If I close my eyes, I can still feel my grandmother’s hands on my shoulders. It was our tradition, our special time. It began when I was five years old, recovering from major neck surgery at the University of Michigan. A team of skilled surgeons removed part of my hip bone and fused my neck to treat a rare birth defect. I was born missing the left side of vertebrae C2 through C5, and the surgeons told my parents it was only the second surgery of its kind they had performed. They believed it would give me a more “normal” life. They were right in many ways, but it also left me with a lifetime of tense shoulders, neck aches, and a constant need for chiropractic and massage care. The first person to ease that pain was my grandmother. She was not a trained massage therapist, but she had a healing touch. Those moments with her taught me that touch can do more than relax muscles. It can soothe fears, quiet the mind, and make someone feel truly cared for. Fast forward 30 years, and I found myself sitting in a postpartum fog, asking myself, “What is your purpose?” while playing *What Was I Made For?* by Billie Eilish on repeat. Before my youngest was born, I spent over a decade in the marketing and advertising world, working with brands that made a difference in people’s lives. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising Media and Management from Michigan State University, and for many years I poured my energy into creative work that connected with people. But the industry changed. The creativity and soul I loved had been replaced by automation, and when my entire marketing team was laid off, I realized the spark I once felt was gone. I still had my small dog waste cleanup business, something I had started in 2020 with the idea of eventually passing it on to my children. While it had value, it was not fulfilling my deeper desire to make a lasting difference in people’s lives. Then a simple conversation changed everything. At my WIC office, while I waited for a benefits renewal appointment, the lactation consultant struck up a conversation with me. We talked about my son, my breastfeeding experience, the creative ways I had used WIC benefits to support baby-led feeding, my history of teaching babywearing, and my passion for birth work. She looked at me and said, “You need to be working in this field. You need to be with mothers and babies. You have so much knowledge and love to share. Have you ever considered doing something in the birth and maternity world?” My answer came without hesitation. “Yes, for many years, but I do not have the money to change careers.” Her words stayed with me for months. They pushed me to take the leap and begin training to become a DONA-certified birth doula. The more I studied, the more I knew I had found my calling. Then, in March, I saw a post from SOMA about their weekend massage therapy program. I felt the same tug at my heart that I had felt in my grandmother’s hands decades earlier. I knew this was the perfect complement to my doula work, a way to help others heal through touch just as she helped me. Massage therapy will allow me to expand my services to offer prenatal and postnatal massage, creating a full circle of care for families. During pregnancy and the postpartum period, a parent’s body carries not only the physical demands of new life but also the emotional and mental weight that comes with it. I want to be there in those moments, providing relief, support, and connection. I believe that compassionate touch and informed support can transform the journey of pregnancy and parenthood. My goal is to create a safe, nurturing space where every parent feels cared for in mind, body, and spirit, a space where they can breathe deeply, release tension, and feel truly seen. Earning my massage therapy degree will allow me to merge my personal history, my doula training, and my lifelong passion for helping others. This scholarship would not only help make that education possible, it would allow me to carry forward the healing legacy my grandmother began all those years ago.