Overcame a lot and headed to NMMI!

I am Mikhaeyla. I am 17 and have my heart set on going to the Air force Academy. I will be starting at the New Mexico Military Institute on Aug 1st which I hope to use as a feeder school into the Academy. I’ve worked so incredibly hard to get to where I am today and have overcome some HUGE obstacles. I was born to parents that were younger than I am today. They did their best for me but we still didn’t have much growing up. I grew up in 2 households. One with my mother, my two half siblings, and their father. The other house with my daddy........ and usually a handful of various animals. My father fought hard for me and I grew up between the two house changing every week. When I started high school my father always pushed me to challenge myself. I took all Pre-AP and AP courses through high school but I was struggling. My sophomore year as my grades struggled my father new something was wrong and I opened up to him. I was terrified but I told him how my half-siblings father had abused me for 3 years. Immediately he went to the police and my life changed forever. We fought for justice for 2 years. In that time my grades continued to rise but my relationship with my mother ended. She chose the side of her financial security. Still I stayed head strong and pushed ahead. Last January I had my chance to tell my story. I was able to put a predator behind bars for 25 years with no chance of parole. Even with all that happening I made straight A’s. I was in JROTC my senior year and I loved it. I decided I wanted to join the Air Force and be in the trauma medical field. My dream is to go to the Air Force Academy, and I learned that New Mexico Military Institute is a great way to achieve that goal. I am set to go there August 1st. We don’t have a lot of money and my mother abandoned me and offered us no assistance leaving me trying to figure out how to achieve my goals. So aside from applying for financial aid to help with the $12,500 needed I obtained a $1,000 scholarship from the Knights of Columbus, and I started a snow cone business from my drive way. I was able to earn almost $4,000. All of it is going towards school. I am trying my hardest to pay my way but have run out of time. I promise to anyone who is willing to invest in me that I will not let you down. I will stay focused and I will pay it forward. I pledge that if you help me achieve my dreams I will help as many others as I can. Thank you, Mikhaeyla.