Dear Visser family My condolences and prayers for the loss of Cindy, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020, and I lost my grandmother this past January to cancer as well. Reading the description of Cindy, she sounds like a fantastic woman and that she brought care and comfort to lots of sick and struggling people over the decades. People like Cindy have inspired me to return to school and finish my nursing degree.  I have worked for the past 15 years in a caregiver role with the mentally ill. This experience has taught me how vital caring and understanding can be in someone’s healing and recovery.  The residents I work with exhibit challenging behaviors daily. These behaviors lead to frustration on the part of caregivers and the residents themselves. I have learned how showing compassion for someone in a crisis can really change the outcome and ultimately aid in their recovery. When I finish my degree, I want to work with the mentally ill in a hospital setting. Hopefully, combining what I have learned in the past 15 years of caregiving and my new nursing skills to effectively help people in crisis. When my mother recently asked me why I chose to return to school after so many years, I had to think about it for a while.  The answer I came up with was that it felt like the right thing to do, almost as if someone was guiding me in that direction.  I attend church with my mother every Sunday. My mother looked at me and smiled and said that she had been praying for this for many years. My mother has always been one of my biggest supporters, and hearing her tell me that she was diagnosed with lung cancer was one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with thankfully, she has received excellent treatment from the doctors and nurses who take care of her. Although her prognosis is not good, The nursing staff that takes care of her I’ve always made her feel comfortable and at ease, even at some of her worst points.  Watching the way these nurses interact with her inspires me so much.  Thank you for considering me for this scholarship. If I am chosen, I will honor Cindy’s memory and legacy by showing the same level of empathy, compassion, intentionality, and professionalism as she did.