My name is Chelsy Woods and I am from the native village of Ambler, Alaska.I have been accepted to the University of Alaska Anchorage. I am planning to major in fine arts and music. Music has been like therapy to me during my time in Ambler. I have found the winters here to be long and never ending. The cold weather makes me feel like I am trapped indoors with nowhere else to go. I listen to it so I can de-stress, relax, and tune out the rest of the world around me. Because music has healed me, and continues to help me grow, I would like to become a music teacher. Ambler school does not have a music program, so I had to figure out my own way of coping and healing from the challenges around me. I feel like a music program would promote the same type of healing and relaxation for the children and people of Ambler. The most challenging aspect in my life has been living away from my parents. At the age of nine, I was taken away from my parents and placed into foster care. Since that age, I have lived in various places with different people including Nome, Kotzebue, Shungnak, and Ambler. I have always wanted to leave the village after high school and move to a bigger city to make something of myself. I have aspirations to earn a degree and start a career to not only help myself, but to inspire others, especially children in the foster care system. If I receive this scholarship, I plan to use the funds to help pay for school so I can eventually earn my degree and come back to villages like Ambler to help children develop a love for art and music like myself.

My name is Chelsy Woods and I am from the native village of Ambler, Alaska. I moved to Ambler from Nome at the end of 2017. I have attended school in Ambler since then as well and I will graduate in May 2022. Since attending Ambler School, I learned that I have trouble reading long passages out loud. This has made it difficult to understand what I am reading, along with writing. Although I have trouble with this, my teachers and principals have helped me overcome this obstacle by teaching strategies that help with this area of difficulty. By learning these strategies, I have been able to help my younger cousins learn how to read and write. During my time at Ambler, I was also involved in Youth Leaders, cross country, volleyball, and Native Youth Olympics. I also spent my time volunteering at basketball games where I helped run the concession stand and cleaned up after the game. I helped teachers and staff decorate the school for seasonal events, such as Christmas and graduation. I have been accepted to the University of Alaska Anchorage. I am planning to major in fine arts and music. Music has been like therapy to me during my time in Ambler. I have found the winters here to be long and never ending. The cold weather makes me feel like I am trapped indoors with nowhere else to go. I listen to it so I can de-stress, relax, and tune out the rest of the world around me. Because music has healed me, and continues to help me grow, I would like to become a music teacher. Ambler school does not have a music program, so I had to figure out my own way of coping and healing from the challenges around me. I feel like a music program would promote the same type of healing and relaxation for the children and people of Ambler. The most challenging aspect in my life has been living away from my parents. At the age of nine, I was taken away from my parents and placed into foster care. Since that age, I have lived in various places with different people including Nome, Kotzebue, Shungnak, and Ambler. I have always wanted to leave the village after high school and move to a bigger city to make something of myself. I have aspirations to earn a degree and start a career to not only help myself, but to inspire others, especially children in the foster care system. If I receive this scholarship, I plan to use the funds to help pay for school so I can eventually earn my degree and come back to villages like Ambler to help children develop a love for art and music like myself.