My years of service within the community have been mutually beneficial. Not only have I experienced the opportunity to grow in my leadership abilities, but I have been able to give back to areas of the community I care about most. The main areas in my community service are through Girl Scouts, care for the environment, and within my church. These areas have provided me the opportunity to support diverse populations and make my hometown a better, cleaner, and more supported place for personal, communal, and spiritual growth. These experiences have also helped me understand my call to be a nurse and help care for the whole person. In working with groups of children as young as five years old to serving people in their 70s, my time and efforts have provided care for the person as well as created a welcoming environment, a cleaner environment, and an environment conducive for learning and leading. Through mentoring younger Girl Scouts and participating in Thanksgiving food box collections, I’ve helped instill future leaders to care for others while also learning about and helping combat food insecurity. I’ve also worked with younger girls in learning about female empowerment through World Thinking Day where I help girls experience the camaraderie of building strong female teams and the importance of inclusion and awareness within communities- locally, nationally, and globally. However, even though I’ve helped with trail maintenance and clean-up through my troop, my volunteering through the Office of Sustainability and Central Avenue United Methodist Church show my commitment to community service beyond scouting. I also care about making people more comfortable in their/the environment. In participating in Zero Waste days I helped educate community members on what items are compostable and recyclable at sporting events. I’ve also helped create a welcoming environment by providing beverages and snacks for people coming to church on Sunday mornings, too. My service to people and our planet demonstrates diverse ways people can make a difference from young to old, indoors and outdoors, through crafts or canned goods. Through serving as a leader, I have laid a foundation for being a leader in a medical setting as well. My dream is to help others improve physically, mentally, and overall. I desire to be a voice to those who might feel overlooked and unheard while connecting with them on a personal yet professional level. I know these goals can be pursued in nursing. I have always had a passion for healthcare; I have always been fascinated learning how bodies function and allow us to operate in our everyday lives. To further understand these nuances in our body within ourselves, while helping others heal, is a privilege. However, I realize many people who have the same goals as me (and dream just as big) may not have access to, or have the same supports to reach their potential. As a nurse, I aim to help people in every way by listening while doing my best with everything within my role to provide supportive resources and care.

My years of service within the community have been mutually beneficial. Not only have I experienced the opportunity to grow in my leadership abilities, but I have been able to give back to areas of the community I care about most. The main areas in my community service are through Girl Scouts, care for the environment, and within my church. These areas have provided me the opportunity to support diverse populations and make my hometown a better, cleaner, and more supported place for personal, communal, and spiritual growth. These experiences have also helped me understand my call to be a nurse and help care for the whole person. In working with groups of children as young as five years old to serving people in their 70s, my time and efforts have provided care for the person as well as created a welcoming environment, a cleaner environment, and an environment conducive for learning and leading. Through mentoring younger Girl Scouts and participating in Thanksgiving food box collections, I’ve helped instill future leaders to care for others while also learning about and helping combat food insecurity. I’ve also worked with younger girls in learning about female empowerment through World Thinking Day where I help girls experience the camaraderie of building strong female teams and the importance of inclusion and awareness within communities- locally, nationally, and globally. However, even though I’ve helped with trail maintenance and clean-up through my troop, my volunteering through the Office of Sustainability and Central Avenue United Methodist Church show my commitment to community service beyond scouting. I also care about making people more comfortable in their/the environment. In participating in Zero Waste days I helped educate community members on what items are compostable and recyclable at sporting events. I’ve also helped create a welcoming environment by providing beverages and snacks for people coming to church on Sunday mornings, too. My service to people and our planet demonstrates diverse ways people can make a difference from young to old, indoors and outdoors, through crafts or canned goods. Through serving as a leader, I have laid a foundation for being a leader in a medical setting as well. My dream is to help others improve physically, mentally, and overall. I desire to be a voice to those who might feel overlooked and unheard while connecting with them on a personal yet professional level. I know these goals can be pursued in nursing. I have always had a passion for healthcare; I have always been fascinated learning how bodies function and allow us to operate in our everyday lives. To further understand these nuances in our body within ourselves, while helping others heal, is a privilege. However, I realize many people who have the same goals as me (and dream just as big) may not have access to, or have the same supports to reach their potential. As a nurse, I aim to help people in every way by listening while doing my best with everything within my role to provide supportive resources and care. Scholarships, and my own savings, are the major ways I plan to pay for college. Being a senior and looking into my future, I see how much financial aid and scholarships can make an impact on acquiring an education without going into too much debt. Nurses have incredible drive and work hard; I plan to do the same while pursuing scholarships to support myself in my endeavors. This scholarship won’t just support my efforts in college; it can also be seen as an investment in helping so many others throughout my nursing career as well.

There's one movie I rewatch almost every month. Not because it makes me feel good, but the opposite. This movie causes me to reflect on the world we live in and how divided it can be. It encourages me to want to do more for my community and to see the world change for the betterment of all who live in it. This movie, titled "Don't Look Up," is about astrophysicists who discovered a comet that is coming straight towards Earth and will destroy it in six months. They take their information and their proof, but the people they talk to either refuse to believe them or downplay the seriousness of the situation. These scientists group with other people around the world and protest, and warn everyone they can about what could happen if nothing is done. Towards the end of the movie, people could even look up and see the comet itself. The world became divided, some saying the scientists were lying, and "don't look up", the others saying the opposite. There was so much division and hate, no one was listening to each other, even though it could be the end of the world. The government was involved; however, it was still one-sided. One man in particular was with the government and discovered there could be gold on the comet, which could greatly help out those in need. They decided to let the comet hit Earth, but have it be destroyed so the damage wouldn't be catastrophic. There is a great assumption that the gold and riches on the comet would only be used for the government or for things that won't really benefit the people. This plan, to let the comet come, failed. There was nothing else to do but to let it earth. The very last scene of this movie shows the scientists gathered around a dinner table, praying, eating, and talking to each other while trying to act as if everything was normal. One of the scientists' last words was, "I'm grateful that we tried". All of a sudden, an explosion bursts into their room, and the credits roll in space with glasses, cups, and other symbols of the characters floating around. This movie woke me up in a sense. Usually, a movie has a conflict, but it is resolved, leaving a "happy" ending. This movie was not that at all. It was not at all what I was expecting, which is what shocked me the most. But that ending, this story, can be related to our conflicts in life and in the world now. We have opposite opinions on difficult topics, and if we don't find a common ground or at least listen to each other, it could end terribly for everyone involved, so many people can be affected by it. This movie impacted my life by having me realize that change needs to happen for the majority. That we need to listen to people and understand their perspectives to the best of our ability. Then, to get along and help each other. Change needs to happen with all of us; we're all affected by it, and we all need to realize what could happen to our futures if we don't.

When I think of a nurse, I think of someone who is dedicated to their work, is kind, and cares about what they do and who they take care of. Like Beverly cared and touched so many lives, I aspire to do the same. I believe all nurses in some way make a difference in their patents' lives as well as the healthcare system overall. Medicine has been my dream career for years. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. Everything about this field interested me. I would watch movies and shows, read and color anatomy books, and had a toy stethoscope I would use on my parents. However, nursing itself as a career has stood out to me more in the past year. As someone who was very interested in medicine, I wanted to see what nursing itself had to offer. Last summer, therefore, I went to two nursing camps to "test out the waters" and see if this could be a possibility for my future. These camps gave me an interactive experience with real nurses in real hospitals. I could see so clearly that every patient a nurse would talk to had a connection beyond health-related aspects of their lives. One camp specifically went to several nurses in different areas such as women's health, labor and delivery, cardio, and more. However, the one I remember the most was labor and delivery. This nurse talked to us all about how much she loved her job and encouraged us to become nurses to help others, as it truly makes a difference. At my other camp, I had another moment with labor and delivery. This camp was led by a few nurses, one of whom was a labor and delivery nurse. During a "tour" part of nursing school, she took us to a room with practice equipment set up everywhere. This room even had two mannequins. One who had a baby inside her. The nurse then took us through what a birth looked like. From talking and encouraging the patient to taking the baby out. I saw the whole thing and was completely in awe. I asked if I could hold the baby mannequin, and this moment felt like a time of clarity for me. I thought to myself, "Wow, I just watched a birth happen. This new 'life', I hold in my hands. I can be there to help and experience this meaningful moment with people and support them through it". This area of nursing has stood out to me greatly. Other areas have stood out to me as well. Pediatrics-I love kids, have babysat them for years, and make good relationships with them. Older patient care-this one is personal. My grandmother is in a nursing home/hospice care center currently, and although it can be sad to see her there, I see how well taken care of she is by the nurses in the building with her. It would be amazing to give that comfort to others who have loved ones in these care facilities. However, no matter which area I choose or switch to later on, the most important thing is that I can make a difference. Beverly Patterson was a wonderful nurse who opened doors to further care and connected with people. Her career shows the impact she made. I wish to do this as well. I aim to connect with others, care for those who need it, and to positively impact and inspire others along my journey.

My dream is to be a nurse. Helping people physically, mentally, and emotionally is a beautiful privilege and gift. However, I cannot get there on my own. No matter how much work or studying I do, my academic goals can only go so far. Therefore, with this money, I will be able to pursue and reach my dream on a higher level with more financial support. If I am selected as the winner of this scholarship, these funds will not only benefit me and my future career, but they could also save lives. This money can help so much more than just me alone. I can reach my dream and support the well-being of others without the great anxiety of financial insecurity or blocked paths due to insufficient financial support. With less stress over money, I can jumpstart my academic goals, stay inspired, and run as fast as I can to my dream job and a fulfilling future.