I will best serve the Filipino-American community, because in my future career as an occupational therapist, I plan to make my core values advocacy and diversity, especially for those that are first-generation American and from other under-represented backgrounds. Especially being a first gen child myself, my parents have very high expectations set for me, however I did not have any role models to look up to. And I think one of the hardest things for me growing up was trying to mold and build myself into a successful person, when I did not have an example to look up to. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had was during the summer of 2019, when I worked as a coding tutor for a STEM camp designed for children that came from under-represented backgrounds. And it was very gratifying for me, because often, it was one of my students' first time learning how coding works and how to put pieces of a robot together, and I loved getting to be the person to introduce the field of STEM to them. Even more so, I loved getting to serve as a role model when they asked me about my experience being a first-gen college student or how to overcome being a minority in upper level education institutions. In the past couple years, I have also had the privilege of interning at three different pediatric occupational therapy offices where I worked with children who were on the autism spectrum, has sensory processing disorders, etc. and I remember having a particularly strong connection with patients that were Filipino, because not only were they able to see someone that looked like them, but they also had me to help and guide them through therapy and make them feel more at ease. Currently, I have an internship working in adapted athletics. More specifically, working with wheelchair tennis and ambulatory track and field athletes. I have only recently started this role, but I can already tell how exciting it will be. Being a first-generation student, I already have taken out many loans to work towards my bachelor's, and I will be taking out even more loans to afford my master's degree. Therefore, I would be very appreciative and grateful to receive this scholarship to aid my goal of serving others, and especially, those from the Filipino-American community.