My inspiration to continue my education is my parents. They have always helped me with school and they know that I will do great things after high school and after college. Ever since my freshman year of high school, I’ve always known what I wanted to study in college: I want to major in Social Work. I want to help people that feel they couldn’t get that help from their parents or anyone else. This came about after helping friends in middle school through rough times in their lives and taking self-harm and dying by suicide out of their choices. I continue to be that champion of life with high school friends that find themselves in their own struggles that have a perceived lack of support or understanding. Everyone should have someone they can communicate their problems with and know they will be listened to by that person. By becoming a social worker, I am the person anyone can come to with no judgment and offer them a safe place. I used to want to help families in their space, but I realized that going into others’ homes can also put my life at risk and jeopardize the care I give. So, I’ve decided to become a social worker in schools so that students have a safe place to talk about what is going on in their lives. Things happening in my past, and it has made me want to help others too. I loved that my friends are able to come to me if they have problems because they know that I will listen to them and won't judge them. That's what your friends should do. You still have a fun time being with them, but they should also be there for you if obstacles come your way. Some people don't have friends or family that will do that for them. That's why I want to become a social worker. People can come to me with no judgment, only positivity. They need to know that there are people out there that want to help them. They don't need to go through these things alone. Even if they don't want the help, that is okay. But they know that there are people out there that want to help and come to them at any time. It's not good to keep things all to yourself because you can make yourself sick. There is always someone that wants to help, even if you don't want it.

My name is Erin. I’m a 16-year-old girl born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. I live with my parents and my aunt. I’ve had different pets in the past but now I only have a dog, Chloe. I am an only child but have always wanted a little sister. Since I don’t have any siblings, all my friends have become those siblings I’ve always wanted, and I love that I have them in my life. I have been playing soccer since the age of four, two seasons a year, joining club soccer when I was 11. In high school, I was the only freshman to make, and start, on the varsity team, and I am on track to earn the 4-Letter and 4-Time Starter awards. Some of my favorite things are hanging out with friends, playing with my dog, and playing games with my family. I love spending time with the people in my life that I love. I also love playing soccer with my friends and making good connections with the teammates I’ve had over the years. Ever since my freshman year of high school, I’ve always known what I wanted to study in college: I want to major in Social Work. I want to help people that feel they couldn’t get that help from their parents or anyone else. This came about after helping friends in middle school through rough times in their lives and taking self-harm and dying by suicide out of their choices. I continue to be that champion of life with high school friends that find themselves in their own struggles that have a perceived lack of support or understanding. Everyone should have someone they can communicate their problems with and know they will be listened to by that person. By becoming a social worker, I am the person anyone can come to with no judgment and offer them a safe place. I used to want to help families in their space, but I realized that going into others’ homes can also put my life at risk and jeopardize the care I give. So, I’ve decided to become a social worker in schools so that students have a safe place to talk about what is going on in their lives. This scholarship will help me pay for college so I can get a degree in social work and help students who cant talk to their parents.

My name is Erin. I’m a 16-year-old girl born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. I live with my parents and my aunt. I’ve had different pets in the past but now I only have a dog, Chloe. I am an only child but have always wanted a little sister. Since I don’t have any siblings, all my friends have become those siblings I’ve always wanted, and I love that I have them in my life. I have been playing soccer since the age of four, two seasons a year, joining club soccer when I was 11. In high school, I was the only freshman to make, and start, on the varsity team, and I am on track to earn the 4-Letter and 4-Time Starter awards. Some of my favorite things are hanging out with friends, playing with my dog, and playing games with my family. I love spending time with the people in my life that I love. I also love playing soccer with my friends and making good connections with the teammates I’ve had over the years. Ever since my freshman year of high school, I’ve always known what I wanted to study in college: I want to major in Social Work. I want to help people that feel they couldn’t get that help from their parents or anyone else. This came about after helping friends in middle school through rough times in their lives and taking self-harm and dying by suicide out of their choices. I continue to be that champion of life with high school friends that find themselves in their own struggles that have a perceived lack of support or understanding. Everyone should have someone they can communicate their problems with and know they will be listened to by that person. By becoming a social worker, I am the person anyone can come to with no judgment and offer them a safe place. I used to want to help families in their space, but I realized that going into others’ homes can also put my life at risk and jeopardize the care I give. So, I’ve decided to become a social worker in schools so that students have a safe place to talk about what is going on in their lives. Being a social worker helps be work with kids and help them with any problems in their life when they can't talk to their parents.

I love math because it has always been easy for me. Every year of school, there was always one subject that I was always good at with no questions asked. Math being easy for me made me like it and I wanted to take more challenging math classes. My friends never understood why I liked math, and I always tell them it has always been easy for me. so that's why I like it so much. math is like soccer to me. I am very good at soccer, which has grown my love and passion for the sport. It seems to me that if there is something easy for me to do, I will like it. No matter what it is, if I am good at it, I will most likely take an interest in it. I don't know why I do this, but I have done it for my whole life it is a personality trait at this point. I don't think it's a bad thing but it's just how I am, and if my friends don't like math that's okay. I like it and it's easy for me so that's my reasoning, and that's just something I can't change.

The dream version of my future self is working in a high school as an extra person for students to talk to about any troubles they are having in their life.

One piece of technology that makes the world a better place for me is the telephone. Telephones give us a way to keep in touch with our friends. Telephones have evolved from hanging on the wall to being in our hands. If you were out and wanted to talk to your friends, you couldn't do that with a phone connected to the wall. You would have to use a pay phone. Although you can still use a pay phone, it is easier to use your hand-held phone to make easy calls. Phones now can do so much more than landline phones can. The phones in this century give us more apps to use when we are out. With a landline, you can only use it when you are at home, and you can only really use them to talk to other people. Phones now give you a GPS, a calendar, a calculator, and text messaging. When you are out and you need to call someone in case of an emergency, you have a cell phone that is always with you that can make those calls. Landlines really limit what can do other than stay at home and talk on the phone. With new technology in this century, we are introduced to better ways of communicating, traveling, and accessing the internet. Some people think that cell phones don't help us, but they might not understand all the new things technology has given us in this world. And in my opinion, cell phones are one of the top things to help this community.