Putting words to paper. A seemingly simple, sometimes taxing, task that the majority of the academic population is more than familiar with. However, what about the MINORITY of the academic population? The people striving for scholarly success with words that fall on hearing ears. I am talking about the students who are deaf or hearing impaired. I never considered this question myself, so don't feel bad if you fall into that category with me. It is a luxury that us hearing people take for granted and most likely aren't even aware that we have. It is easy, to say the least, for us to scribe whatever word or phrase that comes to mind and to be understood by those who share the same linguistic background. I'm doing it right now, and it is as simple as can be. The majority of us have been doing it our whole life and think absolutely nothing of it and its conveniences. Recently, I was made aware of just how difficult academic pursuits could be without this convenience. I attend one of the most popular community colleges in Mississippi. Due to its popularity, there are a plethora of different individuals that I come into contact with. One of the people that I have had the pleasure of meeting through said college has become a dear friend of mine. We share a couple of classes and in one particular class, we are required to write many essays, oftentimes, for large portions of our composite grade in the course. Since we are nearing the end of the course, we have been assigned a final essay, as expected. Naturally, my friend and I discuss and trade our dismay to the work, which is more than normal for any college student. However, their complaints were not as trivial as mine. In fact, their worries toward the assignment were serious and very saddening. My friend is completely deaf in one ear and has less than twenty percent hearing in the other. Therefore, they use American Sign Language, or ASL, for short. We communicate with the little bit of ASL that I know and with the help of an English to Sign Language translator. So when they asked me to rewrite their final paper I was surprised, to say the least. To my surprise, ASL is not structured the way in which spoken English is. Words are and phrases are mixed as well as reversed in ASL, something that isn't common of spoken English. They explained that, they write in the way they "speak" and often are corrected for their seemingly "flawed" sentence structure. I was so shocked that I had never considered the fact that they wouldn't write the same as I do because they don't communicate the same as me. I immediately said "of course" and offered any and all of my assistance for future instances. This interaction opened my eyes and my ears to not only plights unseen but words unspoken. The two of us are now working towards the inclusion of students across all boards that don't have the word-to-paper convenience and have started "The Words to Paper" project at our campus. Students deserve not to just be heard, but to be understood.

“Mommy, I can't hear you.” The words of a six-year-old experiencing his first ear infection. During my adolescence, I cannot recall ever seeing the inside of a doctor's office. I would hear my peers trade stories of their routine bouts with the sharp needles in the scary hospitals, and I would think to myself, “How lucky am I?” It would not be until later years that I would learn I was in fact not one of the lucky ones. The lucky ones were the kids with health insurance, so no scary hospitals for me. Keeping this in mind, where does a mother take her weeping child when he does not have health insurance? The answer was and would continue to be, for the next eight years, a free pediatric clinic. Where the kind-eyed woman sticks a flashlight in my ear and gives me a cherry-flavored lollipop for not crying anymore. As I grew older, this same woman would administer all my immunizations as well as the occasional ibuprofen, as I would grow quite prone to these ear infections. That free clinic and its workers were a saving grace for my mother and I. Therefore, my goal is to one day pass on that same grace to a child or family in need. To succeed in doing so is my only option because to fail would be to let down, not just myself but all the unlucky ones like me. Currently, I am advancing towards receiving a Bachelor's Degree in The Science of Nursing. I chose this specific level of degree so that when I become comfortable and well-practiced as a Pediatric Nurse, I will be able to forward my practice into that of Nurse Practitioning with more ease and confidence than if I were to solely obtain an associates degree. Knowledge is power when it comes to life and its challenges. This scholarship would grant me the ability to obtain that power, through education, to not just help those in need but to give underserviced communities hope that there are people out there that want to help them. It is easy to feel forgotten when your health seems only a point of interest when convenient. I want my determination for success and my work to serve as a reminder to all those who feel this way, that there are healthcare professionals who are passionate about taking care of them, no matter the circumstance.

“Mommy, I can't hear you.” The words of a six-year-old experiencing his first ear infection. During my adolescence, I cannot recall ever seeing the inside of a doctor's office. I would hear my peers trade stories of their routine bouts with the sharp needles in the scary hospitals, and I would think to myself, “How lucky am I?” It would not be until later years that I would learn I was in fact not one of the lucky ones. The lucky ones were the kids with health insurance, so no scary hospitals for me. Keeping this in mind, where does a mother take her weeping child when he does not have health insurance? The answer was and would continue to be, for the next eight years, a free pediatric clinic. Where the kind-eyed woman sticks a flashlight in my ear and gives me a cherry-flavored lollipop for not crying anymore. As I grew older, this same woman would administer all my immunizations as well as the occasional ibuprofen, as I would grow quite prone to these ear infections. That free clinic and its workers were a saving grace for my mother and I. Therefore, my goal is to one day pass on that same grace to a child or family in need. To succeed in doing so is my only option because to fail would be to let down, not just myself but all the unlucky ones like me. Currently, I am advancing towards receiving a Bachelor's Degree in The Science of Nursing. I chose this specific level of degree so that when I become comfortable and well-practiced as a Pediatric Nurse, I will be able to forward my practice into that of Nurse Practitioning with more ease and confidence than if I were to solely obtain an associates degree. Knowledge is power when it comes to life and its challenges. This scholarship would grant me the ability to obtain that power, through education, to not just help those in need but to give underserviced communities hope that there are people out there that want to help them. It is easy to feel forgotten when your health seems only a point of interest when convenient. I want my determination for success and my work to serve as a reminder to all those who feel this way, that there are healthcare professionals who are passionate about taking care of them, no matter the circumstance.

“Mommy, I can't hear you.” The words of a six-year-old experiencing his first ear infection. During my adolescence, I cannot recall ever seeing the inside of a doctor's office. I would hear my peers trade stories of their routine bouts with the sharp needles in the scary hospitals, and I would think to myself, “How lucky am I?” It would not be until later years that I would learn I was in fact not one of the lucky ones. The lucky ones were the kids with health insurance, so no scary hospitals for me. Keeping this in mind, where does a mother take her weeping child when he does not have health insurance? The answer was and would continue to be, for the next eight years, a free pediatric clinic. Where the kind-eyed woman sticks a flashlight in my ear and gives me a cherry-flavored lollipop for not crying anymore. As I grew older, this same woman would administer all my immunizations as well as the occasional ibuprofen, as I would grow quite prone to these ear infections. That free clinic and its workers were a saving grace for my mother and I. Therefore, my goal is to one day pass on that same grace to a child or family in need. To succeed in doing so is my only option because to fail would be to let down, not just myself but all the unlucky ones like me. After receiving my proper qualifications and certifications I will make it a point to donate as much time as humanly possible to the free health clinics in minority populated areas of Mississippi. I will do to make sure that I am contributing to the children in said areas getting the best healthcare possible. I am unfortunately unable to afford housing as well as meal cost at the intuition which I have been accepted for nursing. Obtaining any amount of financial assistance would be more than substantial in the assistance towards my monetary goals and needs. Considering the size of the scholarship I will use it towards my housing needs because those are taking precedence over any other. Being able to have a place to rest my head on campus would be an unimaginable grace that would allow me to focus on my studies and my success in the program. Knowledge is power when it comes to life and its challenges. This scholarship would grant me the ability to obtain that power, through education, to not just help those in need but to give underserviced communities hope that there are people out there that want to help them. It is easy to feel forgotten when your health seems only a point of interest when convenient. I want my determination for success and my work to serve as a reminder to all those who feel this way, that there are healthcare professionals who are passionate about taking care of them, no matter the circumstance. Within the next ten years, I will have completed my Bachelor's as well as begun my work as a Pediatric Nurse practitioner. Not only this, but I will also be traveling in my work to make sure that my efforts are widespread and that my passion for providing adequate healthcare to those who are in need, systematically put at a disadvantage, or unable to afford is put to good use.

“Mommy, I can't hear you.” The words of a six-year-old experiencing his first ear infection. During my adolescence, I cannot recall ever seeing the inside of a doctor's office. I would hear my peers trade stories of their routine bouts with the sharp needles in the scary hospitals, and I would think to myself, “How lucky am I?” It would not be until later years that I would learn I was in fact not one of the lucky ones. The lucky ones were the kids with health insurance, so no scary hospitals for me. Keeping this in mind, where does a mother take her weeping child when he does not have health insurance? The answer was and would continue to be, for the next eight years, a free pediatric clinic. Where the kind-eyed woman sticks a flashlight in my ear and gives me a cherry-flavored lollipop for not crying anymore. As I grew older, this same woman would administer all my immunizations as well as the occasional ibuprofen, as I would grow quite prone to these ear infections. That free clinic and its workers were a saving grace for my mother and I. Therefore, my goal is to one day pass on that same grace to a child or family in need. To succeed in doing so is my only option because to fail would be to let down, not just myself but all the unlucky ones like me. Currently, I am advancing towards receiving a Bachelor's Degree in The Science of Nursing. I chose this specific level of degree so that when I become comfortable and well-practiced as a Pediatric Nurse, I will be able to forward my practice into that of Nurse Practitioning with more ease and confidence than if I were to solely obtain an associates degree. Knowledge is power when it comes to life and its challenges. This scholarship would grant me the ability to obtain that power, through education, to not just help those in need but to give underserviced communities hope that there are people out there that want to help them. It is easy to feel forgotten when your health seems only a point of interest when convenient. I want my determination for success and my work to serve as a reminder to all those who feel this way, that there are healthcare professionals who are passionate about taking care of them, no matter the circumstance.