I want the committee to know that my path to motherhood took longer because of grueling and beautiful dance career. I spent my 20s and 30s completely dedicated to the intense world of dance and choreography—from my time at NYU Tisch to running my own dance company in New York City, and later attending graduate school in Utah. I always knew I wanted to be a mom, but the intense reality of my dance career meant I had to wait until my life was stable. That profession required constant travel and physical demands that made it nearly impossible to raise a child as a single woman. When I finally moved back home to Alaska, I built the stable foundation I always wanted. Now, with the Motivity Dance school that I founded, my massage work at Healing Hands, and my family living right next door on the bluff, my life is completely ready to focus on raising a child. My career was and is about creating art, and I look forward to instilling and gifting that creative passion to my child if they desire it. It is a truly wonderful environment here on the bluff overlooking Kachemak Bay. My home is shared with my loving and active 9-year-old Red Heeler, whom I love taking to weekly agility lessons, and we have loving grandparents living right next door, waiting to welcome this baby home. How we'll use the funds: This grant will be deposited directly into our independent escrow account and used entirely to fund my surrogate's $40,000 base compensation contract. My personal $25,000 cash savings will be completely deployed to cover all the legal, medical, and insurance setups, which I have budgeted as follows: $2,500: CNY Fertility Embryo Transfer & clinical fees $4,500: Cross-state legal contracts (AK, ID, and CO) $1,500: Independent escrow management setup (via SeedTrust) $10,000: Standalone surrogate medical insurance policy & deductibles This leaves a gap of $28,500 on her baseline contract. The grant will serve as the specific structural bridge needed to cover her pay so we can legally sign our contract and safely start the transfer cycle at CNY in Colorado Springs.