Signing up for Girl Scouts in second grade was one of the best things I could have done for myself. Through Girl Scouts, I had the opportunity to participate in many community service projects and activities that helped me feel closer to my community and build life lasting friendships along the way. These experiences had a significant impact on what I wanted to pursue as a career and changed my mindset for the better in regards to helping others, serving and having a positive impact on the community. Going into Girl Scouts I was introduced to many other girls my age in my community and had the fortuity of many different badge workshops that would allow me to partake in certain activities in order to obtain a badge. For example, the programming robots badge earned by girls who are Brownies (7-9) helped me and my troop learn more about robotics and gave us the chance to participate in a robotics team. On this team we met over various weeks and learned how to create a robot and do simple programming to get it to function. I was not only able to try a new skill I hadn’t had the opportunity to try through building robots, but I also got to build my teamwork skills. These team work skills would come in handy when I worked on earning one of the three big community service project awards girls can earn: the Bronze award. As a troop we worked on coming up with an idea of what we could do to benefit our community, looking for places that could use our help. We partnered up with The Texas Pool in Plano, TX to help build a safe and functional playhouse for their dry area. The pool had a dry grass area with a plastic playhouse that had seen better days, so over the course of more than a month our troop worked on planning, measuring, shopping for lumber/paint, and of course, building and assembling a playhouse for the pool. Being able to see something that me and my troop up in a public space able to be used and enjoyed by children of all ages sparked something within me, something that made me know what I wanted to do when with my life, wherever I ended up and whatever I ended up doing: I wanted to help people. One on one, I wanted to visually see my impact on people and be able to provide support to them however I could. And since my father worked as a nurse and doctor for a majority of my formative years, I’ve always had an interest in the medical field. During my pursuit of higher education, I hope to achieve my masters and PhD in child development psychology or neuroscience.I want to challenge myself and push myself past my limits to pursue a PhD and masters. With these achievements the career I would hope to enter into would be a Child Life Specialist. They work one on one with children in hospital settings, preparing them for things like different treatments using words and terminology they’d understand, and offer the support and development of coping skills to help the child during their hospitalization. Their main job is supporting the child through their many medical tests and procedures, and reducing the stress and anxiety that children often feel in healthcare settings. This is a career in which I would be able to connect and help my community, while doing something I have always had a passion for: Science.

“I want to be a princess when I grow up!” A younger me proudly stated on the stage of her kindergarten graduation after being asked what she aspired to be. Ever since childhood, I’ve consistently had big goals and never let anything stop me. Want to make breakfast by myself? Grabbed a step stool and climbed up onto the counter. Boom, burnt toast with a side of butter straight from the tub, crumbs and all, is served! Someone says I can’t carry a big box and they’ll get it? Now I’m carrying two boxes. Since childhood I’ve been very headstrong and never let something stop me from achieving what I wanted. Now as I reach the final year of high school, I find myself wondering, now what do I want to be when I grow up? What do I want to do with my.. Life? One thing was for sure, wherever I ended up and whatever I ended up doing: I wanted to help people. One on one, I wanted to visually see my impact on people and be able to provide support to them however I could. But there were so many jobs out there that involved helping people, how would I narrow it down? Psychology was the other thing that piqued my interest, studying the way people's brains work and especially how moments from one's childhood could end up impacting their mindset as they aged. So I began looking into careers involving psychology, more specifically child development psychology or neuroscience. During my pursuit of higher education, I hope to achieve my masters and possibly a phd in child development psychology or neuroscience. School hasn’t always been something that came easy to me. It always felt like I had to work harder than my friends just to maintain lower grades than them. But learning and challenging my brain is genuinely something I enjoy doing, I love when I come back to a concept after working at it and finally feeling like I’ve mastered it. Which is why I want to pursue something like a masters and even a PHD, I want to challenge myself and push myself past my limits. With these achievements the career I would hope to enter into would be a Child Life Specialist. A Child Life Specialist works one on one with children in hospital settings, preparing them for things like different treatments using words and terminology they’d understand, and offer the support and development of coping skills to help the child during their hospitalization. Their main job is supporting the child through their many medical tests and procedures, and reducing the stress and anxiety that children often feel in healthcare settings. Additionally, they provide support to the family during hospitalization or different challenges they might face during their child's hospital stay. Thinking of the future can be daunting. Leaving behind the safety of childhood to enter the “real world” where what once seemed like infinite possibilities of becoming a mermaid, princess, or dragon fighter seemed in reach is suddenly not possible, and you’re confronted with the big scary question of “what do you want to be when you grow up?” by every adult you’ll come across. But knowing I have a guiding light of, “I want to help people, I want to make a positive difference in someone's life” makes the thought of pursuing higher education and entering the workforce seem a little less formidable.