Essay Question #1: What is it about the theatre that makes you want to spend your life doing

it?

On November 6th, 2015, I broke both of my legs at the same time at a trampoline park
due to a freak double bounce accident. Growing up, I had always been very athletic with
aspirations of one day becoming a professional basketball player or coach. As I sat there on the
trampoline mat holding my broken legs together, I had a sudden realization that the dream I once
had would likely no longer be attainable. However, if this traumatic incident had not occured, I
would never have found my true passion - performing on a stage! Somewhere into the second
month of being wheelchair-bound, I was allowed one outing to see my church’s Christmas
musical production, Chasing Lights. The auditorium went dark, lights came up on stage, and the
orchestra began to swell in magnificent strings. That was when I was hooked! What followed
was an hour and a half of a 12 year old kid realizing what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
The acting, the singing, the dancing - it was all so overwhelmingly beautiful. I felt like a kid in a
candy store who just found out what candy tastes like! Up until that point in my recovery, I was
missing meaning in my life. Suddenly, in the same amount of time it would take to play a middle
school basketball game, I found it again. Sitting in that audience, a sense of hope and purpose
came over me, and that helped me push through the many months of physical therapy and
catching up in school.
The following year, I moved to a different junior high and auditioned for my first show,
High School Musical JR. From that point on, I had a second family. Ever since that performance,
my life has been eating, sleeping, and breathing everything related to the theatre. The feeling that
I receive when I am on stage is simply indescribable. I believe I was put on this planet to be a
storyteller to allow others a brief escape from our own sometimes boring or depressing world.
When my castmates and I tell these stories, we have the opportunity to affect audience members
and change their perspectives on their own experiences. That is the power of the theatre; it can
completely shift how a person views a subject and change how they navigate their own journey
forever. I believe with my future degrees, I can carry out this dream and potentially change
people’s lives during every single performance. Whether that be on a cruise ship, in a regional
theatre, or on Broadway, I intend to reach as many people as possible through the magic and
hope theatre can create. I would also like to give back to my community through continued
support and advocacy of theatre arts in our schools and communities, especially here in Texas.
Essay Question #2: What person do you most respect at this point in your life? Tell us why.

The person I respect the most is my high school theatre director Melissa Toomer. All of
her students have been so lucky to be able to work with a director who truly loves and cares
about her kids. She has allowed us all to experience and discover the magic that theatre creates
and granted us the chance to grow and explore what we want to pursue in our own lives. I do not
think I would have fallen in love with theatre or have become the person I am today at any other
school or program.
One memory that will always come to mind about Ms. Toomer is that out of all of my
teachers and peers who went to the Texas Thespian Convention last year, she was the only
representative from Argyle who was there to cheer me on after I received the leadership role as a
State Thespian Officer. When everyone else went back to the hotel, she was still working
tirelessly to ensure that convention went as smoothly as possible and to cheer me on. She is a
strong, ambitious, talented, and hardworking director that us students have been so blessed to
ever get the chance to work alongside. Her ability to take a situation and make something out of
nothing is admired by all of her students. When a job needs to be done correctly, she will do all
she can to make it as perfect as possible. The mentorship that she provided to all of us is
something most highschoolers never get to experience. Despite how difficult and unique this
year has been, I am so very grateful to have experienced it in the theatre department. She is such
a spectacular role model for us, challenging us to focus on the positive and make good choices. I
truly believe I would not be pursuing this path if it was not for her leadership and influence.
The word that comes to mind the most when I think of Ms. Toomer is resilient. For the
past 4 years, I have seen her be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave because of how
much she cares about her students. Along with her two children, we are the lights of her life. She
works as hard as she possibly can to ensure that we succeed in all of our endeavors. Despite
challenges that may occur in her own life, she always makes our mental health and physical
well-being a top priority. She fights for every one of us to provide us with a home away from
home where we can create and become better performers, technicians, and people. Her hard
work is simply unparalleled and has made me realize how lucky I am to have had her as my first
director. Ms. Toomer’s shoes will be hard to fill.
Essay Question #3: What could this scholarship do for you?

At the beginning of 2017, my entire family tested positive for Lyme disease. It was one of
the hardest times we have ever had to experience together. All of us had a severe lack of energy
and very intense pain. My mom and my sister had it the worst. They were incredibly lethargic
and barely could get out of bed in the morning because of how awful they felt. My mom’s
memory was so bad that I would have to remind her where we were going in the car on the way
to school. The medical expenses were immense, and we sacrificed an awful lot of money and
time on treatment around the country. We took a massive financial hit and went into credit card
debt. Fortunately, we were eventually cured, but the financial damage had already been done.
This scholarship would help reduce the level of financial strain and stress for my family
and for me. Also, I intend to work-study to offset my college expenses to further reduce the
amount of debt I owe after college. I want to make sure that I do not carry a large amount of debt
after I graduate so that I can pursue my calling without significant financial liabilities. I also
want to ease the burden on my parents as much as possible, as I have three siblings who are
college-bound over the next several years as well. As I go into this next chapter of my life, I do
not want my family to have to worry about the impact of my education on their financial
situation. If I can lift some of that weight off of them, that would be the greatest gift of all!
This scholarship would also help me achieve my future goals and aspirations when
pursuing both my education and career. I plan to receive two Bachelors of Music in Vocal
Performance and Music Theatre from the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City
University. After college, my end goal is to be involved with the arts telling stories in ways that
ignite emotions in the hearts of audience members that they would not have felt otherwise.
Whether I eventually end up on stage, backstage, teaching, advocating, or directing, the arts are
and will always be my home. I also intend on getting involved with several non-profit theatre
companies, helping them grow and teaching younger students who are pursuing a performing
arts path. I would love to come back to my own high school or college as an Artist-in-Residence
and give back to the communities that showed me my love for theatre. I would love to have the
platform one day to set up a charity for people who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease and
aid others who need treatment like my family once did.