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I’ve accomplished 360 hours of volunteering!

I have been awarded the gold level President's Volunteer Service Award for my volunteer work with a local non-profit, Centaur Rising, working with youth and horses. I have volunteered at Centaur Rising since I was 10-11 years old. We work over the summers with the 8-10 horse camps at the ranch with anywhere from 4-10 kids who come for the day to learn about horses, riding, horse care, and nature. Much of our work involves getting the kids to be engaged with their horses for the week. It helps them to gain confidence in themselves, overcome fears, work and communicate with others, and have the opportunity to be out in nature. I am very proud of my work at the farm and look forward to future opportunities to continue that work.

Zaire Kaleb Perkins has been homeschooled his entire life along with his four siblings. Being introduced to coding at the age of 8, Zaire displayed a natural gift of understanding technology. Zaire is the founder of the very first homeschool team, Esports Legendz, that participates in tournaments and competes with other high schoolers across the state of North Carolina. Apart from playing video games competitively, Zaire also enjoys being on the Varsity basketball team, coaching golf, teaching coding classes, and serving on the AV team at Lawndale Baptist Church.

Joseph is the dynamic President of VEX Robotics at Coral Reef Senior High, where he led his team to a 1st place victory at the SECME Nationals last summer. Graduating from the Academy of Engineering with a NAF Certification, Joseph's academic prowess is further highlighted by his participation in the prestigious YYGS program with Yale University and his achievement as an AP Scholar, having taken 6 APs this year, including Calc BC and self-studied Physics C. His leadership and dedication were recognized with the Special Senior Award as VEX Robotics Leader. Joseph has led his club and teammates to the Florida TSA Conference to compete at the state level placing finalist in several categories. This fall, Joseph will join the Boilermakers at Purdue University, pursuing a career in Mechanical Engineering.

I recently graduated from Nenana High School as the valedictorian. I won the Student of the Year award, most Outstanding Senior in Science, and the Best Researcher award of the school year. I am a recipient of the Mel Harvey Memorial scholarship of $1,000, and I plan on attending the University of Alaska Anchorage! I also received an Emergency Trauma Technician Certification, along with a Basic Life support Provider Card.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to teach English in two orphanages on the New Mexico and Guatemala borders. I was led into this community of 33 orphans living in a home about the size of two school buses and asked to teach English. I feel really blessed that the Society honored and recognized my work in the orphanage because with the recognition of my work, I was able to make my dream of going to college a reality.

Through my scholarship with �ڰ������� and The Intern Group, I worked in Medellin, Colombia for six weeks as a strategy intern at one of the city's top aesthetic surgery clinics, interviewing clients and helping craft a customer retention plan. It was an amazing experience that allowed me to fulfill my goal of working in a Spanish-speaking country. While interning abroad, I greatly improved my Spanish, made several long-lasting friendships with students all over the world, fell in love with Colombian culture, and gained valuable work experience that helped me secure an awesome internship at Doctors Without Borders. My advice to potential �ڰ������� members is to not only join, but get involved! I didn't expect to win the scholarship, but I'm so grateful I applied since it was truly one of the best experiences I've had.

�ڰ������� gave our son inspiration and motivation. It reminded him he was on the right path and challenged him to BE MORE.