Imagine an education system with a child's best interests and mental health in mind. The possibility of a new generation built up and encouraged through their strengths, not a generation made to fit a mold. This is my dream, and what I plan to accomplish once I obtain my master's in clinical social work. I am an advocate for early intervention and believe a school should be a haven for all children, regardless of who they are. A school should be a place that aims to build students up, and acknowledges that every student learns differently, and requires different knowledge and skills to function in this world. It is time the education system understands what true diversity is, and it is time to throw away the traditional mold the United States' education system has built. I understand this is a big dream I have, and while I am nowhere near being able to accomplish this, I know this is where furthering my education will come into play. I am the first person in my family to get a college degree, and no one in my family has ever been in a master's program, which leaves me alone to figure out this entire process. When I completed my bachelor's degree, I worked two jobs while attending school full-time to pay for my tuition. I spent many sleepless nights, but it was worth all of the effort, as I graduated with my first degree debt-free. Now that I am in a master's school, I realize that working two jobs is not attainable. While I am currently employed full time at a non-profit organization to help combat poverty in the community I live in, the wage I receive is barely enough to cover my general living expenses. This leaves me with the option of collecting loans for schooling, and leaving me with a large bill after all is said and done. My goal is to be proactive and apply for all the scholarships I can. Even if I only get this scholarship, this is money I can relax and not worry about having to come up with. Expenses are my biggest anxiety for schooling right now. I want to be able to put all of my heart and focus into my education, with the future mindset of helping so many live better, more successful lives in the future. May I never take advantage of getting higher education to better myself. I want this degree because I see a huge need around me. I want to dedicate my life to seeing more children cared for while they are in school. To have their mental, physical, and cognitive development needs met. To see child suicide rates drastically decrease. Finally, high school dropout rates are close to zero. Funding my education means contributing to the powerful change I intend to contribute to someday. Just imagine what this future generation could do for our world someday.

It is not about teaching the children to adapt to the world, it is about teaching the world to adapt to the children. For far too long, the education system has neglected the children with different abilities, and praised the students who could conform to the mold society expects of them. I believe the education system has a lot of work ahead to restructure and move from one standard curriculum to creating a college-style environment that allows each child to adapt to what is best for them and create a new generation ready to tackle the world. A world where every child is included, loved, and made to know how much they matter to this world. A world that stops seeing special needs as a downfall. A world that embraces special needs as the beautiful diversity this world needs. This is my dream, and I have decided to become a clinical social worker. I plan to be at the forefront of the education system and will not stop advocating and working until I can turn this dream into a reality for children. I grew up with a brother who had autisim. It was challenging during these times, as in the early 2000s, information and treatment around this special need were still new and advancing. I never thought of my brother as being different, and my family never treated him as if he were different. There were a few times when he was little that he got special treatment, but my parents always made sure I knew that I mattered to them as well. It was my brother who helped me to develop a heart for special needs, because I learned from first-hand experience how they are so much like everyone else, except for one key difference. The key difference is happiness. My brother is always so happy, and he made us see the world through a different lens. This is the lens that I want to try to get the world to adapt to. My first internship was as a registered behavioral technician (RBT). In this job, I worked first-hand with children diagnosed with Autism and implemented applied behavioral analysis under the direction of a BCBA (supervisor). I did this work for two years, and this was one of the greatest experiences I had, because I got to experience such joy. The greatest part about this job was learning what life is like through these little minds, it was a beautiful world I got to experience alongside them. Currently, I am working for an Early Head Start program. This is a non-profit federal grant program that works with families with children aged zero to three. These families must be in poverty, have foster children, or children with disabilities, and most of these families have all of these requirements. I work primarily with families of children with disabilities, and I help these families get necessary referrals to best set their children up for success. I am working for this program while getting my social work degree. I want nothing but success for these children and families. I love the early intervention because we bring families out of poverty and watch children thrive. One day, I hope to enter the public school system and start implementing the change I dream of. I am not there yet, but when I think of all these children have taught me so far, I know that I will never stop for their sake, of getting the world to conform and accept all of their diversity in the raw beauty they express.

I grew up in a Christian household. We were a poor farm family, and even though I was homeless as a young child, my parents never made us feel like that. I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart at age nine, on one Sunday, and I was baptized at thirteen. This is the simple staple of my journey with Christ. Let me take a deeper dive into my testimony. Growing up, I always had a hard time making friends. I was the child who would play alone and often only sit at tables with other students at lunch if we had assigned seating. Group projects were my greatest fear, and if we had to pick teams for gym class, I always knew I was the last to be selected. As I entered middle school, and even high school, my loneliness and struggle to fit in only got worse. By the time high school came around, I was home alone most weekends, and I dreaded going to dances because I would stand in the corner just hoping a boy would ask me to dance. I remember always thinking something was wrong with me. This began my path of self-harm, starting with starvation. I thought if I was skinny enough, maybe boys would also like me, and I would get asked to go to one dance. When this plan failed, I would only starve myself more, and then my habit turned to cutting. At first, it was just once in a while, when I wanted to feel physical pain instead of the emotional pain of loneliness. Then, it turned into every day because I thought I needed to punish myself for not being the person people wanted to hang out with. This only caused what little self-worth I had left to go out the window, and eventually, I had nothing left. My starvation and cutting continued through to my senior year, and at this point, my prayers became a cry for God to make sure I would not wake up the next morning, and when I did, it was frustration, and I would continue to ask God to take me out of the world each night. My senior year was the year I hit my absolute low. I was sexually groomed by a teacher, and while he did this for all four years, it got unbearable my last year. Being in a small school, and having two girls on my cheer team who despised me for being the cheer captain (only because I had the talent, not the popularity) decided to spread a rumor that I was sexually involved with the teacher. Words spread fast in a small town, and before I knew it, two cops came and removed me from my senor government class to interview me and assess the situation. While nothing ever happened to myself or the teacher, any little reputation I had went down the drain. The worst part was the threats I received on my social media accounts from various students. I remember one said I should hate myself so much, and from then on, all I wanted to do was die. My sanity was spared when the COVID-19 shutdown occurred, and I was able to finish my senior year online. It was also during this time, I started dating for the first time. This guy was incredibly emotionally abusive and hit me a few times. I tried to break up with him, and he only threatened to commit suicide and asked me if I was okay with being a murderer. I stayed with him for a year, as I felt this is excatly what I deserved. At nineteen years old, I was finally able to break up with him, and shortly after this, I hit rock bottom. This is the same year I attempted suicide. My brother saved me that night, and from this point on, is where God intervened in my life and taught me my worth, and introduced me to what healing was. The following year, my parents lovingly forced me to go on a mission trip through my church, and it was this trip that taught me just how beautiful I was to God. It is true when people say a mission trip does more for you than it does for the people group itself. For the first time in my life, I praised God for creating me, and this was the first step I took in my faith and letting God heal me. Fast forward to now, I have been three years sober from any form of self-harm, and I have begun healing and understand that my scars are a beautiful ability to help others in this world. God has directed me into the career field of social work, where I hope to work within a school district to help ensure each child is cared for and advocated for. I intend to help children overcome generational curses and ensure that each child understands how special they are. I never want a child to go through what I endured, and thanks to my scars, I now know what to look for, and I can use my pain to fuel my genuine heart for children. This is my dream and my career aspiration. The reason I need this scholarship is primarily due the financial hardship. I never had the privilege of having a family that could afford setting aside money for a college fund, my family was blessed to have just enough to make it through each day. I do work a full-time job for a non-profit organization, however, I do not make enough to cover college. I make enough to get through each day. I would be lying if I said I was not struggling to trust God in this process of college, as it is very expensive. I know He will provide for me like he always does, but the fear gets intense sometimes when I look at the overall bill I will have for two years. I trust that with each scholarship application I fill out, I am being proactive. Even at the end of the day, if God does not grant me any scholarships, I know that I am helping to ease my stress while also trusting that if this is God's will for my life, then it is also God's bill. I am grateful that God put me through what he did because it equipped me to be able to enter the field of social work and gave me a heart like nothing else to ensure the next generation lives in a world full of Christ's presence. I pray that at the end of my life, and I stand at the feet of Jesus, he will say to me, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

It is a humble worth I possess in my dreams of aspiration. A dream of restoring communities one step at a time, beginning with schools. A dream to see every child cared for, a learning curriculum that is adapted to every student's needs. An environment that puts mental health first and teaches children to overcome generational curses. A place where children learn their value regardless of their backgrounds or circumstances. This is my dream, and I know I have the heart and drive to turn this into a reality, and my education will equip me to achieve my dream. For far too many years, we have let the children take the brunt of the mistakes of this world, and I cannot simply sit back and let time continue or expect someone else to achieve what I intend to accomplish. I admit this prompt has stumped me in terms of explaining my worth. For years, I struggled with thinking I had any worth, and when I think of my dreams, it has nothing to do with who I am personally but the heart I have for others. When I think of contributing to bringing up a generation that flourishes on the skills and talents they possess and nothing more, this brings worth to myself. May I never live this life for my selfish gain but for the benefit of so many others yet to be. Perhaps this is what makes my dreams so beautiful, knowing that my capabilities are instilling worth in so many others ahead of me. I know my abilities, and with the proper education, I can bring the world more light than it has had in a long time. I want to encourage children to dream big. I want to help encourage the next generation to decrease suicide rates, decrease adolescent substance abuse, and cause high school graduation rates to skyrocket. I want to equip children with a voice so they can learn their worth at a young age and know that if they put their heart into something fully, there is nothing that can stand in their way from their purpose. I never want a child to feel like they have no voice or that they could be easily replaced, like I felt for so many years, and if I can change even just a few students, I know my dream has been accomplished to some extent. I see the ability for this world to be a beautiful place, one where children can be children, a world where school is a haven and a place for each child to develop their talents and skills. I hope to build my skills and abilities with my education so I can turn my dream into a reality someday.

"A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better" (unknown). When I think of how I want to carry myself in both my academic and upcoming professional journies, I know that I do not want to be a leader for the title; I want to be a leader so I can build up all those around me. This is just one of the many reasons I have decided to complete a degree in clinical social work, so I can gain the education and the skills necessary to help lead people toward better lives. I have a fairly recent example of demonstrating leadership that stands out to me, and this was through the current job I work at. Currently, I work for a non-profit that helps families with children ages zero to three who are either at the poverty level or their child has a significant disability that requires therapy. Some families struggle with both. I get to help get families connected with various therapies and resources to help their children grow and to help alleviate the stress associated with disabilities. My organization tasked us with creating a health and wellness fair for the first time this year to bring together other organizations that also supported free or reduced-cost health care/wellness. I quickly jumped into this task and soon realized I had taken the lead on it, as I was the only staff member to reach out to various community organizations and do local outreach. I sent letters to countless community connections, emails, and I even went in person. I took priority leadership organization and completing outreach because the goal is to offer a network, build relationships within the community I work with to better equip families to thrive, and, eventually, to allow these children to become independent at meeting their own needs. Organizing this event inspired me to hone in on building bridges within the community so I could see so many flourish. I also wanted to ensure that I held up the standard that my organization requires of those who work in it. I value this job and what they do for others; I was not about to slack or do the bare minimum in this job. I was able to get some volunteers on the day of the event to help direct families and help to set up the event. It was an absolute success, and I was able to establish connections with multiple other community resources. The leadership role I took on helped to ensure that several families would have the support they needed to climb out of the situations they were in. This is what gave me great pride and joy in my job. When I think of the leader I want to continue to be, it stems from this event. I want to be a leader who builds up others. I want to be a leader who helps to instill independence and resilience in others. A leader empowers and creates a peaceful environment wherever they go, and this is excatly who I want to be.

Imagine an education system that is proactive in treating negative behaviors. An education system that supports each child individually and does not try to get every child to conform to a basic mold. Imagine a school system where children are supported and made to feel like they matter. A school system that promotes high school graduation and works right alongside home environments to bring forth a new healthy generation of people. A school system made to support multiple curriculums, so each child is equipped to move onto the real world, when the time comes. This is my dream and what I want to build with my degree as a clinical social worker. While this may not be a tangible object I can build with my degree, I want to work on implementing a proper system to see children flourish. I see so many people complain about the school system, how our education system is flawed, and how it teaches things that children do not need in the "real-world," and does not teach them things they must know. I want to be part of the change that builds an education system that helps children flourish. Not only this, but an education system that integrates mental health and understands behavior as a form of communication, not something that is only meant to be disciplined. I want to create a system that teaches concepts like emotional regulation and emotional maturity to, in turn, decrease child suicides and adolescent substance abuse. Finally, I want to see a school system that strengthens families. A system that works to implement parent education opportunities, family counseling, and even a place that can offer adult counseling for parents who may not be ready to visit a counseling facility. It can be a way to break generational curses that have plagued so many people for far too long. My dream is to build a new society, starting with the education system. I know this is not something I can do alone, but I feel confident knowing that once I earn my degree, I have set myself up to build connections and begin tackling a way of change. May I never use my degree to build myself up or to build something that makes me well known. I want to create a new generation. A healthy, strong, resilient generation no longer plagued by generational curses. I want to build up so many others so this world will never face the pain that occurs today.

**This essay contains a story that includes self-harm; please read with caution. To be the change the world needs, one must experience what it first means to need change. For myself, it was understanding what it meant to love who I was created to be and to know that no one else in this world can define who I am. I was the child who had a difficult time making friends, and I often would play by myself, and I never went to another child's birthday party. I learned what it meant to be lonely from the start. Middle school and high school only got worse. I continued to struggle to make friends, dating was something that I never got to do because I was never asked by anyone. Being socially isolated sent me down a long, dark path of self-loathing, which only led me to engage in self-harm. At first, I would only cut my thigh or stomach whenever I was feeling really bad about myself, just to be able to release the emotional pain I was feeling from loneliness. However, as the years went on, I began to cut myself more, as I felt I needed to punish myself for being so different that I could not fit in anywhere. I began to feel as though if I was different somehow, I could fit in, as though everything that happened to me was always a result of something that I did wrong. Soon enough, self-harm was not enough to contain the deep self-loathing I had acquired. I began to realize that if I was skinny enough, maybe that could solve all of my problems, so I began to starve myself. I had always been on the bigger side of most girls, and I always had a hard time losing weight. I figured if I stopped eating and could be skinny, maybe then I could make friends and fit in. Even at my smallest, I was never able to fit in fully. The final straw I had was during my senior year of high school when a rumor ruined what little of a reputation I had. A rumor that was so bad, I had police officers pull me out of my senior government class to perform an investigation on a scenario that never actually occurred. Even when the investigation concluded that I had not done what the rumor stated I did, nothing mattered, as everyone would rather believe in the rumor than the truth. Not long after this, I attempted suicide, and after my failed attempt, I was placed in counseling by my parents. I did not stay long in therapy, but I did glean something important from this experience and everything I had been through. I realized that there was nothing I could do to change how people viewed me. There was something I could do, and that was to become the person I needed all these years, someone who could see me for who I was and treat me as though I mattered. Instead of the golden rule, I would follow the platinum rule: "Treat others better than you would treat yourself." Being lonely and following the path of self-hatred led me to want to provide a light for those who struggle with the same things. I want to be this change for so many others because I needed this type of change myself. This is what has led me to want to become a clinical social worker. I want to step foot into school districts to advocate for children and to ensure that no child suffers social/emotional damage like I did. I want to create an inclusive learning environment, especially one that sets up more students to graduate high school. Going through everything I went through has helped me to understand what empathy means at a deeper level. It has encouraged me to talk to everyone I encounter and not to ignore what anyone has to say to me. I want to be the friend for everyone that I wished I had long ago. This world needs the platinum rule. This world needs empathy. This world needs people who are willing to sit a the bottom of the well with others and be the positive support they need to be built up. This world is in desperate need of people who have a heart for others and who are willing to be selfless enough to humble themselves at the feet of others. If I had someone who helped me to know just how much I mattered, I would not have gone through all of the emotional turmoil that I did. I want to strive to be this person for others, and when all is said and done, I know I have chosen the right career when I can say I helped build up the next generation and create a beauty generations before have never gotten the chance to experience.

My heart has decided my future career path as a clinical social worker in Montana. While not in occupational therapy, my heart yearns to be able to provide healing care to children in need and work to build a community where all health and helping professions can come together and make this world better than it was before any of us entered into it. For many years, I have had big dreams of restructuring the education system, rebuilding communities to decrease crime, decreasing adolescent substance abuse, and encouraging high school graduations. Now that you have an idea of what my career aspirations are, let me spend some time explaining where this dream has sparked from. As an undergrad, I had to work two jobs to put myself through college. As a first-generation student and a rural-farm family, money was tight. Debt was not an option for me, as I have always dreamed of going on and being able to provide for my family someday. Yet, I was able to find time to offer multiple community service opportunities, and I have two memorable instances. The first was volunteering with the Salvation Army to provide hot meals to the underprivileged in my community. This was an incredibly humbling experience because I realized how much need there was in my community alone, and having my eyes opened, I knew I could no longer sit back and live my life in blissful ignorance. Another community service opportunity that stood out to me was when I cleaned a natural hiking trail with caves in my community, and it was flooded with homeless camps. There were even eviction notices from the city on these caves. While the hiking area was trashed with garbage and various debris, it broke my heart to know that so many find shelter in these caves. I realized that I have to be a part of a movement that improves how humanity is treated, even if it means re-writing laws to ensure those with severe mental illness challenges have a safe place to stay, while they can be given the treatment they deserve to live a life a human requires. The final moment that made me realize what my career needed to be was when I took a mission trip with my church to Bolivia, and I experienced what real poverty was like. I saw what a country looks like when they have no regard for human life. I was traumatized, knowing that so many people over here suffer and die slow, painful deaths because they have no hand reaching out to them for help. I could never sit back and let America turn into such a pit of despair and desolation, so I have decided to enter a career that prevents people from ending up like they do in Bolivia. In the end, my skill set may not be driven towards occupational therapy like they were for Christinia, but I know her as well as myself share the same values in seeing barriers overcome. I know she would have wanted to build up the next generation like I do. To see a world where communities are restored, children can learn and flourish in a school system. Suicide rates have drastically declined. A world where mental health is restored, and no one goes to bed on dirt. This is what I want to live for. May this career not be for my benefit but for the sole knowledge of knowing I can build many people up so they can be all they were created for.

I grew up in church my entire life, and the one thing that always stuck with me was the "Platinum Rule" I was taught since a child, and it carried with me into adulthood: "Treat others better than you would treat yourself." I remember this stuck with me and hit me very hard when I completed my first mission trip to South America when I was just barely 21 years of age. I saw poverty like nothing else. I saw beautiful human beings treated as if they were nothing but a mouse in a field. My heart was broken, and I was filled with a humility that will never leave me. I developed a new mindset, and this mindset drove me even further in solidifying my decision to pursue a degree in social work. I believe each human is worth more than the dirt on the ground. Reading this, many will think that the statement holds an empty meaning, but if it did, then suicide would not exist, poverty would be obsolete, and everyone would feel as though they had a place in this world. Another reason this platinum rule has shaped my career aspirations and my background is because I do not always treat myself the best, and I would not want to treat others the way I want to be treated because it would eventually burn out with all the empty hope I have faced. I always had a tough time making and keeping friends. I was often the person who sat at lunch alone and the one who was never selected for group activities. I did so many things alone, and I always felt something was wrong with me. I began to base how I was treated on my worth determined by others; if I was better, then maybe they would treat me better. Perhaps if I was smaller, I would be liked. If I could be the best at everything, maybe others would like me. I spent so many years trying to gain the approval of others, and I realized I based my worth on how others treated me, and it makes me wonder, how many others struggle with this? Why base my career choice on a simple rule I was taught as a child? I believe it is the rule this world needs to heal itself. If I spend my life treating others better than I would myself, this means I can ensure that each person I encounter feels valued, heard, and respected. At the end of the day, I want to see people flourish. I want to help people overcome their trauma, embrace their true identity, and realize that they were put in this world for a reason, and no one is a mistake. I want to work to combat poverty, hunger, pain, and mental illness in my lifetime because no one needs to go through that endless cycle. My story only teaches me the value of love and respect for others. I may still struggle with my internal struggles, but the love I have for others and the humility I have learned to be able to step down and meet people where they are at is a life I want to live. This is why I have decided to become a social worker, so I can leave the world in a better place than it was when I entered it. I am grateful for the opportunity given to me considering my application.

I hope to accomplish my dream I have had for so long, to see a new generation of Montanans rise and demonstrate positive mental health, and to move past the generational curses so many are currently plagued with. I want to see suicide rates drastically decrease, adolescent substance abuse at almost zero, and high school dropout rates to be practically non-existent for the state of Montana. Currently, Montana is in a critical condition in terms of suffering from the mental health crisis. Approximately "137 Montana youth (aged 10 to 17) died by suicide between the years of 2013 and 2022," which is "significantly higher than the national child suicide rate" (Public Health in the 406). I cannot live in a state where heartbreak like suicide is occurring too frequently, and once I obtain my master's degree, I can actively work to change these statistics. My goal is to get my master's in clinical social work, not for myself, but rather for the next generation in Montana. I want to dedicate my resources and knowledge to better the state I call home. My goal is to start within school districts to teach therapy skills and emotional regulation. I want to help change the way schools handle behavior amongst children, to create a more diverse learning environment, and an environment that obliterates behaviors related to boredom, or ones who cannot learn in a typical environment. I understand this will take time, but my goal is to eventually get this implemented in all school districts across Montana. I also want to be able to add family counseling in school districts eventually to help transform home environments, too. I was born in a rural town in Montana, and born to a farming family. I was the first person in my family to attend college, and a college fund was not something my parents could set aside for me. They could not also help me cover any books or supplies, as they had barely enough money to "break even" at the end of each year, and whatever was left over had to go towards hay and feed for the animals. While they offered emotional support, I was left to my stress to figure out how to cover my bachelor's degree. I worked two jobs and attended school full time because I did not qualify for any grants, and I only received one scholarship in my four years. I was able to work hard and achieve my first degree, but with a master's degree in store for me, I am not sure that two jobs will prove feasible. I need scholarships to help lessen the financial burden I have placed on myself to achieve my dream. I would also be mistaken if I said that these scholarship needs are solely for myself. They may help me to achieve the education I need, but they will benefit all of the children I plan to help in my future. Every scholarship I can receive puts me one step closer to paying it forward by helping to transform the lives of Montana's youth and, eventually, their families. May I never use my degree or the scholarships I win for my greed; may I ensure the same blessings to all those I encounter. Each scholarship moves me a little further in lessening the financial burden I have and allows me to move forward in helping to stimulate the change Montana has been waiting decades for. While I do not have a clear-cut plan of how I foresee my future going, I do know one thing. I know I want to spend my life as a servant of the Lord. I am beyond grateful to have been accepted in a master of social work program, where I can learn to apply my service heart to real-life circumstances. I do know I am meant to help children flourish, and while I dream to start in school districts, God only knows just how far He can take me once I achieve this degree. I know going for higher education is a beginning to a long path God has called me to, and I have decided to trust Him. I would be lying if I was not stressed and worried about funding my higher calling. While I do have my full trust in God, I know I must be proactive and help to apply for scholarships to aid in my commitment. I will do the work for him, and he will guide me and take care of me along the way. I cannot simply remain stagnant and expect everything to work out perfectly. My future is held in the hands of Christ, but this scholarship will help to add some peace to the stress of wondering when all of the funding will fall into place. May I never let this degree be a staple of boast for myself; instead may it help me to better learn how to remain humble enough to crawl into the pits of despair that so many around me reside in, and help to pull them out with the skills I gained through my education. May I never be harsh to judge a person's situation; instead, may I only listen with the intent to understand and to help the person glean an understanding of how they can overcome their situations. May I never fight for a better school system for the popularity and recognition for myself; may I do it to see a new generation, one that is healed, and can graduate high school, and move on to accomplish their dreams. May I never stop educating myself and learning for the sole purpose of being a servant for the Lord. This is the heart behind why I am applying for this scholarship. I need help in paying for my education, so I can be a servant for the Lord, and have the ability to go into many places that not everyone can, to bring the light of the Lord, so one day I can enter the gates of Heaven, and hear "Well done, good and faithful servant." Resources: https://dphhs.mt.gov/assets/publichealth/Epidemiology/VSU/Child_Suicide_2013_2022_final.pdf

The kid who never went out on the weekends. The kid who struggled to find a class partner. The kid who did not like lunch because they never knew who they would sit by and the child who often played alone at recess. That kid was me, and as I grew up, my situation did not get any better. I spent most of my teen and now young adult years still struggling with the same fears and anxiety. These are, "What if no one likes me?" or, "What if I am just the middle-man for everyone else, and do not have any real person to turn to?" These fears always lead to anxiety in any social situation I am in, and school is no exception. These fears always led me to select online classes while I completed my bachelor's degree, and when I had to do in-person classes, I always sat in the back and made sure I was one of the first to leave when class was up so I did not have to risk talking to anyone. I graduated with a 3.9 GPA in Human Services in May of 2024, and while this is an accomplishment in itself, I made no friends or connections my entire time there, all because I was filled with anxiety over the fear of not being good enough for anyone I encountered. Fear of not being good enough for anyone is what is pushing me to go on and get my master's in clinical social work. This time, I want to push myself to connect with classmates and equip myself with skills and abilities to help so many others who struggle with the same fears as me and to set an example of how to overcome them. I have spent my whole life evading the concept of friends, and I realized I can never overcome my anxiety about others if I keep letting my fears get in the way of trying. I can never expect to be a beacon of hope for others if I have never tried to be the beacon for myself first. I know what it feels like to be plagued with fear over what others will think about me. I know what it feels like to hide in the back for safety, but to feel so lonely when no one notices me because I hide. I never want anyone else to feel like this. The master's program to push me to overcome my fears and develop my skills, but it is to equip myself to be able to recognize the same struggles in others and to help them overcome the same fears I have faced. Why not grow myself while also being able to help others grow? For these reasons, this is why getting my degree is so important to me.

Community is often a word that people cringe at because it sends a reminder of what leaves people stranded and unable to overcome their struggles. When I think of community, I think of a place that swoops down to help when someone is in need. I think of a place that offers safety and a place for children to thrive. I imagine a place where homes are kept safe and up to code, and when someone cannot obtain this, there are measures to help ensure no one falls behind. I think of having a mental health place at an arm's length away. I see the ability to stimulate more jobs and to help break the poverty cycle. This is what drove me to choose a career in public service. I want to be a part of mending communities and bridging connections in places to create communities. While my heart has always leaned towards mental health, I recognize that mental health can encompass all sectors of public health. While I envision opening up places in a community that can offer free wifi access and perhaps a room to be a safe space for telehealth (to help increase therapy connections), I also want to work to increase the quality of care in schools and create policies to make schools safer, more resources for the special needs, and policies that will ensure fewer high school dropouts. I want to work to build connections with various organizations, to increase job opportunities closer to people's homes. Connect with organizations that will build and implement more safety measures near neighborhoods, so children can play outside freely, and families do not have to worry. I want to help to be a part of building safe places for teenagers to hang out to decrease drug and alcohol abuse. I have a dream in my heart to restore communities to what they were intended to be. This will in turn solve so many social problems, that we can build up the next generation, and they will not have to face the same challenges generations before have faced. Imagine communities that support education, and high school dropouts are nearly non-existent. Communities that harbor safety for children, and encourage safe hang-out spaces for teenagers so drug and alcohol use is no longer an issue among teenagers. Schools that will harbor children's best interests, and not let children with special needs suffer from not receiving the resources they need. Public health has a lot to do in the future, and I want to be a part of this change in moving forward. May I never go into this profession for public recognition, as knowing that I can help to restore communities and bring up a new generation that flourishes, is a joy I can only look forward to in this profession.

Stress, anxiety, racing emotions, and sleep deprivation, are all side effects I had to counter-balance while I completed my bachelor's degree. Now, that I am working to enter graduate school, I realize these side effects are going to be far more intense, and my mental health is something I need to understand before starting, to ensure I succeed in my master's, especially as a first-generation, female college student. I knew when I was young, that I wanted to dedicate my life to helping others empower themselves, climb out of poverty, and past their traumas. To do this, I not only had to achieve a bachelor's degree, but a master's as well. I pushed past my bachelor's degree while working two jobs to pay off my schooling, but I realized with my master's degree, I could not work two jobs, as my mental health would fall too deep. When I completed my bachelor's degree, I was often sleep-deprived, and this caused me to have extremely high levels of stress, but I knew, in the long run, that debt would be erased, and I knew that I was struggling this much for the benefit of others. How could I work two jobs and pay for a master's school that is almost double the cost of my undergraduate degree? The answer is I cannot, however, applying for scholarships is one way that I can balance my mental health while focusing on my degree. I encourage myself with each application I take the time to complete, because I know I am applying myself, and setting myself up for success, that I can one day pass down to someone else. I am working for a non-profit that helps children and families in poverty (mainly single mothers), and we empower them and help them climb the ladder up and out of poverty. I get to empower men, women, and children every day, and knowing that I am helping so many, boosts my mental health because I know in the long run all of the hard work I have been doing will pay off, and make this world a better place. I also have begun to do a lot of prior preparation, such as setting up my workspace in my house to be fit for school and engaging in organization to help my brain see calm and neatness, which will take my stress level down. In doing this, I can encourage myself to tackle all school throws my way, and develop myself in a way, capable of supporting so many people ahead and behind me. What is the best medicine for mental health in my opinion? My answer is encouragement. I am spending time daily to build up my confidence through supporting and encouraging myself, to be all that I am made to be. I am building myself up, so when things get hard, I have already done the mindfulness and preparation to pull myself through. I remind myself of my vision, to build up others and see so many succeed and create the lives they dream of. This is how I handle my mental health with my education and my life, and I want to be able to share this with so many others someday. Having this scholarship would just put me one step closer to being able to support all those I will encounter.

The answer is simple yet profound: I want to be a friend to everyone I encounter. I want to be the person with whom people can feel safe confiding their feelings. I want to validate their feelings and help them explore a healthy solution. I want to be someone who is not going to be harsh or condemn them for struggling. I believe that being an advocate for mental health means being a great friend to others. I am about to begin my graduate degree in clinical social work because I see a need to advocate for healthy minds in a school district. I want to provide early intervention in navigating emotions, and moving past trauma, to create strong and resilient children who will do nothing but thrive in adulthood. I want to dedicate my career, and most of my life, to seeing the next generation flourish. Imagine a world where child and young adult suicide rates are at almost zero. Imagine where loneliness is not the largest killer amongst youth each year. Where I can strive with others to create safe spaces for children to act their age, develop their minds, and not even consider harmful substances like drugs and alcohol. I could say that I, too, have a dream like Martin Luther King Jr. I dream of seeing children flourish into strong adults, of seeing mental health as a strength for people, not one of the biggest barriers our nation faces, and of seeing this world live up to all the beauty it was created for.

My name is Jessica Tiry and I am working to spend my life dedicated to building up the next generation. I was raised in a rural town in Montana where I helped my family raise animals for meat and eggs. I was taught what a strong work ethic entails, and that quitting was never an option. Neither of my parents ever went to college, but they made sure to teach me life skills, and how to effectively problem-solve anything that comes my way. they were tough on me at times, but I know now they wanted to make sure I knew how to handle just about anything life threw my way. I graduated high school and knew that I needed to go to college so I could be open to more opportunities than my parents were, but I was not sure exactly what I wanted to do, so I earned a generic bachelor's in human services. While I earned my degree, I worked two jobs to pay for my degree, I knew it would be hard, but I was used to hard work by this point, and I graduated with a 3.9 GPA while holding two jobs. During my time in undergraduate school, I learned many things and I realized that I had a heart to see children thrive. Upon my graduation, I took a job with a non-profit organization that works on early intervention strategies for children zero to three and their families as long as they fall into foster status, poverty levels, or their child has significant disabilities. I have come to love this job and to build connections with the community to ensure a better environment for children to thrive in. I am going on to get my masters in social work because I know that I need to put in more effort to be all I can to build future children up. While I am taking a loan out for master's school, I am putting in the effort to obtain as many scholarships as possible, to avoid having to work a second job to pay back the student loan in the future. I want to be all I was intended to be in this world, and I do not plan to stop working on myself until I am all that I can be for the benefit of the next generation. I want to instill the next generation with a strong work ethic, confidence, resiliency, and independence. I want to see a generation so equipped to handle the world, that there is nothing they cannot come together to do. While this scholarship could empower me, I will in turn empower so many others out of gratefulness.

To never feel like you have a place in this world, to feel like if you disappeared, you could easily be forgotten. This is how my mind has been since I was 14 years old. I remember all the times I would blame myself when someone around me was upset or angry. I always thought that if I was not there to mess things up, everyone would be so happy. I remember all the times I would feel invisible because I had such a hard time making friends, let alone being invited somewhere. In high school, the doctors stated I had depression, but I remember thinking that I would much rather feel nothing, than all the self-hatred I always felt towards myself. As I got older, I remember I was so overwhelmed with the intense internal emotions I always had running through me, that I needed a way to release it, so I turned to self-harm. I never did harm myself where it was visible, because I felt like I had to punish myself for who I was. I suffered in silence. Soon the self-harm was not enough, so I turned to starvation as well. My senior year in high school, I was the skinniest I had ever been, and when people would tell me how healthy I looked, it only drove me farther down the rabbit hole of mental illness. As my freshman year of college progressed, I finally hit rock bottom. At 19 years of age, I attempted suicide. While this attempt did fail (for which I am thankful), it prompted my start in a long journey of healing, one that brought me to where I am today. While I did go on to complete my bachelor's degree in human services, I knew that I could not stop there. Currently, I am working to achieve my master's degree in clinical social work, where I plan to use my mental health challenges as my primary drive for uplifting and building the next generation. I want to use my experience with mental health challenges for the benefit of others. I want to ensure that all children feel and learn they have a place in this world, so they can go on to graduate high school and become successful. I do not want any child or teenager to ever feel the way I have felt about myself in the past. My way to combat mental health is to treat it like a golden rule. Treat everyone you encounter like you have always dreamed of being treated. Be somebody who makes everybody feel like somebody, and thanks to my battle with mental health, I know firsthand how to go about creating this environment. I am also currently working with a non-profit organization that aims to work on early intervention skills for children ages zero to three and their families. These families can either be in the foster system, in poverty, or have a child with significant disabilities, or they can be in all categories. I am working to not only build up these families, but I'm helping to break the cycle that mental health causes. So many poverty cases are related to unresolved trauma and lack of knowledge in budgeting. I just want to live in a world where mental health is not the largest challenge we are facing, and I think everyone can agree with this.

To never feel like you have a place in this world, to feel like if you disappeared, you could easily be forgotten. This is how my mind has been since I was 14 years old. I remember all the times I would blame myself when someone around me was upset or angry. I always thought that if I was not there to mess things up, everyone would be so happy. I remember all the times I would feel invisible because I had such a hard time making friends, let alone being invited somewhere. In high school, the doctors stated I had depression, but I remember thinking that I would much rather feel nothing, than all the self-hatred I always felt towards myself. As I got older, I remember I was so overwhelmed with the intense internal emotions I always had running through me, that I needed a way to release it, so I turned to self-harm. I never did harm myself where it was visible, because I felt like I had to punish myself for who I was. I suffered in silence. Soon the self-harm was not enough, so I turned to starvation as well. My senior year in high school, I was the skinniest I had ever been, and when people would tell me how healthy I looked, it only drove me farther down the rabbit hole of mental illness. As my freshman year of college progressed, I finally hit rock bottom. At 19 years of age, I attempted suicide. While this attempt did fail (for which I am thankful), it prompted my start in a long journey of healing, one that brought me to where I am today. While I did go on to complete my bachelor's degree in human services, I knew that I could not stop there. Currently, I am working to achieve my master's degree in clinical social work, where I plan to use my mental health challenges as my primary drive for uplifting and building the next generation. I want to use my experience with mental health challenges for the benefit of others. I want to ensure that all children feel and learn they have a place in this world, so they can go on to graduate high school and become successful. I do not want any child or teenager to ever feel the way I have felt about myself in the past. My way to combat mental health is to treat it like a golden rule. Treat everyone you encounter like you have always dreamed of being treated. Be somebody who makes everybody feel like somebody, and thanks to my battle with mental health, I know firsthand how to go about creating this environment. Once I achieve my master's degree, there is no amount of good work I will not be equipped for.

I do know that I could play a role in the life of a child such as Rebecca as a clinical social worker. This is where my passion lies, and why I am going on to get my master's education, because of children like Rebecca. It is encouraging as I read the heart behind why this scholarship is being offered, and I realized, that I could do so many things once I earn my degree to help not only children like Rebecca but the family as well. Even though I am just starting my journey in higher education, below I have outlined a starting plan on how I would go about treating Rebecca, and her family: Get to know the family- before I got to know Rebecca on her own, I would want to take the time to get to know her family. I want to know how having Rebecca has impacted their lives, where their hearts are at, what they enjoy doing as a family, and anything that gives me a glimpse into the heart of the family. It is important as a social worker to learn all about the child's environment and what their family is like because it gives me an idea of where my supports need to go. This means seeking support for the family and the child. Social work is about caring for the entire picture. The next thing I would plan to do would be to get to know Rebecca. Meeting with her family prior, I could be aware of what she likes and what she does not like. This is important because for me to set up a meeting room, I would want her to be as comfortable and feel as welcome as possible. I want to get to know Rebecca so I can make observations, but also so I can build a connection with her, and get to see a glimpse into her heart and mind. Once that relationship is built, I can glean things from Rebecca, that will help me develop a more in-depth plan as our time continues. A social worker's primary job is to connect all resources and build bridges. After connecting with the family, I would connect with her doctor and therapist. If she did not have therapy connections at this point, I would work with her primary doctor to make sure the family is aware of all options, and that we select therapies that are going to benefit Rebecca. Once I connect all resources, we can all work together in collaboration for the benefit of Rebecca. From this point, I would keep track of important therapy goals, important doctor appointments, and whatever adaptive equipment Rebecca would need (speech tablet, wheelchair, a special bed, etc), I would make sure I would work with the family to ensure they get all of this equipment. would work with insurance companies and other companies that would even be willing to donate, to help ensure the family is as supported as they, in turn, support Rebecca. My overall hope and goal is to support Rebecca, and the family, and build bridges among all treatment options. This is how we can create community, and ensure that Rebecca gets all of the love she has always deserved. This scholarship essay gives me great joy, because it is scenarios like this I will get to be a part of someday, and even though Rebecca may no longer be in this world, I hope to have such a positive impact on families like this one with the degree I earn in a few years from now.

Mental health is everything. It often shapes what a person sees, believes, thinks, and acts. I am no different. I have struggled with making friends and joining a community because I have always felt like I do not matter as much as others or that I am just not the type of person that someone would miss. I have spent many nights overthinking and wondering ways to make myself different. In the end, I realized, I am the same as anyone else. However, having dealt with mental health and knowing what it takes to overcome these challenges, I know that I have to do something to be the one to offer change for those I encounter. For these reasons, I have decided to become a clinical social worker and work within a school district to promote early intervention tactics. I want to be the one who tells children early on in life just how much they each mean to the world. I want to contribute to lowering child suicide rates, decreasing the risk of depression and anxiety among children, and even increasing high school graduation. This is my dream. I want the next generation to be empowered, and to limit the amount of adverse childhood experiences, so they can in turn grow up feeling confident, and important, and be equipped with the proper skills to handle stress. I want to see a generation that does not have to battle mental illness. Imagine a generation so empowered, that nothing is in their way. Imagine healthy minds, bodies, and healthy thoughts in children. I truly believe that mental health is a continuing cycle, that until people are strong enough to face it, it will continue to wreak havoc on lives. I am going on with my education to get a master's in social work, so I can learn the necessary skills and methods to be able to create this type of change within a school district. I have chosen a school district because I will be able to impact many student lives in one area, and I can also help to offer resources to families at the same time. I know that receiving higher education is something that I have to do in life, and I would be lying if I said understanding higher education and figuring out a way to pay for it, was not impacting my mental health. I am trying to be proactive in applying for scholarships to lessen the build on loans and debt. I want to be all I can for the future children I encounter, and I want to someday be able to show how I overcame my mental health, I want to instill this work ethic in other children. I cannot do this if I do not obtain some scholarships to lessen the burden of debt. If I receive this scholarship, I promise it will not only improve my mental health, but it will contribute to making me the best I can be, so I can start battling mental illness for the next generation.

I was raised in a home that always believed, "Your good isn't good enough if it can be better." While I am the daughter of a blue-collar father and a stay-at-home mother who raised me and my special needs brother, they always taught me to strive to be better, because they said they wanted me to have a better chance than they did. They have always known that I was meant for great things, and while they could never prepare me for college, they gave me the necessary skills required to go on in life such as responsibility, drive, respect, and the ability to know that quitting is never an option in life. My senior year of high school came, and I applied to colleges like everyone else in my class, except I was different. I could only apply to one, because I had no college fund to look forward to, and my parents were not going to let me take out a large student loan. I am incredibly grateful to have finished my bachelor's with no debt, and I did not have to move or pay rent. I still struggled with classes and managing two jobs to pay for them. However, because of the drive and work ethic my parents instilled in me, I graduated with my bachelor's in July of 2024 with a 3.9 GPA. My parents never once doubted my abilities, and they offered all the support they could to help my college years go by as they did. Fast forward to now, where I just applied for graduate school, and I cannot even begin to imagine what this is going to look like for me, as neither one of my parents completed any college, let alone a master's program. There is one thing my parents did give me to prepare me to start this journey, and that is the ability to ask good questions and seek out tasks to ensure responsibility. I have gleaned nothing but support from my family and my now work supervisor, as my supervisor started some masters, and she helped to direct me to people I could seek advice from. I was recently accepted into a graduate program for social work, and I chose this profession all because of my parents. I know I would not be where I am today without how my parents raised me. They could be tough sometimes, but even then, I have the necessary self-help skills, cognitive thinking skills, and the ability to keep going when everyone else seems to give up. I may not know what to expect in my coming years as a graduate student, but I know because of the character skills my parents gave me, I will succeed. Someday I hope to be a social worker in a school district so I can teach these same character skills to other children, so someday, there can be an entire generation that has a voice, drive, responsibility, and the ability to never give up, even when they do not see a way to complete it. I can honestly say, that being a first-generation college student, is not something I should be proud of, but my parents should because they gave me the opportunity neither of them ever had.

Mental health is the world's largest problem. Mental health contributes to poverty, physical health, emotional stability, jobs, families, and so many more. Mental health shapes a person, and for this, I am striving to become the professional person I am, so I can aid in helping so many overcome their mental health challenges. As for someone who has struggled with their mental health, I know what it feels like, and I want to ensure that I can help as many people as possible to not succumb to poor mental health. Not only am I currently working to get my graduate degree in Social Work, but currently I work in a non-profit that aids families of young children who struggle living in poverty, foster care, or with disabilities to build them up to overcome these barriers. I have only been employed for a year now and I have noticed so much need for mental health awareness, and while my job does not technically fall under that rein, I have found so many ways to build this into my job to strengthen the families I serve, and to bring the community together to establish a bridge of support. My goal is to help these families overcome their mental health, so they can in turn teach their children and everyone around them. I'm working with a domino effect because I understand that while it takes one person to help another, this must continue down the line to see such large social change. I also strive for this method with co-workers as well. The organization I work for hires teachers to look after, teach, and care for the children each day, and a lot of these teachers are either past parents, current parents, or people who need help building up their lives. I strive to be that person they can lean on to talk to when times are tough. I try my best to offer support such as teaching them ways to handle stress or to ensure they have food to go home to, or if there is a barrier in their life they need help overcoming. I encourage these conversations, and I encourage my co-workers to have these conversations with each other to build up connections and support with one another. In summary, I live my life in a way that advocates for mental health. I know what it is like to feel alone, to feel like I have no place in this world, and because of this, I shape how I have conversations and how I treat people. I understand right now that my voice does not have a large impact on a majority of people, which I why I am continuing my education to be able to grow my abilities to raise voices in others. I want to let my life advocate for mental health, to be the same I am at work as I am with every person I encounter. This is why mental health means so much to me, because it shaped me into who I am today, and I want this beauty in everyone I can encounter.

When I was a child, I had a dream to take care of others. I thought this meant being a princess like Cinderella, as funny as that sounds. I knew I wanted to make the world better, I just had no idea what this would mean for me when I became older. When I was in high school, we had a career day at my school, and so many different career professionals came to talk about what they do for a living, and why they love it. I remember only one of those professions stood out to me, and that was social work. I remember she talked about how she gets to help families stay together, and how she taught them to form a healthy environment. It was right then and there I knew, that I had to learn what it took to become one, but I had a huge challenge in front of me, I was the first person in my family to go to college, and I had no idea how I was going to pay for it, as I never was given a college fund. I was able to learn how to apply for college and got accepted, and the support I had during my freshman year encouraged me to get a general human services degree that would allow me to help others. While I earned this degree, I worked two jobs to pay for it and encountered a lot of stress, but still, I pushed forward. Once I obtained this degree, I began working for a non-profit that helps families with young children who are in foster care, in poverty, or children who have disabilities and need special care. While the work they do is amazing, I know that there is more I can do, and my heart leans towards children and youth. I want to go on and get my graduate degree in social work because I know now I am meant to work in a school district. I want to bring an environment that aims to lower child suicide rates and increase high school graduation. I want to make school districts a haven where children can come and learn, get proper nutrition, and learn that they have a voice and they matter. I want to be able to help equip the next generation to be better and have access to so many opportunities other generations before never had. While my childhood self wanted to be Cinderella so I could clean and help all the little animals, I know that my adult self is still following along with the same heart, only more seasoned, and now I know that helping others is what I have been created for all along. This scholarship would mean you would be helping me to learn what is necessary so I can help the next generation to be the best generation this world has ever seen.

To Whom It May Concern, Imagine a place where no child goes to bed hungry. A place where there is no child suicide, all children are given the ability to learn the best way that works for them, a place where there are no high school dropouts. This is my dream, I want to see the next generation thrive and have all the opportunities so many before never got. This is why I am going forward in achieving a master's degree in Social Work. I graduated with a bachelor's in Human Services in July of 2024, but before then I was not only working my part-time job to pay for school at night, but I was working my full-time day job at a non-profit organization that works with children 0-3 years and their families. These children are either in foster care, in poverty, or suffer from disabilities and require special assistance. This is what really sparked my heart and mind to go on with my education, as I see so much need around me every day, and the non-profit I work for can only assist a small fraction of the families actually in need. I cannot help but think how much good this organization could benefit the entire state of Montana if it had the right people equipped to build those bridges and partnerships. If I can go on with my education, I will learn those skills necessary to help this organization thrive in so many ways. I dream of having multiple locations all over the state that tailor to early education for these young children and families. I see the ability to add service lines to provide teletherapy, family therapy, child therapy/play therapy, and to build bridges with local organizations in each county to provide families/communities with housing assistance, food accessibility, and free financial education to help families learn how to structure their budget and homes to climb out of poverty. I have a dream to touch whole communities by creating relationships and building bridges with so many. I do not want to earn this degree for myself, but I want to know what it takes to achieve a huge dream such as mine. I want to see the entire state of Montana thriving because of each other. I want to create a resilient environment, an environment that understands growth comes from the connection of others, an environment in which children can only thrive. I am seeking this scholarship because I want to solely focus on education and how I can develop myself to benefit others. I do not want to have to work multiple jobs like I did for my undergraduate degree, because I will not be the best I can be for others. This scholarship means, you contribute to the success and flourishment of the next generation, to see social problems disappear, to see poverty out of the description of so many lives. This is my dream. Thank you for your consideration, Jessica Tiry

To Whom It May Concern, Imagine a world where child suicide rates are nonexistent and children succeed at early levels of education, decreasing their likelihood of high school dropout. This is my dream: to dedicate my life as a social worker for the benefit of all the young children around me and the ones I can encounter. While I have already obtained a bachelor's degree, I realized I have to have a graduate degree to make this dream a reality, and the price is the only true barrier in my way. Below, you will see where I started with my plan where I am now, and how a scholarship will help me to achieve my ultimate dream. I first obtained a bachelor's degree to narrow down the group of people I wanted to serve: young children and youth. This led to my employment with a non-profit organization, where I did just that. While this job is helping me to get one step forward with my dream, the amount of money I make working is not enough to help me advance to the next step in making my dream a reality, that is, paying for a graduate degree. On February 5, 2025, I was accepted into Carroll College in Helena, Montana to pursue my graduate degree in Social Work, and I am looking at a total cost of around $50,000. This degree is necessary to advance onto the next step of making my dream a reality, and this is where I need scholarships and aid, as I cannot give children, youth, and other underprivileged people the attention and care they deserve if I am working a second job to help pay off loans (like I did for my undergraduate degree). I am putting in the effort to earn this degree, not for myself, but because I know if I equip myself with the necessary knowledge and skills, I can make this world a better place and the next generation will flourish and turn the world into the greatness it was meant to be. Once I earn the degree, I will then apply for a candidacy license, where I will work under someone while studying to complete the licensure exam. From there, I will be ready to officially start working to accomplish my dream for the remainder of the years to come. Awarding me this scholarship means you get to be a part of seeing the next generation flourish. You get to know that you contributed to someone who is taking on a big role in graduate school, to see others built up, to see communities put back together, to see children living happier and healthier lives, to see child suicide a thing of the past. To see high schools awarding diplomas to all of their students. This is what this scholarship represents, not myself, but all the children counting on me to get this degree completed. Thank you for your time and consideration, Jessica Tiry