When people ask me what I would like to do with my life, I used to freeze up and say I didn’t really know. However, I now realize what my calling is. It became clear to me after a career-ending knee injury took me away from soccer. While recovering from surgery, I encountered nurses who became my cheerleaders, encouraging me to keep going, especially when it came time to do my physical therapy exercises. They helped me realize that nursing is for me. One moment stands out vividly in my memory. When I felt completely defeated, one of my nurses came to me and said, “Yes, I know it hurts now, but it will be better than you ever dreamed it could be.” Her words stayed with me and gave me so much hope that I didn’t give up. That experience helped me understand that although sports may no longer be in the cards for me in the same way, there are other ways to channel my passion for helping people. Through this journey, I realized that I want to be there for others during their difficult times, just as my nurses were there for me. I want to provide not only care but also encouragement and support, helping people see the light at the end of the tunnel just as the nurses helped me. My experience taught me that sometimes, a few kind words can make all the difference in someone’s recovery and outlook. This realization has inspired me to pursue a nursing career where I can make a meaningful impact on people’s lives, just as those nurses did for me. Their compassion and encouragement transformed what could have been a purely painful experience into one of growth and newfound purpose. Nursing is not just a profession to me; it’s a calling that allows me to combine my passion for healthcare with my desire to uplift others. I’m excited about the opportunity to support patients emotionally and physically, guiding them through their most vulnerable moments. Looking ahead, I plan to focus on gaining the skills and knowledge needed to become an exceptional nurse. By dedicating myself to this path, I hope to bring hope, healing, and encouragement to those in need, making recovery a positive thing and not making it so depressing and to give them the strength and encourage the patients to not give up and to have faith and never give up.

You would always have to go with Eleven since she’s training to help gain her powers back and she can help us fight the battle that comes our way. Along with Will Byers, since he still connected to the upside down and can sense when the monster is near. Then we would need someone that’s strategic and is a daredevil. My next choice would be Dustin, I believe he will do the team right as long as nobody gets an upset which of course don’t think that will happen with the group I’ve chosen. The group chose compliments each other very well. We got eleven that will help fight and Dustin can come up with a plan on how they can Defeat the monster, will he Cannot fight when the monster is coming yes, he might be a little scared, but I think once you’re in the zone like life or death, And help his team. I also chose Will because he knows the upside down since he was there in the first season so he knows his way around the upside down that come about. Dustin would want to tackle his head forward, but smart and strategic as well which can help in a time of crisis.

My name is Ixchetl Saldivar. Born in Van Nuys LA, raised in a little city named Oxnard, California. The medical field has interested me since I tore my ACL and Meniscus which is when I was in seventh grade in the year 2019. Ever since my first surgery, I said I was going to become something in the medical field and I am choosing to be a nurse in my future. So I can give tips to those on how to stay healthy and the signs to look for when and to keep notes of all your symptoms and when to seek medical attention. If I would have noticed the signs that I had knocked knees syndrome maybe I could’ve prevented tearing my ACL and Meniscus. Another reason why I’m interested into the medical field is my little nephew who was born at 23 weeks he was in the hospital as a micro preemie seeing him fight for his life every day, and to see the support that the nurses gave my sister when she was going through difficult times with her son, my nephew, giving her shoulder to cry on giving her hope, praying for the little one that he would make it out alive, safe and healthy. Our little miracle is now 2 years old. My grandparents used to tell me when I was little who’s going to take care of us when we’re old?. Without a doubt, I would be the first to say I’ll take care of you. I’ll cook and clean for you and help you get to your doctor's appointment and drive you places that you need to be. I was about five years old when I said it was. I kept my promise to help them at work, drive them to their doctors appointments and help them when they needed me. I believe the nursing career was always in my future just taking care of people, keeping people company when they feel lonely, since I know it can get pretty lonely in a hospital. My biggest inspiration in life is my Family, but most importantly, my mom. My mom raised me as best as she could to support me through everything I wanted to do in life and pushed me to be the best person. Every mom wants their child to be better than them, to grow up and be successful. She raised me all alone. I'm her first born child and her only child. Of course she made mistakes, but that’s the human in us to make mistakes. None of us are perfect. Just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to apply to this scholarship. Very much appreciated.