Hi my name is Ashley Heath-Flores, I am a 33 yr old woman living in New Mexico, who is going to be going to college this fall for welding. I've had alot of set backs over the last few years and haven't been able to pursue my career goals because of it. I've always enjoyed working with my hands, as my father had taught me alot growing up. He used to let me watch and help him with small jobs he was doing as a construction worker and taught me how to use some tools. He had always taught me to be self sufficient and to follow my dreams. He was a construction worker, had his own company and did some welding on the side. I've always been interested in welding since then and decided it's something I'd like to pursue as a career, and had always been told its not possible for someone like me since I am small and have health issues. But I want to prove I am capable and just...why not? Its always been an interest to me, so why not make it a career? I want to be able to provide and take care of my family and show my nieces and nephews that you can do anything you set your mind to. I want to show them that over anything else, be yourself and don't let anything get in your way or keep you from living your life and making your dreams become reality. I have several factors against me going into this field , but take pride in showing people I can do anything and proving that despite my small size and being a female I am capable. I believe I can help other women or people who have had alot of set backs in life like me, by showing them that if you focus and fight hard enough for your dreams they can still happen. I wanna show people that persistence and determination go a long way and to not limit yourself. I've worked most of my life in warehouses and manufacturing. I ran machines making clamps and ears for solar panels, learned what to look for in the material and do basic quality control on my work, I have also done small maintenance repairs on these machines, and have some maintenance experience to go with it. I've also learned blueprint reading and understanding measurements and work orders.

My name is Ashley Heath-Flores, I am a 32 year old woman, and I come from a lower middle class background growing up, living with family members, and was in and out of foster homes, I have seen what it's like to struggle to make it from paycheck to paycheck both through them and personally. I've also been at a low enough point where I have lived in homeless shelters, couldn't hold a job for very long, and was down on my luck as a young adult that didn’t have much guidance going out into the world on her own. Its very stressful not knowing if your going to be able to pay the bills on time, or if your going to be able to pay rent in full, as well as severely budgeting to be able to do so, and barely having money to scrape together from whatever pennies are left over for food and gas to be able to make it to work so you can make that next paycheck. Not to mention the unexpected expenses and emergencies that like to come up, or having to take out a personal loan to be able to sleep a little better at night knowing things are taken care of for the moment. I'm trying to improve my future and my families future by continuing my education and attending college for welding, so I can pursue a decent career, and make more than enough money to live comfortably and provide for my family and be able to give them what they want aside from just essentials and bare basics. I also want to be able to start a savings account for my niece and have money saved up for when I am able to have children of my own. I want to be able to pass down something of value to my own children and my niece so they don't have to struggle and face what I have had to. I want to be able to prove that despite circumstances, they can find a way to make their lives better not just with money, as well as share my knowledge and hardships to they can learn a better way other than finding out on their own. Continuing my education and getting this scholarship would be a step in the right direction for me to be able to achieve this goal and become the provider in my family that I have always wanted to become. Not only that but I will then prove to myself that I can do this.

I lost my adoptive father due to a canoeing accident and he was a major influence in my life. He taught me to depend only on myself and never rely on other people to do things for me. He taught me how to be driven and determined to reach my goals by setting an example. I also lost my biological father to a cocaine addiction, and I am striving to break the chain of addiction and alcohol abuse in my family by doing better for myself and my family. I have struggled with these losses but have learned alot from them. I want to go to college to do welding so when I have kids of my own I can show them that through hard work and determination you can do anything you set your mind to. Losing my adopted father took a toll on me. I struggled with severe depression and suffered because of my adopted mothers depression and lack of care. I became self sufficient at a very young age because of this, but learned alot of life skills from my adopted father. He taught me alot of basic maintenance work and carpentry. I hope to continue my education so I can be a good example to my own family.