First, I would like to say thank you to Bruce and Kathy Bevan for their kind generosity. I am a non-traditional student at Weber State University. I am married, 29 years old, and am completing a bachelor's degree in Family Studies and Child Development with the goal of becoming a certified child life specialist in the medical field. Throughout my college career, I have taken eighteen credits each semester because at Weber State University, twelve to eighteen credits is the same price. While taking eighteen credits has been hard, it has taught me how to be intentional, dedicated, and disciplined. While pursuing my degree, I also work full-time at Primary Children's Hospital as a patient care tech on the Same Day Surgery unit. Being full-time at both school as well as work has taught me how to be flexible, adaptable, and resilient. Along with working full-time and attending school full-time, I have also been fulfilling school requirements by completing three hours of volunteering a week as well as twelve hours as an intern at a practicum site a week. I volunteer at Kid's Clubhouse at Primary Children's Outpatient and am an intern at the Family Crisis Center in Ogden. Being busy has taught me that I need community and others around me. While I have a lot on my plate, I have learned to be grateful that I have a job that I truly love. I am thankful for my educators, my co-workers, and my family. I have learned that no matter how busy I am, I want each and every person I encounter to feel like they are the only one that matters in that moment. I've learned how to use my time wisely, how to pay attention to detail, how to communicate effectively, and how to prioritize the tasks at hand. Most of all, I have learned that I succeed when I help others succeed. The path hasn't been easy, but I have seen each hardship as a stepping stone to my journey of becoming a child life specialist. Each experience has allowed me to connect with others and network to expand my professional development. I recently applied for a child life internship at Primary Children's Hospital, which is a forty-hour-a-week, semester-long unpaid internship. I look forward to continuing my work at Primary Children's, my education at Weber State, and my professional and personal development by embracing those around me.

Looking back, the adversity I faced throughout my childhood prepared me to be the best child life specialist I can be. I am now using my own experiences to help other children understand the trauma around them and using my newly gained knowledge to normalize the hospital environment in the best way I can. With every passing memory, I can see the stepping stones that were laid out before me to get where I am now. As a young eight-year old girl, I became very familiar with the hospital environment. My mother received a kidney transplant, a pancreas transplant, and then experienced many life-threatening complications up until I was 16 years old. Because my dad had to pay my mother's life-flight bill, he took on many jobs to make ends meet. This left me to be the main caregiver of my mother. At the age of 12, I was responsible for counting out her 52 pills, helping her get to the bathroom, and tending to all of her needs. While in the hospital, I went on rounds with nurses, I helped myself to the snacks in the nutrition room, and I sat quietly and read the only magazine available, Reader's Digest. As a child, I didn't know what was going on. I was scared, upset, and constantly in survival mode. Once I graduated, I entered nursing school because I felt that I was gifted in that area. Shortly after, I took a job at Primary Children's Hospital in Utah as a CNA. It was then that I witnessed the work of a child life specialist. I saw them helping children cope, normalizing the hospital environment, and decreasing the stress and trauma that children were facing. They spoke using developmentally appropriate words so that every child could understand what was happening. It was in that moment that I decided to change my major at Weber State University to Family Studies with a minor in Child Development so that I could make an impact on children just like me. The character that I have gained because of the adversity I faced is what motivates me and makes me passionate about what I get to do. I have two semesters remaining and have also applied for a child life internship at Primary Children's Hospital where I work. I believe that the child life community is the most selfless community I have ever known. I am honored to be a part of it and thank you for this opportunity.