My name is Hannia Lopez, I am currently on my pathway to becoming a Registered Nurse. I was born in a small town in the state of Guanajuato Mexico, I came to the United States just like any immigrant child with the hope of a better future and the hunger to succeed in life along with my family. Throughout the years I have increased my understanding have come to dominate the English language through hard work and discipline. Just as any immigrant child getting to a point where you can say that you understand and have adjusted to a new environment where you have been mistreated and misjudged is something that one itself should really be proud of, because yes you have support from your parents and family members but you are the one pushing forward everyday going to school dealing with jokes and laughs from other kids and the constant negative comments that you don’t deserve to be in this country just because you are Latino or Latina. I had to deal with several types of people that did not welcome me into this country, however I did not let these constant setbacks get into my head and I continued to strive forward. As I enter college, I began to prepare myself to go into the medical field and I am currently taking my prerequisites classes to apply to nursing school. I came to an understanding that there is an urgent need of Spanish speakers in the health unit as myself had to experience a need for a Spanish medical professional that would assist my father in an emergency. One morning he started bleeding out from his nose, I had to take him to the ER as he was feeling dizzy and the nose bleeding would not stop no matter what he did. When we got the hospital the need for a Spanish speaker that would translate everything my father wanted to tell the doctor was very evident as we had been put into a room for several hours and nobody would come in to help my father stop bleeding because nobody could speak Spanish. This situation opened my eyes and made me realize the scarcity of Spanish speaker professionals that are in the medical field. At the end I had to translate my father because the medical doctor could not speak Spanish. I went home that day thinking of the millions or Latino people who find themselves in even worse situations but are not able to communicate their medical needs because of a language barrier. Getting into the medical field to become an RN is no easy task but as I see the shortage of medical professionals who speak Spanish in my local town I keep pushing myself every day to continue getting prepare to become a professional nurse, to which the Latino community and not only them but anybody else regardless of race can look for reliance and medical attention believing that they will receive that best care possible. Growing as an immigrant kid has been my greatest blessing because I have learned that determination and courage are the best qualities that I have learn to development while being in this country. These qualities have been my greatest allies as I continue to push forward in my career to become a registered nurse. Receiving the Aaryn Railyn King Foundation Scholarship will continue to help me to excel in my education and to become more professionally prepared to make our communities give patients the adequate service they need to maintain a proper health.

My name is Hannia Lopez, I am currently on my pathway to becoming a Registered Nurse. I was born in a small town in the state of Guanajuato Mexico, I came to the United States just like any immigrant child with the hope of a better future and the hunger to succeed in life along with my family. Throughout the years I have increased my understanding have come to dominate the English language through hard work and discipline. Just as any immigrant child getting to a point where you can say that you understand and have adjusted to a new environment where you have been mistreated and misjudged is something that one itself should really be proud of, because yes you have support from your parents and family members but you are the one pushing forward everyday going to school dealing with jokes and laughs from other kids and the constant negative comments that you don’t deserve to be in this country just because you are Latino or Latina. I had to deal with several types of people that did not welcome me into this country, however I did not let these constant setbacks get into my head and I continued to strive forward. As I enter college, I began to prepare myself to go into the medical field and am currently taking my prerequisites classes to apply to nursing school. I came to an understanding that there is an urgent need of Spanish speakers in the health unit as myself had to experience a need for a Spanish medical professional that would assist my father in an emergency. One morning he started bleeding out from his nose, I had to take him to the ER as he was feeling dizzy and the nose bleeding would not stop no matter what he did. When we got the hospital the need for a Spanish speaker that would translate everything my father wanted to tell the doctor was very evident as we had been put into a room for several hours and nobody would come in to help my father stop bleeding because nobody could speak Spanish. This situation opened my eyes and made me realize the scarcity of Spanish speaker professionals that are in the medical field. At the end I had to translate my father because the medical doctor could not speak Spanish. I went home that day thinking of the millions or Latino people who find themselves in even worse situations but are not able to communicate their medical needs because of a language barrier. Getting into nursing school to become an RN is no easy task but as I see the shortage of medical professionals who speak Spanish in my local town I keep pushing myself every day to continue getting prepare to become a professional nurse, to which the Latino community and not only them but anybody else regardless of race can look for reliance and medical attention believing that they will receive that best care possible. Growing as an immigrant kid has been my greatest blessing because I have learned that determination and courage are the best qualities that I have learn to development while being in this country. These qualities have been my greatest allies as a continue to push forward in my career to become a registered nurse. Receiving the Sloane Stephens Doc & Glo Scholarship will only add more to the determination and encourage that I will continue to have as a strive to be a useful nurse in the health care that I know I will be.

I was born in Mexico and came to the United States when I was 10 yrs. old, I remember I was so excited for going to a new school and making new friends but soon these hopes dashed away quickly because I was unable to communicate with anybody and tell them about my basic needs. When I entered middle school in the 5th grade nobody on my school even the teachers knew how to communicate with because I couldn’t speak English, not knowing the English language discourage me from talking to anybody in my school, I only talked with a teacher who was teaching me English, other than that I was always the shy quiet girl that nobody talked to. Being not able to communicate effectively in English deprived me from making new friendships and learning about new cultures that I was not being exposed too. Everything change one day when a I was placed with two girls who did not know how to talk to me, they tried to be friends with me and started talking to me but I couldn’t understand them, I remember one of them said “You understand”, and they laughed right away, I felt so hopeless and angry that when I got home I started crying. I couldn’t talk to anybody of how I was feeling because I thought nobody was going to understand what I was feeling, but as soon as I saw my parents coming from work I felt so ungrateful and taught about how scared and nervous they were too for leaving their home country, of starting a new life leaving their loved ones because they wanted my sisters and I to have a better future. Thinking about this day and night I strive to understand the English language better, I study every single day my vocabulary and soon after 6 months passed, I was able understand and speak a basic amount. Now that the years have passed, I am able to communicate in English in a fluent way that I never thought I would be able to. Being taught that nothing comes easy in this life has taught me to persevere in my academic life and to always strive for the best no matter how hard it is to get there. Thinking about how hard has been for me to adjust to a new environment and language has made me realize that I am privileged to even attend college, it had made me understand that if I am in this country it is with a great purpose and I am trying to make the very best while attending college and achieving my academic goals every day to do so. My goal as an immigrant student is to become an RN. I believe it is very important to see representation of color people in the health system because as we all know Latino patients feel at disadvantage in term of accessing health care services because they feel that they will receive unequal health outcomes. Many physicians have difficulty understanding patients who do not speak their language, and this eventually leads to misdiagnosis or unnecessary medications I want to become and increase the percentage of nursing Latinos which is now only 5.4% and become a reliance for the Latino community in the healthcare system in which by seeing a person like me, Latino patients will feel encouragement and trust that their needs will be heard and treated. Thank you for taking the time of reading my application.

Public is service is putting others first. Being a selfless person is very difficult and is a quality that not everybody has. Putting someone needs before yours is a very daunting task and at times impossible to complete, only a person who truly wants to see someone care of can do so, which is why I chose to pursue a career in the field of medicine. As we all know, Hispanics make up the largest racial and ethnic minority group in the United States, members of the Hispanic community lack English proficiency and experience distrust in the healthcare setting. Hispanics are less likely than other Americans to have health insurance and receive the appropriate medical care, many Latinos never go to see a medical provider in their lifetime or maybe they go once a year, and this is very alarming because many of these patients could have advance terminal illness that they may not even know of. One major important social issue in the healthcare system in the United States is the miscommunications between non-English patients and medical providers. As a Latina student working towards a healthcare career, I have seen many reasons of why Latinos get discouraged to go a doctor, one the main reasons that I have seen is because Latinos who are non-English speakers get discouraged from attending a clinic setting because their primary provider will not understand how they truly feel because of the language barrier between them. Miscommunication between patients and medical provider is essential for effective healthcare provisions. Communication is failing in the Latino community because there are less Latinos in the healthcare system and more patients need the care from Latino providers. Latino patients feel at disadvantage in terms of accessing health care services because they feel that they will receive unequal health outcomes. Many physicians have difficulty understanding patients who do not speak their language, and this eventually leads to misdiagnosis or unnecessary medications. I want to become and increase the percentage of nursing Latinos which is now only 5% and become a reliance for the Latino community in the healthcare system in which by seeing a person like me who can understand them they will feel encouragement and trust that their medical needs will be heard and treated. To do so I am starting my way into a nursing career, I am planning to get my CNA certification this fall and from there, I plan to get my LVN license and then apply to a nursing school to become an RN. It is very important to feel that you are being represented in a healthcare setting because having assurance that you will feel comfortable sharing what may be wrong with your body is essential to a healthy life and body. I hope to make a difference in my career in which people can trust they will receive the best possible healthcare regardless of background.

My mother has impacted my life in so many positive ways that have shaped me into the person I am today. She is the most selfless person I know. Her dilemma is “Do it all as if you were doing it for the Lord” every day she reminds me that no matter how hard life has been treated me I have to give glory to God and thank him for the blessing of being alive which is enough to go on with life. My mother had an accident on her right when she was fifteen, she almost lost her hand but for the grace of God she was able to maintain her hand however she only has about fifty percent of motion on her hand. Despite having her disability, she goes to work every day and chooses to give her best in everything .As a field worker the extreme weather is very demanding and I come home looking at her with red cheeks, her feet and hand swollen from all the hard work she has done in the day, yet her concern for her family to be have eaten and to make sure we are okay, gets up from her bed regardless of how exhausted she is from work. When I came to the United States in 2014, I had a really hard time adjusting to a new culture that I had never been exposed to, not knowing how to speak the English language discouraged me from doing my very best in school however I remember telling my mother how hard it was for me to understand everything the teacher would talk about, I felt hopeless and lost but all she said was a verse from the bible Philippians 4:13, “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. This verse was enough for me to keep going and fulfill my heart with hope and faith that everything in life was made with a purpose of God. My mother has lifted my father, sisters, and I from the lowest we have ever been with the word of God, the Lord has used her to talk to me whenever I am doing something wrong, and I can’t get myself to acknowledge my greed. I would not been the independent and hardworking woman I am today if it had not been disciplined by the word of God through my mother. Having been educated with the fear of God I would say has been the biggest gift I have received from my mother in my life, and I am very grateful for this because this has help me live my life in the best way to please God with all that I am. My mother’s diligent walk with God has allowed my family to create a beautiful relationship with God and has been the center of my family. Having her example not only as hardworking mother but also as a woman of God pushes every day to strive for the very best spirituality and educationally. I thank you for reminding me of how thankful I am to able to have such as an amazing woman who seeks God’s wisdom everyday by my side to guide me in path through life.

Where do you go when you feel alone in life? Or when you feel like everything in your life has started to crumble up against you and at some point, it's going to explode? Well, this is exactly how one friend of mine was feeling. As undergraduate students we get unmotivated and think, what would happen if I just dropped out of college? At some point I can come back and finish, right? Many students feel like this at some point in their lives and this is what my friend was feeling. Having someone or something that supports you emotionally and pushes you to try to keep going and not give up is something fundamental in your academic journey, however she did not have anybody. She transferred to four-year university from a community college and has been living with her boyfriend since then. Her parents are in Mexico, and she has been working part time to try to pay for all her expenses. As a Hispanic student many parents do not support the idea of their children pursuing an education, they just think of a way to make money. It is sad to say but this is the mentality that my friend’s parents have. I started noticing that she was missing out of classes, so I started texting to see what was wrong with her, she said everything was fine, but I still worried about her, so I asked if she wanted to go out to eat. On the following days I went out with her and try to ask what was going on with her, little did I know that she was contemplating of dropping out of school because she had not motivation and her parents were putting pressure on her saying that she worry more about her education than sending them money. I had no words to say to her because my parents have always been so supportive of me regarding my education, I could not compare myself to her. This situation was hard because I tried to put myself in her shoes and I could feel the stress and unmotivated feelings she was feeling. I told her that whatever she taught was the best that I would support her but before, I try to show her the consequences of each decision that she made, there are some things that are priorities and right now school was not for her. I told her it is ok that feel that way at some point, everybody feels like but if she was going to drop out, I told to make sure she comes back because she had so much potential and opportunities to thrive in her academic life and she should not take them for granted. At this moment I felt like she needed to hear those words, words of encouragement and assurament and that everything would be fine. Supporting your friend in stressful times is good but you should also make sure they get to see the consequences of their actions. One of the major challenges that I have struggled with as a student in STEM is dealing with imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is defined as feeling anxious and not worthy despite achieving high performing excellence. When I transfer to a four university, I started questioning myself if I was good enough to attend a university, I consider myself not worthy or even capable of attending it because of my Hispanic roots and things got so much worse as I enrolled in organic chemistry class, were for the first time I was exposed to new material and reactions. I could not understand any of the material even though I put in my best effort into it. I was still failing quizzes and other materials. Another major thing that impacted this syndrome on myself was not seeing people like myself on any of my sciences classes, and I started to think that Hispanic people like me should not be on any stem major classes. Dealing with imposter syndrome is not easy, the constant fighting within yourself that you are not worthy of what you have is terrifying, but this syndrome should not discourage you from continuing fighting for your goals. I would say to the people that are fighting with this right now is to continue pushing through it because as you grow in confidence and like myself as I continue to put effort on my classes I started to see results, so even though you might feel anxious to break barriers within your comfort zone, you do it because when we keep pushing we become stronger in all aspects.

I was born in Mexico and came to the United States when I was 10 yrs. old. Being not able to communicate effectively in English in school deprived me from making new friendships and learning about new cultures that I was not being exposed too. Everything change one day when a I was placed with two girls who did not know how to talk to me, they tried to be friends with me and started talking to me but I couldn’t understand them, I remember one of them said “You understand”, and they laughed right away, I felt so hopeless and helpless that when I got home I started crying, I couldn’t talk to anybody of how I was feeling because I taught nobody was going to understand what I was feeling. Thinking about this day and night I strive to understand the English language better, I study every single day my vocabulary and soon after 6 months passed, I was able understand and speak a basic amount. Now that I am attending university, several adversities have emerged in my family such economic and health ones, which have discouraged me attending school and to instead start working to provide for my family. With the low working rates and fewer hours that my parents have been affected by in their jobs, has made me view life with a unique perspective and to put more effort on my career. I come from a low-income family that has struggled financially many times. My parents have always pushed to do my best academically, they always tell me to not worry that they will find a way to help me financial but as human it is inevitable not to worry, sometimes I want to give on my career and just start working to help my parents but the thought that I will not finish a career scares me because I know it will be so much harder to find a job. My parents are fields worker and have temporary jobs that helps pay most of our bills, however in this year, new regulations have been made to their jobs and they only get the minimum hours and minimum pay, on top of that they only have temporary work and get unemployment whenever they do not work. Receiving this scholarships not only is it going to help me pay for my educational goals but in some way it is going to help my family financially to relief some financial stress. This scholarship will help me cover expensive things such as gas, textbooks that I know are going to be expensive for future classes, I am planning to become an RN but first I am planning to get my CNA certification and then my LVN and then attend nursing school and this scholarships is going to help me pay for my CNA program that I will be starting soon.

My life goal is to become an RN. To do this I am making my way into the healthcare system, I am planning to get my CNA certification from my local community college. While working towards my certification I am planning to get my prerequisites done for an LVN program and from there I hoping to get nursing school to become an RN with a specialty in pediatrics. I was born in Mexico and came to the United States when I was 10 yrs. old, I remember I was so excited for going to a new school and making new friends but soon these hopes dashed away quickly because I was unable to communicate with anybody and tell them about my basic needs. When I enter middle school in the 5th grade nobody on my school even the teachers knew how to communicate with because I couldn’t speak English, not knowing the English language discourage me from talking to anybody in my school, I only talked with a teacher who was teaching me English, other than I was always the shy quiet girl that nobody talked to. Being not able to communicate effectively in English deprived me from making new friendships and learning about new cultures that I was not being exposed too. Everything change one day when a I was placed with two girls who did not know how to talk to me, they tried to be friends with me and started talking to me but I couldn’t understand them, I remember one of them said “You understand”, and they laughed right away, I felt so hopeless and helpless that when I got home I started crying, I couldn’t talk to anybody of how I was feeling because I thought nobody was going to understand what I was feeling, but as soon as I saw my parents coming from work I felt so ungrateful and taught about how scared and nervous they were too for leaving their home country, of starting a new life leaving their loved ones because they wanted my sisters and I to have a better future. Thinking about this day and night I strive to understand the English language better, I study every single day my vocabulary and soon after 6 months passed, I was able understand and speak a basic amount. Now that the years have passed, I understand everything and think about all the amazing things that happen when you strive for the best. Now that I am attending university several adversities have emerged in my family such economic and health ones, which have discouraged me attending school and to starting to work to provide for my family. With the low working rates and fewer hours that my parents have been affected by in their jobs and my father being diagnosed with diabetes and a knee sprain that he suffered from in the past year has made me view life with a unique perspective. I have stayed in school because I know that if I drop out, I am leaving everything I dream of and it is not something I want to do, I am planning to finish school no matter how hard it is because there are several people who look up to me and because nothing comes easy in this life.

Hispanics make up the largest racial and ethnic minority group in the United States, members of the Hispanic community lack English proficiency and experience distrust in the healthcare setting. Hispanic are less likely than other Americans to have health insurance and receive the appropriate medical care, many Latinos never go to see a medical provider in their lifetime or maybe they go once a year, and this is very alarming because many of these patients could have advance terminal illness that they may not even know of. One major important social issue in the healthcare system in the United States is the miscommunications between non-English patients and medical providers. As a Latina student working towards a healthcare career, I have seen many reasons of why Latinos get discouraged to go a doctor, one the main reasons that I have seen is because Latinos who are non-English speakers get discouraged from attending a clinic setting because their primary provider will not understand how they truly feel because of the language barrier between them. Miscommunication between patients and medical provider is essential for effective healthcare provisions. Communication is failing in the Latino community because there are less Latinos in the healthcare system and more patients need the care from Latino providers. Latino patients feel at disadvantage in terms of accessing health care services because they feel that they will receive unequal health outcomes. Many physicians have difficulty understanding patients who do not speak their language, and this eventually leads to misdiagnosis or unnecessary medications. I want to become and increase the percentage of nursing Latinos which is now only 5. 4% and become a reliance for the Latino community in the healthcare system in which by seeing a person like me who can understand them they will feel encouragement and trust that their needs will be heard and treated. To do so I am starting my way into a nursing career, I am planning to get my CNA certification this fall and from there, I plan to get my LVN license and then apply to a nursing school to become an RN. It is very important to feel that you are being represented in a healthcare setting and having assurance that you will feel comfortable sharing what may be wrong with your body is essential to a healthy life and body. I hope to make a difference in my career in which people can trust they will receive the best possible healthcare regardless of background.

My name is Hannia Lopez, I am 20 years old I am currently a student at Fresno State, I transfer from Reedley Community college last semester I was unsure at first as of what I wanted to study but after doing a lot of research and finding out different careers ,I found out that I want to study nursing. I am planning to go back to Reedley Community College this summer to apply to get my CNA certification this fall. From there, I am planning to apply to a LVN program and get into nursing school to become an RN with a specialty in pediatrics. My story begins when my parents meet Jesus Christ, my mother could not have kids she had tried for several years to get pregnant, but she could not. One year Her older sister who lived in Illinois went to visit her in Mexico, my aunt was a Pastor who had been praying for many years for the salvations of her parent and siblings, when she pray for my mom on the living room of the house, my mom said she felt a fire from the top of her head all the way other feet, but that fire stayed in her stomach, days later she went to her doctor and found out she was pregnant with my older sister and that's were a new life began for my parents. When I came to the United States I had really hard time adjusting to new culture where I know nothing of, even though I was 10 yrs. old I trusted God with everything, I thought if he had place us in this country was for a purpose and for something powerful, God help me stayed focused on school and stay strong through the times I had a thought time. Through this years I have grown in my walk with Jesus and I have come to realize that he was been my strength and hope through this journey of my life, he was with me and my family when we went through a financial crisis, when my grandma passed away, when my parents have suffer of illness, in our blessing and our happiness, I have seen his hand in my family supporting us. It is difficult to stay connected in a relationship with God as a youth in this generation, but if I let go of him, I would feel lost, so I choose every day to stay with him. Through the years I have gained confidence in myself because I have met people that have helped me grow as a person but mostly God and my family who have supported me through challenging times. I am trying to grow my relationship with Christ every day, but the purpose of gospel is to share our faith with other people so that everybody can know and build a relationship God. I am slowly trying to get out of comfort zone and try to share my faith with other people so that they can know that there is hope and salvation in Jesus Christ.