From a young age I always felt like I had a kind and giving soul. I am a very empathetic person and I find myself feeling what others are feeling. I always knew I wanted to do something when I grew up that would allow me to make a positive impact on others. Sometimes having a big heart is a blessing and a curse, but I would do anything for anyone. I always helped out in my church in 2015, we had a homeless shelter and community in Seattle we were committed to helping. I specifically remember one lady who was about my age, which was about 19 years old at the time. It was winter and it was so cold. She did not have any shoes or socks, and it broke my heart, because I'm sure her feet were so cold. I took my socks and my shoes off and I gave them to her. The smile on her face and the gratefulness she had shown made me feel like I knew what my purpose is in life, which is to bring brightness to other peoples lives. I never had it easy growing up, I had a lot of childhood trauma and a dad who was always angry with me for anything and everything, family that had cut me out of their lives for no reason. That really impacted my life because I always tried to make everyone around me happy, but I just could never make him happy or proud no matter what I did. I didn't let that stop my big heart from going on. I decided to pick up a career in healthcare because I know I can make a difference there. When people are sick and in the hospital they really feel down, and I knew I could use my big heart and big smile to at least make a small difference in their lives while they are going through a tough time. I work as a Phlebotomist in the hospital while I'm finishing school for Respiratory Therapy, as a Phlebotomist no one is every really happy to see me because I have to poke them, but when I walk in, everyone gets a big smile, I check on everyone to see how they are doing, and sometimes I end up having long conversations with people who just need someone to talk to because they don't have any family or friends to come visit them, all my patients tell me I am a gift from God and I have a true healing energy. To make a difference to these patients means everything to me, because being lonely in a vulnerable time can be depressing. While it might not be my job, I always make sure I get the patients anything they need, especially because it can take a while for call lights to be answered, I am always willing to help my patients by getting blankets, water, helping Nurse Assistants, and helping them open their food. Growing up all the way until now my entire family had a specific hatred for me and I truly never understood why. I had always been so giving to them. It really has effected my mental health over the years as you could imagine. I always have done small gestures such as sending my Aunt and Uncle a special ornament when their dog died, and same with my brother, I had a special painting made of their dog that passed away. There was a woman on a page for neighborhood selling of items not in use. She had just gone through a miscarriage and was looking for a special Dr. Suess book called "oh the places you'll go " No one had responded in over a week and I decided to message her and tell her I had one to give, I really did not have it, but I got on amazon and ordered it, I also ordered an angel bracelet for moms who have had a pregnancy loss. As soon as I brought it to her house she was in tears and had said that no one has ever done such a kind gesture for her, and that she was going through this alone. The feeling of doing things to make people smile, even just the smallest gestures make me feel so accomplished like I am living out my purpose. I go over to my Grandparents house every single week and clean their house because they are unable to complete daily tasks, and of course they are very grateful. I volunteer at my school for special camps for children with asthma, I always just want to make someone feel good with my positivity. I will never change this big heart of mine, no matter how many times I am hurt or let down, I will always continue to do good by others. I will always continue to try and make people smile, and will always try and take care of others. I plan to also use this Respiratory Therapy degree to continue to make a positive impact on others, but not only helping them feel better and get back to their families, but also to make sure they can go home and say they got the best care, and felt as though someone really cares, because I do. Thank you for reading this and considering me for this scholarship, it would greatly lift a financial burden off my shoulders, and would help me be able to financially make a difference in others lives sooner rather than later, thank you.

My mental health has been a big issue from the start of school all the way to now with 6 months left. I knew I had Bipolar disorder, which sometimes can make my emotions very difficult to deal with. On top of the Bipolar, I was diagnosed with ADHD back in June. I took the initiative to find a psychiatrist to get the help I needed with adjustments to my medications. I knew I had to get my mental health in order to be able to finish this program. I have a 5 year old son Levi, and all my stress of school was exacerbating my symptoms, I had so much stress and didn't have the capability to deal with it all. As a single mom who is working full time, going to school full time for Respiratory Therapy, which is a very difficult program, and trying to be the best mom possible, I felt like I was loosing my mind. I didn't know who I was anymore, I was a very difficult person to be around because no one ever knew what kind of mood I was going to be in or if I was going to randomly start crying or screaming. I felt like I was a prisoner in my own body that could not escape. Once I took charge of my mental health I have been able to control and regulate my emotions better, I have been able to be more focused on school and getting good grades. Tests used to be very difficult for me, and now being on the right medication for my ADHD it has made the worlds difference. I was able to finally get on the right medication to control my Bipolar disorder which has helped me save the relationships I have in my life with friends and family. I no longer feel like a burden to be around. There is a very big stigma around mental health, it's very sad some people are un able to afford to get help, or they do not have the resources. If I didn't make my mental health a priority, I don't think I would be close to graduating, I don't even know if I would have any friends or family left. I knew I had to take control for my son, he needs a mentally stable mom who is able to give him my best. Finishing school and having a good career is important to me. I am so grateful I had the resources to get help.

My name is Emily Long and I am a 27 year old Respiratory Therapist student, I have 9 months remaining until graduation. I never was the best student back in my younger days, I felt like I did not have a purpose in life, I felt like I was running around not making anything of myself, and I felt lost. I was wondering what my purpose was going to be in life. I was not happy in my life at all. My life took a quick turn when to my surprise I had my son Levi at 22 years old. The moment I looked into his eyes when he was born, I finally knew what my purpose was. When I had Levi, I did it alone, I still do it alone. I wanted to be able to provide for him in every way possible, but school just was not for me, I could not afford it, I didn’t have all the motivation, and I was comfortable. I work at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist, I thought that was supposed to be my forever job, but we were living pay check to paycheck and were struggling. Covid-19 had hit and that just wiped us out. 2021 came around and we decided to move to Arizona, we have been adjusting our life still to this day. I wanted to go back to school, but I did not know for what. I decided to get a job here at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist and I also worked as transport. I got to work with the Respiratory Therapist up close. I always have wanted to do something important in healthcare to help people as I have a past medical history myself with having over 7 surgeries, so I enjoy bringing sunshine to people when they are in the dark place such as the hospital waiting for answers. Drawing blood just was not enough for me, I decided to go to my local Pima Medical Institute and see what programs they offered. Respiratory Therapy seemed like something I would grow to be passionate about and I was right. I started school in June of 2023, and I fell in love with Respiratory. I have loved school for the first time in my life, I have enjoyed what I am learning. I go to school in person 5 days a week, and I still am trying to work full-time as I have to provide for my son, and with doing school and work, I am still trying to be the best mother I can possibly be. It gets hard trying to split my time. Financially it has been hard, I want to be able to come out of school without having too much student loan debt, which is why I am applying for this scholarship, because it would help more than you know. I want to show Levi that no matter what you are going through in life, you will find your purpose, you can do and achieve anything you want. I want him to know how hard I worked to be able to provide him with a good life as he did not ask to be here. I do everything in my power to make sure he is loved and supported.

My name is Emily Long and I am a 27 year old Respiratory Therapist student, I have 9 months remaining until graduation. I never was the best student back in my younger days, I felt like I did not have a purpose in life, I felt like I was running around not making anything of myself, and I felt lost. I was wondering what my purpose was going to be in life. I was not happy in my life at all. My life took a quick turn when to my surprise I had my son Levi at 22 years old. The moment I looked into his eyes when he was born, I finally knew what my purpose was. When I had Levi, I did it alone, I still do it alone. I wanted to be able to provide for him in every way possible, but school just was not for me, I could not afford it, I didn’t have all the motivation, and I was comfortable. I work at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist, I thought that was supposed to be my forever job, but we were living pay check to paycheck and were struggling. Covid-19 had hit and that just wiped us out. 2021 came around and we decided to move to Arizona, we have been adjusting our life still to this day. I wanted to go back to school, but I did not know for what. I decided to get a job here at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist and I also worked as transport. I got to work with the Respiratory Therapist up close. I always have wanted to do something important in healthcare to help people as I have a past medical history myself with having over 7 surgeries, so I enjoy bringing sunshine to people when they are in the dark place such as the hospital waiting for answers. Drawing blood just was not enough for me, I decided to go to my local Pima Medical Institute and see what programs they offered. Respiratory Therapy seemed like something I would grow to be passionate about and I was right. I started school in June of 2023, and I fell in love with Respiratory. I have loved school for the first time in my life, I have enjoyed what I am learning. I go to school in person 5 days a week, and I still am trying to work full-time as I have to provide for my son, and with doing school and work, I am still trying to be the best mother I can possibly be. It gets hard trying to split my time. Financially it has been hard, I want to be able to come out of school without having too much student loan debt, which is why I am applying for this scholarship. When I decided I was going to start Respiratory school, I was so stressed about how I was going to make it. How I was supposed to work full-time, go to school, and try to be the best mom that I can be. It has not been easy, especially considering I still have to pay out of pocket for school. Things are stressful, I am grateful for all the resources that are available for the single moms and the single dads out there. I am 9 months out from graduating and I could not be more proud of myself for powering through and finishing this program even through the obstacles I have faced I want to show Levi that no matter what you are going through in life, you will find your purpose, you can do and achieve anything you want. I want him to know how hard I worked to be able to provide him with a good life as he did not ask to be here. I do everything in my power to make sure he is loved and supported. When I think of how I want to give back in the future, I want to be able to give back to single Moms and Dads who are putting in the maximal effort to bettering their lives for not only themselves but for their children. I plan to create specialized scholarships made specifically for those who are needing to go back to school, but their worry is they won't be able to afford it. I want to financially help out multiple people, because I don't ever want someone to be help back from getting an education because they cannot come up with the funds. I am thrilled to be finished with school, because working as a Respiratory Therapist I will volunteer for asthmatic camps for children and other specialized events. I love to give back in healthcare ways as well, because everyone deserves good healthcare without any judgment. I want to volunteer because not always should healthcare be so expensive.

My name is Emily Long and I am a 27 year old Respiratory Therapist student, I have 9 months remaining until graduation. I started school in June of 2023, and I fell in love with Respiratory. I have loved school for the first time in my life, I have enjoyed what I am learning. I go to school in person 5 days a week, and I still am trying to work full-time as I have to provide for my son, and with doing school and work, I am still trying to be the best mother I can possibly be. I want to be able to come out of school without having too much student loan debt, which is why I am applying for this scholarship. I want to show Levi that no matter what you are going through in life, you will find your purpose, you can do and achieve anything you want. When I think of giving back, I think everyone considers spending money or buying things, or specifically doing things for someone. What happens when you don't have the assets to "give" in the "expected way" As a single Mom I don't have the resources YET. The ways I give back is with my gratitude, personality, and positive attitude. I give back in different ways. I like to help people in different ways through encouragement, and to consistently give praise to people who need it the most. I am able to help others with materialistic things when I have extra resources. I believe everyone should be able to have basic needs. I help others with tasks such as making a resume, cleaning houses for free, and giving the little amount of money I have to those who need it the most. When I decided I was going to start Respiratory school, I was so stressed about how I was going to make it. How I was supposed to work full-time, go to school, and try to be the best mom that I can be. It has not been easy, especially considering I still have to pay out of pocket for school. Things are stressful, I am grateful for all the resources that are available for the single moms and the single dads out there. I am 9 months out from graduating and I could not be more proud of myself for powering through and finishing this program even through the obstacles I have faced When I think of how I want to give back in the future, I want to be able to give back to single Moms and Dads who are putting in the maximal effort to bettering their lives for not only themselves but for their children. I plan to create specialized scholarships made specifically for those who are needing to go back to school, but their worry is they won't be able to afford it. I want to financially help out multiple people, because I don't ever want someone to be help back from getting an education because they cannot come up with the funds. I am thrilled to be finished with school, because working as a Respiratory Therapist I will volunteer for asthmatic camps for children and other specialized events. I love to give back in healthcare ways as well, because everyone deserves good healthcare without any judgment. I want to volunteer because not always should basic healthcare especially for kids should it be at a cost. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship as it would be very helpful.

When I think of giving back, I think everyone considers spending money or buying things, or specifically doing things for someone. What happens when you don't have the assets to "give" in the "expected way" As a single Mom I don't have the resources YET. The ways I give back is with my gratitude, personality, and positive attitude. I give back in different ways. I like to help people with becoming happier with themselves, to give them encouragement, and to consistently give praise to people who need it the most. I am able to help others with materialistic things when I have extra resources. I believe everyone should be able to have basic needs. I help others with tasks such as making a resume, cleaning houses for free, and giving the little amount of money I have to those who need it the most. When I decided I was going to start Respiratory school, I was so stressed about how I was going to make it. How I was supposed to work full-time, go to school, and try to be the best mom that I can be. It has not been easy, especially considering I still have to pay out of pocket for school. Things are stressful, I am grateful for all the resources that are available for the single moms and the single dads out there. I am 9 months out from graduating and I could not be more proud of myself for powering through and finishing this program even through the obstacles I have faced When I think of how I want to give back in the future, I want to be able to give back to single Moms and Dads who are putting in the maximal effort to bettering their lives for not only themselves but for their children. I plan to create specialized scholarships made specifically for those who are needing to go back to school, but their worry is they won't be able to afford it. I want to financially help out multiple people, because I don't ever want someone to be help back from getting an education because they cannot come up with the funds. I am thrilled to be finished with school, because working as a Respiratory Therapist I will volunteer for asthmatic camps for children and other specialized events. I love to give back in healthcare ways as well, because everyone deserves good healthcare without any judgment. I want to volunteer because not always should healthcare be so expensive. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship as it would be very helpful to bring my school balance down and it will help me help others in the future.

If I could change the healthcare system, I would request that providers listened more often to their patients and actually dug deeper into what is the cause of their symptoms. Every symptom has a root cause. Here is my experience. I was 16 years old when my healthcare provider dismissed my symptoms of chronic pain. I was not only told to get pregnant and it would get better, but was also told just to take pain medication and muscle relaxers every day. I was young and afraid and felt dismissed and like what I was going through did not matter. I could not believe what she had told me. Every Doctor just wanted to treat my symptoms, but not actually treat the root cause. I wanted to know what was actually wrong and why I felt the way that I was feeling. I felt alone and I felt like every doctor I saw thought I was seeking pain medication but I wasn't. 7 years later after going through many providers, I found one that actually heard me. She listened to me and instead of treating the symptoms she was knowledgeable about what may have been going on with me and sure enough it ended up with me having to have a full hysterectomy at the age of 24 after I finally found a provider who took me serious. It was a shock and a tough time, I felt as though I could have avoided many years of pain, many Doctor visits, and a big financial burden if someone would have took the time to hear what I was saying and help me. I work in the hospital and so often I am seeing a return of patients like a revolving door, many times we are just treating people with their symptoms and sending them out the door, and I think if providers dug deep into the cause of the symptoms instead of just treating the symptoms, that would make our healthcare system much better. So consistently I have watched patients suffer due to the negligence of health care workers. Many hospital workers are not only just in it for the money, but they don't truly care about helping others. If I could make this change I would. As I am finishing up my Respiratory Therapist degree, I want to help make this change, I want to make sure I hear my patients fully, and I do not make judgments, and I allow for provider collaboration to help build the bride to give our patients the best care possible.

My name is Emily Long and I am a 27 year old Respiratory Therapist student, I have 9 months remaining until graduation. I never was the best student back in my younger days, I felt like I did not have a purpose in life, I felt like I was running around not making anything of myself, and I felt lost. I was wondering what my purpose was going to be in life. I was not happy in my life at all. My life took a quick turn when to my surprise I had my son Levi at 22 years old. The moment I looked into his eyes when he was born, I finally knew what my purpose was. When I had Levi, I did it alone, I still do it alone. I wanted to be able to provide for him in every way possible, but school just was not for me, I could not afford it, I didn’t have all the motivation, and I was comfortable. I work at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist, I thought that was supposed to be my forever job, but we were living pay check to paycheck and were struggling. Covid-19 had hit and that just wiped us out. 2021 came around and we decided to move to Arizona, we have been adjusting our life still to this day. I wanted to go back to school, but I did not know for what. I decided to get a job here at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist and I also worked as transport. I got to work with the Respiratory Therapist up close. I always have wanted to do something important in healthcare to help people as I have a past medical history myself with having over 7 surgeries, so I enjoy bringing sunshine to people when they are in the dark place such as the hospital waiting for answers. Drawing blood just was not enough for me, I decided to go to my local Pima Medical Institute and see what programs they offered. Respiratory Therapy seemed like something I would grow to be passionate about and I was right. I started school in June of 2023, and I fell in love with Respiratory. I have loved school for the first time in my life, I have enjoyed what I am learning. I go to school in person 5 days a week, and I still am trying to work full-time as I have to provide for my son, and with doing school and work, I am still trying to be the best mother I can possibly be. It gets hard trying to split my time. Financially it has been hard, I want to be able to come out of school without having too much student loan debt, which is why I am applying for this scholarship, because it would help more than you know. I want to show Levi that no matter what you are going through in life, you will find your purpose, you can do and achieve anything you want. I want him to know how hard I worked to be able to provide him with a good life as he did not ask to be here. I do everything in my power to make sure he is loved and supported. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship and reading this essay.

My name is Emily Long and I am a 27 year old Respiratory Therapist student, I have 9 months remaining until graduation. I never was the best student back in my younger days, I felt like I did not have a purpose in life, I felt like I was running around not making anything of myself, and I felt lost. I was wondering what my purpose was going to be in life. I was not happy in my life at all. My life took a quick turn when to my surprise I had my son Levi at 22 years old. The moment I looked into his eyes when he was born, I finally knew what my purpose was. When I had Levi, I did it alone, I still do it alone. I wanted to be able to provide for him in every way possible, but school just was not for me, I could not afford it, I didn’t have all the motivation, and I was comfortable. I work at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist, I thought that was supposed to be my forever job, but we were living pay check to paycheck and were struggling. Covid-19 had hit and that just wiped us out. 2021 came around and we decided to move to Arizona, we have been adjusting our life still to this day. I wanted to go back to school, but I did not know for what. I decided to get a job here at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist and I also worked as transport. I got to work with the Respiratory Therapist up close. I always have wanted to do something important in healthcare to help people as I have a past medical history myself with having over 7 surgeries, so I enjoy bringing sunshine to people when they are in the dark place such as the hospital waiting for answers. Drawing blood just was not enough for me, I decided to go to my local Pima Medical Institute and see what programs they offered. Respiratory Therapy seemed like something I would grow to be passionate about and I was right. I started school in June of 2023, and I fell in love with Respiratory. I have loved school for the first time in my life, I have enjoyed what I am learning. I go to school in person 5 days a week, and I still am trying to work full-time as I have to provide for my son, and with doing school and work, I am still trying to be the best mother I can possibly be. It gets hard trying to split my time. Financially it has been hard, I want to be able to come out of school without having too much student loan debt, which is why I am applying for this scholarship, because it would help more than you know. I want to show Levi that no matter what you are going through in life, you will find your purpose, you can do and achieve anything you want. I want him to know how hard I worked to be able to provide him with a good life as he did not ask to be here. I do everything in my power to make sure he is loved and supported. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship and reading this essay.

My name is Emily Long and I am a 27 year old Respiratory Therapist student, I have 9 months remaining until graduation. I never was the best student back in my younger days, I felt like I did not have a purpose in life, I felt like I was running around not making anything of myself, and I felt lost. I was wondering what my purpose was going to be in life. I was not happy in my life at all. My life took a quick turn when to my surprise I had my son Levi at 22 years old. The moment I looked into his eyes when he was born, I finally knew what my purpose was. When I had Levi, I did it alone, I still do it alone. I wanted to be able to provide for him in every way possible, but school just was not for me, I could not afford it, I didn’t have all the motivation, and I was comfortable. I work at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist, I thought that was supposed to be my forever job, but we were living pay check to paycheck and were struggling. Covid-19 had hit and that just wiped us out. 2021 came around and we decided to move to Arizona, we have been adjusting our life still to this day. I wanted to go back to school, but I did not know for what. I decided to get a job here at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist and I also worked as transport. I got to work with the Respiratory Therapist up close. I always have wanted to do something important in healthcare to help people as I have a past medical history myself with having over 7 surgeries, so I enjoy bringing sunshine to people when they are in the dark place such as the hospital waiting for answers. Drawing blood just was not enough for me, I decided to go to my local Pima Medical Institute and see what programs they offered. Respiratory Therapy seemed like something I would grow to be passionate about and I was right. I started school in June of 2023, and I fell in love with Respiratory. I have loved school for the first time in my life, I have enjoyed what I am learning. I go to school in person 5 days a week, and I still am trying to work full-time as I have to provide for my son, and with doing school and work, I am still trying to be the best mother I can possibly be. It gets hard trying to split my time. Financially it has been hard, I want to be able to come out of school without having too much student loan debt, which is why I am applying for this scholarship, because it would help more than you know. I want to show Levi that no matter what you are going through in life, you will find your purpose, you can do and achieve anything you want. I want him to know how hard I worked to be able to provide him with a good life as he did not ask to be here. I do everything in my power to make sure he is loved and supported. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship and reading this essay.

I never was the best student back in my younger days, I felt like I did not have a purpose in life, I felt like I was running around not making anything of myself, and I felt lost. I was wondering what my purpose was going to be in life. I was not happy in my life at all. My life took a quick turn when to my surprise I had my son Levi at 22 years old. The moment I looked into his eyes when he was born, I finally knew what my purpose was. When I had Levi, I did it alone, I still do it alone. I wanted to be able to provide for him in every way possible, but school just was not for me, I could not afford it, I didn’t have all the motivation, and I was comfortable. I work at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist, I thought that was supposed to be my forever job, but we were living pay check to paycheck and were struggling. Covid-19 had hit and that just wiped us out. 2021 came around and we decided to move to Arizona, we have been adjusting our life still to this day. I wanted to go back to school, but I did not know for what. I decided to get a job here at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist and I also worked as transport. I got to work with the Respiratory Therapist up close. I always have wanted to do something important in healthcare to help people as I have a past medical history myself with having over 7 surgeries, so I enjoy bringing sunshine to people when they are in the dark place such as the hospital waiting for answers. Drawing blood just was not enough for me, I decided to go to my local Pima Medical Institute and see what programs they offered. Respiratory Therapy seemed like something I would grow to be passionate about and I was right. I started school in June of 2023, and I fell in love with Respiratory. I have loved school for the first time in my life, I have enjoyed what I am learning. I go to school in person 5 days a week, and I still am trying to work full-time as I have to provide for my son, and with doing school and work, I am still trying to be the best mother I can possibly be. It gets hard trying to split my time. Financially it has been hard, I want to be able to come out of school without having too much student loan debt, which is why I am applying for this scholarship, because it would help more than you know. I want to show Levi that no matter what you are going through in life, you will find your purpose, you can do and achieve anything you want. I want him to know how hard I worked to be able to provide him with a good life as he did not ask to be here. I do everything in my power to make sure he is loved and supported. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship and reading this essay.

I never was the best student back in my younger days, I felt like I did not have a purpose in life, I felt like I was running around not making anything of myself, and I felt lost. I was wondering what my purpose was going to be in life. I was not happy in my life at all. My life took a quick turn when to my surprise I had my son Levi at 22 years old. The moment I looked into his eyes when he was born, I finally knew what my purpose was. When I had Levi, I did it alone, I still do it alone. I wanted to be able to provide for him in every way possible, but school just was not for me, I could not afford it, I didn’t have all the motivation, and I was comfortable. I work at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist, I thought that was supposed to be my forever job, but we were living pay check to paycheck and were struggling. Covid-19 had hit and that just wiped us out. 2021 came around and we decided to move to Arizona, we have been adjusting our life still to this day. I wanted to go back to school, but I did not know for what. I decided to get a job here at the Hospital as a Phlebotomist and I also worked as transport. I got to work with the Respiratory Therapist up close. I always have wanted to do something important in healthcare to help people as I have a past medical history myself with having over 7 surgeries, so I enjoy bringing sunshine to people when they are in the dark place such as the hospital waiting for answers. Drawing blood just was not enough for me, I decided to go to my local Pima Medical Institute and see what programs they offered. Respiratory Therapy seemed like something I would grow to be passionate about and I was right. I started school in June of 2023, and I fell in love with Respiratory. I have loved school for the first time in my life, I have enjoyed what I am learning. I go to school in person 5 days a week, and I still am trying to work full-time as I have to provide for my son, and with doing school and work, I am still trying to be the best mother I can possibly be. It gets hard trying to split my time. Financially it has been hard, I want to be able to come out of school without having too much student loan debt, which is why I am applying for this scholarship, because it would help more than you know. I want to show Levi that no matter what you are going through in life, you will find your purpose, you can do and achieve anything you want. I want him to know how hard I worked to be able to provide him with a good life as he did not ask to be here. I do everything in my power to make sure he is loved and supported. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship.

I thought I was too old to go back to school at 27 years old, but I knew I had little eyes looking at me. He did not ask to be here and so I realized I needed to provide for him in the best way I possibly can financially, mentally, and physically I wanted to show him that no matter what you are facing in life, you can over come the challenges. I decided to pursue an Associates Degree in Respiratory Therapy, I have 9 months left. It has been hard mentally, financially, and physically. I have worked full-time, gone to school in person full-time, and have tried to be the best mom I can possible be for my 5 year old. We haven't had the easiest time for the last year. We were evicted from our apartment and I felt like the biggest failure. I am so grateful for my parents who were there to take us in as I finish school I hope to show him, that you truly can do anything you set your mind to and that nothing can stand in your way. When I finish school I will be working as a Respiratory Therapist in the hospital helping sick patients recover. Not only will I have a good career with good pay, the best part is I will have a lot more time to spend with my son Levi. I hope that one day he can see that I worked very hard to give him the best possible life. During school I have kept a 3.6 GPA and have received all A's and B's. That has taken a lot of self-improvement as I never have been the greatest at school as far as my grades and paying attention. When I started school in June 2023, my son was diagnosed with Autism, this was challenging for me, as all I wanted to do was stay home with him and help him learn and be prepared for this world one day. Instead I chose to push through and make the sacrifice for him. His dad was never in his life, so it was hard not having his support through these last 6 years. When I walk across the graduation stage, I will be in tears because I never thought this would be something I could make it through. I can not wait for my son to watch my walk across, as he will know how hard I worked, and that no matter what age you are, what you're going through, what your situation is, you can complete and succeed at anything you give your best to. Thank you for reading this and thank you for considering me for this scholarship. This would help in so many ways.