Back in my Sophomore year of high school, I was fortunate enough to get braces even though they were not removed until the end of my first semester of college! This was extremely frustrating as the length of time I would need to wear my braces for was never communicated to me by the orthodontist or any of his staff. The entire process of having braces was terrible, there was a lack of communication between the orthodontist, his staff, and upon every visit to the point where one day they gave me rubber bands to start wearing and at my next appointment my orthodontist asked where I got those and why was I wearing them when that was not a part of my care plan. However, during this period in my life I learned how much I truly care about oral hygiene and the importance of maintaining a clean mouth. This poor experience paired with my love of dental hygiene fueled my desire to become a hygienist so I could one day provide people with the care I wish I had received all those years ago! I was always top of my classes, maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout my journey prior to entering the dental hygiene program. One of my proudest achievements is passing my DH 102 course, the most difficult and rigorous course outside of the program, with a 98% on my first try when most students do not even pass the course. I knew I wanted to pursue a career involving further education when I was growing up so I began saving all the money I could since the age of 14, of course having only started working at 18 and then immediately going into college I quickly knew how expensive going to college was and how little money I truly had in the grand scheme of things, especially when it came time to join the program. Being financially prepared is essential in achieving ones own educational and professional aspirations as it takes a massive weight off of your shoulders knowing you don't have to worry about how you are going to be paying for school and instead can focus all your attention on doing well in school, which is what receiving this scholarship would allow me to do.