I was 14 years young when my 26 year old cousin overdosed on heroin that was laced with fentanyl. At that time my cousin had been clean for almost two years. His life from the outside looking in looked bright and hopeful. He had an amazing job, he was expecting his first child and he had an overall positive outlook on life. (So we all thought). Jake was introduced to heroin around the age of 16. He was at a party and he thought what he was being given was something a lot less addictive than heroin. He was wrong, he had been given heroin and from that point forward, his life went down a path of a downward spiral. In 8th grade, I myself went through a traumatic experience. It wasn’t a substance abuse experience, but a sexual assault. I knew then that helping kids and teens, whether it be due to substance abuse, sexual assault or a mental health illness, it is what I want to pursue in my life. Less than 6 months ago, I lost another cousin to substance abuse. Tony was only a senior in high school. Just like Jake, he too came from a good family with an amazing support system. But as with Jake, Tony also had his own personal demons. Tony started taking all sorts of prescription pills at a younger age than Jake. I was closer to Tony because Tony and I are (were) the same age. Tony also became clean for awhile, until his temptations for prescription medications became to strong of a urge. Tony also passed away from a drug overdose. Losing two cousins who were young and full of life, so we all thought, put this determination in me. If I can help or save one more teen from losing their life due to substance abuse, I was going to do it. My motivation to pursue a career in substance abuse is very personal. Personal experiences that I have witnessed and the grief that my family now has to live with is what is driving me to become a teen social worker/counselor. I know that I will be successful in my chosen college and career path. I have two people looking down from above driving me to do so. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay and if I am fortunate enough to receive the Green Mountain Memories Scholarship I will be so grateful! I will not only make my cousins, Jake and Tony proud but I will make Mark Forgette proud too! Kind Regards, Emily Tabor

My mom has been sick for as long as I can remember. Throughout my high school career I have been the main person who has had to take care of her. From helping her get dressed, making sure she takes her medication, helping her open the medication bottles, giving her insulin shots or changing her insulin pump sites, running errands, making sure my mom has something easy for herself to make to eat... I feel as though it is a full time job. Between going to school Monday through Friday, playing on the girls lacrosse team, holding down a part time job and helping take care of my younger sister, on top of taking care of my mom, it has not been easy. I feel like I haven’t been given the chance, up until now, to put myself first. In regards to taking care of my mom, it has guided me, in a way to want to help others dealing with mental health illnesses. My journey has not been an easy one. My biological father has never been a part of my life. It basically has always been us three girls. Not only does my mom have auto immune diseases and mental health issues, I do as well. I have the experience of not only being a care taker for someone else, but also learned how to be a care taker to myself. I feel as though being both a caretaker for someone else, and then a caretaker for oneself, it puts me in the perfect position to being able to help others in my chosen college/career path. Not only will I apply what I learn throughout my college career but I can also apply my own personal experiences to my career as well. For most of my life, I have identified as “my moms caregiver,” with going away to college and finally being able to discover who I am as an individual, is very important to me. It has also become a number one priority. Coming from a single parent household, with that one parent being solely on disability, applying for and receiving scholarships may be the only possibility I have to attend college. Right now, in my young adult life, this is my one main goal. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay and thank you for considering me to be a scholarship award recipient. If I am fortunate to be chosen to receive the Cariloop's Caregiver Scholarship, I for sure will make you proud. I cannot wait to spread my wings and fly! Thank you again! Kind Regards, Emily Tabor

There has been a couple of different personal experiences that I have been through that has guided me into wanting to major in psychology and ultimately to help others with their own mental health battles. The one that has guided me the most, when I was in 8th grade, I was sexually assaulted. If it wasn’t for the mental health help that I had received, I probably wouldn’t be here today. The psychologist that I had seen after that traumatic experience made me realize just how strong of a person I was back then. If I could overcome a traumatic experience such as sexual assault, that I can over come anything. It wasn’t easy regaining my mental health strength during this time in my life. I didn’t and couldn’t trust anyone around me, I wouldn’t let anyone “in.” I was so depressed after my sexual assault. I felt as though there wasn’t a “light” at the end of this tunnel. I was in a very dark place in my life at that time. I withdrew from family and friends, I lost my passion for singing. Not only was I sexually assaulted, but I was also strangled. The strangulation bruised and did some permanent damage to my vocal cords. I used to have an amazing singing voice and I was wanting to pursue a career in singing until that incident happened. Luckily for me, I was able to find another passion within my self. A year after that experience, I realized that helping others that have gone through what I went through, is what I wanted to do. I want to help teens, young adults and women realize the power and the strength within themselves to be able to get through traumas they may have experienced or have gone through. The way that I can achieve this top goal of mine is to get into the mental field by majoring in psychology. If I was awarded this scholarship, that will only bring me when step closer in being able to help others. This has been and will be one of my top goals and priorities in my life since the end of my freshman year in high school.