Many people with EDS have a type of dysautonomia. I have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) which is a type of dysautonomia. I was diagnosed in the middle of seventh grade. I remember the feeling of going downhill. I wasn’t sleeping well, I was extremely fatigued in class. I was barely able to complete my school work and my grades began to drop. When I was diagnosed I was basically bed bound. I was taken out of school and was home schooled, which I didn’t even have energy for. I felt like my life was falling apart, and there was nothing I could do to put it back together. Before being diagnosed with POTS, I had an academic plan. I wanted to graduate middle school and go to my dream arts high school to pursue theatre. However, being diagnosed with POTS completely changed my plan. I was no longer able to attend school in person and began being homeschooled in eighth grade. During that time, I was put on different medications and attending physical therapy. I decided to go back to public school for my freshman year of high school. It was during the pandemic and all classes were online. I was barely able to join the online classes either because of my condition. Freshman year was very hard. I had an IEP but multiple teachers did not understand my condition. I was constantly fighting to keep my grades up. I had to push through fatigue and countless flare ups. However, I didn’t let this discourage me. I continued to attend weekly physical therapy. PT was used as a way for me to train my body, build endurance and stamina so that I would be able to attend school in person again. I was determined to conquer and exceed my goals. What I wanted more than anything was to be able to attend school again. In the end, my hard work paid off. For my sophomore year I was able to transfer to my dream arts school. I began going to school for half days, and by my Junior year I was going back to in person school full time. I decided against being an actress. When I transferred high schools, I realized, even with the strength I had gained from physical therapy, I didn’t have the stamina to be onstage. Instead of taking this as a defeat, I decided to pivot. I still wanted to be involved in theater productions, so I signed up for the crew. I was put on the lighting team since it was a role that didn’t require much physically. It was this experience that pushed me toward my current career. I am currently attending Greensboro College majoring in technical theatre with a focus in lighting design. One of the reasons I decided to go to this private institution is because of its small size. When looking at colleges, I had to keep in mind what would be best for my health. A smaller campus was always the biggest factor. As someone with POTS, navigating a big campus everyday would not be good in the long run, as I would constantly be fatigued. This did come with a cost. Since it is a private institution, tuition is more expensive. My parents are helping me pay for school and they have limited combined income due to my father’s disabilities. This scholarship would put it towards my monthly tuition bill and help me pursue my goals despite my disability.

As a lighting designer working in the theatre industry, I plan to make a positive impact by creating a space for people to come and immerse themselves in the stories they watch unfold onstage. Theatre has always been my biggest inspiration. I was a young child sitting in the audience before the show started. Surrounding me were a variety of people. Different ages, races, and ethnicities. I left the theatre that day in absolute awe of what I had experienced. I loved the music, the costumes, and the songs. However, one thing stuck with me the most. I thought about the people that were in the theatre with me. They all came from different backgrounds, had different lives, different opinions, and different struggles. But the moment we all stepped inside the theatre, we all came together as one. From that day forward, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be one of the people that works to bring people together through the performing arts. I found my role in high school when I started designing the lights for my high school’s theatre productions. The lighting of a show not only can establish location or time of day, it also sets a mood. My job is to contribute to a scene by using color and texture to evoke a certain emotion from the audience. Art always reflects what is going on in the world. It can be incredibly political, showcasing the conflict of the current times. My goal is to provide whatever the audience desires. Experiencing a theatrical show can inspire one to get up and make a change, just like it had done for me all those years ago. Something that stuck out to me while working in this industry is that theatre is not always accessible. Show tickets can be expensive. Funding for theatres can be low. One of my dreams is to give more kids a chance to experience live theatre. This includes founding a theatre that gives children the opportunity to attend acting classes and theatre camps free of charge, provides sensory friendly shows and accessible facilities for people of all disabilities, and charging low prices for tickets so more people can experience the magic of theatre. I want to give the next generation the platform to believe in themselves and create their own change on the world.