WEBVTT 00:07.840 --> 00:10.040 Madison academic magnet high school is 00:10.040 --> 00:12.151 represented by serenity Williams as a 00:12.151 --> 00:14.373 female athlete of the year . She played 00:14.373 --> 00:16.596 basketball and was captain of Madison's 00:16.596 --> 00:18.596 cross country team . Also the track 00:18.596 --> 00:20.484 teams to , she's a school's cross 00:20.484 --> 00:22.651 country record holder with the time of 00:22.651 --> 00:24.707 1945 and 2020 she won the Western to 00:24.707 --> 00:27.050 see girls Pentathlon Championship in 00:27.050 --> 00:29.660 2019 in place , 4th in the state 800 m 00:29.660 --> 00:32.490 race . Williams is a Tennessee . Us 00:32.490 --> 00:35.780 certified soccer referee and has more 00:35.780 --> 00:38.670 than 1600 hours of community service 00:38.670 --> 00:40.892 with numerous organizations . She has a 00:40.892 --> 00:43.210 3.6 G . P . A . And plans to attend 00:43.210 --> 00:45.780 florida A . And M . On a Navy ROTC 00:45.780 --> 00:48.110 scholarship . She intends to study pre 00:48.110 --> 00:50.750 dentistry , become a surface warfare 00:50.750 --> 00:53.720 officer and build a career as a dentist 00:53.730 --> 00:56.170 in the Navy . So it feels surreal 00:56.180 --> 00:58.402 because that's what I've worked towards 00:58.402 --> 01:00.458 my whole entire life ever since I've 01:00.458 --> 01:02.624 been seven years old or even knew what 01:02.624 --> 01:04.736 the Navy was or how to spell it . All 01:04.736 --> 01:04.070 I've known is I want to go into the 01:04.070 --> 01:06.620 military my mother has been in and so 01:06.620 --> 01:08.620 I've been going through her journey 01:08.620 --> 01:10.676 with it and so me want to be able to 01:10.676 --> 01:12.731 grow up like I want to follow in her 01:12.731 --> 01:14.898 footsteps . I've always known , I want 01:14.898 --> 01:17.120 to pass her and rank and so I know that 01:17.120 --> 01:19.064 in order to do so and the more she 01:19.064 --> 01:18.800 stays in it becomes a little harder . 01:18.800 --> 01:21.022 But that's what makes me want to work a 01:21.022 --> 01:23.078 little harder to knowing that if she 01:23.078 --> 01:24.856 can go through the hardship and 01:24.856 --> 01:27.022 sacrifice , I wouldn't be able to fall 01:27.022 --> 01:29.520 away to do the same thing thing about 01:29.520 --> 01:31.810 it is I was a recipient of the exact 01:31.810 --> 01:34.370 same scholarship . I did receive the 01:34.380 --> 01:37.670 NRL TC scholarship after serving only 01:37.670 --> 01:41.110 one year as a hospital corpsman within 01:41.110 --> 01:43.630 the Navy . And so to see that this 01:43.630 --> 01:46.240 scholarship still exists and it can 01:46.240 --> 01:48.720 still provide the same opportunities 01:48.720 --> 01:51.080 that it did for people like myself as 01:51.080 --> 01:53.370 well as my peers that I matriculated 01:53.370 --> 01:55.150 through college with and got 01:55.150 --> 01:57.372 commissioned with . Its really , really 01:57.372 --> 01:59.920 monumental for me . But the grandest 01:59.920 --> 02:02.030 thing is to see that my daughter has 02:02.040 --> 02:04.400 also told worked very hard to become a 02:04.400 --> 02:06.660 recipient of the same scholarship 02:07.040 --> 02:08.800 knowing that there are so many 02:08.800 --> 02:10.890 opportunities out there that she can 02:10.890 --> 02:13.390 embark on . Yes , she does want to 02:13.390 --> 02:15.990 follow my footsteps , however , she's 02:15.990 --> 02:18.101 the one who has to actually take that 02:18.101 --> 02:20.470 walk herself . But I'm very , very 02:20.470 --> 02:23.220 excited and elated to know that Um 02:23.230 --> 02:25.397 she's going to be doing something that 02:25.397 --> 02:27.920 has served me so well over the last 25 02:27.920 --> 02:30.200 years . I can't wait for us to be able 02:30.200 --> 02:32.580 to serve in uniform together and I 02:32.590 --> 02:35.940 definitely can't help but be a little 02:35.940 --> 02:38.850 bit emotional about the fact that hey , 02:38.860 --> 02:42.650 this is a product of me and she made it . 02:43.940 --> 02:45.884 The three major things that I tell 02:45.884 --> 02:48.107 people when it comes to the scholarship 02:48.107 --> 02:50.273 is have you taken the S A . T or a C . 02:50.273 --> 02:52.440 T . Have you done any type of physical 02:52.440 --> 02:54.440 activity athletic wise and have you 02:54.440 --> 02:56.496 done any community service if you've 02:56.496 --> 02:55.830 been able to do those three things and 02:55.830 --> 02:58.052 you already qualify for the scholarship 02:58.052 --> 03:00.219 that I have received . It's not rocket 03:00.219 --> 03:02.386 science . Um As I tell people you know 03:02.386 --> 03:01.790 it doesn't take a whole lot to do a 03:01.790 --> 03:03.679 whole lot and so I want people to 03:03.679 --> 03:05.790 reassure them and know that there are 03:05.790 --> 03:07.957 opportunities . Um Not just limited to 03:07.957 --> 03:09.901 what your city has to offer . What 03:09.901 --> 03:12.123 people have to tell you . You just have 03:12.123 --> 03:14.346 to be able to know because sometimes it 03:14.346 --> 03:16.568 just takes for what people tell you not 03:16.568 --> 03:18.790 what you already have been told . So me 03:18.790 --> 03:18.590 being personally receiving the 03:18.590 --> 03:20.701 scholarship I want others to say like 03:20.701 --> 03:22.923 hey she's like me I could be able to do 03:22.923 --> 03:25.090 the same thing that she did if she was 03:25.090 --> 03:27.146 able to do it I can do the same upon 03:27.146 --> 03:29.368 condition I do plan via surface warfare 03:29.368 --> 03:31.701 or aviation is what I'm open to as well . 03:31.701 --> 03:33.868 And then eventually I want to become a 03:33.868 --> 03:35.868 naval dentist . But my mother was a 03:35.868 --> 03:37.979 swell so I want to be able to go into 03:37.979 --> 03:39.757 her footsteps . But like I said 03:39.757 --> 03:41.923 aviation is also um what I'm going for 03:41.923 --> 03:44.146 the Navy has so many opportunities . So 03:44.146 --> 03:46.257 I'm not gonna limit myself until what 03:46.257 --> 03:48.368 I'm capable of doing for all I know I 03:48.368 --> 03:47.790 can be in the pentagon . You know you 03:47.790 --> 03:49.957 just never know what the possibilities 03:49.957 --> 03:52.170 could lead you to . So um I think I've 03:52.170 --> 03:54.281 heard a lot about the Navy is that if 03:54.281 --> 03:56.392 you work hard and do what you need to 03:56.392 --> 03:58.726 do , you can do whatever you want to do . 03:58.726 --> 03:58.460 So that's how I want to go forward with 03:58.460 --> 03:58.560 it .