A father is someone who inspires integrity, hard work, and responsibility. A dad is a funny role model who teaches their child life lessons that they, in turn, will pass on to their own children—whether it be the importance of honesty or how to throw a football with a perfect spiral. This figure is essential in the life of any child, teenager, or adult. I was 14 years old when my father passed away.

My father embodied stability in my life. He worked multiple jobs to support my brother and me. One of those jobs was as a teacher. Because of this, he instilled in me the belief that education was paramount and often tutored me in my studies. When he passed away, that stability crumbled. Being enrolled in the academically rigorous Central Magnet School, I knew it was imperative to keep my grades up, regardless of the circumstances I was facing. Losing my tutor added another hurdle on top of the emotional and financial struggles.

My dad was a beacon of positivity. He gave me memories that I will cherish forever. Every weekend, he would take my brother and me out to eat at our favorite restaurant. He also took us to fun places like circuses and fairs. My favorite memories are of the birthday parties he threw for me at the skate center or laser tag arcade. When he passed, those sources of happiness disappeared with him.

COVID was a difficult time. My mother had to dip into our savings to stay afloat. My dad had worked multiple jobs to support us, and when he
passed away due to complications from COVID, we were left financially devastated. A few months later, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. If my family had been informed about the importance of life insurance, we could have been spared much of the financial and emotional burden. Life insurance would have given us time to figure out how to move forward without a primary source of income. It would have allowed my brother to attend college instead of joining the military to help my mother with expenses. I had aspirations of going to schools like Vanderbilt, Yale, or Harvard. A reality I had to face was these schools would be far too expensive to attend.

Last year, I fulfilled my promise and graduated from Central Magnet with a 4.0 GPA, having passed 11 AP classes. Currently, I am an undergraduate student at Middle Tennessee State University, planning to graduate a year early so my mother can retire as soon as possible. When I start my own family, I will ensure that my partner and I have life insurance policies. The hardship my family endured is something I would never want anyone else to experience. Having lived through it, I now understand the importance of preparing for the worst-case scenario.

My name is Rylan Sorrells. I am a senior in high school. My father unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack on 2/24/2018. He was a self employed mechanic. He was not only my father, but my best friend. He always made sure my siblings and I had everything we needed or wanted, even if he had to sacrifice something for himself. My father did not have any savings or life insurance when he passed. If he did, this would have helped fund college for me and my siblings and take some of the financial burden off my mother.

My parents divorced in 2013 but continued to care for us together. My father helped in every way possible, but when he passed suddenly, my mother had to do it all on her own. My mother has always worked a full time job. Luckily she has been able to support and care for my siblings and I, but saving for college has not been an option due only having one income in the household. Not only has the passing of my father impacted us, my sister has a disability which has resulted in more financial obligations. My mother has always found a way to make it work. We have been lucky to receive some help from family from time to time, but this help has been very limited due to their own obligations. I have worked odd jobs occasionally to help pay for gas in my car and other expenses to relieve some of the stress on my mother.

The loss of my father has not only caused a financial hardship, but it has caused a deep emotional loss. There is a hole in our lives that can never be filled. My father was an amazing man. Baseball is something that brought my father and I very close. I have played baseball since I was four years old, and my father was always my biggest fan. I continued playing since his passing and honored his memory in every game. I currently play high school baseball and wish I could look up into the stands and see him watching and smiling back at me. I miss him terribly.
My education has been extremely important to me. I have kept a high GPA and focused on honors and AP courses. My goal is to graduate with high honors and receive enough scholarships to pay for college. Without scholarships, attending college would be difficult, if not completely impossible. I don’t want my mother to worry about finding a way to pay for college.

When I receive my degree, I want to give back to those in need. I have experienced first hand how a major loss can affect someone in many ways. I want to be able to relieve some of the stress and financial burdens of others in the same situation as me. I know how much they are suffering emotionally, so I’d like to take away some of the financial stress. This would be what my father would want. I’d be extremely grateful to receive this scholarship and be able to continue to honor my father.