Hello Scholarship Committee, My name is Hannah Rodriguez and I am a Registered Behavioral Technician for PBS. I live in Lawrence, Kansas and I am 23 years old. I grew up in the small town of Hugoton, Kansas with my parents and 3 siblings. While growing up, I always knew I had a passion for working with children in some capacity. After graduating with my Bachelors degree in Psychology I started looking for work. I didn't know my place until I started working last year as a behavior technician for this company. After this past year I have gained knowledge, respect, and motivation to move forward in this field. Currently, I am enrolled in the Master of Science in Applied Behavioral Analysis program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I am learning and growing each day as I work throughout the program. I think that this scholarship would not only benefit myself but also my family. Like I mentioned above, I have 3 other siblings that my parents are also supporting, one about to start her grad school journey and 2 others who are close to beginning their college career. As you can imagine this can cause a strain financially on my parents. If awarded this scholarship my goal is to be able to take some of that financial burden off of my parents shoulders. By doing so not only will this take some stress of myself but also take some of the load off of my parents. While I am in grad school I am also working as an RBT at positive behavior supports corporation 30 hours a week. I have been with this company for a little over a year. The principles that this company abides by is one of the reasons I have stayed so long. The goal of PBS is to "improve not only behavior, but quality of life for the individuals we serve, their families, and others who support them." My goal in life has always been to help people. I think that this scholarship can help me to achieve that by assisting me with school and propelling me further into my education to be able to continue to change the lives of the families I serve everyday. I would use the money towards tuition costs, books, and the beginning of my research. I have a learned a lot from working at PBS in just the year that I have been working here and I can't wait to see how I will learn and grow during the years to come. I appreciate the time that has been taken to read this application and the opportunity to be able to apply. Thank you for your consideration going forward. - Hannah Rodriguez