Being a first-generation college student has been amazing. I have always dreamed of going to college and becoming a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend college and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the stark lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. But I was undeterred. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. During my freshman and sophomore year at A&T, I continued to excel academically, maintaining a stellar GPA and maintaining the Chancellor's List. My commitment to education extends beyond the classroom. I am actively involved in campus organizations and community service initiatives, using my platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to under served communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Scholarships play a crucial role in my educational journey, providing the financial support I need to continue pursuing my goals. Each scholarship I receive not only alleviates the financial burden of tuition and expenses but also serves as a validation of my hard work and dedication. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that scholarships have afforded me, and I am committed to paying it forward by using my education to uplift and empower others. I am driven by a desire to break barriers, defy expectations, and create opportunities for myself and others as well as my community. Through education, advocacy, and service, I am committed to making a meaningful impact in my community and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship.

I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend college and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the stark lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. But I was undeterred. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. During my freshman and sophomore year at A&T, I continued to excel academically, maintaining a stellar GPA and maintaining the Chancellor's List. My commitment to education extends beyond the classroom. I am actively involved in campus organizations and community service initiatives, using my platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to under served communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Scholarships play a crucial role in my educational journey, providing the financial support I need to continue pursuing my goals. Each scholarship I receive not only alleviates the financial burden of tuition and expenses but also serves as a validation of my hard work and dedication. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that scholarships have afforded me, and I am committed to paying it forward by using my education to uplift and empower others. I am driven by a desire to break barriers, defy expectations, and create opportunities for myself and others as well as my community. Through education, advocacy, and service, I am committed to making a meaningful impact in my community and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship.

I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend college and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the stark lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. But I was undeterred. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. During my freshman and sophomore year at A&T, I continued to excel academically, maintaining a stellar GPA and maintaining the Chancellor's List. My commitment to education extends beyond the classroom. I am actively involved in campus organizations and community service initiatives, using my platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to under served communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Scholarships play a crucial role in my educational journey, providing the financial support I need to continue pursuing my goals. Each scholarship I receive not only alleviates the financial burden of tuition and expenses but also serves as a validation of my hard work and dedication. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that scholarships have afforded me, and I am committed to paying it forward by using my education to uplift and empower others. I am driven by a desire to break barriers, defy expectations, and create opportunities for myself and others as well as my community. Through education, advocacy, and service, I am committed to making a meaningful impact in my community and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship.

I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend college and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the stark lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. During my freshman and sophomore year at A&T, I continued to excel academically, maintaining a stellar GPA and maintaining the Chancellor's List. My commitment to education extends beyond the classroom. I am actively involved in campus organizations and community service initiatives, using my platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to under served communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Scholarships play a crucial role in my educational journey, providing the financial support I need to continue pursuing my goals. Each scholarship I receive not only alleviates the financial burden of tuition and expenses but also serves as a validation of my hard work and dedication. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that scholarships have afforded me, and I am committed to paying it forward by using my education to uplift and empower others. In conclusion, my journey as a student and aspiring veterinarian is deeply rooted in my family's legacy of resilience and determination. I am driven by a desire to break barriers, defy expectations, and create opportunities for myself and others. Through education, advocacy, and service, I am committed to making a meaningful impact in my community and beyond. With the support of scholarships and a dedicated resolve, I am confident that I can continue to pursue my dreams and inspire positive change in the world. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to apply for this scholarship.

I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend college and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. During my freshman and sophomore year at A&T, I continued to excel academically, maintaining a stellar GPA and maintaining the Chancellor's List. My commitment to education extends beyond the classroom. I am actively involved in campus organizations and community service initiatives, using my platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession.I volunteered at the local animal shelter, a farm and helped at a dog grooming and self serve dog wash facility. I really love being around animals and helping in any kind of way I can to see the animals happy. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to under-served communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Scholarships play a crucial role in my educational journey, providing the financial support I need to continue pursuing my goals. Each scholarship I receive not only alleviates the financial burden of tuition and expenses but also serves as a validation of my hard work and dedication. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that scholarships have afforded me, and I am committed to paying it forward by using my education to uplift and empower others.

I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend college and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the stark lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. But I was undeterred. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. During my freshman and sophomore year at A&T, I continued to excel academically, maintaining a stellar GPA and maintaining the Chancellor's List. My commitment to education extends beyond the classroom. I am actively involved in campus organizations and community service initiatives, using my platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to under served communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Scholarships play a crucial role in my educational journey, providing the financial support I need to continue pursuing my goals. Each scholarship I receive not only alleviates the financial burden of tuition and expenses but also serves as a validation of my hard work and dedication. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that scholarships have afforded me, and I am committed to paying it forward by using my education to uplift and empower others. I am driven by a desire to break barriers, defy expectations, and create opportunities for myself and others as well as my community. Through education, advocacy, and service, I am committed to making a meaningful impact in my community and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry, and I learned from all my pets. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferrets taught me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to underserved communities. During my freshman and sophomore year at North Carolina A&T, I continued to excel academically, maintaining a stellar GPA and earning recognition on the Chancellor's List. My commitment to education extends beyond the classroom. I am actively involved in campus organizations and community service initiatives, using my platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession.

I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the stark lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. But I was undeterred. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry, and I learned from all my pets. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferret was sick, and I had to hand feed her. It took her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to underserved communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

During my freshman and sophomore year at A&T, I continued to excel academically, maintaining a stellar GPA and earning recognition on the Chancellor's List. My commitment to education extends beyond the classroom. I am actively involved in campus organizations and community service initiatives, using my platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend a HBCU college and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the stark lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. But I was undeterred. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to underserved communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Scholarships play a crucial role in my educational journey, providing the financial support I need to continue pursuing my goals. Each scholarship I receive not only alleviates the financial burden of tuition and expenses but also serves as a validation of my hard work and dedication. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that scholarships have afforded me, and I am committed to paying it forward by using my education to uplift and empower others. In conclusion, my journey as a student and aspiring veterinarian is deeply rooted in my family's legacy of resilience and determination. I am driven by a desire to break barriers, defy expectations, and create opportunities for myself and others. Through education, advocacy, and service, I am committed to making a meaningful impact in my community and beyond. With the support of scholarships and a dedicated resolve, I am confident that I can continue to pursue my dreams and inspire positive change in the world. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

I was drawn to the idea of caring for animals and making a difference in their lives. However, as an African American, I was aware of the challenges and disparities that existed within the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.2% of veterinarians in the United States are Black, highlighting the stark lack of diversity in the field. Despite these statistics, I remained determined to pursue my dream. I understood that I would have to work twice as hard and overcome numerous obstacles to achieve my goals. But I was undeterred. I saw my journey as an opportunity to defy expectations and pave the way for future generations of aspiring veterinarians, especially those from underrepresented communities. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry, and I learned from all my pets. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferret was sick and I had to hand feed her. It took her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I am determined to continue my education and pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian. But more than that, I am committed to using my education and expertise to make a positive impact in my community and beyond. One of my long-term goals is to establish a low-cost vaccination clinic in my hometown, providing essential veterinary services to underserved communities. I believe that access to quality veterinary care should not be determined by one's socioeconomic status, and I am passionate about addressing this disparity through tangible action. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

Hi, my name is Destiny Love. I value education because members of my family were denied the ability to attend school, experienced segregated schools and had to overcome exclusion. Over the years my family’s accomplishments had motivated me to want more. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend an HBCU and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. Embarking on my journey in animal science and veterinary medicine, my commitment to ongoing education is more than just a personal goal- it’s a pledge for positive change in the animal industry. As an aspiring veterinarian specializing in animal science, my commitment to continuous education is driven by the desire to contribute to the field, break barriers, and inspire future generations. The field of veterinary medicine has historically lacked diversity. Continuing my education provides me with the knowledge and skills necessary to actively engage with communities, especially those traditionally underrepresented in veterinary care. My goal is to bridge the gap between pet owners and veterinary professionals, fostering trust and improving the health outcomes of animals in different communities. My continued education is a vital step towards achieving my goal in the veterinary profession since there are only 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US. By taking advantage of my education, I hope to inspire future generations of Black veterinarians, fostering a more inclusive and equitable future for animal care.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry, and I learned from all my pets. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress.They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferret was sick and I had to hand feed her. It took her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with pets like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I am sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. Embarking on my journey in animal science and veterinary medicine, my commitment to ongoing education is more than just a personal goal- it’s a pledge for positive change in the animal industry. Continuing my education serves as my pathway to empower excellence in veterinary medicine. As an aspiring veterinarian specializing in animal science, my commitment to continuous education is driven by the desire to contribute to the field, break barriers, and inspire future generations. The field of veterinary medicine has historically lacked diversity. By continuing my education, it provides me with the knowledge and skills necessary to actively engage with communities, especially those traditionally underrepresented in veterinary care. Once I become a veterinarian I would love to bridge the gap between pet owners and veterinary professionals, fostering trust and improving the health outcomes of animals in different communities.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with pets like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I am sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. As an African American and pursing the career of a Veterinarian the statistics is very low. According to the US Bureau of Labor there are about 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US which means I have to strive and push even harder. I value education because members of my family were denied the ability to attend school, experienced segregated schools and had to overcome exclusion. Over the years my family’s accomplishments had motivated me to want more. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend an HBCU and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. With my education and becoming a Veterinarian I will financially be able to help my parents and my community. I will be able to help my community with a low-cost vaccination clinic in our area which is desperately needed. It is unfair to the pets that their parents can’t afford vaccinations and the pet end up sick. My goal is to make our community a better place for the people and animals. By me continuing my education it will show other young African Americans that have an interest in the animal industry that it’s possible for them to achieve their goals even though the percentage is so low for us. I‘m currently a Sophomore at North Carolina A&T and maintaining the honor roll. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will help me tremendously so I can continue to further my education. Embarking on my journey in animal science and veterinary medicine, my commitment to ongoing education is more than just a personal goal- it’s a pledge for positive change in the animal industry. Continuing my education serves as my pathway to empower excellence in veterinary medicine. As an aspiring veterinarian specializing in animal science, my commitment to continuous education is driven by the desire to contribute to the field, break barriers, and inspire future generations.

Hi, my name is Destiny Love. I'm currently a Sophomore at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and I’m maintaining the honor roll. By me attending an agricultural university it has opened my eyes to a variety of things in this industry. I have learned that animal agriculture is huge and there is a lot to learn about food safety and animal health along with animal welfare. I’ve learned and properly done the humane way of slaughtering a chicken and processing it for meat. I’m currently a Vegetarian and been one for the last 10 years so agricultural land and crops is important to me. To further my education in agriculture I have applied for internships to work and learn about foodborne pathogens, and how microorganisms are distributed through farms, water soils, plants, fruits and vegetables. My vision and future goals to the agriculture industry would be to find methods to detect, reduce and treat foodborne contamination that is responsible for foodborne illnesses. Another contribution would be to determine the presence of parasites in animals, produce and water that pose a risk to humans. Embarking on my journey in animal science and veterinary medicine, my commitment to ongoing education is more than just a personal goal- it’s a pledge for positive change in the animal industry. Continuing my education serves as my pathway to empower excellence in veterinary medicine. As an aspiring veterinarian specializing in animal science, my commitment to continuous education is driven by the desire to contribute to the field, break barriers, and inspire future generations. The field of veterinary medicine has historically lacked diversity. Continuing my education provides me with the knowledge and skills necessary to actively engage with communities, especially those traditionally underrepresented in veterinary care. My goal is to bridge the gap between pet owners and veterinary professionals, fostering trust and improving the health outcomes of animals in different communities. I would love to be able to help my community with a low-cost vaccination clinic in our area which is desperately needed. My continued education is a vital step towards achieving excellence in the veterinary profession since there are only 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US. By taking advantage of my education, I hope to inspire future generations of black veterinarians, fostering a more inclusive and equitable future for animal care. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. If I’m selected this would be a true financial blessing for myself and my parents.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with pets like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I am sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. As an African American and pursing the career of a Veterinarian the statistics is very low. According to the US Bureau of Labor there are about 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US which means I have to strive and push even harder. I value education because members of my family were denied the ability to attend school, experienced segregated schools and had to overcome exclusion. Over the years my family’s accomplishments had motivated me to want more. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend an HBCU and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. With my education and becoming a Veterinarian I will financially be able to help my parents and my community. I will be able to help my community with a low-cost vaccination clinic in our area which is desperately needed. It is unfair to the pets that their parents can’t afford vaccinations and the pet end up sick. My goal is to make our community a better place for the people and animals. By me continuing my education it will show other young African Americans that have an interest in the animal industry that it’s possible for them to achieve their goals even though the percentage is so low for us. I‘m currently a Sophomore at North Carolina A&T and maintaining the honor roll. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will help me tremendously so I can continue to further my education. Embarking on my journey in animal science and veterinary medicine, my commitment to ongoing education is more than just a personal goal- it’s a pledge for positive change in the animal industry. Continuing my education serves as my pathway to empower excellence in veterinary medicine. As an aspiring veterinarian specializing in animal science, my commitment to continuous education is driven by the desire to contribute to the field, break barriers, and inspire future generations. The field of veterinary medicine has historically lacked diversity. Continuing my education provides me with the knowledge and skills necessary to actively engage with communities, especially those traditionally underrepresented in veterinary care.

As an African American and pursing the career of a Veterinarian the statistics is very low. According to the US Bureau of Labor there are about 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US which means I have to strive and push even harder. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend college and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. With my education and becoming a Veterinarian I will financially be able to help my parents and my community. I will help my community with a low-cost vaccination clinic which is desperately needed. My goal is to make our community a better place for the people and animals. By continuing my education, it will show other young African Americans that have an interest in the animal industry that it’s possible for them to achieve their goals even though the percentage is so low for us. I‘m currently a Sophomore at North Carolina A&T and maintaining honor roll. This scholarship will help me tremendously so I can continue to further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life. Having pets made me realize how much I want to work in the animal industry. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with pets like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I'm sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferret was sick and I had to hand feed her. It took her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. They are also very nonchalant animals meaning they are very chill pets; they do not always want to cuddle with you or be in your face they would rather just sleep all day or be to themself. My turtle impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. My goal is to bridge the gap between pet owners and veterinary professionals, fostering trust and improving the health outcomes of animals in different communities fostering a more inclusive and equitable future for animal care.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life. Having pets made me realize how much I want to work in the animal industry. My favorite animal is a dog, but I have learned so much from all my pets. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with pets like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I am sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down.  My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferret was sick and I had to hand feed her. It took her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. They are also very nonchalant animals meaning they are very chill pets; they do not always want to cuddle with you or be in your face they would rather just sleep all day or be to themself. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. The field of veterinary medicine has historically lacked diversity. Continuing my education provides me with the knowledge and skills necessary to actively engage with communities, especially those traditionally underrepresented in veterinary care. My goal is to bridge the gap between pet owners and veterinary professionals, fostering trust and improving the health outcomes of animals in different communities.

Embarking on my journey in animal science and veterinary medicine, my commitment to ongoing education is more than just a personal goal- it’s a pledge for positive change in the animal industry. Continuing my education serves as my pathway to empower excellence in veterinary medicine. As an aspiring veterinarian specializing in animal science, my commitment to continuous education is driven by the desire to contribute to the field, break barriers, and inspire future generations. My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with pets like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I am sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down.  My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. The field of veterinary medicine has historically lacked diversity. Continuing my education provides me with the knowledge and skills necessary to actively engage with communities, especially those traditionally underrepresented in veterinary care. My goal is to bridge the gap between pet owners and veterinary professionals, fostering trust and improving the health outcomes of animals in different communities. My continued education is a vital step towards achieving excellence in the veterinary profession since there are only 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US. By taking advantage of my education, I hope to inspire future generations of Black veterinarians, fostering a more inclusive and equitable future for animal care.

Hi, my name is Destiny Love and I'm currently a sophmore at North Carolina A&T. My interest in becoming a veterinarian sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry, and I learned from all my pets. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, their being around me lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferret was sick and I had to hand-feed her. It took her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me the least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life, I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

As an African American pursuing a career as a Veterinarian, the statistics are very low. According to the US Bureau of Labor there are about 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US which means I must strive and push even harder. I value education because members of my family were denied the ability to attend school, experienced segregated schools and had to overcome exclusion. Over the years my family’s accomplishments have motivated me to want more. My interest in becoming a veterinarian has sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend an HBCU and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. With my education and becoming a Veterinarian, I will financially be able to help my parents and my community. I will be able to help my community with a low-cost vaccination clinic in our area which is desperately needed. It is unfair to the pets that their parents can’t afford vaccinations and the pet ends up sick. My goal is to make our community a better place for people and animals. By continuing my education it will show other young African Americans that have an interest in the animal industry that they can achieve their goals even though the percentage is so low for us. I’m currently a full-time Sophomore at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and maintaining all A’s in my academics. Due to my academic achievement, I met the criteria to be a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. If I was selected to receive this scholarship it would help me out tremendously and go towards my books, and tuition and take some pressure off my mom from applying for loans. My mom did not want me to work while I’m in school she told me to focus on school and strive to do the best I could do, and she would take care of the financial part and make payments. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry, and I learned from all my pets. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, their being around me lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferret was sick and I had to hand-feed her. It took her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me the least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life, I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

As an African American pursuing a career as a Veterinarian, the statistics are very low. According to the US Bureau of Labor there are about 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US which means I must strive and push even harder. I value education because members of my family were denied the ability to attend school, experienced segregated schools and had to overcome exclusion. Over the years my family’s accomplishments have motivated me to want more. My interest in becoming a veterinarian has sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend an HBCU and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. With my education and becoming a Veterinarian, I will financially be able to help my parents and my community. I will be able to help my community with a low-cost vaccination clinic in our area which is desperately needed. It is unfair to the pets that their parents can’t afford vaccinations and the pet ends up sick. My goal is to make our community a better place for people and animals. By continuing my education it will show other young African Americans that have an interest in the animal industry that they can achieve their goals even though the percentage is so low for us. I’m currently a full-time Sophomore at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and maintaining all A’s in my academics. Due to my academic achievement, I met the criteria to be a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. If I was selected to receive this scholarship it would help me out tremendously and go towards my books, and tuition and take some pressure off my mom from applying for loans. My mom did not want me to work while I’m in school she told me to focus on school and strive to do the best I could do, and she would take care of the financial part and make payments. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

As an African American pursuing a career as a Veterinarian, the statistics are very low. According to the US Bureau of Labor there are about 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US which means I must strive and push even harder. I value education because members of my family were denied the ability to attend school, experienced segregated schools and had to overcome exclusion. Over the years my family’s accomplishments have motivated me to want more. My interest in becoming a veterinarian has sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend an HBCU and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. With my education and becoming a Veterinarian, I will financially be able to help my parents and my community. I will be able to help my community with a low-cost vaccination clinic in our area which is desperately needed. It is unfair to the pets that their parents can’t afford vaccinations and the pet ends up sick. My goal is to make our community a better place for people and animals. By continuing my education it will show other young African Americans that have an interest in the animal industry that they can achieve their goals even though the percentage is so low for us. I’m currently a full-time Sophomore at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and maintaining all A’s in my academics. Due to my academic achievement, I met the criteria to be a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. If I was selected to receive this scholarship it would help me out tremendously and go towards my books, and tuition and take some pressure off my mom from applying for loans. My mom did not want me to work while I’m in school she told me to focus on school and strive to do the best I could do, and she would take care of the financial part and make payments. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. Having pets made me realize how much I wanted to work in the animal industry, and I learned from all my pets. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, their being around me lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box. My ferret was sick and I had to hand-feed her. It took her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me the least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and appreciate the time. Due to those animals being in my life, I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

As an African American pursing the career as a Veterinarian the statistics are very low. According to the US Bureau of Labor there are about 1.2% Black Veterinarians in the US which means I must strive and push even harder. I value education because members of my family were denied the ability to attend school, experienced segregated schools and had to overcome exclusion. Over the years my family’s accomplishments have motivated me to want more. My interest in becoming a veterinarian has sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I have always dreamed of being a Veterinarian and now that I have the opportunity to attend an HBCU and pursue my career this will benefit my family and community. With my education and becoming a Veterinarian, I will financially be able to help my parents and my community. I will be able to help my community with a low-cost vaccination clinic in our area which is desperately needed. It is unfair to the pets that their parents can’t afford vaccinations and the pet ends up sick. My goal is to make our community a better place for people and animals. By continuing my education it will show other young African Americans that have an interest in the animal industry that they can achieve their goals even though the percentage is so low for us. I’m currently a full-time Sophomore at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and maintaining all A’s in my academics. Due to my academic achievement, I met the criteria to be a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. If I was selected to receive this scholarship it would help me out tremendously and go towards my books, and tuition and take some pressure off my mom from applying for loans. My mom did not want me to work while I’m in school she told me to focus on school and strive to do the best I could do, and she would take care of the financial part and make payments. I will continue to apply for scholarships and any scholarship I receive will allow me to continue and further my education and be an inspiration to our youth and community.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and learning more about myself and my family. My mother owns her own dog salon. I've been working and helping out there since I could walk, and it has opened my eyes to the animal and the customer service industry as a whole. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. I went from seeing and caring for other people's pets to owning 2 ferrets, 5 dogs, and a turtle to care for on my own. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own online business, then got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA in the International Baccalaureate Program. I was the only student in my class to pass and receive the State of Maryland Seal of Biliteracy in English and French. Having pets made me realize how much I want to work in the animal industry. After attending North Carolina, A&T State University, I plan to use my degree in Animal Science to not only help my community but to have a safe place for animals that may be hurt or abandoned. I plan on extending my parents doggie salon into an animal hospital. Someday I also plan on extending it into an animal shelter. This will be a trustworthy place for people in my community to bring their animals. By making it into a shelter I will also be able to get most of the stray animals off the streets to make the community feel more safe for those in it. I plan to better my community with this business by creating a place for not only animals but for peoples pets to get washed, groomed, and taken care of medically by obtaining their necessary shots. This will also better the community by getting stray animals out the streets such as stray cats which is very common in most areas. I plan to use my education to make a positive contribution to the community and wider society by not only furthering my knowledge but also the knowledge of the generations after me. I will use my degree to do big things

Growing up I have always felt more comfortable around people of the same color as me. The feeling of comfort for me helped me be myself at all times and led me to choose the career I want to be in today. Around people of my color I never felt judged or misunderstood because in a way we have all been through some of the same journeys. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. An HBCU is the right school for me because I can continue to feel like I can be myself and pursue my dreams with no judgment. It is also important to me that I honor the African-Americans before me and think about the things that happened for us to be able to have an education. HBCUs were created with the sole purpose of educating African-Americans and that is why I can go there to make everyone before me proud. An HBCU is the type of environment I want to learn in.

It cost nothing to be generous to people. If more people are willing to help each other this world would be so much better. I have helped so many of my peers by opening up and talking about my mental health. By me doing this it made them understand it's okay to talk about their feelings and mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. I am able to look back on my mental health obstacle and learn from it by realizing that it was only motivation for me to get myself up and be great. I have influenced so many of my peers and possibly saved a life by talking about something that is very sensitive that we call Mental Health. I will continue to talk about mental health to help people understand it is okay to share your emotions and seek therapy if needed.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know, with helping me with my goals. My pets helped me appreciate everything I have and have helped me grow in life. Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own online business, then got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA in the International Baccalaureate Program. I was the only student in my class to pass and receive the State of Maryland Seal of Biliteracy in English and French. Having pets made me realize how much i wanted to work in the animal industry. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I am sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something like your socks or phone charger. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. They are also very nonchalant animals meaning they are very chill pets; they do not always want to cuddle with you or be in your face they would rather just sleep all day or be to themself. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would always compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own online business, then got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA in the International Baccalureate Programme. I was the only student in my class to pass and receive the State of Maryland Seal of Biliteracy in English and French. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they can imagine. I've been helping at my mom's dog salon, and it has opened my eyes to the animal industry as a whole. This helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and showed me how much I love all animals.

Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. I appreciate them more than they know, and they have made me the person I am today. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I am sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something like your socks or phone charger. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. They are also very nonchalant animals meaning they are very chill pets; they do not always want to cuddle with you or be in your face they would rather just sleep all day or be to themself. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Being that I have grown up with pets means that I have witnessed some come and go, all of my childhood pets have unfortunately passed way. 4 dogs, 2 ferrets, and 1 turtle later I have learned so much. Through them I had my first experience with close death, I was so sad, yet I knew I still had their memories with me that would live on forever. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. I now have 1 dog in my life to continue to remind and teach me of those things.

I have helped so many of my peers by opening up and talking about my mental health. By me doing this it made them understand it's okay to talk about their feelings and mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. I am able to look back on my mental health obstacle and learn from it by realizing that it was only motivation for me to get myself up and be great. Mentally I no longer feel alone as I’ve been around people that listen and comfort me when needed. I have influenced so many of my peers and possibly saved a life by talking about something that is very sensitive that we call Mental Health. I will continue to talk about mental health to help people understand it is okay to share your emotions and seek therapy if needed.

I am a first-generation high school senior that will be pursuing a four-year degree. I think it is important for us as black people to try and help one another. I have helped so many of my peers by opening up and talking about my mental health. By me doing this it made them understand it's okay to talk about their feelings and mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. I explain to my peers how my pets played a big part. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. In the end, I am able to look back on my mental health obstacle and learn from it by realizing that it was only motivation for me to get myself up and be great. Mentally I no longer feel alone as I’ve been around people that listen and comfort me when needed. I found my hobbies and things to do to keep myself occupied. I have found myself and realized what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have influenced so many of my peers and possibly saved a life by talking about something that is very sensitive that we call Mental Health. I will continue to talk about mental health to help people understand it is okay to share your emotions and seek therapy if needed.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know, my mother owns her own dog salon. I've been working and helping out there since I could walk, and it has opened my eyes to the animal and the customer service industry as a whole. That one business helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. My pets helped me appreciate everything I have and have helped me grow in life. Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something, and you can't find it. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtle impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, and overall become a better person in life. I am excited to start college this fall and can't wait to become a veterinarian.

My educational and professional goals are to complete school and become a veterinarian. My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, and be around things and people I love. I was in Girl Scouts for several years and that helped me too. We did a lot with the community and visited homeless shelters, nursing homes and participated in breast cancer walks. My pets helped me deal with my mental health in so many ways and have helped me grow in life. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I will be the first person in my family to attend college. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. Having education is very important, it is what everyone in our past fought for. They fought back then so we can get an education now and that is why we should not take this for granted. College to me is investing in yourself and taking the chance on yourself to be something great. You just have to take the time, energy, and effort to make it happen and you can be everything you dreamed about as a child.

I have helped so many of my peers by opening up and talking about my mental health. By me doing this it made them understand it's okay to talk about their feelings and mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. I explain to my peers how my pets played a big part. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. In the end, I am able to look back on my mental health obstacle and learn from it by realizing that it was only motivation for me to get myself up and be great. Mentally I no longer feel alone as I’ve been around people that listen and comfort me when needed. I found my hobbies and things to do to keep myself occupied. I have found myself and realized what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have influenced so many of my peers and possibly saved a life by talking about something that is very sensitive that we call Mental Health. I will continue to talk about mental health to help people understand it is okay to share your emotions and seek therapy if needed.

Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. I appreciate them more than they know, and they have made me the person I am today. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. Whenever I am sad or just having a long day, they showed me that I am not alone and always still wanted to cheer me up by playing. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something like your socks or phone charger. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. They are also very nonchalant animals meaning they are very chill pets; they do not always want to cuddle with you or be in your face they would rather just sleep all day or be to themself. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Being that I have grown up with pets means that I have witnessed some come and go, all of my childhood pets have unfortunately passed way. 4 dogs, 2 ferrets, and 1 turtle later I have learned so much. Through them I had my first experience with close death, I was so sad, yet I knew I still had their memories with me that would live on forever. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person. I now have 1 dog in my life to continue to remind and teach me of those things.

I have helped so many of my peers by opening up and talking about my mental health. By me doing this it made them understand it's okay to talk about their feelings and mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. I explain to my peers how my pets played a big part. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, and be around things and people I love. I was in Girl Scouts for several years and that helped me too. We did a lot with the community and visited homeless shelters, nursing homes and participated in breast cancer walks. My pets helped me deal with my mental health in so many ways and have helped me grow in life. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded and they are so intelligent. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something, and you can't find it. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtle impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. I was in Girl Scouts for several years and that helped me too. We did a lot with the community and visited homeless shelters, nursing homes and participated in breast cancer walks. My pets helped me deal with my mental health in so many ways and have helped me grow in life. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something, and you can't find it. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtle impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to understand my mental health better and become more open-minded, patient, loving, and overall become a better person in life.

My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. I was in Girl Scouts for several years and that helped me too. We did a lot with the community and visited homeless shelters, nursing homes and participated in breast cancer walks. My pets helped me deal with my mental health in so many ways and have helped me grow in life. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something, and you can't find it. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtle impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to understand my mental health better and become more open-minded, patient, loving, and overall become a better person in life.

My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. I was in Girl Scouts for several years and that helped me too. We did a lot with the community and visited homeless shelters, nursing homes and participated in breast cancer walks. My pets helped me deal with my mental health in so many ways and have helped me grow in life. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something, and you can't find it. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtle impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to understand my mental health better and become more open-minded, patient, loving, and overall become a better person in life.

My dream in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know, my mother owns her own dog salon. I've been working and helping out there since I could walk, and it has opened my eyes to the animal and the customer service industry as a whole. That one business helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know, my mother owns her own dog salon. I've been working and helping out there since I could walk, and it has opened my eyes to the animal and the customer service industry as a whole. That one business helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. My pets helped me appreciate everything I have and have helped me grow in life. Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs: they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend, but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be calmer, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets: they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something, and you can't find it. They are also very slow animals; I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her, yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtle impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life, yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-minded, patient, loving, and overall become a better person in life. I am excited to start college this fall and can't wait to become a veterinarian.

My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. Having education is very important, it is what everyone in our past fought for. They fought back then so we can get an education now and that is why we should not take this for granted. College to me is investing in yourself and taking the chance on yourself to be something great. You just have to take the time, energy, and effort to make it happen and you can be everything you dreamed about as a child. My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey.

My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help.

One of my skills is speaking to my peers about tough topics and telling them it's okay to discuss mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self-esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. Me constantly pushing myself and setting goals motivates me on a daily basis. College to me is investing in yourself and taking the chance on yourself to be something great. You just have to take the time, energy, and effort to make it happen and you can be everything you dreamed about as a child.

I've opened up to my friends and family letting them know it is okay to talk about mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. This made them feel loved and know it's okay. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I've opened up to my friends and family letting them know it is okay to talk about mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. This made them feel loved and know it's okay. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

Speaking my mind and letting my peers know it is okay to talk about mental health was big. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I'm committed to being selfless and talk to my peers about mental health to help them. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I've learned a lot about mental health over the last two years that changed my life perspective. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college. I've learned a lot about mental health over the last two years that changed my life perspective. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help.

I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college. I've learned a lot about mental health over the last two years that changed my life perspective. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help.

Being able to talk to my peers about mental health makes me happy. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I've helped my peers by letting them know it's okay to talk about their mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

It would be "Do not ever be afraid to talk about mental health". My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I've learned to practice bravery when it comes to mental health. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I've learned a lot about mental health over the last two years that changed my life perspective. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I've learned a lot about mental health over the last two years that changed my life perspective. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I've learned a lot about mental health over the last two years that changed my life perspective. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help. I want to be a veterinarian and I chose that career path when I was just a child. I have always had a love for animals. When kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up, college is the path to get them to that place in life. I believe college is important because you are able to further your education. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. I believe we should do the best we can in life and live our dreams to the fullest. I try to achieve my goals, dreams and passion with a positive attitude as I enter my next phase in life which is college.

I've learned a lot about mental health over the last two years that changed my perspective. My mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hate myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. Keeping myself relaxed and sane was actually kind of hard. I overcame having low self-esteem by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure and how I take care of my mental health, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics with a 3.7 GPA. In order to keep my mental health sane, I also listen to music, clean up, and be around things and people I love. Keeping myself occupied has also been a big thing to help.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know, My mother owns her own dog salon. I've been working and helping out there since I could walk and it has opened my eyes to the animal and the customer service industry as a whole. That one business helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. I went from seeing and caring for other peoples pets to owning 2 ferrets, 5 dogs, and a turtle to care for on my own. I always wondered why I find so much comfort in animals, everyone thought I was crazy when I was a kid and I would need my dog to sleep in my room with me so I could feel safe but I think I’m starting to understand. Going back on my mental health journey, I never truly felt loved or like anyone was listening to me but with animals it’s different, they can’t judge or criticize you, they simply comfort and listen to you. I also started doing daily affirmations and journaling and that helped a lot.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know, My mother owns her own dog salon. I've been working and helping out there since I could walk and it has opened my eyes to the animal and the customer service industry as a whole. That one business helped me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. I went from seeing and caring for other peoples pets to owning 2 ferrets, 5 dogs, and a turtle to care for on my own. I always wondered why I find so much comfort in animals, everyone thought I was crazy when I was a kid and I would need my dog to sleep in my room with me so I could feel safe but I think I’m starting to understand. Going back on my mental health journey, I never truly felt loved or like anyone was listening to me but with animals it’s different, they can’t judge or criticize you, they simply comfort and listen to you. I also started doing daily affirmations and journaling and that helped a lot.

My pets helped me appreciate everything I have and have helped me grow in life. Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs; they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be more calm, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets; they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something like your socks or phone charger. They are also very slow animals, I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-mided, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person in life.

My pets helped me appreciate everything I have and have helped me grow in life. Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs; they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be more calm, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets; they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something like your socks or phone charger. They are also very slow animals, I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-mided, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person in life.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics maintaining a 3.7GPA. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know. My mother owns her own dog salon. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. I always wondered why I find so much comfort in animals. Going back on my mental health journey, I never truly felt loved or like anyone was listening to me but with animals it’s different, they can’t judge or criticize you, they simply comfort and listen to you.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics maintaining a 3.7GPA. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know. My mother owns her own dog salon. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. I always wondered why I find so much comfort in animals. Going back on my mental health journey, I never truly felt loved or like anyone was listening to me but with animals it’s different, they can’t judge or criticize you, they simply comfort and listen to you.

My pets helped me appreciate everything I have and have helped me grow in life. Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs; they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be more calm, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets; they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something like your socks or phone charger. They are also very slow animals, I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-mided, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person in life.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics maintaining a 3.7GPA. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know. My mother owns her own dog salon. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. I always wondered why I find so much comfort in animals. Going back on my mental health journey, I never truly felt loved or like anyone was listening to me but with animals it’s different, they can’t judge or criticize you, they simply comfort and listen to you.

My interest in becoming a veterinarian is sprung from accomplishments, overcoming obstacles, and simply just learning more about myself and my family. When I think about myself and where I used to be I think about my mental health journey, the unseen moments in my journey of life when I simply hated myself whether it was because of my appearance or because of my decisions. I overcame having low self esteem and it was one of those things that consumed me to the point where it controlled me. I started to notice how I would compare myself to others and how I could be in a room full of friends or loved ones and still feel unwanted. I never believed anyone when I was complimented and never felt proud of myself for anything. I overcame it by owning it. I talked about it more and learned the extent of the things I’m capable of. I learned how strong I am and how much I can accomplish by simply believing in myself. Keeping myself busy was simply my cure, I distracted myself from reality until my reality was everything I hoped for. I opened my own business, got a job, and I’m striving in school with my academics maintaining a 3.7GPA. My family plays a bigger part in my life choices then they know. My mother owns her own dog salon. Being there showed me how much I care and love for animals. I always wondered why I find so much comfort in animals. Going back on my mental health journey, I never truly felt loved or like anyone was listening to me but with animals it’s different, they can’t judge or criticize you, they simply comfort and listen to you.

My pets helped me appreciate everything I have and have helped me grow in life. Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs; they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be more calm, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets; they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something like your socks or phone charger. They are also very slow animals, I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-mided, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person in life.

My pets helped me appreciate everything I have and have helped me grow in life. Growing up with multiple pets in my life has greatly impacted the person I am today. Each animal that I have owned has impacted me in a different way. My dogs; they are energetic, loving, and protective. Growing up with someone like that in your life always makes you feel loved, they make you feel as if you are not only growing up with a best friend but you are growing up with a protector. My dogs shaped me to be more calm, them being around lowers any feelings of loneliness or stress. They showed me how important it is to bring yourself back up when you are down. My ferrets; they are intelligent, slow, and nonchalant. Having pets like ferrets cause you to be more open-minded, they are so intelligent and can hide your stuff or themselves in any little place. They make you think outside the box, especially when they hide something like your socks or phone charger. They are also very slow animals, I remember one time I was running late somewhere and at the time one of my ferrets were extremely sick and I had to hand feed her yet she is so tiny that it takes her forever to eat which showed me patience and time management. My turtles impacted me least of all. Yet, I still learned something. I learned to slow down; Seeing how slow turtles live their life showed me that it is easy to get caught up in life yet it is important to slow down and really appreciate time. Due to those animals being in my life I was able to become more open-mided, patient, loving, time-manageable, and overall become a better person in life.