Frederick and Bernice Beretta Memorial Scholarship

. I knew I wanted to make an impact and I want to do that by becoming an RN. I want to be in the medical field to help people and help our society be stronger. I am currently starting off as a CNA to get my foot in the field. I want to help the world and be one of the people that helps our population get better. I have always been drawn to the medical field since I was young and saw it as an inspirational career. I started my medical education in the summer of 2023 where I went to school during the summer to become a CNA. When I turned 16, I joined a CNA program. CNA stands for Certified Nursing Assistant. You can get this license as young as 16 and I did so. As part of this program, I attended classes for a total of five weeks during the summer. It was really challenging for me to find work when I initially got my license because of the fact that I was so young at the time. I was lucky that I found a rehabilitation center that immediately hired me. Now I've been working there for almost 8 months, and I feel like it is a really great experience getting the license this young and getting the experience of a hospital setting so young. At the facility, I learn a lot of other stuff besides the basic duties of a CNA. Due to the fact that I plan on pursuing a career in the medical field, I believe that getting a Certified Nursing Assistant certification at a young age is a great opportunity and experience. After working in the medical field my passion for helping patients grew. I knew I wanted to become a nurse so I could do more in the medical field. I feel that the medical field is a huge environment where education never stops. There are so many different types of areas to work and study in. I know that pathway will gear me toward a future RN that will give me the tools and guidance I need to be successful in my career. This will open a lot of doors for me. I hope to get accepted into my dream college and share my success with future candidates. My aspiration is that my story will inspire someone to pursue their dreams and goals and that anything is possible. Determination is the key to success.

I was born in America, and yet despite this, there was a point in my life where I was struggling to speak and read English. This predicament began early in my life. My mother used to work to provide for us. She has always worked two jobs, which did not give us too much time to enjoy together, missing my favorite bedtime stories. My father was never in my life, so she has always been my support. We struggle sometimes, but she says that things will get better, that my time will come to make something great out of my life. My grandma, who only speaks Spanish, had to take care of me. Coming from another country and being afraid to let me out of her sight she pretty much kept me indoors, afraid to let me socialize with other neighborhood children, she kept me isolated which attributed to stunting my social skills. Everyone talked to me in Spanish, and I would watch television in English. Through these 2 languages colliding, I could not stick to one language and speak it. I was referred by my pediatrician to receive some help from a speech therapist at the age of three. I endured bullying in my first years of school, and began to suffer from anxiety because of this. It was only when I was said to have signs of depression that I began seeing a therapist to help me. She greatly helped me with my anxiety and getting rid of my depression. Today I am getting ready to apply for college as a psychology major. There is no doubt that the road ahead will be bumpy, and there will be a lot of stress and confusion. I learned that getting a good SAT score will give me the best chance of getting into college, so I have been preparing for my exam and continuing to keep my grades up. I am not done with high school yet and my AP exam is also coming soon. On the weekends, I continue to volunteer in my city so I am always busy. I would love to have a part-time job, but we can not afford another car and Mom is afraid of me commuting back and forth. I will be the first in my family to earn a bachelor's degree. I am very excited and dream of becoming a successful clinical psychologist. It would be a personal victory and a true lifes dream to be in a position to be able to help others who really need it. I believe I would be a positive impact to those people, knowing the personal struggles first hand, helping them navigate their lives and helping to remove mental road blocks that are making them feel stuck or hopeless, showing them that all things are possible, as I have discovered.

I was born at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton with three toes on each foot and limited bone structure. I was considered permanently disabled with a formal diagnosis of fibular hemimelia, to which doctors stated I would never walk or live a normal kid life. One of the leading life lessons I learned early in life was a positive mindset. Using that mindset, I took steps to adapt and overcome. Dedicating myself to a positive mindset was critical to reaching the vantage point that nothing is wrong with me, and quite simply, it is a challenge to navigate. My positive mindset allowed me to defy the odds, as I could walk and play sports with molded inserts. This step helped me focus on the good and see what is possible, not just regarding my feet but also how to be the best version of myself. As I grew older, I had to keep adapting due to recurring fractures in my feet, which made walking, daily life, and sports more difficult. I continued to seek pathways to help me succeed and discovered a noodle brace service members used to recover from lower extremity injuries. This brace converts energy and lessens the impact from my feet to my calf. These orthopedic braces ended up being a game changer for me to continue to walk and participate in physical activities. I realized that someone else's opinion doesn't have to be your reality, which has propelled my academic achievement. My disability isn't something to grieve over or be ashamed of; it is simply my story. Fully embracing my challenge, I clearly understand my goals while immersing myself in everyday actions and learning to cope to succeed. These steps allowed me to build resiliency that I directly translated to my academic journey. I learned to clearly articulate and communicate well with my teachers while taking on complex concepts with the confidence to navigate and apply them. I realized that someone else's opinion doesn't have to be your reality, which has propelled my academic achievement. My disability isn't something to grieve over or be ashamed of; it is simply my story. Fully embracing my challenge, I clearly understand my goals while immersing myself in everyday actions and learning to cope to succeed. These steps allowed me to build resiliency that I directly translated to my academic journey. I learned to clearly articulate and communicate well with my teachers while taking on complex concepts with the confidence to navigate and apply them. With my work ethic and determination, I will continue on this education journey. My goal is to further my education by attending University of California Merced in the fall of 2024. I plan to major in Engineering. I appreciate being considered for this scholarship, I promise to honor the memory of Frederick and Bernice Beretta and make them proud. One day I WILL give back in the same way they have given opportunity to others that want to better themselves through education.