I have always believed in the importance of supporting others with their mental health, especially given my own experiences with anxiety and depression. These struggles have instilled in me a deep empathy for those facing similar challenges, motivating me to help others find the support they need. In my school community, I have actively engaged in initiatives that promote mental health awareness. I volunteer with peer support groups where students can come together to share their experiences in a safe, non-judgmental space. I listen, validate their feelings, and offer encouragement. I’ve also organized workshops that focus on coping strategies, stress management, and the importance of reaching out for help. By sharing my story and insights, I aim to foster an environment where students feel comfortable discussing their mental health challenges and seeking assistance. Beyond school, I’m involved with local mental health organizations that focus on community outreach. I participate in events that educate the public about mental health issues and available resources. Through these activities, I’ve been able to connect with individuals from various backgrounds, offering support and sharing helpful resources. It’s incredibly fulfilling to see how even small conversations can have a positive impact on someone’s well-being. Looking ahead, I plan to use my studies and future career to further support others emotionally. I aspire to pursue a career in psychology or counseling, as I believe these fields will equip me with the skills and knowledge necessary to help people navigate their mental health challenges. Through my education, I want to learn effective therapeutic techniques and interventions that I can apply in practice. Additionally, I envision creating programs that make mental health resources more accessible, especially for students and young adults. By combining my passion for mental health with my academic pursuits, I aim to advocate for systemic changes that prioritize mental well-being in educational settings and beyond. Ultimately, my goal is to create spaces where individuals feel heard, valued, and empowered to seek help. I want to be a source of support, helping others understand that they are not alone in their struggles. By dedicating my studies and future career to this mission, I hope to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those around me.

Mental health is a profoundly important aspect of my life as a student, deeply intertwined with my overall well-being and academic performance. Over the years, I have personally navigated the challenges of anxiety and depression, which has shaped my understanding of the critical need for mental health awareness and support, not just for myself, but for my peers as well. In my experience, the pressures of school—balancing assignments, exams, and social dynamics—can often feel overwhelming. During my toughest moments with anxiety and depression, I found that these pressures amplified my struggles, making it difficult to concentrate and engage fully in my studies. I realized that mental health is not just about feeling good; it’s about having the emotional resilience to face everyday challenges and the clarity to pursue my academic goals. This realization has made me passionate about advocating for mental health awareness in my community. At school, I actively participate in mental health initiatives and clubs that focus on promoting well-being among students. For example, I have joined a student-led organization dedicated to reducing stigma around mental health. We organize workshops, invite guest speakers, and create campaigns that encourage open conversations about mental health challenges. By sharing my own experiences with anxiety and depression, I aim to foster an environment where students feel safe discussing their feelings and seeking help. This has been incredibly rewarding, as I’ve seen classmates open up about their own struggles, realizing they are not alone in their experiences. I also advocate for the inclusion of mental health resources within our school’s curriculum. I believe that understanding mental health should be as fundamental as learning about physical health. By collaborating with teachers and administrators, I’ve pushed for the integration of mental health education, which would help students recognize signs of distress in themselves and others, and provide them with coping strategies. This initiative not only empowers students but also cultivates a supportive community where we can all look out for one another. Outside of school, I strive to create a supportive environment at home. I make it a point to have open conversations with my family about mental health, emphasizing the importance of checking in on one another and being aware of how stress can affect our well-being. I encourage my family members to share their feelings and experiences, helping to normalize discussions around mental health. This dialogue has strengthened our bond and made it easier for all of us to seek help when needed. Furthermore, I volunteer with local mental health organizations, participating in events and activities that aim to raise awareness in the broader community. Whether it’s helping to organize mental health fairs, participating in fundraising walks, or engaging in community service, I believe that every action counts in promoting the importance of mental health. By being involved, I not only contribute to a cause I care deeply about but also connect with others who share similar goals. Ultimately, my struggles with anxiety and depression have fueled my passion for mental health advocacy. I understand firsthand the importance of mental well-being in a student’s life, and I strive to be a voice for those who may feel unheard or overwhelmed. My goal is to create a more inclusive and supportive community where everyone feels valued and empowered to prioritize their mental health. Together, we can work towards breaking the stigma surrounding mental health, ensuring that every student feels supported in their journey toward wellness.

Hello, I am Nathan Holzschuh. I am a freshman at the University of Toledo with a major in Human Resources. For context with the following information, I am a full-time student taking 15-16 credit hours a semester. My estimated tuition for the 2023-24 year is $27, 370.92, and I am considered an in-state student. If I included the scholarship I already have my out-of-pocket cost is estimated to be $21, 025.92. This year my total cost of attendance was $31, 273. This scholarship would help aid this cost and it would benefit my future. This scholarship would affect me by helping to aid my costly education and to ease the stress that surrounds the idea of "how will I pay for school?" Although this scholarship would not completely cover the costs, it would help me ease the cost a lot. It would allow me to pursue my degree without having mounds of debt. Just from my first year, I had to take $5,500 out in loans and my mom had to take out a parent plus loan of about $18,000. This scholarship would help prevent this from happening again. It would help not only me but also my mom to stop adding to our piles of debt. She already has $40,000 of student debt from when she went to college, plus that $18,000 loan. I just want to make sure she does not have to take out anymore loans for me to go to school. Not only would this scholarship affect me it would also benefit me and my future. This scholarship would benefit my future greatly. It would ensure I am continuing a path towards my degree and ease some of the stress that comes with being a college student. By easing the stress it would help me focus on school and have a better college experience It would also be one of the many helping hands in my getting my degree. One of those things I would look back on and be so grateful someone was willing to help out. See, not only is it about helping me aid my education cost but also about creating a better college experience and things to look back on. All of this benefits my future. That is how this scholarship would both affect and benefit me. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay. I hope you consider me to be one of your three awardees. Thank you!

Hello, I am Nathan Holzschuh. I am a freshman at the University of Toledo. I volunteer for my community very often. I try to do as much as I can. I started volunteering in middle school because I needed community service hours for the National Junior Honor Society. I have helped at local animal shelters, in my neighborhood, in retirement homes, etc. Volunteering has taught me a lot and completely changed my mindset on how we can change the world. Volunteering has changed my mindset because it forced me to realize that in order to make a change in this world it just takes a little bit of action. What I mean by this is that it breaks the stereotype that you can't change the world. Volunteering has shown me that I can be the change we want to see. I can go out into my community and really change it for the better. Even if it is something small, everything has an effect. For example, I set up a canned food drive while in high school to support the local homeless shelters. This helped the homeless shelters feed the homeless for a little over a month. This allowed the shelter to use its funds for other things like its program to help homeless families get an apartment and back on their feet. I was the change there. I caused them to be able to get more and more families off the streets. See, volunteering, for me, is about being the change I want to see in the world. I need this scholarship financially. This is because it would really lower the cost of my tuition and help pay for books and other resources I may need. My father is no longer in my life, so I only have my mother to help support me. However, she is currently in bankruptcy and has three other kids and a grandchild she takes care of. Therefore, she can not help me pay for my school. It is all up to me. My tuition for my first year was about $32,000 which I mostly paid in loans. However, I was told this year they are only allowing me to take $5,500 in loans and I can no longer get private loans. Because of this, I have been applying for scholarships. This one caught my eye because volunteering is something that has been very important to me for over 5 years. This scholarship would allow me to not have to worry about paying for school, missing a payment, or not being able to afford the books. Thank you for your consideration!

I am a Maverick. A Maverick is someone who stands out and doesn't conform to expectations. I do not strive to fit in. I only strive to stand out. I am my own individual and there is no one else like me. I am unique because I am true to myself. Being true to yourself today can be hard. There is all this pressure to fit in and to conform to society's standards. I can say I have never done this. Ever since I was little my family always knew I was different. They noticed I was like other boys. I didn't want to do "boy things." When I came out as gay, they thought that may have been the reason. But that didn't have anything to with it. I wanted to do what I wanted to do. When I was 7 I was thinking about if boys play with dolls. I was just playing with them because I wanted to. Because it was something I would do. That's part of what being true to yourself means. Even though society deemed dolls girls' toys I still played with them because I wanted to, not because of anything else. When I was in middle school I tried so hard to fit in. I wanted to be "normal." However, once I realized I was happier just being me I started to be true to myself and others all the time. First, I came out as gay, breaking the societal norm of being heterosexual. For so long, I was so scared of what society would think of me being gay. But, I realized it doesn't matter what society thinks, only that I am being me. Then, I started to wear more clothing that was labeled as girls' clothing. I was doing everything in my power to stand out. I wanted to be noticed, not because I was a "rebel", but because I wanted to show that just because society says something does not mean we have to listen. Breaking societal norms can change the world. It can make it a more loving and accepting place. That's what I strive for when doing this. I want to stand out and get noticed because I want to change the world. I want to make it a place where everyone can be free to live as themselves. After I came out and was truly myself I was the happiest I have ever been. I want to give that to other kids in my community like myself. In order to give back to my community, I plan on starting a non-profit organization for LGBTQ+ youth. It's called Pride Club and it would give them any services they needed to live as happy kids. Whether it be financial help, a place to stay, or just someone to talk to I want there to be a place for them to go. I've crafted a 23-page business plan and just need to gain capital before I can take it any further. I think this would be great for the community and give LGBTQ+ youth a chance to be 100% themselves just like me. We can all be Mavericks together, sometimes we just need a little help to get there.

My favorite memory at Monroe High School was during my Sophmore year. It was March 13, 2020, the same day we found out that our spring break would be extended two weeks because of COVID-19. This was when Miss Oddo, my math teacher at the time, celebrated Pi Day. Pi Day was one of her favorite holidays. Miss Oddo was one of those teachers who really loved teaching. She loved her student and most of all she loved math and it really showed. These were my favorite qualities about her. She was one of my favorite teachers. She really got me to understand math. That's why this memory is so special to me. She was one of those special teachers. One you would wish you could have forever. Celebrating Pi Day was special to Miss Oddo. She made it an event. She would say things before the day came to build anticipation and get us excited. However, she wouldn't tell us what was going to happen that day. I remember we were all so excited for her class that day. I think we had perfect attendance, one of the few times since our class was the very first of the day. When we got to class we were greeted by Miss Oddo in a Pi Day costume. We all thought it was so silly, but that was what was so great about her. She had so much school spirit and spirit in general. She was constantly dressing up in costumes and showing her pride for her job. Once started class, she took attendance as usual. But after attendance, she informed us she had a surprise. That she would be performing a Pi Day rendition of Celien Deion's "My Heart Will Go On" called "Pi Will Go On." Before starting her performance, she told us that we could not film her or tell anyone about what we saw. This was so it remained a surprise for the rest of her classes. After we all promised her we wouldn't tell, she started her performance. She stood up on top of her desk and started the music. As she posed like Rose on the front of the ship in Titanic, she belted the lyrics. It was like we were watching a broadway performance. We were all in awe. We never imagined Miss Oddo belting the lyrics and dancing. She was such a strict teacher and this showed us a whole new side of her. As she danced around the room, from one end to the other, we all laughed and giggled. But after that performance, we were all proud to call her our teacher. This really showed us that this wasn't just a job for her, she truly cared about us and wanted us to have the best memory of her before leaving school for COVID-19. Sadly, because we were let out for the rest of the year and had virtual school the following year, that was the very last time I got to see Miss Oddo. I would do anything just to sit in her class one more time. To hear her say "Good morning!" with the biggest smile I have ever seen on her face. I loved Miss Oddo and she really made my experience at Monroe High School 10 times better by just being her. Thank you for listening to my favorite memory!

Throughout my years at Monroe High School, I have had a lot of memories. I've had good ones, like when we had Trojan Pride Day my freshman and sophomore years. I've had bad ones too, like when Covid hit and I lost most of my high school experience. Choosing a favorite memory at Monroe High School has been hard. However, I would have to say my favorite memories are from Miss Oddo's math class my sophomore year. Miss Oddo was truly an amazing teacher. She helped me a lot. For example, she was one of the only teachers to help me decide what I want to do with my life and how I can do it. She was one of the most enthusiastic teachers at Monroe High School. She would dress up for every spirit week, she would be so excited over Trojan Pride Day, and cared about the students she had. She was a very passionate teacher and was truly one of my favorite teachers at Monroe High School. My all-time favorite memory from her class was her Pi Day performance. Miss Oddo's Pi Day performance happened right before we got told that the school was giving us an extra two weeks of Spring Break due to Covid. To celebrate Pi Day, which was one of her favorite days out of the whole school year, she would sing a parody of Celine Deion's "My Heart Will Go On." It was called "Pi Will Go On." Before she would perform for us she told us that we couldn't record her or tell anyone outside of the class what was about to happen. She wanted to keep it a secret so she could surprise her other classes just like she was surprising us. After her little speech about Pi Day, she began to sing the lyrics to the song. But she didn't just sing them, she screamed them so passionately. It showed us just how much she cared about teaching and what lengths she was willing to go to in order to show it. During her performance, she would dance all around the room. She even got up on her desk to sing. It was truly amazing. It made everyone's day just a little bit better. We all loved her performance. Writing this I can't help but have a huge smile on my face. I remember that day I was having a hard morning and her surprising us with this performance made my day. That's part of the reason she has been one of my favorite teachers at Monroe High School. This has been and will forever be one of my favorite memories I've had while at Monroe High School.

I support equality and diversity by showing my support for different communities, helping others when they are in need no matter what their religion, race, or sexual orientation is, and loving everyone for who they are. Showing my support for different communities has been very important to me. I have participated in Black Lives Matter protests and even organized some protests of my own. Another important protest was a more recent one protesting the Don’t Say Gay Bill. This bill is homophobic and utterly horrible. It aims to expose gay children and refuses to educate kids about different sexual orientations in the world. Because if this, I organized a peaceful protest against it. I also help others when they are in need no matter their religion, race, or sexual orientation. I believe helping others is important no matter what. It allows our community to grow as a hole and supports equality. It makes everyone feel equal and like they all deserve help. I also love everyone in my life for who they are. I don’t care about race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. I just make sure everyone in my life knows they are loved and feel like they are supported. This will make them strive for their goals and achieve their dreams. Overall I support the equality and diversity in our world. Diversity makes us unique and equality makes us all feel like we are in the same level. No one is better than anyone else.

The impact I hope to leave on the world is how I have been able to help and will continue to help LGBTQ youth. I have helped many LGBTQ people overcome issues from mental health aid to battling discriminations. It feels good to be able to help them. I’ve had the idea to open a non-profit organization to provide aid and support to LGBTQ youth. I have drafted the business plan and formed a presentation. I hope to find some entrepreneurs who are as passionate about this as I am to help fund this organization. I hope this will leave a lasting impact on the world and help LGBTQ youth 100 years in the future.

For my future career I hope to become the head of Human Resources at a major company. It is my dream to run the Human Resources department for a major company. It would all me to become a special part of a certain company. I hope to work at a major company that does something important for the world. I want to be part of something that is making a change in the world. Before these goals can be achieved I have to complete a 4 year bachelor degree. I have been awarded some financial aid but I cannot afford books or room/board. I hope that you consider me for this scholarship. Thank you!

Studying can be hard. So I use several different strategies to get me through it. First I create study guides to make sure I study everything I need. I put it all on one page and color code it based on how important it is. Second I reward myself. Every few objectives I complete I reward myself with a video game or an episode of a tv show. This does make studying longer but it keeps me motivated. This is how I study in order to achieve academic success.

My best skill is listening to others. I make sure I use active listening in every conversation I have so I fully understand what people are saying to me. I am improving on this skill consistently. I do this by practicing listening to others by watching tv and then making sure I can retell the whole episode. This way when I’m having a conversation I am able to remember that conversation for as long as I need to.

To make my family, friends, and others feel loved I always check on them when they are feeling down. I also make sure they always have someone to talk to and let them know that they can come talk to me anytime and I will always be there to listen. I make sure I compliment them to make them feel empowered and appreciated. I also thank them constantly. I just help make them feel loved.