I would not consider my talent conventional. However, I do think it is a skill I have developed over the years, striving to create positive impacts. My talent has come from my passion for being thoughtful and caring, it is listening. Being an active listener can oftentimes be hard. It is human nature to want to connect with others by sharing our experiences with the person we are talking to. However, there are often times when someone simply needs you to just listen, understand, and support them. This can be a hard skill to manage and maintain. However, in finding value through this skill, I have figured out ways to engage with it and support others through it. I would not necessarily say that I "practice" my talent, but I do utilize it often which is a form of practice. I participate in conversations frequently, evaluating when someone wants me to provide my input versus when they just need someone to listen to them talk. In doing this, I am able to form deeper and relational connections, as I allow others to confide in me through tough situations without feeling invalid or inferior. Of course, I sometimes fail to read a conversation clearly, but during these times, I reflect on my actions and how I may be treating the other person. It is so important to indulge in self-criticism in a way that is healthy, to reflect on my failings and accomplishments as a friend and peer, so that I may provide support and encouragement.

For me, the little things in life make me feel the most loved, so I am constantly striving to do the same for my friends and family around me. Any time I have the means to do so, I pick up small gifts and treats for my best friends that I know they will love, so they know that I am thinking about them. Additionally, for my family, I encourage us all to spend time together. Making the effort to plan something and asking my family to join in, presents to them how I want to encourage positive relationships through quality time. Quality time allows for connection and discussion where my brothers and parents can feel heard and understood. I also do this with my friends, planning activities throughout the week to let them know that I love them and want to make an effort to spend time with them throughout the week.

Growing up, I was taught the importance of valuing family and being part of a supportive community. This was shown to me, not through my parents telling me, but through being a part of a community that has been supportive of me and taught me valuable lessons along the way. My church community has provided love and encouragement throughout my life, through every hard and easy decision and moment. Because of this, I have found the importance and support that a loving community can provide you. So, with the experiences and support that I have incurred, I one day strive to provide this support and love within my local community. I am hoping to work in a non-profit organization that promotes community engagement. It is because of my positive interaction with my community, that I strive to provide that same sense of comfort and love to others, through an encouraging and supportive environment in which people feel comfortable and accepted. It is through work and support such as this, that I remain hopeful about the trajectory of America, that it may become a place where communities join in support for one another.

I do not think there is a single meaning to life. Instead, I believe the meaning of life is to create meaning out of the situations and experiences we are a part of. In the life I've been given, I have been extremely fortunate. Creating meaning for myself can happen in a number of ways, but I believe for myself to create meaning, I must strive to create and maintain relationships that encourage and support one another through life. The greatest thing we can experience as humans is human connection. To establish solid relationships is to establish an understanding and respect for another person, outside of yourself. In maintaining these kinds of relationships, we can foster a world that values and respects others for who they are, as humans. Ultimately it is through connection and love that we build and maintain supportive communities. I strive to achieve this through continued connections with others, especially with people who have different backgrounds and understandings of life. I hope to create a foundation of support, connection, and learning between communities in my desire to establish a non-profit that encourages cross-cultural appreciation throughout my local community by educating and connecting people with different backgrounds and experiences.

The world continues to be a place of disdain and disrespect between and across different cultural groups. We produce and uphold stereotypes based on cultural norms and appearances. However, it has always been a goal of mine to help people better understand that culture is something to respect and appreciate, even when it differs from your own. We, as humans, share the human experience, yet we differ in the ways we grow up and view the world. It is pertinent to understand that there is no one right way to experience life. Keeping this in mind is how we can better understand and begin to respect one another as different and unique individuals and groups. Culture has become a generator of community and appreciation, so expanding this across and between cultures will create a more inclusive and respectful social environment, especially in places where high rates of cross-cultural interaction occur. To implement this is to raise awareness and educate ourselves on the differences between cultural groups, and to understand and respect those differences. I plan to raise awareness about this through work within the community. I strive to work directly with local communities after college and know that through this I can take steps to increase cross-cultural relationships. Beginning at the local level, we, as a collective group of people, can work together to spread and produce a greater understanding of cultural differences. Additionally, educating ourselves, rather than producing assumptions will further this acceptance. Education can take place across social media, within classrooms, and through community events that draw different cultures together. I strive to be a part of or create my own organization that advocates each of these things and implements them across and within the community.

The world continues to be a place of disdain and disrespect between and across different cultural groups. We produce and uphold stereotypes based on cultural norms and appearances. However, it has always been a goal of mine to help people better understand that culture is something to respect and appreciate, even when it differs from your own. We, as humans, share the human experience, yet we differ in the ways we grow up and view the world. It is pertinent to understand that there is no one right way to experience life. Keeping this in mind is how we can better understand and begin to respect one another as different and unique individuals and groups. Culture has become a generator of community and appreciation, so expanding this across and between cultures will create a more inclusive and respectful social environment, especially in places where high rates of cross-cultural interaction occur. To implement this is to raise awareness and educate ourselves on the differences between cultural groups, and to understand and respect those differences. I plan to raise awareness about this through work within the community. I strive to work directly with local communities after college and know that through this I can take steps to increase cross-cultural relationships. Beginning at the local level, we, as a collective group of people, can work together to spread and produce a greater understanding of cultural differences. Additionally, educating ourselves, rather than producing assumptions will further this acceptance. Education can take place across social media, within classrooms, and through community events that draw different cultures together. I strive to be a part of or create my own organization that advocates each of these things and implements them across and within the community. My educational background has given me skills sufficient in this area to achieve each of these things. Being a sociology major with both an anthropology and race and ethnicity studies minor, I know that I can use my knowledge of different cultures and skills in working with people to further my contributions to making America a more equitable and trusting society through intra-cultural relations. I want to make an impact on my community and within the world, drawing on my passion for connecting with others and my educational experience and knowledge. To fully capture and understand others, we must first reflect on ourselves and the changes we can make in our own lives to be more accepting and loving to the people around us. In reflecting on myself and my passions, I seek to make positive changes in small and large ways throughout my local community by increasing connections between neighbors and across the city.

I am committed to being selfless through work within my community. I have a strong passion for providing support and encouragement to those in need, who lack the resources to live comfortably. My home church helped fund and start Christan Assistance Ministry, a downtown, non-profit organization serving the homeless within the surrounding area. This has been a basis and strong factor in my encouragement to work and serve the community around me. This has been especially true in my passion for serving kids. I have taken this basis of serving others and supporting them through my work as a camp counselor. It is an extremely low-paying job, but the change that I see in kids throughout the summer is worth every bit of work I put into it. I strive to be selfless in working with campers over the summer, supporting them, encouraging them, and comforting them in times of need and growth. It is a time of immense change as they learn how to be away from home and grow in their independence, learning to meet new people and try new things. Working outside all day, and 22 hours a day can be extremely exhausting, but it is extremely rewarding to find that by the end of the week kids have grown in ways that even they didn’t think were possible. Overall, throughout my daily life, I try to do small acts of kindness for others. However, each summer I have dedicated myself to working with supporting kids in an environment that is safe and extremely uplifting.

Recently I have struggled with finding happiness, but slowly and surely I have started to notice the little things in life that bring me joy. I find happiness, especially in nature, taking walks with friends and family, going on weekly hikes, and truly taking time away from social media and other stressors to destress and unwind in nature. It is small, but the fresh air and the smell of nature rejuvenate me. By going outside, even at times I struggle to get up, I force myself into an environment that brings me immediate relief and happiness. Alongside spending time in nature, making an effort to spend time with friends makes me happy. I find joy in the simple moments with others, such as doing homework, going on a car ride, and even just sitting in the same room as someone while we do different things. It is moments like these that make me happy in times when I am feeling down or having a tough time. Knowing that I have people I can count on and a world that I can spend time in, gives me the strength and energy when I struggle to find peace and happiness.

1. I am a prime candidate, struggling to find my passion. This scholarship will be put towards a great college education, but who knows what I will use my degree for, I guess we'll find out in a few years. 2. I'm currently attending college, wanting to be a housewife after I graduate. I strive to have kids and provide for them by not having to pay my loans off, but also by getting to be able to stay at home with them, not using my degree. 3. When I was in middle school, I made it onto the track team, although this wasn't very hard because it was a walk-on team. I was pretty average when it came to my running time. However, when it came to hurdles I was extremely nervous to try them, out of fear that I would hit them and fall down. Eventually, I ended up going for it and made it over! I was so proud of what I had overcome - the hurdle and my fear.

I am committed to being selfless through work within my community. I have a strong passion for providing support and encouragement to those in need, lacking the resources to live comfortably. My home church helped fund and start Christan Assistance Ministry, a downtown, non-profit organization serving the homeless within the surrounding area. This has been a basis and strong factor in my encouragement to work and serve the community around me. This has been especially true in my passion for serving kids. I have taken this basis of serving others and supporting them through my work as a camp counselor. It is an extremely low-paying job, but the change that I see in kids throughout the summer is worth every bit of work I put into it. I strive to be selfless in working with campers over the summer, supporting them, encouraging them, and comforting them in times of need and growth. It is a time of immense change as they learn how to be away from home and grow in their independence, learning to meet new people and try new things. Working outside all day, and 22 hours a day can be extremely exhausting, but it is extremely rewarding to find that by the end of the week kids have grown in ways that even they didn’t think was possible. Overall, throughout my daily life, I try to do small acts of kindness for others. However, each summer I have dedicated myself to working with a supporting kids in an environment that is safe and extremely uplifting.

The world continues to be a place of disdain and disrespect between and across different cultural groups. We produce and uphold stereotypes based on cultural norms and appearances. However, it has always been a goal of mine to help people better understand that culture is something to respect and appreciate, even when it differs from your own. We, as humans, share the human experience, yet we differ in the ways we grow up and view the world. It is pertinent to understand that there is no one right way to experience life. Keeping this in mind is how we can better understand and begin to respect one another as different and unique individuals and groups. Culture has become a generator of community and appreciation, so expanding this across and between cultures will create a more inclusive and respectful social environment, especially in places where high rates of cross-cultural interaction occur. To implement this is to raise awareness and educate ourselves on the differences between cultural groups, and to understand and respect those differences. I plan to raise awareness about this through work within the community. I strive to work directly with local communities after college and know that through this I can take steps to increase cross-cultural relationships. Beginning at the local level, we, as a collective group of people, can work together to spread and produce a greater understanding of cultural differences. Additionally, educating ourselves, rather than producing assumptions will further this acceptance. Education can take place across social media, within classrooms, and through community events that draw different cultures together. I strive to be a part of or create my own organization that advocates each of these things and implements them across and within the community,

As my time throughout college progresses and I get closer to having to decide what career I want to pursue, I find myself struggling to find my niche. Despite this constant worry, I know that I can find something in the non-profit industry that works directly with the community. In fact, I would love to help the community that has so graciously given back to me, my hometown of San Antonio. San Antonio has a very large homeless population that I have worked with through organizations such as Christian Assisstance Ministry. Once graduating, although I likely won’t work directly with the homeless, I hope to provide assistance to families and children. I have always had a passion for working with children, so I hope to find an organization that intersects those two very large passions of mine. This scholarship will provide me with the time and resources to continue exploring where exactly I want to end up career wise. I will use it to engage with my community and with my school to further develop my strong suites that will guide me in finding a job. In addition, after college, I will be that much closer to being debt free with the aid of this scholarship. Dept is a strong factor in impacting how I can step out of college and into the workforce. I will be allotted the opportunity to focus more on my interests and passions, working within the community, than finding a corporate job that will pay me the amount of money necessary to cover my student loans. It’s unfortunate that in today’s world we have to focus more on the amount of money we are making, over the work we are doing. Some of the most important jobs in society, are the ones that get paid the least. However, scholarships and grants are ways in which the community has given back to the community, and is a way that I will be given the opportunity to give back to my own community. Making a difference in my life and others’ lives, support through community efforts is what provides social and community engagement, fostering more peace and kindness towards one another. This effort can be made more accessible through resources such as easier access to college through scholarships and through efforts made to support families, initially at the community level, so that they may get a jump start on supporting one another in their future, then at a much larger and more expansive level with societal change, which starts at the individual and community level that I strive to support and interact directly with.

Before coming to college, I had my parents, especially my mother do a lot of the talking for me when I felt stressed out at school or in places where I wasn’t super comfortable. I found myself going to her to help fix a lot of my problems. While I find it important to lean on others for support, I realized after coming to college that I depended a lot more on my mother than I thought I had. I found myself in situations where I needed help or where I was uncomfortable, looking around for my mother as a system of support and guidance. However, I came to realize that while my mom can be a support system, I needed to find ways to advocate and speak up for myself. My first semester of college was really tough. I couldn’t seem to make close friends and had a hard time getting involved. I went to my mom, wondering what I was doing wrong. She gave me advice, but being in college I didn’t want to listen to her. I decided I was going to do things on my own. In listening to myself and following my own passions, rather than letting my parents decide for me or speak up for me, I found a home away from home. I became a part of an organization that provided me with support, encouragement, and the best of friends. Although I love my mother, I have learned how to advocate for myself and my own feelings in times of need. I am fully capable of having support, while allowing myself room to grow and make my own decisions. Moving forward, this skill will be pertinent in helping me grow. The abilities I have gained to reach out and make connections without the help of my parents, while it sounds cheesy, will guide me as I hope to study abroad and in finding a job. I have come to realize my potential and worth as a human being and now want to help others’ find their own voice. Aiming to work in the non-profit industry, aiding/working with the community directly, after college, these skills will help me aid those in finding their own voice by allowing them the time and resources to grow as a person through the organization I work for. I know that this lesson and the experiences I have gained from it will further develop and that I will be able to help those in my same position. I have become a much more independent and self-confident person, as I know my worth and the voice that I can use to gain access to resources and a variety of organizations throughout my school and the community.

Mental health has been a common struggle within my family. There were often times when I did not realize what was going on in the moment, and when finding out felt the struggle and intensity at which mental health can shape my own life and the lives around me. Specifically, my own mental health and my grandfather's mental health have shaped the way I see and experience the world around me. Starting with my earliest experience, my grandfather developed mental health issues when married to my grandma. This created a strain on their marriage and strife within our family. However, being as young as I was, I didn’t notice anything was going on. He left for a while due to the severity of the situation and ended up becoming homeless due to his lack of willingness to get help. However, after a tough time away, he soon realized that he needed help and he was soon back with all of our family. I didn’t notice the time he was gone, but when he came back, he was someone that was always beaming through his interactions with the kids in the family. Despite his continuous mental health struggles, he was able to make the end of his life meaningful, intent on having deep and loving relationships with me and my siblings. Although I didn’t know him at his worst, I knew him at a time when he cared deeply for those around him. Mental health, no doubt, is a life-long battle, yet my grandfather showed me that it didn’t have to define who he was, even if he realized it a little later on. Despite letting it overcome him for a few years, he is a prime example of showing that you are not the only one. He came to understand this when he reached out to get help, redeveloping relationships with our family and working to conquer his challenges. He has shown me true kindness and I know him for his overwhelming amount of love. Recently, I have come to understand, personally, the struggles that come with mental health. Up until this spring, my mental health has been great. However, this semester, it took a turn - I have struggled with anxiety and depression in ways that I still don’t fully understand. I have come to see that mental illness doesn’t only impact me in upsetting situations but in my daily life and routines. Finding space and time to recognize my thoughts as intrusive and harmful has been tough. I have learned to accept myself, mental health struggles, and all, growing from the experience to better understand who I am and how I relate to those around me. I now understand how important family and friends are in providing support. I feel like I have always been a rock for others, but now I have learned that those people who I have helped, are also there to support me in times of need. It is so important to be supportive and encouraging to those around you. I hid my depression and anxiety for a long time. I looked healthy and happy on the outside, but in reality, I was struggling with an internal battle. Those days when I felt worthless were made better by the simple kindness that I received from the people around me, who supported me even when they didn’t understand where my mental health was. Because of both of these experiences, I strive to put myself in situations where I am supported and loved in addition to making it a goal to support and encourage those around me, even when I don’t know them. Simple acts of kindness can be the one thing that gets someone through the day. After graduating from college, I strive to work in the non-profit sector, helping people locally. My experience with mental health has encouraged me to help those around me and be involved with the community that has supported me. I know that with the experience I’ve had with mental health, I can be an advocate for spaces of community engagement.