One of my largest personal values is equity. This influenced my passion for mental health in several ways, as mental health care is often stigmatized and difficult for people to access. Within my practicum and internship, I have often conveyed this value through my practice of cultural humility when working with clients. I am constantly learning and I avoid making assumptions, as each client I see is a unique individual with unique experiences. Furthermore, this value influences my drive to provide resources to clients in need. These often include mental health and financial resources, as barriers related to these issues often exist for individuals in need. There were several instances during my time at the suicide hotline wherein I encountered callers whose suicidal ideation was influenced by financial hardship and/or mental health struggles. I often connected them with the aforementioned resources, alongside offering safety planning. This is why I am so passionate about helping others and find great reward in seeing the progress of my clients within my current position at Highpoint, where I offer in-home therapy to children and adolescence as a Master's Level Intern. Another value of mine is autonomy. This is often a topic of conversation for women due to the recent changes in laws governing our bodily autonomy. For many women, the world and future is daunting and seeking healthcare involves some level of distrust or hesitancy. As a female clinician, I can deeply understand these experiences and empathize with clients on a deep level. This ties in to my values of equity and education, as I feel it is important to keep up on political issues, as they are often the cause of anxiety and panic for clients. Furthermore, I practice autonomy within the mental health field by taking a person-centered approach with clients. I trust my clients to be the experts on their lives and focus on helping them achieve the goals they desire to set for themselves, not the ones I believe should be set. This is important as it relates to motivation, as I believe that you cannot force anyone to engage in therapy. I find it imperative to allow clients the autonomy to have control over their own therapy sessions. When a client denies an activity I do not push the issue, rather, I have a discussion about what the client dislikes about the activity and modify my methods to accommodate their desires. I believe that these values are of the upmost importance when working with individuals in the mental health field, as this informs the empathy and competence of clinicians.

My passion for mental health stems from my own struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Based upon my past experiences, I became empowered to help others struggling with their mental health. I believe that every person deserves access to adequate and competent healthcare, including mental health services, which are often stigmatized. I primarily practice self-advocacy through setting boundaries and maintaining balance in my life, which is of the upmost importance in the counseling field to avoid burnout. After all, I want to be the most effective clinician I can be for my clients. I have experience working directly with suicidal clients from my practicum at Samaritans Southcoast, where I answered calls for the suicide hotline. I engaged callers in suicide risk assessment and safety planning. I also provided emotional support and resources to individuals in need. I found this position to be deeply rewarding, as the hotline exists to save lives. I took a few imminent risk calls while in this position, wherein I approached callers with a nonjudgmental, empathetic approach. I was thankfully able to connect many of these calls with further, in-person resources to address the callers' mental health struggles. I also often connected individuals with financial resources, as this was a common concern that heightened callers' suicidality. Through my career I hope to serve underrepresented communities by practicing cultural humility and ensuring that my services are accessible to all in need. This is important due to financial hardships faced by many of these populations. Cultural humility is of the upmost importance within my practice, as I will never assume that I am the expert on another individual's experience. I also plan to continuously seek education where needed, as cultural humility and professional competence require continued acquisition of knowledge. This is crucial to both my competence as a mental health professional and as an individual. I hope to make an impact within this world through my work, and I believe that this can be done by helping individuals.

I have devoted much of my life to my academics due to my passion for mental health and helping others. I completed my Bachelor's degree at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where I consistently made the Dean's list and graduated Summa Cum Laude. I also joined Psi Chi, Psychology Honorary Society, and Sigma Delta Pi, Spanish Honor's Society, due to my excellent academic performance in these subjects. I also maintained an academic scholarship through the University throughout the course of my Bachelor's program. Within my current Master's program, I maintain a 4.0 GPA. I am anticipating my graduation in May of 2026 and was recently accepted into a doctorate program for Clinical Psychology. I was thrilled to be accepted and am greatly looking forward to making my mark within the field through both practicum and research opportunities. I have worked throughout most of my academic experience, leaving me with limited extracurriculars. This was due to financial need. However, I feel that working throughout my adolescence and adulthood has given me valuable experience and perspective. I have been working since I turned 14 years old, as I needed the money. While I may have missed out on sports and other activities beyond my choir experiences in high school, I feel that I gained appreciation for hard work and dedication. Unlike some of my peers, I bought my own car prior to turning 16 and obtaining my license. I also funded the remainder of my undergraduate tuition after scholarships. While it was difficult in the moment, I felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment knowing that I had done these things on my own. These experiences have helped me immensely within my field, as I can better understand my clients and their struggles. After all, I know what it is like to choose between lunch meat and laundry detergent. While finances have complicated my ability to find balance, I believe that my greatest challenge faced throughout my educational pursuits has been transitioning into college during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the rapid onset of many changes, very little guidance was offered regarding how to navigate this transition in my life. Since I did not have an in-person orientation for my Bachelor's, I was left to my own devices to figure out what paperwork and tasks needed to be done. While this lack of communication made orientation difficult, I persevered by knowing when and where to ask for help when I needed it. I was fortunate to have colleagues that attended the same university, as they provided guidance regarding tasks I needed to complete. Furthermore, due to the pandemic I had to adjust to online courses rather than being offered in-person options. This was difficult at first, as the asynchronous layout required a level of personal scheduling and accountability that I had not been accustomed to in high school. The first semester of my Bachelor's program felt overwhelming due to the drastic changes in both coursework and format. However, I adjusted and developed beneficial skills to aid in this experience. I have become skilled in managing my time, finding balance, and prioritizing my assignments. The online format later became beneficial, as it supported my ability to work and complete coursework when I was available. I believe it is also important to note my practicum and internship experiences within my current Master's program, as they have been a valuable tool in my professional development. I completed my practicum at Samaritan's Southcoast as a crisis counselor. Within this role, I picked up calls for the suicide hotline. I learned how to utilize their befriending model and demonstrated skills in crisis intervention, problem-solving, suicide risk assessment, and safety planning. I also became aware of my ability to maintain my composure in a crisis. I answered various calls involving suicidality, and even a few that were imminent risk. While these calls were taxing, I found great meaning in knowing that my work was a life-saving endeavor. I learned how to engage in healthy self-care to avoid burnout in these situations. In my internship I currently work for Highpoint, a non-profit, providing in-home therapy to children and adolescents. I have appreciated having in-person contact with clients again, as it is rewarding to see client progress throughout therapy. I offer services at outpatient and intensive levels. This experience has been very educational, as I see clients struggling with a variety of mental health disorders and symptoms. I plan to continue in this position beyond graduation, as I will be working over the summer prior to moving for my doctoral program. While I love doing therapy, the doctoral program is necessary for my career goals, as I wish to conduct psychological assessments for legal proceedings. Within my field, a career in assessment requires a doctoral degree. I hope that you will consider me for this scholarship, as my passion runs deep and I strive to fulfill my educational and vocational dreams.