In regards to my lack of familial support, I remember having a heart to heart conversation with my dad about him being able to attend my wedding with my husband. He admitted he couldn't go since he was raised very Catholic and it would go against his beliefs. I found this strange because he got along great with my then fiancé, it was the marriage part that he could not agree with. Instead of making a huge deal out of this, I told my father this: "Dad, I never wanted to be gay. I wanted to have a family and see my own kids acting like me, or looking like me and I will never get to experience this. I reminded him that it took me awhile to come out of the closet, and it took me a long time to accept and love myself. Although I knew I was gay since I was a kid, it was something that I never wanted to accept. I made poor choices and I even lived on the streets for 3 years due to trying to hide who I really was. After falling in love with myself and changing my life around, I met the man of my dreams and even my own parents witnessed how much of a beautiful impact this relationship was having on me. I told my dad that the same way it took me time to accept myself, to try and take the time to really accept me as a gay son. Sure, it was not going to be easy, but it wasn't easy for me either, so I told him to take his time like I did. It hit my dad right away and he even admitted that he never looked at it the way I put it and he promised he would do what he could to change. Sure enough, 3 months later, not only did my dad attend my wedding, but I later found out that my dad was trying to pay for everything at my wedding reception. After 15 years with my husband, I can honestly say they are best friends and they get along amazingly. As for my educational goals and aspirations, I would love to become a dental hygienist who travels to people's homes to clean their teeth. To do this, I would need to obtain a Bachelor Degree in Dental Hygiene and I also need to obtain an Alternative Practice license. Over the past 9.5 years I have been cleaning kids' teeth and I specialize on working with kids who have disabilities of some type. My regulars have been calling me Dr Carlos, and this is what prompted me to enroll in college at the age of 44. I am now 3 classes away to applying to the program and I couldn't be more excited. This year, I was a recipient for the Point Foundation Community College Scholarship, and because of this, I will become a mentor towards others who are interested in pursuing their educational goals. Life is awesome, and the more one can realize this, the more blessings can come their way. By becoming a travelling dental hygienist, I can also go to the homes of people in my LGBTQ+ community so that they don't have to face the fears of discrimination in a healthcare environment, especially while they are transitioning. Thank you committee for taking the time to read this, I appreciate this opportunity :)

Due to being recently implanted with cochlear implants in both ears, I find that utilizing my disability helps with maintaining mental wellness. Prior to being implanted, I wore hearing aids my whole life. I always found that whenever I removed my hearing aids at night to shower, or to sleep, this quietness and deafness that I would experience would be my time to shut my mind and meditate. I had an ability to block out all background noises and whenever I wanted to hear again, I would simply put my hearing aids back on. All of this changed one day, and I my mental wellness was tested all over again. At the age of 46, I woke up one morning with a sudden hearing loss and this time the reality of my hearing disability really kicked in. Working in a pediatric dental office cleaning kids' teeth was something I have done for over 9.5 years and now I was really struggling and it was making me realize how bad my hearing really is. I quickly decided to proceed with my cochlear implants so that I could turn my situation into a much better situation and I have been completely blown away by the results of this surgery. This whole new experience is what helps keep my mental wellness in place since I choose to find the blessings in every situation. This has been a strategy I have learned to utilize from a young age and if everyone could understand this, it could help us all. Life is supposed to be hard, there is never an easy way to live. I have always felt that you need to be challenged to grow and once we succumb to our insecurities and defeats, it can take a toll on us and it can be hard to come out of it. Taking a moment to celebrate ourselves is never a bad thing to do, and we all have something to celebrate! Thank you!

For the past 20 years, I have been working as a dental assistant. Over the course of the past 9 years, I have specifically worked at a pediatric dental office that specializes in children only. After years of working here, many of the parents and patients have been calling me Dr. Carlos. I decided to take this as a sign to go to school and further my education so that I can advance in my career with dentistry. My goal? To become a travelling dental hygienist so that I can better serve the special needs population. Many of my regulars, and many of my patients that request me only would love the fact that I can bring my own equipment to their house and set up for dental cleanings there. That way kids on the spectrum, or children with development disabilities do not need to come to our office for the cleanings. Sometimes the environment in a dental office can be too much for them, and sometimes getting to the office can become a challenge in itself for parents of these children. As a Registered Dental Hygienist with an Alternative Practice license, I feel I can do great deeds by helping this under represented population. This is how I choose to make an impact on the world with my services in the healthcare. Thank you!

Wow, how can I answer this without getting too excited?! First off, as a 47-year-old student, I know first handily how much harder it is to lose weight at my age. I am aware that my metabolism is not the same as it used to be so for this reason alone, superfoods are crucial to my diet. After doing a couple of Ayurvedic Cleanses to recalibrate my body's intake and choice of foods, I must say that ZI finally achieved the goal of knowing and understanding what my body needs and when I need it. Sure, we must drink plenty of fluids, that's a given...but what about our greens and superfoods? I for one, being a Latino, love eating all kinds of foods, and to make it easier on my body, I have become more selective when it comes to eating. For example, if I crave my tortillas, I will warm one up and line the inside with hummus and then I will stuff my tortilla with a handful of spinach, bean sprouts, or shredded vegetables. If I know this is going to be a meal versus a snack, I will add farro, buckwheat, or some type of heavy grain to help fill me up. Having to take a Health and Nutrition class as one of my required classes in school, I also learned the importance of calorie intake. This is also my final reason that I must pay attention to my superfoods! Fast food restaurant meals will take up all your calorie intake, so cooking from home is super crucial in making sure my body takes advantage of all the correct nutrients it needs. And lastly, aside from the extra natural energy I need at this age, these are just some of the reasons why I love my superfooods....!

All my life I have worn hearing aids in both ears due to a severe/profound hearing loss. I never really considered myself to have a disability until the pandemic hit. Due to the mandating of face masks to be worn at all times in public, my ability to lip-read was no longer an option. I struggled so hard with trying to hear as normally as possible, that I ended up losing more hearing unexpectedly. I was in the middle of my Spring '2021 semester when this happened, and as difficult as this moment was for me, I stayed in school. After numerous visits from audiologists and doctors, it was deemed that I needed a cochlear implant surgery for both ears due to my hearing aids no longer being powerful enough for me. This was hard to accept, and this was a big decision I needed to make. I was only 5 classes away from applying to the Bachelor of Sciences program to become a Dental Hygienist and my surgery was scheduled for the same week that my Spring '2022 semester would start. I signed up with the Office of Special Services to announce my decision to stay in school while undergoing this surgery, in hopes of trying to use my rehabilitation at home, as my time to stay focused on my studies. Well......It worked! I am 2 weeks away from finishing my Statistics class, and I currently have a 92 percent total grade in the class. Now, I can continue with the other 5 classes needed while I plan for my next surgery. Sometimes we are faced with obstacles in our lives and sometimes we are truly unaware of just how strong we really are. It is moments like this that we just want to survive, and without realizing it, we are impacting and inspiring our loved ones at the same time. Looking back, I never imagined I would be in school and heading in the direction that I am heading. I used to feel like I was content with living a simple life as a dental assistant in a pediatric office that I love working at. After 7 years of working there, the regular patients that I would clean teeth would eventually call be calling me Dr. Carlos. This in turn led me to get back into school so that I could make this a reality. I have a huge success working on kids with special needs and also with kids on the spectrum, so with this spark in me, I would love to give back to my community by serving this amazing population. Thank you very much for this opportunity to share my story, and may you have an awesome day on purpose!