Megan Baumhover
TCA SCHOLARSHIP
$2,725
Freymiller Inc.
Bella Vista, Arkansas
I have been fortunate enough to grow up with my grandparents living less than ten minutes away from me, because of this I have developed a strong connection with my grandpa. Over many family dinners, I’ve heard stories of my grandpa’s lifelong friends that he has met through the trucking industry. When I turned twelve, my grandparents took me on a two-week road trip across the Midwest and northeast. During this trip, we stopped and spent time with some of his former colleagues turned friends. This is where I saw first hand the impact that the industry has made on my grandparents’ lives. They’ve both developed interpersonal and social skills that benefit them even to today. My grandpa has always served as a role model for me, and I’ve tried to embody his outgoing, diplomatic character throughout my adolescence. Now as I go through the college application process, I’ve been able to witness the benefit of cultivating these lifelong friendships. My grandpa has reached out to many people on my behalf for recommendation letters, and for a friendly face once I get on campus. He’s taught me how to people fairly and with respect, and how to stick up for myself. These lessons I know will not only make me a great person, but a great business person, and I am eternally grateful.
More than cultivating and shaping my character, my grandpa’s career in the trucking industry has given me the comfortable life I live. My dad was a first-generation college student thanks to my grandpa’s steady income, because of this he’s been able to get a career stable enough to support our family of five. Looking toward my future, I am especially thankful for the life they’ve been able to give me.