regarding the law. Debate taught me how to communicate professionally and to advocate for change in my community in a professional manner. I took what I learned from debate and volunteered at my city's municipal court. I came to a realization that I would like to study environmental law. At the cities municipal court I would represent and prosecute teens convicted of traffic violations. Due to the fact that I am a teen with myself, I was able to connect with the defendants on a personal level. Rather I was prosecuting or defending a defiant I would always make sure to to treat everyone equally. I really enjoyed volunteering at the municipal court because I was able to connect with members of my community on a personal level. I ensured that the defendant understood what they did was wrong and offered them ways to better themselves in the future to make sure their violation does not happen again. As for my career I would like to work in congress drafting laws that would help protect the environment. I plan to study environmental science and then go to law school. I would like to study environmental law in order to safeguard the earth. Proctoring the environment not only helps the earth, but all organisms that inhabit it. Humans are only given one earth, earth provides humans with everything they need for survival, therefore it must be protected at all costs. With my career in environmental law I will be able to make positive impacts for earth in a variety of ways. I will first work on laws that combat climate change because that is earth's number one killer, I will then work on laws that force society to live more sustainability. I want to make such an impact that the future generations have nothing to worry about and get to prosper in a society that embraces the beauty and grace of earth. Educating society is also something that I will strive to do with my career, change starts when people are informed and I would like to be the one to start the well needed change.

I have impacted the community in numerous ways throughout the span of my life. I would like to go to college in order to continue my impact on my community. Since I was a little kid I always had a love for nature, I wanted to take care of it and I deeply admire its beauty. From a young age when every I would see litter in public I would always make sure to pick it up in order to keep the beauty of earth pristine. When I got into high school I realized I had a love for nature and law. I volunteered at my local animal shelter for two years, and through those two years I was able to give back to my community. I volunteered to be a camp counselor at the animal shelter that taught kids all about nature and animals. This camp taught kids how to treat the environment that surrounds them and also taught them how to treat animals. I took pride in being a counselor because I was able to explain to kids why we should take such good care of our earth. My junior and senior year of high school I joined the debate club and became a officer my senior year. Through debate I was able to expand my knowledge on varying topics regarding the law. Debate taught me how to communicate professionally and to advocate for change in my community in a professional manner. I took what I learned from debate and volunteered at my city's municipal court. I came to a realization that I would like to study environmental law. At the cities municipal court I would represent and prosecute teens convicted of traffic violations. Due to the fact that I am a teen with myself, I was able to connect with the defendants on a personal level. Rather I was prosecuting or defending a defiant I would always make sure to to treat everyone equally. I really enjoyed volunteering at the municipal court because I was able to connect with members of my community on a personal level. I ensured that the defendant understood what they did was wrong and offered them ways to better themselves in the future to make sure their violation does not happen again. As for my career I would like to work in congress drafting laws that would help protect the environment. I plan to study environmental science and then go to law school I would like to study environmental law in order to safeguard the earth. Proctoring the environment not only helps the earth, but all organisms that inhabit it. Humans are only given one earth, earth provides humans with everything they need for survival, therefore it must be protected at all costs. With my career in environmental law I will be able to make positive impacts for earth in a variety of ways. I will first work on laws that combat climate change because that is earth's number one killer, I will then work on laws that force society to live more sustainability. I want to make such an impact that the future generations have nothing to worry about and get to prosper in a society that embraces the beauty and grace of earth. Educating society is also something that I will strive to do with my career, change starts when people are informed and I would like to be the one to start the well needed change.

Since the beginning of time the question what is the meaning of life is something that every human has thought about at one point of there life or another. I myself made the choice to turn towards philosophy to get me closer to the answer. I would go as far as to say that my creative passion is philosophy. I am extremely passionate about philosophy. Growing up I have never been a religious person, the existence of a God does not make sense to me and many things that most religions teach can be disproven by modern day science. I would not like to live my whole life dedicated to one religion, that is not even factual, in addition humans do not know if God exists until the day they die. I can not live a life and believe in something that no one knows if its even real or not. Philosophy on the other hand are teachings from different people and their perspective on life and suffering. If I had an extra twenty four hours in a day I would spend it on researching philosophy. Philosophy makes the world a better place because it has the ability to teach people knowledge along with helping them heal. Philosophy breaks down the fundamental principles of life; it can be divided into seven different branches, metaphysics, axiology, logic, aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy. There was once a philosopher named Diogenes who is the founder of cynicism. Diogenes lived his life his way, and completely rejected societal norms, he was a nomad that traveled from place to place with just a satchel and his dog. Diogenes lived a very long life, he was remembered to be a very happy man, he believed that happiness came from within and not from material good. This is just one example of how philosophy can truly change someone's life and make them happier. My favorite philosophy is nihilism, which is the belief that life is meaningless. Nihilism has taught me to live in the moment, embrace life to the fullest and not get too caught up on the small things in life, since life is meaningless. I would love to teach people more about philosophy so that they can become enlightened and live a better life. I feel the most creative at night, this is the time of day when all my thoughts are brought to life.

The best word that I can use to describe myself would be open minded. I have a very open mind when it comes to just about anything. I always question everything and I am never reluctant to hear someone's opposing argument. Growing up my parents told me I can do whatever I set my mind to and they would be right there to support me along the way. This led me to set very high goals for myself. Some of my top goals are to study the law along with philosophy and also helping to save the earth. I would like to study law because it has everything to do with my everyday life and this is why I feel it is extremely important to know the law. Law and philosophy go hand and hand, laws are made to help keep people safe along with using ethics to insure fairness. Many things that people think are ethically correct form from ancient philosophies, in addition growing up I have never been a religious person, I would always turn to philosophies for guidance. Out of the seven branches of philosophy my favorite is epistemology. Epistemology covers nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. Nature provides everything needed for human survival so it only makes sense for humans to protect the earth at all costs. My dream job is to be a lobbyist for policies that help save the earth. Adversity has played a large role in shaping my dreams and goals. My junior year of high school I was hospitalized due to my mental health. When I got out of the hospital my family was extremely worried about me because no one knew I was having trouble with my mental health, and in addition I was very behind in all of my classes. Through many therapy sessions and learning to trust people and reaching out when I need help I was able to overcome this obstacle. Through therapy I found that when I do stuff that I like, such as helping the earth, it makes me feel better. This is why my dream job is to devote my life to helping the earth through politics. I would inspire to see change in the world before I pass away. The saying one person can make a difference should never be taken lightly because I will be the one person that ended up making a difference.

For the first seven years of my life, I grew up in a small town in Ohio. Every day after school I would go outside and play with my family's dog named Lailah. During the day at school, all I could think about was going home and being able to play outside with Lailah. I loved watching her run around the yard, as she ran through the grass, she would always create a trail. I enjoyed hearing the harmony from the birds, and the beautiful sound of the trees ruffling in the wind. I enjoyed every breath of air that I took. I was so happy that I was able to indulge in the pleasures that Earth provides. One day my big sister went on a walk and we spotted at the store and brought ice cream. We continued our walk but we both had trash from our ice cream, I asked her what I should do with mine and her answer shocked me. She looked me in the eyes and said just throw it as far as you can and do not tell Mom. I was so confused as to why we would do such a thing to something so pulchritudinous as Earth. I told her no and that I would hold my trash and hers until we got home. At that moment I realized that I am extremely fortunate to call Earth home. I realized that the earth provides everything for humans. Water food and even shelter, it is only right that I treat the Earth with the uttermost respect. As I got older I decided that I would make a change in my life, I wanted to live more sustainably. I no longer use plastic bags, I am always sure to keep a metal straw on me, along with carpooling or taking public transportation when I have to go somewhere, in addition to using a low-flow showerhead. When I got into high school I made the choice to only buy used clothes. I believe it is important to reduce your carbon footprint because humans are only granted one Earth and Earth is the provider for the human species. Humans are animals too, and should live in sync with the Earth, not do things to harm it, procceses such as photosynthesis, are just one instance pertaining to how humans and the Earth are synced. The damage that a large carbon footprint does is horrible and oftentimes can not be reversed. Everything is connected in one way or another, and we must maintain a balance and reduce our carbon footprint.