Everybody loves a good underdog story. The main character of the story comes from unfavorable conditions and unbeatable odds but still comes out on top. It sparks an undeniable "warm and fuzzy" yet motivational feeling. From Forrest Gump to Bethany Hamilton there are many examples of these heroic underdog stories. Yet the only difference between these stories and the extraordinary tales on every street corner daily is how many people are in the audience. As a 21-year-old single mother with a long history of mental illness, a heart condition, and a part-time job that I have held for the last three years, who is also the first in my family to attend college, I often find myself feeling like an underdog. Like every time I get strong enough to take one step forward, the world knocks me three steps back. I was 15-16 when I was pregnant with my now four-year-old daughter. Through all the chaos and weight, I found peace and relief during my ultrasounds. At 36 weeks pregnant, I was diagnosed with Pre-eclampsia and then had to be medically induced into labor at 37 weeks. Despite it all, she came into the world healthy, just as I started to slip away. I was and am still currently recovering from Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy (Broken Heart Syndrome). I still receive yearly Echocardiograms to monitor my heart. What should have scared me into nothing only drove me harder and faster to be able to achieve my dream. I am about to start my second year at LCSC as I pursue a degree in Radiology. Going to college will allow me to have a career in the medical imaging field so that maybe one day, I might be able to help others the way my medical staff helped me. Medically, being able to see and understand what is going on inside of our bodies is an incredible diagnostic ability of current medicine for both parties, the patients and the professionals. Medical Imaging allows for more accuracy in diagnosing internal injuries, the ability to monitor fetuses, and the ability to provide a visual aspect for patients. However, the costs of school and life are my biggest roadblock on the long road to my dream career. Despite qualifying for financial aid and loans, working through summer and school, Door-Dashing in my spare time, and all of the state assistance I receive, there never seems to be enough money to devote to it all. In every underdog story, there's one thing they have in common: the people there to help along the way. As if living in itself isn't hard enough sometimes, it's even more difficult, if not nearly impossible, to do it alone, so I am writing to express the potential in my story as I seek financial support towards that extra "step" in my college journey. Radiology includes many different forms of imagining, everything from X-raying a broken bone to being put in a cast to heal to MRI scans that can detect tumors and save lives. I want to give back to people in their time of great need!

Many people go into fields based on taking care of others. Whether it be for the satisfaction of being able to help people in need or the yearning to make a difference in the lives of people struggling, the need for these selfless individuals is unending. My inspiration to join the medical field began at a young age. I was just 16 years old when I gave birth to my daughter. She was born two weeks premature due to my diagnosis of Preeclampsia at around 34 weeks. Her birth was relatively uneventful until it came time for us to move into our "maternity suit" for further monitoring. What started as a complaint of heartburn escalated to full-blown heart failure in a matter of an hour. Although I came extremely close to losing everything, I survived. Through the use of echocardiograms and multiple EKGs, the medical staff was able to diagnose me with stress-induced cardiomyopathy A.K.A. broken heart syndrome. My prognosis went from "if I wake up" to "when I wake up" from my medically induced coma. Furthermore, what can only be described as a medical miracle, I was home in just over two weeks rather than over three months like doctors orginally expected. The capabilities of current and future medicine are astonishing and only continue to advance every day. Without the help of medical professionals and technology, I would not be here to write this essay today. I spent time working as a medical assistant and a Caregiver and have fallen in love with the world of medicine. My short time working in the medical field, combined with my curiosity, has led me to pursue a career in radiology. I am attending LCSC for a degree in Pre-Radiographic Science and am about to start the second year of my degree. When I finish my schooling I plan to get a job as a Radiology Technician to get a firm footing in the field. But, what excites me most about the possibility of a career in Radiology is the impact I hope I can make. Throughout my pregnancy and recovery, I found a source of comfort in being able to see what the various doctors involved were talking about physically. Being able to see my unborn daughter is what ultimately led to my decision to follow through with parenthood, being able to see my own heart and its different chambers during my yearly cardiology visits and understand what I'm looking at; these seemingly insignificant acts of medicine altered and saved my life. I hope one day I can make that difference for others who might be going through similar situations.

At just 21 years old, I find myself planning a future not just for me, but for my family as a whole. I am a mother to my four-year-old daughter who, in short, is the whole of my future and the goals I possess for it. Everything I work for is solely to provide for us. We live in a rural city in Eastern Washington and although I have not always lived in a small community like the one I live in now, I have grown accustomed to the difference. When I discovered I was pregnant just after my 16th birthday, my whole world stopped. Every part of every day seemed meaningless, everything I had spent my whole life working for was deemed “for nothing”. It was nearly three months before I even allowed myself to accept that this was my reality. The first person aside from the biological other half of the equation I told was my high school counselor. I had a good relationship with her, and we had developed a form of trust I yearned for in a time like this. I had just thrown up all over the fetal piglet I was supposed to dissect for my honors biology class, and my stomach still churned, for eight months it churned. When I “came clean” as to what was going on, I expected to receive belittlement, I expected to be shamed and bullied, and I was, by fellow students and even my friends and family. But I was also lifted, supported, and even embraced by others in the community. One organization in particular supported me through the entirety of my pregnancy. They provided me with love and support and even a baby shower. To this day, I still talk with my mentors and other young mothers I connected with in that group. Although I was never truly alone during those eight long months of pregnancy, I have never felt more alone in my life. The father of my child disappeared, I lost many friends and transferred to an alternative high school, but in place, I had my village. August of 2024 I will start my second year of college. I am pursuing a degree in Pre-Radiographic Science in hopes that one day, I can work in the practice of medicine that saved my life. Just after the induction of my premature daughter, my heart stopped seven times and I had to be medically induced into a coma. I was diagnosed with stress-induced cardiomyopathy AKA Broken Heart Syndrome. The Cardiologists and emergency team in Spokane at Sacred Heart Hospital saved my life. They have also inspired me to pursue a career based on internal imagining and medicine. I have learned never to take a single moment for granted, life is too short to hyper-fixate on things that won’t matter in ten minutes or even ten months. Not only that but never take the people in your life and community who are willing to help for granted. We are all only human, but I have learned that when people come together, we can accomplish anything. The generosity and kindness that I was shown by my community during the hardest part of my life by people I have never met or will never see again are the reason I am where I am and are the reason I can write this today; I only hope one day I can be that person for someone else.

Success can be defined in many different ways based on the unique person. It can be as simple as mastering a new skill, or as complicated as obtaining a long degree. Regardless of one's path in life, success is what drives an individual to grow and work towards a goal. I came from a low-income family where neither of my parents went to college. I understood from a young age what it meant to live paycheck to paycheck and struggle in day-to-day life. Rather than sheltering us from it, my parents used this as a learning opportunity for my sister and I. They explained that we needed to work hard in life for a while and that there was nothing easy about it, but one day it would all be worth it. It would be worth it because we would be able to provide whatever kind of life we wanted for ourselves and our families. A life that isn’t based on what’s in the bank but on what’s in our hearts. My definition of success is simple. A house and property I can be proud of, a fulfilling career helping others, and a stable, warm, and loving family. I would also one day love to be able to travel and explore different parts of the world. While money plays a huge role in the world we live in today, I aspire to live a life where It doesn’t dictate my quality of life from payday to payday. I am currently 20 years old, I work part-time as a manager at Crumbl Cookies, and I am attending college at Lewis-Clark State College to obtain a degree in Radiographic Science. I spent a lot of time in life preparing for this point, but nothing could prepare me for the journey I have traveled so far. At just 16 years old, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. I sincerely thought my life was over at this point. It took me months to work up the courage to tell anyone, aside from the biological father at the time. My pregnancy was not easy, to say the least, It was anxiety-ridden and took a huge toll on my physical and mental health. I was diagnosed with Preeclampsia and had to be induced at 37 weeks pregnant. Delivery went smoothly and my daughter was born small, but healthy which was more than I could say for myself at that time. There was an intense burning sensation in my chest and I was nauseous and lightheaded. No more than an hour later, I flatlined 7 times and had to be medically induced into a coma due to the complications. After nearly a month I was released from the hospital with the diagnosis of Broken Heart Syndrome. I still suffer from mild mitral valve regurgitation four years later. Despite the hardships I faced, there was no time to quit. I had a daughter to fend for. It was my sole responsibility to do everything I could to ensure the best future possible for her. As a single mother, making the choice to go back to school seemed more burdensome than it was worth. I worked for a year after high-school to become financially independent and was in a stable spot working my current job full time, but I began to yearn for more, more for myself and my family. I have tapped every resource possible to ensure I can keep my family afloat while I work through school but I find myself in the same position my parents were all those years ago. Living paycheck to paycheck, dreading if the next emergency was going to have to come out of the rent money or groceries. I have been enrolled in school for a semester now and completed my first semester with a 4.0. I have been working diligently to apply for as many scholarships, grants, and loans as I can on top of my work, family life, and class schedule. I believe that with the help of wonderful scholarship opportunities like this one, I would be able to focus more on my education in general. I would be able to cut down on the hours I have to work after school by using the scholarship money to help with the cost of school supplies and emergencies! I hope to one day be able to help others as a diagnostic sonographer.

A basic Google search of the term “Radiology” produces the following definition: “the science dealing with x-rays and other high-energy radiation, especially the use of such radiation for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.” While this definition covers the general basis of the concept of radiology, it discludes the important impact it has on modern healthcare. Radiology allows us to delve into the human body’s many individual layers. It allows us to see through skin, muscle tissue, tendons, and bones. My experience with radiology began at a relatively young age. I was 15 years old when I found out I was pregnant with my now four-year-old daughter. I was already 13 weeks pregnant when I had my first ultrasound done due to the fear of telling my parents. That first ultrasound changed my life. All of the uncertainty, doubt, and anxiety I was previously facing alone was washed away at the swoosh of an ultrasound wand as the static black-and-white image of my unborn daughter flashed across the screen. My pregnancy was classified as high risk at 36 weeks. I had developed preeclampsia and had to be closely monitored. At 37 weeks I was induced due to sudden changes in my daughter’s heart rate. The delivery went well and she was born healthy but after, I flatlined seven times and had to be medically induced into a coma. An echocardiogram and EKG revealed I had stress-induced cardiomyopathy. When I came out of the coma nearly 2 weeks later I was required to have the echocardiograms and EKGs to monitor my heart. Upon getting to see my first echocardiogram, it prompted a dejavu-type feeling. Watching the technician navigate the chambers of my heart and the direction of blood flow was mesmerizing and also relieving. Being able to see within myself and the reassurance that my heart hadn’t worsened brought a sense of peace. It also sparked curiosity in me to be able to one day help someone this way. Approximately four years later I am still physically healing from it all. I receive yearly Echos and EKGs to track the mitral valve regurgitation in my heart along with my heart function. Radiology has a truly profound impact on healthcare. Without it, medical professionals would not be able to treat, or diagnose the internal parts of our bodies. It allows us to peer beneath the skin without physically removing it. It also has a profound impact on bringing life into this world. Without radiology, we would have no way to monitor unborn children. Needless to say, Radiology is a very important part of healthcare and medical knowledge. Without it, our medical knowledge would be much more primitive and would rely on only what we see above the surface.

I started life a little younger than a lot of people. I had my daughter at just 16 years old. Although it did throw my path off track a little, it provided me with the courage to push back harder. I missed a full semester of my senior year due to severe medical complications. I came back to the COVID school “style”. Needless to say it wasn’t particularly easy but it didn’t stop me. I graduated a quarter early with a 4.0GPA. I took about a year and a half off to work and get a car and an apartment. I also spent some time building my credit score. After working at my current job for about 2 years, I have decided to take the next step in my life and attend college. Throughout my pregnancy, I loved watching my ultrasounds. I studied the screen and asked questions the whole time. Due to the medical complications I developed from childbirth and pregnancy I now receive yearly echocardiograms (heart ultrasounds) as well. Needless to say it set me on track for what I am currently studying. I am halfway through my first semester at Lewis Clark State College. I am pursuing a bachelor's degree in Radiographic Sciences. I hope one day to be able to perform pregnancy ultrasounds, echocardiograms or MRIs for others in a diagnostic way. I also hope with this degree I am able to develop a career in which I am able to provide the best future possible for my family. One where we don’t have to worry about finances or drag through a day. I personally grew up in a low income home in which neither of my parents attended college. We struggled financially growing up and my parents were always honest about it. They always told us growing up how important it was to go to college. Now that I have a daughter of my own I understand that better than ever. I’m not particularly strong or mechanically savvy so it came down to my brain. I hope with this I am able to make them proud as well. I work part time and currently qualify for student federal aid however it doesn’t even covers the full cost of my tuition. I also took out both the subsidized and unsubsidized loans and it’s just barely enough. I have been applying for scholarships since before the start of school but have had no luck. This scholarship would help provide more financial stability so I can focus mainly on school.

I started life a little younger than a lot of people. I had my daughter at just 16 years old. Although it did throw my path off track a little, it provided me with the courage to push back harder. I missed a full semester of my senior year due to severe medical complications. I came back to the COVID school “style”. Needless to say it wasn’t particularly easy but it didn’t stop me. I graduated a quarter early with a 4.0GPA. I took about a year and a half off to work and get a car and an apartment. I also spent some time building my credit score. After working at my current job for about 2 years, I have decided to take the next step in my life and attend college. Throughout my pregnancy, I loved watching my ultrasounds. I studied the screen and asked questions the whole time. Due to the medical complications I developed from childbirth and pregnancy I now receive yearly echocardiograms (heart ultrasounds) as well. Needless to say it set me on track for what I am currently studying. I am halfway through my first semester at Lewis Clark State College. I am pursuing a bachelor's degree in Radiographic Sciences. I hope one day to be able to perform pregnancy ultrasounds, echocardiograms or MRIs for others in a diagnostic way. I also hope with this degree I am able to develop a career in which I am able to provide the best future possible for my family. One where we don’t have to worry about finances or drag through work. I want to be able to give my kids all the opportunities I feel I missed out on. I struggle now as a single parent trying to survive in this economy. Paying for school has also been very difficult due to these circumstances. I personally grew up in a low income home in which neither of my parents attended college. We struggled financially growing up and my parents were always honest about it. They always told us growing up how important it was to go to college. Now that I have a daughter of my own I understand that better than ever. I’m not particularly strong or mechanically savvy so it came down to my brain. I hope with this I am able to make them proud as well. I currently qualify for student federal aid however it doesn’t even covers the full cost of my tuition. I also took out both the subsidized and unsubsidized loans and it’s just barely enough.

As a pregnant 16 year old mom, I felt more alone than I ever have. I pushed away my friends, counselors, parents, and teachers. Anyone who I thought was going to judge me, which, at the time felt like everyone. Aside from the baby in my tummy, I spent a lot of time alone. By the end of my first trimester, I couldn’t bare the weight of it all anymore. I was failing college classes I had taken to get ahead. I was loosing my friends and relationships. I was loosing myself. I finally took it upon myself to ask for help. I feared telling my parents, so I went to my school counselor for help. She was a sweet older woman who had seen my fair share of bad days. I explained my situation and she was so kind and supportive, it was the first time I remember feeling a little bit of weight come off my shoulders. She referred me to a local organization founded to help girls like me. That’s where I met Christine, the woman I have chosen to write this essay about. She welcomed me into the clinic with open arms. There was no judgment and best of all, she wasn’t my parents. She explained what the goal of her organization was and asked me what I needed so they could help me. I opted into joining a support group for other young moms like me. Over the course of about 4-6 months Christine, Lisa and the organization helped us to achieve both our mental and physical goals during our pregnancies. Best of all they became family. They threw each graduate a baby shower and provided all the moms with the basic newborn necessities along with gifts for the moms. None of this compares to the help they gave my family and I when it did come time to bring my daughter into the world. I had to be induced at 37 weeks and delivered my baby 8 hours later. Everything went smoothly up until the post delivery check up. I was having severe chest pain that morphine wouldn’t help. About an hour after delivery my heart stopped 7 different times and I had to be medically induced into a coma and flown to another state for more advanced medical care. I woke up in the PICU nearly a week later. I felt so alone again. Nobody was allowed in to see me aside from my parents due to the hospitals ICU rules. I hadn’t seen my baby since I delivered her. I had to spend nearly another week alone in the PICU before I got transferred to regular care. Christine and one of my friends from group, my best friend, my parents and best of all my daughter were all there to great me. Christine had brought bags full of gifts from the community. She also donated money to my parents who were now taking care of my daughter and I and driving 5+ hours between home and the hospital. She took time out of her life to stay in the hospital with us. Nearly 4 years later I now have a beautiful 4 year old daughter, I am engaged and have a bonus 5 year old son. I am attending LCSC for a Bachelor’s Degree in Radiology. Christine and I still talk on a regular basis, and I can confidently say I wouldn’t be where I am today without her support, guidance and inspiration. She lifted the world off my shoulders so I could bring my daughter the best.

My dream is simplicity. Beating the odds, a home for my family on land we’re proud of, financial stability, and happiness for the people I love the most. As a teen parent, I found myself having to grow up before I could even fathom what all it really entailed. I had my daughter at only 16 years old and nearly lost my life in the process. I was at the bottom of the barrel having to scale a life I didn’t understand. It took me months to physically recover from the medical complications I faced after childbirth and all the hard work I had put in throughout my life to set myself up seemed to have washed down the drain. To top it all off I had never felt more alone in my entire life, but it wasn’t just about my life anymore. When I was medically cleared to return to school that was my main priority aside from raising my daughter and maintaining my physical health. I buckled down the last quarter of school and graduated a semester early with a 4.0. Coming out of highschool I was swamped with the realization that I didn’t have any of the basic necessities to be an adult, I took a gap year(ish) and worked full time to set my daughter and I up independently and am now attending college for an associates degree in pre-radiographic science. With college has come a new challenge of trying to juggle school-full time, work-part time, and also being the best parent I possibly can. I know in the end being in a career I love where I can help people whilst also supporting my family to the fullest extent and more is what truly matters. Being able to show my kids that you can do anything you put your mind to, even when the odds are against your favor is also a huge inspiration to me. Being able to inspire them to change the world one day is what being a parent is all about. Nurturing their natural curiosity and willingness to learn drives me through all the groggy mornings and stacks of homework every weekend. When the going gets tough I remember how far I have come and how much farther I can go. I wouldn’t dream of having my life any other way but I do have dreams about how I can change our lives for the better. Dreams of the life we can build as a family.

Proud, inspiring, stable, happy. The dream version of myself makes my support and family proud and inspires my children to believe they can be anyone they want to be. The dream version of myself can give my family the world and supports them in any manner. The dream version of me is stable, mentally and financially not living paycheck to paycheck but rather moment to precious moment. Most importantly the dream version of my future self is happy, content with where I have gotten in life and the person I am for myself and my inspirations.

Both sides of my family have been diagnosed with mental illneses including depression and postpartum depression, anxiety, PTSD, bi-polar disorder, and suicide. My mental health journey began at only 12 years old. It started with depression, anxiety and self harm. I cut myself everyday for over a year and a half before I was caught and put in counseling, They prescribed me fluoxetine my first appointment and discharged me. I was 14 the first time I tried to kill myself, I took over 30 pain killers and had to be life flighted to another state because my heart started to fail by the time my parents got me there. It took them 3 days after I was medically cleared to get me into a mental hospital. I was there for 1-2 weeks where they tested my reaction to higher doses of my medication and sent me home. My little sister's journey started not long after mine and I felt solely responsible for her in a way. My parents couldn’t keep up with both of us rising and falling mentally. My sister found her way into a severe drug addiction at about 14 years old. Around the same time my physical health took a decline and I added up the symptoms to 2 pink lines, 14 days after my 16th birthday. I had to choose to focus on myself and my unborn daughter. I scrambled to fix my shattered life in the few months I had left after finally deciding to get help but I had never felt more alone in my whole life and my depression hit an all time low My physical health started to take a hit from all of the mental stress. I was diagnosed with Preeclampsia around 35 weeks. I was scheduled to be induced at 37 weeks and almost everything went smoothly. 8 hours into a rainy day in October I delivered her safely, it was after my heart broke 5 times. I was induced into a coma and diagnosed with stress induced cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome. Since then I've been hospitalized 2 more times due to postpartum depression and PTSD from dying. One was involuntary and I almost lost my life again, the next time I went voluntarily begging them to fix me for the sake of my daughter, she was all I had left. They tried more medications, counseling, more coping habits, they tried telling me I’ve been vitamin deficient the whole time and that had to be the cause of all my problems and prescribed me more medication on top of that but the more they tried the less I felt and less hope I had that I could ever be “fixed”. My experience with mental health within both myself and my family has heavily influenced my relationships. I had lots of support from my friends and family but over time I lost a lot of people. It has also changed my beliefs drastically since my run in with broken heart syndrome. I learned that mental health is connected to much more than just what we feel but also how our body functions. It was this medical crisis that led me to the career I am pursuing today. I am about to start school to be a radiologist, during my ultrasounds and echocardiograms I fell in love with diagnostic imaging and my mental health journey tied into all of it. With the help of this scholarship I would be able to put my story out there to show other people that there is hope.

My name is Annika Snow, I am currently 20 years old. I just recently got engaged and now have one biological three year old daughter and a four year old son I call my own. When I'm not working, playing with the kids and now focusing on school I enjoy writing poetry, listening to music, and being outdoors, whether it’s a quick stroll through the woods or a week-long camping trip. No more than two weeks after my 16th birthday I was presented with the biggest challenge of my life.I started feeling sick so I took the pregnancy test as more of a “just in case” measure but when it came back pregnant I was stunned. I refused to believe it for the first several weeks in the hopes maybe the problem would resolve itself. The ignorance was blissful but short lived. It was causing my grades to slip, and I started pushing away people who could have helped me the most in fear of their reactions. When I finally came to and realized this might not be something I can just work out on my own I was nearly 3 months pregnant. Despite feeling very alone the whole time, the semi-infuriated support I did have to get through the last 6 months meant the world after feeling so alone for so long. I was able to finish out that year in normal high school and transferred to the alternative high school that following year. I had mountains more motivation knowing It wasn’t just my future in jeopardy now. When my physical health started to decline my fear heightened, I had to be induced at 37 weeks. After eight hours of labor my daughter was born tiny but healthy. I however went into full blown heart failure and flatlined nearly 5 times, I was medically induced into a coma and life flighted away where I spent nearly a month fighting for my life. Throughout the whole pregnancy and during my recovery my daughter was my biggest motivation and along with a lot of help from my parents, trusted members of volunteer committees, teachers, doctors and my family and friends I was able to push through. It was the biggest test for me to let people help me and continue to be resilient through it all but I graduated 6 months early from high school and am now pursuing a degree in Radiology. This Scholarship would help me further my dreams, career goals and aspirations by aiding in my financial stability. Among the many other challenges of being a young mom who is the first person in her family to go to college, money was the major one stopping me from pursuing a college education. I had no idea where to start as far as financial aid scholarships or loans. The financial aid I have been able to receive through every federal grant and loan I qualify for is just barely enough for my first semester tuition and books, more or less the cost of living and raising my family. With help from this scholarship I would be able to work less and focus more of my time on school rather than trying to balance both throughout my whole degree. I would like to also say thank you to the readers and sponsors of this scholarship for taking the time to view mine and give a lucky winner this fantastic scholarship.

Both sides of my family have been diagnosed with mental illneses including depression and postpartum depression, anxiety, PTSD, bi-polar disorder, and suicide. My mental health journey began at only 12 years old. It started with depression, anxiety and self harm. I cut myself everyday for over a year and a half before I was caught and put in counseling, They prescribed me fluoxetine my first appointment and discharged me. I was 14 the first time I tried to kill myself, I took over 30 pain killers and had to be life flighted to another state because my heart started to fail by the time my parents got me there. It took them 3 days after I was medically cleared to get me into a mental hospital. I was there for 1-2 weeks where they tested my reaction to higher doses of my medication and sent me home. My little sister's journey started not long after mine and I felt solely responsible for her in a way. My parents couldn’t keep up with both of us rising and falling mentally. My sister found her way into a severe drug addiction at about 14 years old. Around the same time my physical health took a decline and I added up the symptoms to 2 pink lines, 14 days after my 16th birthday. I had to choose to focus on myself and my unborn daughter. I scrambled to fix my shattered life in the few months I had left after finally deciding to get help but I had never felt more alone in my whole life and my depression hit an all time low My physical health started to take a hit from all of the mental stress. I was diagnosed with Preeclampsia around 35 weeks. I was scheduled to be induced at 37 weeks and almost everything went smoothly. 8 hours into a rainy day in October I delivered her safely, it was after my heart broke 5 times. I was induced into a coma and diagnosed with stress induced cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome. Since then I've been hospitalized 2 more times due to postpartum depression and PTSD from dying. One was involuntary and I almost lost my life again, the next time I went voluntarily begging them to fix me for the sake of my daughter, she was all I had left. They tried more medications, counseling, more coping habits, they tried telling me I’ve been vitamin deficient the whole time and that had to be the cause of all my problems and prescribed me more medication on top of that but the more they tried the less I felt and less hope I had that I could ever be “fixed”. My experience with mental health within both myself and my family has heavily influenced my relationships. I had lots of support from my friends and family but over time I lost a lot of people. It has also changed my beliefs drastically since my run in with broken heart syndrome. I learned that mental health is connected to much more than just what we feel but also how our body functions. It was this medical crisis that led me to the career I am pursuing today. I am about to start school to be a radiologist, during my ultrasounds and echocardiograms I fell in love with diagnostic imaging and my mental health journey tied into all of it. With the help of this scholarship I would love to be able to put my story out there to show other people that there is hope.

Whether it’s a major life choice like going to college or something smaller like setting up a tent, at some point or another we have all faced something we couldn’t quite tackle alone. Despite growing up in a low income household and receiving an abundance of help growing up, I have always had an incredibly hard time being willing to ask for it. I remember always wanting to be able to find some way to do it myself, and anyone you asked that knew me would probably agree. That all changed when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter at just barely 16 years old. When I finally pieced all of my symptoms together like being sick all the time and not being able to sleep and took a pregnancy test, I was shocked to see those 2 pink lines and an uneasy and paranoid state of denial overtook me. Nearly 3 months into my pregnancy I finally came to my senses and told someone other than the biological father, I knew I could only pretend it wasn’t happening for so long before I started hurting someone other than myself and above all, I know there was no way in a million years I would have been ready to do something about this alone. Along with that, my baby daddy and I decided we wanted to try to have this baby together. I started with my school counselors, a very close teacher and my closest friends, the people I knew would be there to help me make a decision rather than what was to come as far as telling my parents. Despite nearly losing my life during childbirth and spending nearly a month in the hospital and ultimately being a single mother before she had even come out, we both survived my pregnancy and most importantly, I had a beautiful baby girl to worry about now. I received unending support and gifts from local church groups, the hospitals, my teachers, close friends, counselors, doctors, and there towards the end both my parents jumped on board, the list is huge. Flash forwards 3 years now and I am applying for this scholarship for a degree I am pursuing in Pre-Radiology. Without the abundance of help I have received I would not be where I am today, and I’m sure many people can say the same for someone somewhere at some point in their lives. If it were for the human ability to help each other like we can I believe we would not be as advanced, merciful, and emotionally developed as we are today. Sure anyone can find a way to get through a lot of life’s challenges alone and I applaud them for their strength and determination but even in nature survival comes in pairs and groups and numbers. People need people to survive, for support, guidance, advice, the list is never ending. I am writing this essay today about the importance of helping others in order to ask for assistance with my college financial situation. As a single mother I have been working for the last 2 years since I graduated from high school in order to set my life as an adult, now I am looking for an investment in our future. I am pursuing an associate degree at Lewis-Clark State College. I have obtained some financial aid already but it’s just enough to cover tuition and the cost of books and supplies. It has required me to take out loans for the first semester as well as for wonderful scholarships like this.

My name is Annika Snow, I am currently 20 years old with a 3 year old daughter. I enjoy writing and coloring with her, being outside together however we can and we’re both big music lovers. Flashback to 10th grade, I was on track to knock out the majority of my college prerequisite classes before I had even graduated high school. Until I started feeling very sick constantly, I had little to no energy and it became extremely hard to focus. I started to think,”maybe I was just about to start my period?” But I realized I hadn’t had one in 2 months. I took a pregnancy test a few weeks later and suddenly my world stopped. Getting pregnant just before my 16th birthday wasn’t exactly my first plan. When I first saw those 2 pink lines on the dollar store pregnancy test I had bought and snuck home, I denied it. My dads side of the family has a long line of teen pregnancies and my parents were determined to break the cycle. They engrained in us from a young age that we should stay on track with the order of life, go to school, graduate, go to college, graduate, start a career, buy a house, THAN start trying to have a family. My parents also believe in the importance of education. Neither of them attended college and I believe only one of them actually finished high school. They had to work countless hours in minimum wage jobs they really hated but always did anything and everything they could to support my little sister and I. When I finally came to my senses about everything that was happening I was nearly 3 months pregnant. I barely finished the year and failed the college classes I was taking, but I was determined to not let that stop me. I had more than just my own future to worry about now and I knew finishing school was going to help set me up to provide the best life I could for my family. I transferred to the alternative school that had a daycare In order to graduate, I was due in November of 2019 however my health was taking a severe toll from the pregnancy and I had to be induced. After child birth my health hit rock bottom and I flatlined 5 times due to a cardiomyopathy. I was put into a medically induced coma for and had to be hospitalized for 2 weeks. I had to miss an entire quarter of school in order to recover enough to come back however I was able to finish high school in January of 2021 6 months early. Now flashback to the present. I spent some time after school working in different medical jobs as my time in the hospital confirmed my want to be able to help people for a living. I tried medical assisting and being a DSP. Now I am looking to start college to be a radiology technician this August however, as a single mom with no financial support aside from FASFA I have had to use all my student aid grants and loans in order to pay for tuition alone. On top of that I will have to work as well in order to pay for my families cost of living. This scholarship would greatly reduce the financial burden of school and would help me be able to focus on my course work. I would be able to work less and have more overall time to dedicate myself to getting the best grades I can.

I think my greatest achievement to date might sound a little stereotypical at first, the birth of my daughter, but unlike most beautiful and intimate child births mine ended with me being intubated and medically induced into a coma. Being life flighted to a different state with slim odds of survival and without my newborn and family after flatlining 5 times. It all began around 35 weeks my usual OBGYN was out of town and I had a regular check up scheduled, they insisted I shouldn’t miss this appointment and they could get me in with their other OBGYN on shift. She ran all the ordinary tests and immediately noticed my blood pressure was unusually high after multiple attempts of taking it. They tested my urine and found high protein content and scheduled me to come in no more than a few days later to do a stress test for my unborn daughter. Around the end of my 36th week my doctors decided it was safer to induce premature labor than keep us together. I remember having my daughter and holding her for the first time. I remember being wheeled into my overnight suite in the hospital for my baby daddy and I. I remember having some chest pain and going to sleep, all to wake up nearly 3 days later in a different hospitals ICU. My parents and medical team told me it was a miracle I was awake as soon as I was, if at all. Within 2 weeks I was discharged to go home and finally be with my daughter. As miraculous as everything about my recovery was I wasn’t left unscathed. I was taking I believe 5 different medications multiple times a day, I was on a strict liquid and sodium intake restriction and had to hold off on returning to high school, going out to see friends or in general for the most part and hardest of all for me mentally I had to stop breastfeeding as well. I was very active as well before having my daughter, riding long boards, I played track, volleyball, and softball, I walked or rode my board everywhere and was extremely healthy. My mental state was getting worse and worse as I tried to adjust to my new normal and I only felt like I was falling behind or failing in every way, I felt alone against the world and trapped all at the same time. I’ve always been described as resilient and headstrong, independent and determined, this whole new kind of sadness brought a whole new kind of inspiration on the other side of it all. Spending so much time doing nothing only made me want to do more, and a few months later I was cleared to get back to doing more and more as I felt comfortable and was able to return to school to finish out my diploma. I graduated 6 months early with a 4.0 GPA for my senior year and have since then been working full time in order to set my family up for our future financially. We’ve got our own cars and our own place where the kids have their own rooms and we have our own place to flourish. Now after about 2 years off I am ready to go back to school in order to get into a career helping people in situations like my own. I am currently set to start my first year of the Pre-Radiologic Technology program at Lewis-Clark State College in August with the hopes I can get into a career I love taking care of people and my family. I would like to wrap this up by saying thank you to the reader/sponsors for taking their time and consideration to award this scholarship to a lucky low income student. There are countless people out there I believe have the capability to change the world but unfortunately the world doesn’t always make it easy for less fortunate people to shine due to the rising costs of schooling, ginormous loan terms and interest rates, or just simply because they haven’t been given the chance.

As someone who actively struggles with diagnosed mental health issues and has for approximately 8 years I know how important it is to maintain good mental health, and the consequences that can come from the latter. Although mental health is centered around the brain, chemicals, emotions and our day to day life it affects and stems from so much more. I have been in 3 different mental hospitals both voluntarily and against my will throughout my life due to suicidal ideation and tendencies. I have been diagnosed with and still struggle with severe depression, postpartum depression, anxiety, and minor PTSD. It took me years to be able to understand all these feelings and how to cope with them and as a result, combined with the physical and mental stress pregnancy had on my body, it took a deadly turn for the worse. I developed stress induced cardiomyopathy after delivering my daughter. Stress induced cardiomyopathy is better known as “Broken Heart Syndrome” and is defined as a weakening of the heart muscle due to significant emotional or physical stress. I was not expected to live more or less make the quick nearly full recovery I did but with the help of good doctors, being surrounded by lots of family and something short of a miracle. I still live with minor heart function decline to this day over 3 years later because of it as a constant reminder of the importance of taking care of my mind and emotions in order to maintain my physical health and well-being. Now being a full time 20 year old mom, college student, and working part time there’s even more on my plate than what broke me before, but I’ve learned many techniques to help me maintain my mental wellness and have so many supportive people in my life that I know I can count on when the going gets tough. I still have down days, weeks, and sometimes what feels like months or years but doing things I love like coloring, writing, photography, going for walks, playing with my kids, listening to music can be very uplifting! I’m not saying a coloring book is going to solve all the world’s problems but a little bit of quiet time and that deep focus can be very relieving. But sometimes the mental chaos of it all can’t be fixed with a walk to the park and that’s what took me the longest to learn to cope with. I’ve always struggled with a desire to be as independent as possible even from a young age so admitting that I maybe had a little too much on my plate for me to handle alone was near impossible it felt. On top of that who wants to vent their deepest inner secrets to a total stranger?…I never did well with the therapists or medications we tried but eventually began venting with my close friends and family when I needed help. Having a good support system has been vital to maintaining my mental health and keeping me self harm/suicide clean for going on 2 years! Learning it was okay to have someone to share the load with on days the world feels too heavy and braking the habit of hoarding it all to myself has definitely helped me maintain my wellness as well. In closing I would like to take an opportunity to say thank you for creating this wonderful idea for a scholarship! It is so uplifting to normalize talking about mental health like this and all the time and effort you have put in is greatly appreciated!

My name is Annika Snow, I am currently 20 years old and applying to LCSC for a 3 year Radiologic Technology degree. I have a 3 year old daughter am currently engaged to my fiancé who has a 4 year old son I also call my own. We both have been working full time to support our family as we just moved in together and try to figure our adult lives out together. Growing up my parents constantly nagged me to keep good grades and go to school, with neither of them surpassing high school educations they struggled day to day, paycheck to paycheck in jobs neither of them loved to say the least. They believed my little sister and I were full of potential and didn’t want us to have to spend our adult lives in a job we hated constantly worrying about money. Although my initial plans have been strewn about slightly and I’ve done a lot of lifes’ major milestones a little out of order It hasn’t deterred me from working to achieving my future goals. Ever since I was little I can always remember wanting to spend my life helping others in some way. Throughout my pregnancy my ultrasounds were my favorite part. Amidst all the chaos being pregnant at 16 brought I found peace being able to see everything that didn’t seem real. I had to be induced at 37 weeks due to Preeclampsia and had a tiny healthy baby, I however took a turn for the worse and developed broken heart syndrome, I flatlined 5 times and had to be induced into a coma and life flighted to a larger hospital. I missed an entire quarter of high school because of it and still graduated 6 months early. Since my cardiac episode I have had nearly 5-10 different echocardiograms over time In order to monitor my heart function. During one of my more recent scans I was watching the doctor observe my heart and realized, “maybe I could do this for someone else.” I found them fascinating and have developed a curiosity for the medical field. After a little bit of weighing out pros and cons along with making sure my family would be able to survive financially I finally made the decision to apply to Lewis-Clark State Colleges Pre-Radiographic Technology program without any real idea as to how I was going to be able to work, pay for bills, pay for school, take care of my family and myself all at the same time. Since then I have put in as many scholarship applications and essays as I can possibly squeeze in throughout any spare time I have in my day, applied for FASFA and accepted all possible student aid grants and Unsubsidized and Subsidized loans I am currently eligible for and it’s just barely enough for me to start my first semester this coming August. Additionally I greatly appreciate the time and effort you as the reader/sponsor have taken in order to offer this scholarship to students and thank you again. Yours truly, Annika Snow

What makes me a non-traditional student? Well, to keep it short and sweet I had a baby at 16 and died 5 times having her and still finished high school 6 months early. Allow me to give a little more context, Starting high school I was a pretty stellar student, I was taking duel-credit college classes and I have always maintained good grades I was always an “A’s and B’s” type of student. During my sophomore year I started struggling with my health mentally and physically which in return caused me to start struggling in school. I spent more time in the bathroom waiting for everyone to leave so I could throw up than I did in class and started falling behind. I found out I was pregnant and things only went downhill from there. I refused to believe it myself and didn’t tell anyone for months. By the time I came out of my ignorance I was too far behind in my classes for it to make any difference how hard I tried but I still had time to take care of my daughter properly. I finished out my sophomore year and transferred to an alternative school that next year where I would be allowed to bring my daughter to school and to graduate earlier. I had to be induced 3 weeks early due to medical complications and not long after my daughter was born my heart literally broke and I flat lined 5 times, I was induced into a coma and life flighted to a bigger hospital. Doctors didn’t expect me to come out of the coma for months…if at all. But a few days later I was awake and within 2 weeks of arriving at the hospital I was ready to walk myself out. My doctors advised me not to go back to school for the rest of the semester as my heart was not strong enough for it and put me on loose bed rest. Despite being set back so many times I finished high school in February of 2021 and have since then started a whole adult life for my family. Now I am enrolled to start school August of 2023 to become a Radiologic Technologist and unfortunately am struggling with the financial aid side of school. I have taken out student loans to carry me for my first semester but am looking for as much help as possible throughout the next 2 years of school. I am a headstrong individual with a family and a healed broken heart that motivate me to do the very best possible for everyone involved. I would also like to take the time to say thank you for this opportunity and taking me into consideration.

My name is Annika Snow, I am currently 20 years old and I have a 3 year old daughter. Getting pregnant at 16 and flatlining 5 times after child birth was definitely not my plan but I have always been described as resilient. Although my plans had admittedly shifted just a bit I was determined to give myself, and now my daughter the best life possible. I loved watching my ultrasounds, it was the only way I was able to get a glimpse at the little life I was now focusing mine around. Around 30 weeks my doctors started noticing issues and they decided to induce me for the safety of both myself and my daughter at 37 weeks due to Preeclampsia. My Preeclampsia became worse after she was born and my health declined farther, my lungs began to fill with blood, my liver began to fail, and ultimately my heart stopped multiple times. If it wasn’t for the quick help of my doctors my slim chances of survival could have been none. Since than I am now required to have yearly echocardiograms and ekgs to monitor my heart and although it all stems from the most chaotic day of my life, watching my heart beat on the monitor screen and the blood flowing through my arteries is truly incredible to me. Modern medicine saves lives and this experience in particular brought that to light for me. I am now going to school to be a radiologic technologist so I can learn to use the very technologies that saved my life and hopefully do the same for someone else! So what does all this have to do with how I plan to make a positive impact on the world through my career you ask? Radiology in itself is a preventative/diagnostic form of medicine meant to help doctors see through human skin into the body in order to find the best way to treat or diagnose an issue. From being able to find small tumors or the best path to operate on widespread cancer to checking a mothers unborn child because she hasn’t felt them kick today I truly believe that the preventative measures of radiology make a huge difference in the medical treatment that is provided today and without it a lot of people who have been saved by an x-ray or an MRI or any kind of medical imaging might not be here today. I believe with the passion and drive I have I can truly make an impact on peoples lives and medical care.