It is important to me to pursue a career in nursing because being a nurse you can help people and that is what I have always wanted to do. Growing up my mom was blind, and my dad was always sick. So, I got personal experience helping them. My drive to become a nurse happened in 2021 when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. Seeing how the nurses impacted my dad in such an effective way made me want to strive to be like them. On October 7th, 2022, my dad passed away. This made me realize I needed to do everything in my power to honor him and make him proud. Throughout my dad's cancer journey, I spent many days in the hospital while he was receiving cancer treatments, radiation, scans, or just checkups. This was an extremely challenging time for my family, and we all stayed strong for my dad but seeing the impact those nurses had on my dad while he was in the hospital was so special to me. Every nurse would make him smile, laugh, and sometimes even annoyed in a good way. These nurses gave my dad hope and kept his spirits high while he was in the hospital. It is important to me to continue my education and someday have the same impact on patients that those nurses had on my dad. Not only can I help the patients but also their families, the nurses helped me and my family so much by answering questions, educating us on things we were unsure of, and providing us with the support we needed watching my dad battle cancer. While I know the doctors are the sole ones who help the nurses help emotionally and educationally. My dad always remembered the nurses and how happy they made him and gave him high spirits even in his last days at home. I will never forget how much the hospice nurse helped my family transition through the tragedy of losing my dad. They were so helpful and caring and one day I hope to have the same impact. It is important to me to help patients navigate their health problems because sometimes all you need is a further explanation or someone to talk to and doctors are not always available for that. I feel like nursing is going to be an excellent path for me because I have always wanted to help people and be able to have an impact on the world. I feel as though nurses play a significant role in the world not only in helping patients but also in patients' families. I cannot wait to see where this journey takes me, and I hope to make these impacts on my patients as they had on my dad.

NF1 is a struggle for whoever has it whether it is you who has it or a family member. Nf1 affected people in diverse ways but here is my story. I was diagnosed with nf1 at 6 weeks (about 1 and a half months). Nf1 impacted me by my ability to be able to dance. I started dancing at about 4 years old and continued until about 6th grade. In 5th grade, I kept having back aches and some days could not walk. I ended up going to the neurologist and found out I had a tumor on my back, and I had to stop dancing. Nf1 also affected me because while I had back aches, I was on a medication that changed my whole mood and affected how well I was doing in school. This medication made me angry, started to fail in school, and I did not want to talk to anyone. NF also affected me by being asked so many questions about my café-au-lait spots and when I would explain it to them, they would feel sorry for me. I never understood why they felt sorry for me because I knew I did not have it as hard as the kids I saw in the hospital, but they did not know that. My dad always told me to be grateful because I could have been affected a lot worse with NF1. Nf not only affected me physically but mentally because my dad also had NF and he got sarcoma in 2021. During most of my high school years, I spent many days after school helping my dad, visiting him in the hospital while he was getting chemo, and going with my grandma to take him to radiation. This all had a significant impact on me watching my dad go through that. There were many times I wanted to drop out so I could help him all the time but he wanted me to continue my dreams so that is what I did. During the first month of my senior year, my dad progressively got worse on October 7th, 2022, my father passed away of sarcoma cancer. This was the most devastating thing that could have ever happened during my senior year. I feel like I am a suitable candidate for this scholarship because no matter how hard nf1 has affected me physically or mentally am still pursuing my dreams to become a nurse to be like those nurses who helped and impacted my dad's cancer journey in such a positive way. The nurses always made my dad laugh and smile. The nurses always gave my dad the hope he needed to hear even in his last days, and I hope one day I can have that same impact on someone as those nurses had on my dad. No matter what, I hope to make my dad in heaven proud. This scholarship would help me with my loans since I am considered an independent student because my dad passed away and I have no contact with my mom.