In my freshman year of college, I was a star athlete. I was on the varsity women's tennis team at Truett McConnell University and I had a bright future ahead of me. At the end of my season, I had a career-ending injury. In April of 2023, I got a concussion. At the time, it did not seem like a big deal. I was out for a week, but I came right back; however, it did not stop there. Over this past summer, my life has changed and has become debilitated. I have dysautonomia which is a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The symptoms are extreme and greatly affect my daily life. I cannot do anything by myself anymore and even have a service dog. Because of this, not only did I have to quit my favorite sport, but eventually I had to move home from college. How am I supposed to live out my dreams now? I have always had big plans for my future, but after this devastating situation, I lost all hope. I started to let my disability define me. I was letting it take over my life. It controlled me in every way possible. I let it eat me up like a piranha. Until one day, my mindset completely changed. I know I cannot let my disability define who I truly am. I was not going to let it stop me from pursuing my dreams, in fact, it is now going to benefit me. After I graduate with my master's in counseling, I plan to work hard to eventually open up a private practice. With everything I have been through, I can accurately help other people who are struggling like I did. With my private practice, I also want to incorporate emotional support animals in sessions if my clients would like. As a service dog handler myself, I know how much animals can help one feel less alone. I believe this would help my clients feel more comfortable sharing their emotions with me. Because of my disability, I can pursue my dreams of having a private practice where I can help others struggling with their mental illnesses. I will be able to help others as I have always aspired to and make the world a better place. I think my determination and hard work are important qualities to have for this career choice. I believe because of all of these things, I will be able to have my dream future career.

1 in every 8 people in the world are dealing with a mental health disorder. That is also only the recorded people who have been diagnosed. As a psychology major, I have always had a passion for making the world a better place. I know firsthand how hard dealing with a mental health disorder can be. With my passion for mental health counseling, I am striving to help as many people as I can. My dream job is to one day open up my very own private practice. I want to focus on those struggling with mental health disorders and advocate for pro-life. I have worked alongside Live Action which is one of the largest pro-life organizations. Furthermore, I also want to offer Christian counseling since that has always been a big part of my life and Jesus is the only way; however, I know some people are not religious and I will respect that if they please. With my private practice, I want to be able to offer emotional support animals during sessions with my clients if they would like. Science has proven that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood. This way my clients may have a greater chance of feeling comfortable sharing their feelings and emotions. As a service dog handler myself, I know how much comfort they can bring and I want to be able to make my clients feel as comfortable as possible during counseling sessions. Moreover, I have big plans for my future, but I also am striving to help people now. As a Christian, I have had a passion for writing and sharing my devotionals with my community. I have created my website called Faith>Sight where my best friend and I share devotionals we have written. Through this, I want to be able to share God's Word to help people feel less alone and have someone to depend on. Ultimately, I would love to be able to write my devotional book focusing on mental health one day to help others who are struggling with mental illness as a Christian. Mental health is something that is rarely talked about throughout the Christian community and I want to change that. It is something many people struggle with and the church is supposed to come together and discuss these things. With my passion for Christianity and mental health advocacy, I strive to help my community and the world become a better and safer place.

“My nightmare is becoming a reality,” I sobbed as my parents told me they were getting a divorce. I was shocked to hear this dreadful news. It did not make any sense. My parents? My perfect family? Why me? It did not make sense. I have never seen my parents argue. They got along so well. It did not make sense. I could not grasp the idea that my perfect little family was shattering like an expensive china set. For many years after this devastating news, I battled many different personal wars. The first and toughest war was against Depression. Depression brought the biggest army while mine was weak. I fought hard, but Depression’s army was too strong. One battle got so hard that I sat on the bathroom floor with a handful of pills. Before shoving them in my mouth and ending it all, I stopped. I knew I needed help and I knew I could get it. I had access to a bigger army. Mrs. Lauren was her name. Her war title was “Mental Health Counselor.” She taught me that battling Depression with swords and knives would not work. Instead, she taught me Depression’s biggest weakness was getting into his mind. Together, we defeated the horrible Depression. Getting over and growing from my parent's divorce was the hardest thing I have done. I still battle this war to this day, but with the help of counseling, I can hold it off. Looking back on how much counseling helped me, I want to do the same for others. I want to earn Mrs. Lauren’s war title of “Mental Health Counselor.” I want to continue to fight in this army, defeating mental health. I could not do so without having my passion for a career in therapy. I am going to school specifically to earn a degree in clinical mental health counseling. My passion for this career is so great that I will do whatever I can to complete it. I am not going to let these combatants fight on their own. I want to thank whoever is reading my story and considering my application for this scholarship. I want this reward to go to the best candidate. Whether it is me or not. No matter what, I am still going to fight for freedom against mental health. I know personally it is such a challenging battle and no one should fight it alone. My goal is to help as many people as I can and this scholarship would help me do so.

“My nightmare is becoming a reality,” I sobbed as my parents told me they were getting a divorce. I was shocked to hear this dreadful news. It did not make any sense. My parents? My perfect family? Why me? It did not make sense. I have never seen my parents argue. They got along so well. It did not make sense. I could not grasp the idea that my perfect little family was shattering like an expensive china set. For many years after this devastating news, I battled many different personal wars. The first and toughest war was against Depression. Depression brought the biggest army while mine was weak. I fought hard, but Depression’s army was too strong. One battle got so hard that I sat on the bathroom floor with a handful of pills. Before shoving them in my mouth and ending it all, I stopped. I knew I needed help and I knew I could get it. I had access to a bigger army. Mrs. Lauren was her name. Her war title was “Mental Health Counselor.” She taught me that battling Depression with swords and knives would not work. Instead, she taught me Depression’s biggest weakness was getting into his mind. Together, we defeated the horrible Depression. Getting over and growing from my parent's divorce was the hardest thing I have done. I still battle this war to this day, but with the help of counseling, I can hold it off. Looking back on how much counseling helped me, I want to do the same for others. I want to earn Mrs. Lauren’s war title of “Mental Health Counselor.” I want to continue to fight in this army, defeating mental health. I could not do so without having my passion for a career in therapy. I am going to school specifically to earn a degree in clinical mental health counseling. My passion for this career is so great that I will do whatever I can to complete it. I am not going to let these combatants fight on their own. I want to thank whoever is reading my story and considering my application for this scholarship. I want this reward to go to the best candidate. Whether it is me or not. No matter what, I am still going to fight for freedom against mental health. I know personally it is such a challenging battle and no one should fight it alone. My goal is to help as many people as I can and this scholarship would help me do so.

“My nightmare is becoming a reality,” I sobbed as my parents told me they were getting a divorce. I was shocked to hear this dreadful news. It did not make any sense. My parents? My perfect family? Why me? It did not make sense. I have never seen my parents argue. They got along so well. It did not make sense. I could not grasp the idea that my perfect little family was shattering like an expensive china set. For many years after this devastating news, I battled many different personal wars. The first and toughest war was against Depression. Depression brought the biggest army while mine was weak. I fought hard, but Depression’s army was too strong. One battle got so hard that I sat on the bathroom floor with a handful of pills. Before shoving them in my mouth and ending it all, I stopped. I knew I needed help and I knew I could get it. I had access to a bigger army. Mrs. Lauren was her name. Her war title was “Mental Health Counselor.” She taught me that battling Depression with swords and knives would not work. Instead, she taught me Depression’s biggest weakness was getting into his mind. Together, we defeated the horrible Depression. Getting over and growing from my parent's divorce was the hardest thing I have done. I still battle this war to this day, but with the help of counseling, I can hold it off. Looking back on how much counseling helped me, I want to do the same for others. I want to earn Mrs. Lauren’s war title of “Mental Health Counselor.” I want to continue to fight in this army, defeating mental health. I could not do so without having my passion for a career in therapy. I am going to school specifically to earn a degree in clinical mental health counseling. My passion for this career is so great that I will do whatever I can to complete it. I am not going to let these combatants fight on their own. I want to thank whoever is reading my story and considering my application for this scholarship. I want this reward to go to the best candidate. Whether it is me or not. No matter what, I am still going to fight for freedom against mental health. I know personally it is such a challenging battle and no one should fight it alone. My goal is to help as many people as I can and this scholarship would help me do so.

At the ripe age of 12, I found out my parents were getting a divorce. My heart broke, and I recall commenting, “This is my worst nightmare.” My family seemed picture-perfect when in reality, we were slowly falling apart. Being raised in a Christian home, I understand divorce only happens for specific reasons. I questioned the reason for my parent’s decision and found out it was because my father was gay. This knowledge caused more confusion because I knew the Bible says it is a sin. I developed depression and anxiety but kept it to myself. After some time, although I refused, I got help from a Christian counselor. She helped me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. In my first session of counseling, Lauren asked me if I could tell her the reason for my parent's divorce, and I remember sitting there drawing a blank. Eventually, I questioned, “I think because my dad cheated and is gay?” She replied assuredly it was true, and I blocked it out as a way to protect myself. She helped me learn it is salient for me to talk about my feelings because every minor situation builds up like a volcano until one day, something sets it off and explodes. Since she helped me tremendously, I wanted to do the same for others. Growing up, I have always wanted to get a job where I could help others in many ways. As a kid, I wanted to become a veterinarian because I loved animals. That was a dream until I learned I would have to perform surgery on the sweet animals. Then as I got older, I leaned towards becoming a pediatrician. I loved children and wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. In my senior year of high school, I thought more realistically about my future. I also wanted to have a family and dreamed about being a mom. As a pediatrician, I would not be able to devote as much time to my family as I wanted. I remembered how much my counselor helped me and thought obtaining a degree in clinical psychology would be the perfect solution. This way, I can earn my master's in Christian counseling at Truett McConnell University to become a licensed counselor and help those struggling as I once was. Earning this scholarship will help me be able to do so since my family is struggling with finances because of the divorce. Also, I plan to get married in the next couple of years and will be supporting myself. Psychology plays a role in my life, and it will continue to help me as I further my career. I also want to thank whoever is considering me for this scholarship for this opportunity.