I am one of the luckiest people alive. Why might that be? I do not know of a life without dogs. I grew up with at least two dogs running around the house for as long as I can remember. My dogs have always been a comfort to me whether I was young and had just fallen off my bike, or if I was all grown up and experiencing loss and grief for the first time. I believe that having dogs in my life taught me how to be compassionate and love something more than myself or my family. When I was ten years old, I convinced my parents that I wanted a puggle. For those who are unaware of what that breed is, it is a mix of a pug and a beagle. I had grown up with all big dogs and convinced my parents that we needed to try a smaller dog. I had no idea the day we picked up that foul breathed baby that he would eventually save me from myself years down the road. About six years later, I lost my dad to cancer. Of course I leaned on my mother and brother for comfort but the one who really gave me the support I needed was my dog. That dog stayed with me day and night, cuddled with me every night, and licked my tears when I cried. Receiving that kind of love helped me cope with the enormous loss I had experienced. Not too long ago, I had to say goodbye to my best friend. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do outside of the loss of my dad. The hole left from losing that dog was more than I ever could have anticipated. I was in such a deep depression my family was starting to worry about me. A couple of months after losing him, my family tricked me into going to a local animal shelter. I came home with my soul dog that day. This poor boy had been beaten and left for dead and had absolutely no interested parties in adoption since joining the shelter months prior. As soon as saw him alone in his crate I knew that he needed to come home with me. The first few months we spent learning one another and healing together from our past traumas. Now, we are inseparable. Since adopting Castiel, I registered him as an emotional support animal and trained him myself. We have moved cross country and started new life journeys together. I have also since rescued two other dogs who were also in rough shape and waiting to find their forever families. All three of my rescue dogs have bonded and created such a unique family around me and my husband. Each one brings joy to my day with different aspects of their personalities. They provide such comfort and support for me that I am unable to find elsewhere. Owning dogs and rescuing them has quite literally saved my life. I am constantly thankful for the presence they have in my life and do everything in my power to give them the best life they can have. I believe everyone should be able to love at least one dog in their life and feel the change their love has on your world.

A little over one year ago, I accepted a job into the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. This was my first job in the psychology field since graduating with my BS in Psychology during the peak of the pandemic. On day one as an RBT I found my calling. I fell in love with the atmosphere provided by my BCBA's as well as the amazing children I am able to work with. Three months into this job I knew that I wanted to progress further into the field. After many discussions with my supervising BCBA, I decided that I wanted to pursue my master's degree in applied behavior analysis with an emphasis on Autism Spectrum Disorder. Not long after I joined the world of ABA I learned of the negative stigma associated with the field. I researched more about this, only growing more horrified by each story I read of individuals detailing their traumatic experiences with our practice. The depictions of certain techniques that some of these individuals had gone through deeply troubled me. My supervisors and fellow colleagues only treated our clients with the utmost respect and love. To learn that there were individuals out there that abused their privilege of working with such an amazing population sparked a new desire in me. Now, not only did I want to get my master's degree in ABA, but I wanted to help create a new name for ABA. Through becoming a BCBA, my aim is to incorporate more trauma-informed care as well as the principles of positive behavior support. The underlying goal behind ABA is to help individuals with neurodiversity increase helpful behaviors and decrease certain behaviors that may be harmful or detrimental to the individual's ability to learn or live. The importance of trauma-informed care and positive behavior support are crucial in creating a new name for ABA in which individuals are exposed to a more positive therapeutic avenue compared to that observed in the past of ABA. Implementing positive behavior support principles will provide individuals with proper prevention strategies, replacement skills, and the ability to respond to challenging behaviors; thus improving their quality of life. The purpose of using this form of applied behavior analysis is to remove restrictive interventions and supply our clients with the ability to overcome aversive behaviors or stimuli on their own. As registered behavior technicians, we are trying to teach our clients how to essentially live without us. Some neurodiverse individuals will need interventions throughout their entire life, however our objective is to equip these individuals with enough strategies that they no longer need us in order to have a higher quality of life. I have been lucky enough to watch first hand how positive behavior support principles can vastly improve the quality of life in individuals with developmental disabilities. In the time I have been an RBT, I have worked with two different children who displayed severe maladaptive behaviors when faced with challenges. Prior to applying positive behavior support principles as well as a behavior support plan, both children actively engaged in these behaviors when anything aversive arose. Some of these triggers included engaging in functional communication, the presence of a peer, and a change in their environment. Since implementing positive behavior support and a behavior support plan, both clients have greatly decreased maladaptive behavior as well as increased their ability to communicate when an aversive event emerges. The progress that I have been able to witness first hand in these children since incorporating these principles is astonishing. I have always desired to work in a field where I was able to help people. After finding the perfect field for helping individuals with neurodiversity, I saw how I could transform the field of applied behavior analysis. The implementation of positive behavior support techniques and trauma-informed care is the future in making ABA not only successful, but crucial for those with developmental disabilities to improve their quality of life. If awarded this scholarship, I will use the funds to help provide me with the education needed to one day create a more person-centered and positive version of applied behavior analysis.

Growing up, I experienced more loss than most children should. I lost three of the most important male role models in my life all within a span of three years. Each of these losses came at a time when I was in a different stage in my life. When I was in high school, I lost my dad to stage four stomach cancer. While coming to terms with this, I became severely depressed and anxious. Shortly after I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression. When your mind is compromised by illnesses such as these, normal life seems moot. I lost interest in going to church and I started to withdraw from the only family members I had left. Medication and therapy saved me. I volunteered at a horse ranch where horses and cows were used as a therapeutic outlet for individuals with mental illness, domestic and sexual assault victims, and special needs children. My time on the ranch helped teach me that therapy can come in many different forms and is not always the stereotypical sitting on a couch and divulging your life to a stranger. It was through these different outlets that I was able to begin healing and changing my mental health for the better. Fast forward to college, I was studying psychology in the hopes of becoming a trauma counselor. This is when I suffered the lost of my coach who was a close family friend and the loss of my uncle. During this time my mental health began to deteriorate. I watched as each member of my family slowly began to disassociate with life, myself included. Fortunately I met someone during this time that changed my life catastrophically, and I married him. My husband helped bring me out of a very dark place and helped provide me with the tools I needed to begin healing again. If it wasn't for him, I am not sure what road I would currently be on. Although I was fortunate enough to get the help I needed, my family was not. Despite all of my efforts as well as the efforts of others, they were unwilling to accept help. I watched my mother become severely depressed and lose her love of life. I watched my brother turn to substances to numb the pain he was feeling from losing so many loved ones. I knew that if I couldn't help them I needed to make sure that I could help others. I graduated college with a BS in psychology. In my route of gaining experience to become a trauma counselor I ended up in another subfield of psychology. I found myself in the world of Applied Behavior Analysis. While working in this field I got to work with a multitude of children who were diagnosed with a variety of disabilities. Many of these children not only suffered with the inability to live a normal life, but with a history of trauma similar to what I grew up with. Working with these kids helped me to find my true self again. I am now on the path to continuing my education in hopes of getting my Masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. With this degree I will be given the chance to work one on one with more children in need and help change their lives as well as providing support for their mental health journey.

Protecting our planet is one of the most important issues in our society that is most commonly overlooked. Older generations feel no need to protect the planet since Earth has always supported them. As an individual in a younger generation, I see how our Earth has been impacted by years of inconsideration for our planet. We only get one planet and it is our duty to protect and clean it not only for ourselves but for our future generations whom we will leave the planet to. As I am learning more about my personal global footprint, I have implemented multiple life changes in hopes of doing my part to save the planet. I make sure to recycle as many products as I can. I regularly visit my local beaches and pick up trash that I find in the ocean as well as littered on the beach. I also try to implement other modes of transportation whether that be walking, bike riding, or carpooling with others. Although I may not be entirely eco friendly in my day to day life, I do my best to implement what I can and be mindful of how my actions can impact the Earth. I believe if everyone on Earth were able to do even the bare minimum of becoming environmentally friendly, we could make a positive impact for our planet. Change has to start soon in order to protect our planet and I am a firm believer in doing whatever you can to help prevent and stop our current climate crisis.

When I was a junior in high school, I lost my dad to stage four stomach cancer. He had an ongoing fight with this disease for almost three years. My younger brother and I watched as my dad first received his diagnosis and was only given six months to live. After months of treatment, we were told that our dad was in remission. Towards the beginning of my junior year of high school, his health started to deteriorate again. This time, cancer won the fight. On November 11, my family was forever changed. I soon began to hide behind my passion for softball using that as an outlet to cope. I spent more time on the field than I did in my own home. I pushed my body to a breaking point which would eventually disallow me to continue the sport collegiately. After losing my dad, I was able to finish high school and graduate with honors. Immediately after that I started my degree in Psychology. I buried myself in schoolwork and my job in order to avoid dealing with the loss of my dad. During my second year of college, I received word that a coach of mine had passed away suddenly. I had lost touch with this coach after starting my degree and had not spoken to him in over a year. This coach was not like any other I had ever had before. He was my second dad, and had stepped into that role gracefully after the passing of my father. He helped my family financially and emotionally by playing such a huge role as a caretaker of sorts for us. After hearing the news of another loss, I was broken. I became severely depressed and began to relive the loss of my father while mourning my coach’s passing. I pushed myself harder than I ever had academically or physically and began withdrawing from my family. My mother became consumed with fear and guilt and my brother turned to drugs to numb the pain. I was barely able to take care of myself let alone my family. It was a miracle when I met my now husband during college. Initially the resemblance he had to my dad concerned me and made me put up barriers for fear of losing another person close to me. Over the years, he was able to open me up emotionally and help me heal. I began therapy for the first time and was starting to come to terms with my emotions and grief that had once made my life so difficult. In doing so, I was able to graduate from college with a BS in Psychology. Although I would give anything to have my loved ones back with me, they left me with something more valuable than I could ever have achieved alone. They gave me a new purpose in life. More than ever I wanted to help kids overcome traumatic experiences and loss just as I had. I was not able to help my brother, but I am able to help other kids just like him. I have come to learn the importance of mental health and how incredibly undervalued it is in our society. So many people are dealing with silent battles without the ability to help themselves. That is what I am fighting for. I am fighting for the opportunity to help others find a new purpose in their life even when they don’t want to fight anymore. I am fighting to advocate for mental health and the importance of getting help before it is too late. I am fighting to help save our youth from the ugliness of the world. After losing some of the most important people in the world to me, I did not think that I would recover. I did not think I had any fight left in me to continue, until someone helped me. Now, I have more drive and motivation than ever to pursue this dream to support others like me and my family. If given the ability to continue my education, I would be working one on one with special needs kids whom many have already been exposed to trauma far younger than I ever was. This is my passion and what my losses have helped mold me to do. I know without a doubt that my loved ones are guiding me to this path and believe I can make a difference. Believe in me too.