Barrett Lemons
2026 Scholarship Winner
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

I was in fifth grade when my parents sat me down in the living room. My mom explained that she had recently been to the doctor’s office, and that she had a disease called cancer. She explained the specifics of it, how her cells had mutated, the treatment process, and she reassured me that everything would be alright. I trusted my mother, but deep down I was scared, scared for the process that was to come, scared of losing my mother. Later, things got hard. The chemo treatments meant that my mother was unable to work full time, as she was always exhausted and busy. At one point, she was laid off from her job and had to work in the gig economy. I vividly remember her coming into my room one night with a very exciting opportunity. She said that a charity organization had sponsored us to go on a vacation! We left the following week for Emerald Isle. I was so excited on the trip down. I loved looking out and seeing all of the unfamiliar scenery in a tropical state. Once we got to the retreat, I felt so welcomed and supported by everyone. I made friends and hung out with other kids, did fun and novel activities like waterboarding, and made many great memories with my mother. But most of all, the retreat gave us the most important thing: hope. It gave us the hope that there is something after all the treatments, sickness, and worry. I will always remember the retreat as a fond time where my mother could relax, and I could be a carefree kid again. Now that my mother is better, and I am a senior who is about to go to university, I will always be able to look at the retreat as a happy time, even if I was scared. I am going to attend the University of Tennessee – Knoxville in the fall to study Mechanical Engineering. I am studying mechanical engineering because I want to learn how to solve problems. I love learning about hard things because I know I will be able to use them to change the world. One of my biggest college goals is to make a real-world impact. I want to use my skills to help others, whether I improve the electric grid, or do research for the environment, I want to pay forward my blessings and help others. In my career, I want to be proud of the work that I do. I want to look back at the end of my life and know three things: that I loved everybody to the fullest extent possible, that I improved the world, and that I lived every moment to the fullest, as life is fleeting, and we need to make the best of it with the people we have around us.