The future is full of endless possibilities, and my list of things I hope to accomplish grows every day. My career goals are to go to Liberty University, graduating in May 2029 with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Upon graduation, I also would like to have a trauma certification as well as my RN. Following college, my goal is to start as a trauma nurse, and eventually do other specialties, such as emergency room nursing, PEDS nursing, and flight nursing. I have also considered returning to school and getting my Master's Degree in order to advance my job to a Nurse Practitioner. My dream of becoming a nurse stems from the root of having a strong desire to help others. When I was a kid, I was in the hospital for two weeks, and now ten years later I still remember my nurses and the impact they had on me. I want to be able to have that same impact on any life I have the opportunity to come in contact with. With this scholarship, I am one step closer to paying for college, meaning I am also one step closer to fulfilling my passion through nursing. Without college, I will have a much more difficult time getting a job as a trauma nurse. While it is possible to do it through programs, it will take much longer and be less efficient compared to going through college. Using the route of college, I am easily able to get my BSN, RN, and trauma certification and enter the job upon graduation. If I choose to go through programs or other methods of achieving certifications and license, it will take me years of experience to reach the trauma job. Getting this scholarship would help me get through the most important step of achieving my goals. College is expensive, and regardless of how much you work it is hard to save enough money. As an involved high school student in academics, sports and clubs, working two jobs on top of that is very challenging. Receiving a scholarship such as this one will allow me to focus more on school and less on the cost of it. My tuition each year amounts to about $40k, so any help I can get to pay for school is greatly appreciated. This scholarship obviously does not cover my cost of college, but it helps me get a little bit closer to achieving my goal and dream of becoming a nurse. I am very passionate about fulfilling this career goals and am very grateful for any help I can get in making it happen. Thank you for your consideration!

One large issue that is faced in any community is the use of alcohol and drugs with high school students. As a high school student myself, I see this all around me constantly. By becoming the president of a club at my school, I've done my best to promote change. A large part of what I do is address the stigma about the use of drugs or alcohol. Through school data surveys, creating posters, handing out t-shirts, and giving out candy, we show students that it isn't popular to drink. In my four years working with the club, the number of students using these substances has decreased by nearly 5-10% in most cases. By showing students that it is only a small number of people who are using these substances, it's created a mindset that they don't have to do it as well to "look cool". We have also gone into the community and labeled boxes in pizza places and liquor stores with stickers that say "alcohol products should not be sold to minors". Many times the problem in our community is the places that allow underage students to buy these products. If I had to expand my efforts, I would do more to try and help with the community aspect. Recognizing the issue throughout the community, raising more awareness, and trying to prevent it more through others would be a huge help. I have been involved with this because I have had multiple family members largely affected by the use of drugs and alcohol in their life. Although they aren't doing it underage, I still have seen the effects it has on people and I am passionate to prevent that for many people.

Since I was little, I have always said I would do something in healthcare. I've always loved helping other people regardless of the situation and being able to comfort people. Being in the medical field is the perfect opportunity to combine those two things. As a healthcare profession, your responsibility is to take care of others and provide comfort to them in any state they are experiencing. It also interests me to have a chance to impact every patient you come in contact with. In a major time of need for any patient, the professional working with them has the opportunity to create a warm environment and a place where they feel safe. I want to be the one who helps every patient to feel at ease no matter what they're experiencing. On top of all of this, health care workers are always treating individuals to allow them to retuen to the best possible state they can be in. They have a huge impact on society, not only in caring for the ill, but also in their immeadiate response to any situation involving someone's life. Whether it is an EMT or a surgeon, each plays a roll as a first responder that is largely significant to the lives of every individual. During high school, I have bene a part of any classes and prgrams that have shown me many different things involved with health care, creating even more passion for the career I want. I was given a chance to shadow EMTs, seeing the first hand care the provide and all the work they have to do. I was also in a health careers program that allowed me to go into hospitals and shadow different departments in the position of my interest. Throughout both of these, I was learning more about health care and falling more in love with it. As a current high school senior, my plans to go into healthcare include being a part of Liberty University's Nursing Program in the fall of 2025. Through that program, I plan to graduate with my BSN and pass the NCLEX-RN to become a registered nurse. After experience, I would like to specialize in trauma nursing. However, I would love to have the opportunity to work in many different departments, as each has their own role and impact on healthcare. If given the chance, my goals also include being a travel nurse and combining my love of going new places with my love for healthcare.

When I was a kid, I used to travel from Pennsylvania to Tennessee often to visit my grandparents. However, my family would take the trip overnight, so I would have to find the most comfortable position to sleep in. When I was in 5th grade, we took a trip down and I just couldn't find any position that I could sleep in. I was twisting and turning all trip, not paying attention to the directions I was going. When we arrived at 12:30 am and I tried to unbuckle, I wasn't able to get out. I looked down at my seatbelt and realized somehow, throughout the night, I had twisted it so much that I had knotted it around my body. Loudly screaming, I fought with the seat belt, while trying to get the attention of my parents. Finally, my dad came out to the car and asked what the problem was. At first when I told him that I was stuck in my seatbelt, he didn't believe me. Once he saw that I was truly stuck, and it was knotted around me, he began trying to figure out the easiest way to get me out without having to cut the seatbelt. We tried any different things, but the more we tried, the more the seat belt would lock and disable me from getting out. That's when we had to get more help. We called for my mom, grandma, and grandpa. After sitting there for a few minutes, trying to decide the best way to get me out, we decided the easiest thing to do would be to pull me out of the trunk, since I was in the back seat. My dad and grandpa went to the back to pull me out, while my mom and grandma stayed with me to try to pull the seat belt off. We continued trying this and it still wasn't working. At this point, it was one in the morning, and we were all getting tired. I was in tears because the seal belt hurt, my mom and grandma were in tears from laughing, and my dad was growing more and more frustrated. With the placement of the seat belt around my waist, we took my shorts off to make it easier to pull me out, thinking that maybe that was preventing us from getting me out. Finally, after 45 minutes of trying, I was sweaty enough that they were able to slip me right out the trunk of the car. At 1:15 am we were finally able to go inside and go to bed, there was just a slight hold up after I got stuck in my seat belt at age 10.