When I was 11 years old, I , along with my family, immigrated from Liberia. Growing up in a poverty-stricken town in Liberia meant that I was subject to structural factors that determined the quality of my life. A lack of quality healthcare, along with the social, economic, and psychological burden that it brought, was one of those factors, shaping my family’s life. This meant not knowing what caused her illness, how to treat this unknown illness, or how to find and afford resources to heal her. If I were to describe an image that encapsulates my childhood, it would be me sitting at the feet of our shared family bed, where mama would lay for the majority of the day, playing with old dolls, while brushing away the water that leaked from our zinc ceiling from my forehead. Helplessly watching my mother suffer as a result of inadequate healthcare shaped my passion for providing care to vulnerable, underserved populations. While immigrating to the United States has been a very difficult transition, where I have struggled to find a place of belonging, it gave me the opportunity to bring this passion to life, amplifying the stories of individuals in vulnerable populations by emphasizing the importance of accessible healthcare. I have brought my passions to life by partnering with my local homeless shelter to provide basic health necessities to homeless mothers in low socioeconomic areas. Along with that, I have regularly volunteered with my local food bank, in an effort to fight food insecurity in my community. I have also published a children’s book as a creative way to educate children in rural, low-income, areas on how to form healthy habits. Additionally, one of my greatest accomplishments is working as a CNA, where I get to change lives by sharing empathy and compassion. Along with being involved in my community, and balancing my job as a CNA, I had also studied relentlessly to make it into the University of Iowa BSN program, with the ultimate goal of becoming a psychiatric nurse practitioner; I will provide quality care to my patients, while empowering them in their most vulnerable state, through empathy, compassion, and advocacy. While I have accomplished a lot, I still face significant financial hardships. I currently balance working a full-time job, while being heavily involved in my community, on top of school work. The scholarship would help me reach my goals by giving me financial relief, allowing me to become a figure that brings hope, through my care, to individuals in times of distress. My education is something that I am forever grateful for, as it has allowed me to alchemize my pain to achieve my goals. Being a first-generation college student means unbounding myself from the shackles that defined my life through my childhood, and using my education to become the very figure that younger me hoped for: a shoulder to cry on, answers in times of uncertainty and hope when the worry becomes unbearable.

I can light up a sea of a thousand stars with just the glimmer of hope in my eyes. For as long as I could remember, hope has been the driving force in everything I’ve done and aspired to do. Whether it’s through volunteering, passion projects, or through my career, hope is the tool that I’ve used, and will continue to use, to shape my community. My project, “Bags of Hope”, reflects my unwavering passion for instilling hope within my community, through every way possible. After volunteering at my local homeless shelter, I learned that individuals in these dark, vulnerable positions constantly had to persevere through their hardships. So, I was inspired to create bags of hope, bags filled with comfort items that brought a feeling of warmth to these women. Doing this project taught me the importance of perseverance, inspiring me to not only nurture the hope that I held, but to use it to ignite hope within others. The biggest way that I have, and will continue to carry hope within my community is through nursing. As a Nurse's Assistant, I have embodied hope; I hug my patients until I feel their erratic heartbeats stabilize, and hold onto their hands tightly in times of uncertainty, hoping that a sliver of fire from mine would be enough to keep theirs warm. Additionally, I aspire to be a behavioral nurse; like an anchor in stormy seas, I aspire to serve as a stable figure that vulnerable individuals can depend on. As a behavioral nurse, I will use my smile to light up the vulnerable souls of my patients, my laugh to serve as a melody that would drown out the mumbles of loneliness, and the twinkle in my eyes to illuminate their bravery dimmed by fear. My vision is to continue treating vulnerable individuals with love, kindness, dignity, and respect, and I will not only live by those values but teach others to follow them as well. I will serve as a role model, an example to follow, and an inspiration to others. With this scholarship, I will be able to have an even bigger impact, lead more individuals, and ignite more flames. My passion for hope is evident within my community. As a nurse's assistant, I have delivered care formed on the foundations of hope, one that is gentle, kind, and compassionate. I have learned the importance of compassion and empathy, through working with non-profit organizations, and I have inspired others to do the same through the smallest acts. Every act that I commit is deeply rooted in hope, and I will show the world that love and compassion still thrive within our society, and that just an inkling of hope can ignite a sea of a thousand stars.

I can ignite a room of a thousand individuals with just an inkling of hope. I am Abigail, the girl who laughs until her cheeks hurt, who cries while watching basic romcoms, and the one who smiles at every stranger she encounters, especially babies. I am an overflowing cup of powerful emotions, so I chose a career that will allow me to pour into the cups of individuals that are running dry. These powerful emotions are driven by just the inkling of hope blooming inside of my chest. This hope gives me the belief that I can change hundreds of lives through my ability to feel so deeply. Every time I watch the glimmer of hope within a stranger’s eyes after smiling at them, I am reminded that my purpose is to ignite hope within the individuals that I encounter, especially within my patients. My high school librarian, Ms. Kincaid has instilled the power of unwavering empathy and compassion within me. Everyday, as I walked into the library for lunch, Ms. Kincaid’s gentle and warm smile would dissipate every ounce of tension that I kept stored in my body, luring me into the safe haven that she created with just her presence. Whether it was 1st period, when the day just started, or 8th period, the end of the school day, where everyone’s energy ran out, her kindness prevailed. Whether it was the cold bitter winter or warm spring, her unwavering kindness prevailed like the steady beat of a drum. It was like a wind that blew away my feelings of loneliness and anxiety. All of the students called her ‘mama Kincaid’, for her empathy and compassion allowed us to find solace within her. Mama Kincaid inspired me to also be a source of comfort, especially as a Nurse. As a Nurse, I will use my emotions as tools to change my patient’s lives. I will smile to light up the vulnerable souls of my patients, my laugh to serve as a melody that would drown out the mumbles of loneliness in the cold, dark hospital rooms, and the twinkle in my eyes to illuminate the bravery of every scared soul that is dimmed by fear. With each patient that I come across, I will smile until the wrinkles around my eyes form, for its warmth will ignite hope within them. I will hug my patients until I feel the thump of their erratic heartbeat stabilize. I will be a Nurse who will hold onto my patients’ hands tightly in times of uncertainty, hoping that a sliver of fire from mine would be enough to keep theirs warm, and one who will jump and laugh with my patients in pure bliss as we celebrate exciting news. My true purpose in life is to transform my emotions into the fuel, oxygen, and heat that ignites the souls of vulnerable individuals. Through empathy and compassion, I will use my big heart as a tool through nursing, shaping my community by rebuilding the broken-hearted, cutting down feelings of despair, and tightening each patient’s perseverance. Something that brings me immense joy and peace is reading. Reading, to me, is immersing myself in a different world, where I get to choose which characters’ shoes I will walk in. I love reading all genres, as it broadens my perspective on different issues. When I read, I am the embodiment of my characters, where I can be anything; I can be a fearless queen, an enthusiastic barista at a coffee shop, a love interest in a beautiful love story or even a superhero! After a long school day, I will find the comfiest part of the couch, take my weighted blanket, my stuffed animal, snookie, and the chosen book of the week, and finally slip into the shoes of the character I’ll choose to be that day, detaching from reality for a moment. I find solace in reading because it eases my stress-sadled mind by erasing my overbearing thoughts, because when I read, I don’t think, when I can just be.

I have decided to pursue a career in nursing because I believe that empathy and compassion are enough to ignite hope within vulnerable individuals. It was October 21st 2023, I laid in excruciating pain on the cold, hard hospital bed as I desperately waited for the doctors-or nurses- to relieve this all consuming pain. Papa sat to my left as we waited, eager to get answers. Hopeless, confused, and exhausted, I began to slip from consciousness, uncontrollably sobbing from the excruciating pain, then finally, a nurse walked through the door, indifferent, apathetic, and unbothered, bombarded me with questions, took my vitals, and swiftly left before papa could voice his concern. The pain had intensified, rapidly spreading from my stomach to my head, and to my chest. I then began to shiver as more nurses came in; they probed, asked, and again, swiftly left; I began to feel confused; did they not hear my cries? Did they not see papa’s sunken face? Were they in a hurry? As I continued to lay on the cold, hard surface of the hospital bed, the pain in my body was now bearable as my heart grew heavier; In such a raw and vulnerable state, I began to feel more of an object and less of a person. On that bed, I wasn’t Abigail, I was ‘24’, my room number; I wasn’t a scared and helpless teenage girl in need of comfort, I was an occupied bed waiting to be freed up for the next patient. I hated it, hated feeling naked even though I was fully clothed, hated feeling alone in a room full of nurses and doctors, and most importantly, I hated feeling unseen by individuals that were supposed to illuminate and validate my feelings . I didn’t know what to do or say anymore, so I crawled into a ball, hoping that my heart wouldn’t fall as it grew unbearably heavier from the immense sadness. 2 hours later, still curled up on the cold, hard surface, I was suddenly enveloped by a warm heavy blanket as another nurse gently whispered: “I noticed you shivering, I hope this helps a little.” Little did she know that her smallest act of kindness made me discover a passion for nursing; the raw empathy and compassion in her eyes was enough to elevate my heavy heart; her gentle touch was enough to uncover the layers and I finally felt seen. She was who inspired me to be a nurse; her kindness, compassion, and her ability to finally see my vulnerability, and nurture it. She taught me the importance of empathy, a catalyst for comfort in patients. I plan to be a nurse because I wish to have that level of impact on people’s lives. As a nurse, I plan to ignite hope within vulnerable individuals through compassion. I will be a Nurse who leads within her workforce, creates positive and welcoming spaces for her patients and colleagues, and is an active listener, a critical thinker, a patient educator, and a compassionate soul. I will prioritize the well-being, happiness, and comfort of every patient, serving as an anchor in the wind and the waves, a shoulder to cry on, and a friend to confide in. As a current Certified Nursing Assistant, I have watched the impact that empathy can have, and I intend to shape communities with it. I know that I can make an immense impact on individuals and communities, and it brings me joy to say that I can do that through empathy, compassion, and hope. I found out about this scholarship through instagram.

I am Abigail Leela Bondoline Cooper, and I am from Monrovia, Liberia. My mama is Tutu-Bendu Cooper, a refugee from Gwee-town, Liberia, and My Papa is Bondojah Saykpeepoh Cooper, from Bassa County, Liberia. Mama and Papa sacrificed their lives to give me a better one, with greater opportunities. My parents worked tirelessly to afford rent, pay off debts, and support our family of 5. Papa works 16-hour shifts every day in a factory, while mama works 12-hour shifts in a Nursing Home. Coming from Liberia, my Parents have been made to feel insecure about their accent and their heritage. Watching them being treated this way was very difficult, especially after all they had sacrificed. Being an immigrant student living in Iowa has been difficult. There have been countless days where I have eaten lunch by myself, where I have walked alone from school, and where I have refused to raise my hands in class to avoid people making fun of my accent. I have come to terms with not fitting in, not having friends, or not going to hangouts. I have come to terms with the fact that there's no one to protect me from the racism of my classmates. I have come to terms with the fact that I will not live the high school life I dreamed of when I was in Liberia. What I have not come to terms with, though, is letting my afflictions dim my light. Throughout the hardships, I have learned to love myself, to be there for myself, and to advocate for myself. I have learned not to be ashamed of Mama and Papa's accents because their accents carry their stories, stories that have shaped them. I have learned that I am an empath, passionate about spreading hope and kindness within my community, the very things I was deprived of. After all, I am still that 11-year-old girl with hopeful eyes and big dreams. I have also learned that despite my hardships, I still have a soft heart and that hope remains in my eyes. This light is further fueled by Mama and Papa's perseverance, which I admire. Being in this position has made me realize that my family is persistent; Together, we have been able to overcome many hardships. I know that my home is Liberia, but in the U.S., I have also created a home, small, yet cozy, and that home is Mama, Papa, Grace, Jerry, and I. I have learned that life in the U.S. is not as glamorous as we make it to be back home, but one thing remains true: It offers opportunities and resources that I can use to impact dozens of people. The hardships of being an immigrant have taught me the importance of compassion and empathy, and I have discovered that I can turn these traits into a career by becoming a Nurse Practitioner. I want to become a Nurse Practitioner because I want to be able to light up a community of vulnerable souls by sharing hope, compassion, and empathy. Being bullied has taught me that the world needs light and love, and I intend to spread that light with every individual I come across. I will be a Nurse Practitioner who will make Patients feel safe, respected, and loved, regardless of their ethnicity, race, or background. The hardships that I have faced in the past years have made me realize that I am blessed to be an immigrant, as it has made me love myself and others even more.