Walters Family Oak Grove High School Scholarship

My name is Kyleigh Rains and I am a senior attending Oak Grove High School. Throughout my life, my parents have always put a huge emphasis on working hard for my grades and taking pride in my school work. I strived to make straight A's throughout my high school career. I have accomplished this goal, excluding one class my freshman year, in which I received a B. Even though Oak Grove is extremely competitive I still like to challenge myself with difficult honors and AP courses, while still being able to maintain a 4.29 GPA (3.95 unweighted). Last year I took a Psychology course that piqued my interest. In the class, we learned how the mind works and why humans behave the way they do. This course was so inspiring that I want to major in it! I plan to go to a four-year university to major in psychology and further my knowledge on the subject. I intend to put this major to use and become a therapist someday. This career is fascinating to me because it allows me to help others and give back. Becoming a therapist will allow me to help others develop strategies to cope with their problems and hopefully help them live happier and healthier lives. Aside from my academic goals, I am also a part of the Varsity volleyball team at Oak Grove and I play year-round national-level travel volleyball for Champion Volleyball Club. I've been playing volleyball since the fourth grade. My freshman year I set a goal for myself that I wanted to play college-level volleyball. I have trained extremely hard to become the player I am now, and it has paid off. I have been offered a spot to play Division III volleyball at Averett University, in Danville, Virginia. Unfortunately, Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships to their athletes, so I am applying for all available scholarships to aid me in paying for my education. I believe I am deserving of this scholarship because I know I can stay on track in college and achieve my career goal of being a therapist. I also believe that being a therapist is an admirable career and helping people live better lives will be a very rewarding occupation. I also am extremely passionate about volleyball and believe I have worked very hard to achieve my goal of playing the sport and the next level of competitiveness.

I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. I decided to take the Career and College Promise program through Oak Grove High School. I graduated in May 2023 with my Associates in Arts degree prior to graduating from high school. I was able to transfer my AA degree to UNCG majoring in Entrepreneurship. The CCP program at Davidson Davie Community College has given me the opportunity to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school in clubs, volunteer opportunities, extracurricular activities and sports. I have enjoyed giving back to my community by volunteering at a Nursing home, being a volunteer Cotillion assistant and summer swim coach as well as serving at Operation Christmas Child. It is my hope that other students get to benefit from these opportunities. My career goal is to own an event venue in the near future. Growing up, I have watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. This month we are seeking full zoning approvals to start my venture. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. I feel like this degree will help me expand on those learning opportunities and give me the skills needed to become a successful Entrepreneur. I have worked extremely hard in high school aligning my classes and college courses to be ready to start the Entrepreneurship program Fall semester of 2023. I had some teachers and coaches that helped me overcome challenges, developed my leadership skills and personal growth. They invested in my growth as a person inside and outside of the classroom. Over the past few years, I have increased my leadership skills by coaching and teaching swim lessons. Swim is a passion of mine and I feel blessed to be able to share those life skills with others. I work with a range of people from 10 months to my oldest swimmer 60 years old. It has been a rewarding experience to get to see the growth in their skills and I hope I have made an impact in their life as they have mine. I have gained so much from this opportunity including communication, organization in scheduling, working with kids and teaching. What started out with a few kids then turned into my summer job. I learned that everyone is unique and learns in different ways. I gained so much from this experience and plan on continuing that this summer to stay actively involved in my community and impacting others. In the end, I feel like I was impacted by these experiences just as much as the kids I helped learn how to swim. In closing, I feel like exploring interests and growing using your strengths are essential to growth as a person. These opportunities while in high school has shaped me as a student and I feel like it will benefit me in years to come looking back at all the challenges and successes. Personally, I found a college that will help me reach my career goals. Thank you for your consideration for this scholarship to help me achieve my future goals at the UNCG!