If I'm being completely honest, I can't recall a time when I felt qualified to be described as a "superdad." I love my kids more than anything, and being a father has completely changed me and has defined who I am in many ways. Still, it often feels like I'm just faking it from one mistake to another. I miss pediatrician appointments, ballet classes, and piano lessons. I let my kids watch too much TV and play too many video games when I lack the energy to keep them stimulated with fun and educational activities. I sometimes say, "Screw it. Let's go get happy meals." This last statement I admit with a very heavy heart. The truth is, I don't know how I do it. I don't understand how the rent money manages to come in, one way or another. It never ceases to amaze me that my kids get to school wearing pants, let alone matching socks. One thing I can say for certain though is that raising my three awesome kids is managed with a lot of help. I wouldn't be able to keep working without grandparents that are happy and willing to help chauffeur my kids around Honolulu. Still, I would love nothing more than to have a partner again to share the burdens of keeping up with everything, but somehow through a lens of love, I see those children and make the simple choice to rise up and do my best for them. A few years ago, after working for nearly 15 years in the wine industry, I decided to pursue my real passions and returned to the performing arts. I did an unspeakably stupid thing and started a small business running a voice studio, forfeiting a lucrative (yet soul-crushing) sales job. Stupid as it may have been, I'm proud to say that my schedule was quickly filled with talented and grateful students, and I was again enjoying career success. Then COVID came along and put an absolute halt to everything and tore down everything I built. My income was reduced to almost nothing, and I became even more dependent on the generosity of others. After all, I'm writing this with the hope of receiving help with my MS degree! From March to October 2020, I had my kids in my small house, attending school on their iPads. Imagine being in kindergarten, minus the activity, friends, art supplies, music rooms, gyms, etc... It's difficult to envision a way to make that work because it may just be impossible! I spent the entire day with my kids, and every morning I was on hand for my daughter as she tried to navigate the second half of her year in kindergarten while sitting at my coffee table. Still, as distressing and exhausting as pandemic life has been, there have been some truly remarkable silver linings. I honestly think that we will all look back at 2020 and think, "Wow. I had so much time to spend with my kids/dad, and there were countless wonderful moments!" My children will most likely be blaming me for one thing or another on the couch of their future psychiatrist, but they will never say that I wasn't there for them. That's a fact that I'm extremely proud of. 2020 was also a time of personal growth for me as I completed a prerequisite certification program with the Communication Sciences & Disorders Department at the University of Hawaii's medical school. I am truly invigorated and eager to begin my graduate studies in the fall, and will be pursuing an MS degree in speech-language pathology. I believe that my skills as a singer and voice teacher, along with a strong drive to learn, grow, and positively affect young lives, make me uniquely qualified to pursue a career as a speech-language pathologist. I have developed strong communication skills, and my work as an actor has also fostered a love for language and the spoken word. Along with my year of prerequisite studies, my current work as an elementary school communication aide has affirmed my desire to pursue this field. I want to be known as a specialist in the singing voice, and I am also eager to learn how to treat children with cleft palate. Their challenges are significant, and I want to help these young people develop communication skills that will allow them to live with a rich quality of life. I am also inspired by the reading I've done in scholarly journals about the role of music, specifically singing, to treat various disorders. I view the opportunity to study in the CSD graduate program at UH Manoa to be a life-changing one. I am looking for a program that will expose me to diverse populations and clinical settings, as well as the chance to continue working with professors who are passionate about molding future clinicians and researchers. Determined to become a great success story, I fully expect to work and study harder than I ever have before. I am confident that my unique perspective, combined with my willingness to work hard, will be a meaningful contribution to this graduate program. I expect this master's degree program to be a rigorous process that will significantly restrict my ability to work. Unlike my years as a young undergrad with no responsibilities, downgrading to a studio apartment, trading my car for a bike, or living off my parents' credit card are no longer viable options for me. My children's wellbeing and happiness still come first, and I am fiercely determined to continue to provide for them. In order to accomplish my goal of becoming a certified SLP, I will need even more help. This scholarship would go a long way toward making that goal a reality.

The decision to return to school was a tough one to make. Being a single father of three children is enough of a hurdle in itself, but the effects of ADHD, anxiety, and depression have complicated my path. Though I have always felt that I was capable, and possibly even destined, to do great things and impact others' lives, I've learned that ambition alone isn't enough to achieve success. There is no shortage of highly-educated and skilled people in today's job market, and without a master's degree, the road to success is too narrow. There have been many days when even getting out of bed was a significant accomplishment. With the invaluable help of a therapist, I've overcome periods of intense depression and the constant hindrance that comes with ADHD. Still, I am fiercely determined to provide a nurturing home for my children and to be a positive force in my community. Though I continue to struggle with my depression and the doubt and anxiety that it brings, I make the decision every day to get up, take the medication that has helped keep me from descending into despair and work hard to better the lives of myself and my children. My professional life began as a professional actor, but the stress of constant rejection and my difficulty finding the energy to go out and audition caused me to look elsewhere. After spending 15 years in the soul-crushing world of wine sales and restaurant management, I decided to return to the arts and have worked as a private voice teacher for several years. My passion for voice science and a strong desire to help people struggling with vocal issues have propelled me into a career as a speech-language pathologist. I now have the opportunity to help children who are battling mental illness and struggling to keep up with their peers. As an SLP, I can improve the lives of people living with autism, learning disabilities, Down's Syndrome, among many other psychological challenges. Empathy and a desire to improve people's quality of life have driven me to become an effective and compassionate voice teacher. I have been especially instrumental in the lives of students that have come to me with laryngeal pathology. In particular, one girl was diagnosed with nodules before seeking my help, and over several months, we restored her voice to a level of clarity and beauty that shocked us all. She has become a great source of pride and encouragement for me. Though I strongly desire to continue helping and teaching singers, I feel that there is much more that I can do within my community. I believe that my skills as a singer and voice teacher, along with a strong drive to learn, grow, and positively affect young lives, make me uniquely qualified to pursue a career as a speech-language pathologist. I have developed strong communication skills, and my work as an actor has also fostered a love for language and the spoken word. Completing the Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology Prerequisite Program at UH Manoa has affirmed my desire to pursue this field. I want to be known as a specialist in the singing voice, and I am also eager to learn how to treat children with cleft palate. Their challenges are significant, and I want to help these young people develop communication skills that will allow them to live with a rich quality of life. I am also inspired by the reading I've done in scholarly journals about the role of music, specifically singing, to treat various disorders. I view the opportunity to study in the CSD graduate program at UH Manoa to be a life-changing one. I am looking for a program that will expose me to diverse populations and clinical settings, as well as the chance to continue working with professors who are passionate about molding future clinicians and researchers. Determined to become a great success story, I fully expect to work and study harder than I ever have before. I am confident that my unique perspective, combined with my willingness to work hard, will be a meaningful contribution to this graduate program. Over the years, I have learned that our disabilities and disorders do not define us as people, but they do add color and texture. I have made the conscious choice to turn the effects of ADHD into positive qualities and use my experience of living with anxiety and depression to become a compassionate and understanding therapist. A while back, I found myself in a mental health crisis, and I think of that period as my "Shawshank moment." Like Andy in the film "Shawshank Redemption," I was faced with a simple choice: to "get busy living, or get busy dying." Faced with those stark and straightforward options, I chose life. I reaffirm that choice each day as I work to provide for my family, spark joy whenever I can, and overcome any challenges that come my way.

The decision to return to school was an extremely difficult one to make. Being a single father of three children is enough of a hurdle in itself, but my path has complicated by the effects of ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Though I have always felt that I was capable, and possibly even destined, to do great things and impact the lives of others, I've learned that ambition alone isn't enough to achieve success. The job market is filled with highly-educated and skilled people, and without a master's degree, there is an extremely narrow road to success. There have been many days when simply getting out of bed was a major accomplishment. With the invaluable help of a therapist, I've overcome periods of intense depression and the constant hindrance that comes with ADHD. Still, I am fiercely determined to provide a nurturing home for my children and to be a positive force in my community. My professional life began as a professional actor, and though I spent 15 years in the soul-crushing world of wine sales and restaurant management, I decided to return to the arts a few years ago. I have been working as a private voice teacher since then, and my passion for voice science, along with a strong desire to help people struggling with vocal issues, has propelled me into a career as a speech-language pathologist. I now have the opportunity to help children who are battling mental illness and struggling to keep up with their peers. As an SLP, I will be able to improve the lives of people living with autism, learning disabilities, Down's Syndrome, among many other psychological challenges. I see this as a life-changing opportunity for myself, and my strong hope is that I can enact positive change in the lives of others along the way.