My name is Kiana Fallis I am the oldest of 7 kids, and a single mother to a 2 year old girl at the age of 22. I love my family, and everything I’ve done was for them specifically. I have been a CNA for the past three years, doing off and on school. Graduated High-school in 2019. Currently am in a a surgical technology program, right now in clinicals. I am on a LOA, because my mother died of a brain aneurysm on Christmas Eve 2022. Recently moving back home to take care of my little sister, shes 12 with special needs. My 19 year old brother and I will be living together to support and provide for our sister. Originally I went into healthcare to take care of my siblings and be able to financially provide for my daughter and my little sister. My mother and I have always been responsible for her. My mother is gone and I have to step up fully. Being a mother, and a role model for my siblings and family is one of my biggest accomplishments in life. Growing up I’ve always suffered really bad with depression, and they always gave me validation and a purpose in life. Especially when I had my daughter at a young age. When I found out I was pregnant with her I was 19 years old, just finished CNA school, I ran away from home and was in a toxic relationship. Without my siblings or my daughter I wouldn’t be here today doing what I love. Ive been volunteering with a non profit organization called birthright for the past 2 years, they provide diapers, clothing, and even maternity clothes to mothers in need. They take donations, and provide baby food, formula, toys, socks, shoes, bedding, anything they have they will give to anyone in need that comes in. Trust me, they have helped me so much in dark times. When I finished school I plan on going back to get a business degree, and I want to be able to open my own practice and organize a women’s mental health clinic completely free, which will have benefits for single mothers and dads. It’s always something I wish my mother had when I was child, she had to struggle a lot. This scholarship will help me so much, because of my financial struggles right now. Ive been a full time student for the past two years, working on the weekends, having dhs assistance for childcare, car troubles, I personally have the worst luck in the world so 2022 has been one ride for sure. I recently had to cremate my mother and pay for all the memorial services, so financially I am set back a lot in my savings. The money I'm saving from receiving a generous scholarship like this will go towards a head stone for my mother, a car for my sister who just found out she was pregnant at the age of 19 like I was. I wont have to work as much so I can emotionally heal with my family in this hard time of losing our mother. Being able to buy things for my kid sister and daughter that I haven’t been able to since being in school full- time and being gone a lot more than I wanted to. Thank you for this opportunity to tell my story.

Kiana Fallis Scholarship 04/05/2022 My Uncle Robin who I had lived with for 2 years was one of the most empowering, and dedicated human beings you could ever meet. He took me in when nobody would, my parents had lost control of their life when I was 15. I was not able to live with them anymore, and he saved me. My favourite memory with this man was when he saved me from my own family. I was being abused, supporting my parents and almost flunking out of school. My parents got arrested one day, they were going to jail for a while. He stepped in and changed my life forever. He gave me a room to live in, made sure I went to school, and enjoyed being a child. He had saw potential in me, I loved to write and draw. He took me to a writers shop, and experienced what I loved with me, nobody else had done that before. Nobody ever cared that I liked to read, or dissect things in science class. He wanted me to succeed in ways that my parents would not let me. He had died when I turned 19, he was murdered by his own son. When he died I devoted myself to what he always reminded me to be, to follow my love of writing, and helping people. At his funeral it was the saddest day of my life having to speak in-front of everybody. If it was not for him, and saving me when I was younger, I would not be the person I am today. Who knows what I would have done, who I would have hung out with, or what I would have gotten myself into? If he never took interest in my passion of the human body, or even writing I would not be here today applying for scholarships, and going to school to be a surgical tech. All the influences I had where grown adults who weren’t mature enough to raise children, or even take care of their own bills. He died right before I had found out I was pregnant with my daughter. I have so many memories with this wonderful man in the short timespan of a few years I had lived with him. Yes, i did move out at some point, but we always kept in touch. We travelled together, worked on cars together, playing with his dog Wiley out on the land. I always wanted to be like him, and I never understood why. Then I realized it was , because I had never seen a person care so much for someone when they didn’t have to. The concept of him taking time to enjoy things with me. He changed my mindset on the way I saw life, and how I should treat people. I miss him so much to this day, but I know he’s watching over me. He will always be in my heart.

Kiana Fallis 03/20/2022 Scholarship Essay 20 years from now To whom it may concern, my name is Kiana Fallis. I am a 21-year-old single mother currently in the surgical tech program at community care college. I was not able to attend college right away when I graduated high school due to family issues. Luckily tri-county tech had payment plans, so I took it upon the opportunity to take the CNA course. Found out I was pregnant in the middle of the course, finished before I turned 19, and have worked as a CNA since then. Shortly after I had my daughter, I went back to tri-county and went to CMA course and phlebotomy, dabbled a little bit in that timeframe. When I finished, I decided to leave my abusive boyfriend, moved to Tulsa, and enrolled in a surgical technology course. Over the past few years, the experience I've gathered in healthcare and as a juvenile has prepared me for success. My definition of success is probably different than others. I grew up in an environment where I had to take care of myself and my siblings. At the age of 17, I was paying my father's bills to have a place to live. I was responsible for things that a child should not have been. When I was 18, I got my license all by myself, saved up for a car for two years. I always put myself down for not going to college right away, but I was homeless, had no license, and lost some academic scholarships due to attendance. I still had a great GPA, but I could not afford school. Then someone important to me reminded me that I succeeded so many things at a young age; I was 18 years old with a car I owned, an apartment, and supporting myself and my family at such a young age. When I decided to leave my daughter's dad at 20 years old, I moved to Tulsa with her to start our new future together. I always say, "small things to others might be small accomplishments, but small things to me are still an accomplishment to reward yourself with." I am grateful for all the things I have succeeded in at a young age, from going to school, being a single mom, and leaving an abusive relationship. Right now, I am getting my associates in surgical technology. When I finish that in 2023, I want to "float" for two years and dabble in the field. In that period, go back to school for business and worked on opening up my own practice. In twenty years, I see myself with a beautiful adult daughter, a business/ practice that I own—going back to school to possibly get my RN or a bachelor's in some medical degree. Funding facilities all around the U.S. that this pandemic has financially impacted. I know it will take long for people to rebuild from this debt and fear of covid-19. One day someone will be sponsoring a scholarship in memory of the impact I have made on many people's lives. This is where I see myself in twenty years. Thank you for taking your time and reading my essay.

Kiana Fallis 03/19/2022 Scholarship Essay Challenges I have had to overcome. Hello, my name is Kiana Fallis; I am a 21-year-old single mother currently in school full-time for surgical technology at a community care college in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I moved to Bartlesville from California with my mom and brother. We moved here with just a van and the clothes we had in our bags. We all faced some hard times with our fathers not being involved. My mother got re-married to a man who had two daughters already, and they ended up having another kid together. We were poor for so long; my stepdad lost his house when I was 18. At that time, my parents were not together anymore, my mom kicked me out of her house when I was 16, so I was helping him pay for the mortgage for two years while I was in high school to have a roof over my head. I was in CNA school while homeless, living in my car for two months until enough money was saved for an apartment. I finished CNA school and got pregnant by my boyfriend of three years when I was 19- years old. I worked all through the pregnancy went to CMA and phlebotomy school at tri-county tech in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It was pretty rough, but I wanted to prove a point to my family that I am something. When my mom found out I was pregnant, all she reminded me of was that I did not have a family to support me. Even my boyfriend was not a support system, I was the only one paying bills, and I was stuck in a horrible relationship in life and ended up leaving after I gave birth to my daughter. I realized much self-worth and wanted to do better for me and my daughter's future. I enrolled in a community care college for surgical technology as a full-time student. In a month, my daughter and I moved to Tulsa from Bartlesville and started our new life together. While working as a CNA, I realized how messed up some of the facilities are; I worked in a few facilities that were poorly behind on updates. The care was not that good; they hired many temp CNAs, everything was paper charting, and it was tough when covid-19 hit. When I started in the surgical technology field, I decided to open a practice a few years after graduating. In 2023, when finished with school, I will "float" and dabble around the field, experiencing all I can. Go back to school for business, open a practice with a team, and fund facilities and healthcare centers all around Oklahoma. Since covid-19 happened, businesses and funding have decreased, and many places have suffered from this pandemic. I want to grow from my experiences of having to work hard to where I am now and help others like me. My goal one day is to make such a significant impact on people's lives that someone will make a funding scholarship and devote it to my work ethic. I want to help families, especially in this challenging time, be able to make sure their loved ones are happy when they cannot be there. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay, and I hope you consider me for this scholarship.

Kiana Fallis 03/14/2022 Scholarship essay Myself and my career To whom it may concern, my name is Kiana Fallis. I am a 21-year-old single mother who moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to further my healthcare career. Healthcare has always been a dream of mine; first off, it started as wanting to be a vet, then a doctor, and now I want to be in surgery. When I graduated high school at the age of 18, I had no direction or idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I loved helping people. I was not on the right path, homeless, confused, and misunderstood. Being a CNA was my first direction in healthcare, and I did not regret it one bit. I met so many beautiful souls on the way; my boss/ best friend to this day was my role model and my rock. I found out I was pregnant at 19 worked Baylor weekends with her through it all. I wanted to quit so bad and find something “easier,” but she motivated me to keep going because I loved my job and being a mother should never take that away from me. She is now my daughter’s godmother and is a daily part of my life, and I will forever be grateful for her for that. When I was in the hospital from severe pre-eclampsia, she brought me the prepared bag, clothes for a preemie, stuff to make me comfortable; she was my lifesaver and primary support system. I was not mentally ready to have my daughter six weeks earlier than my due date. When I had my daughter, she had asked me, “now what?” I never took into consideration what she meant by that. I mean, she is an RN with seven kids and rocks it; how could I do that myself? She inspired me to continue with my dream, I did. Initially, I started as being a CNA for about three years. This career has shown me different personalities and types of people you adapt to and interact with. Working in home health, you must act on everything yourself; nobody can help you. Then I pursued CMA and phlebotomy. I dabbled a little in those fields, but I wanted more of a meaning, a more prominent label that made my name scream successful. I have a lot of certifications under my belt. I researched fields I liked, compared pros and cons, and decided what I wanted to go to school. I then enrolled in the surgical tech program, left my toxic relationship with my daughter’s father, moved to Tulsa to go to school and better our lives. Surgical technology caught my eye because there are so many different fields that I can go into and dabble. I can work in dental, practices, hospitals, anything with surgery—the surgical tech field. From what I have been researching, I am considering neurology or cardiothoracic. For the first two years, I plan on floating around to get as much experience as I can in the field, so I am prepared for what all comes my way as a surgical technologist—considering getting my firsthand and working in practice. Eventually, I will go back to college, potentially opening my practice and working independently with a surgeon. This career is so empowering and such a fun and enlightening experience. It makes me feel like I have a place in this world, and I never had that feeling before. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kiana Fallis 03/22/2022 Scholarship Essay How would I convince a peer to attend college? Hello, I am Kiana Fallis. I am a 21-year-old Hispanic mixed single mother living in Oklahoma. I have recently had this situation. My close friend let's call her Ashley, so we do not have to use her real name. We both come from a catholic Hispanic family. Half of our family is black, and the other half is Mexican. We Boh had initially planned on attending college together. Her family then convinced her to stay home with them in Bartlesville, connived her it would just be cheaper to stay with them and take a year off. Hence, we graduated from high school for about two, almost three years now. Then comes to find out that she ended up just paying most of the bills there, which set her back a lot. She was taking care of everyone because they did not want to work. I convinced her to leave her family like I did, come and move up here to Tulsa with me, and at least try the semester. We both got an all-bills-paid apartment, and we split the rent in half; I have food stamps because I have a daughter. We both have our cars paid off with nothing to owe on them, and I put her on my car insurance. I promised her that I would help her get out of her situation and live a cheaper life if she listened to me and did what she wanted. I am thrilled she took that leap in faith with me because we both are halfway done with school happily; she helps me with my daughter, I help her with bills sometimes, it is a win situation, and everyone is happy. I just had to remind her she can't take care of everyone all the time; for once, she needs to think about herself, and that is why we had planned to leave that town in the first place and start our careers together if I could never convince her to believe in me and help her. She would still be working at star bucks, paying her parents' bills.

Kiana Fallis 03/14/2022 Scholarship Essay What inspired me to pursue my career My name is Kiana Fallis; I am a 21-year-old single mother living in Oklahoma. Full-time student at community care college. Nobody had ever believed that I wanted to go into this career because I am different and look different. They always told me I couldn't have tattoos, piercings, or a child at a young age. I had a little girl at the age of 19, still went to get my CNA, CMA, certifications and worked as a CNA for the past three years. Being a CNA for the past three years, I have had a lot of mentors. The one person who truly inspired me was my old RN at the facility I worked in, Dewey, Oklahoma, before moving to Tulsa. She was one of the most respectful, kind, diligent RNs I had ever met in my CNA career. She looked intimidating, because she had facial piercings, sleeves, and long hair. She made me realize I shouldn't be ashamed of how I look how I approach myself to people. If you do good at your job and have passion with it, people don't care as much as you do. I am sure you guys know what it is like to be at the bottom of the food chain in this field. As a CNA, you see sad moments, deal with death, heartbreaks with families, and even your residents. I had always had a drive for empathy and taking care of others like a motherly instinct. I purely feel joy and relief when I can emotionally and physically be there for another person knowing I did good helping them. Have you ever heard of the saying "what goes around comes back around?" I am a firm believer in that. In my career, I plan on opening my practice and running my own business. I will advance in the industry in less than two years. I will plan to fund facilities around Oklahoma to get better care and have reliable resources. Updated equipment, better foods, updated systems for better communication. Currently, the facility I work with has not updated any of its methods. Everyone still charts with paper; everything is still paper. Nobody could virtually chat with their loved ones because we still had landlines, and not many elderlies had updated smartphones. I want to change the system while doing what I love, become a business owner, and change people's lives in a big way. No matter the way I look, I know I will be doing the good of God and helping everyone. I was surprised how many facilities are not as updated with their systems and technology. I want to make it a better place for loved ones and have better care and treatment. Then maybe someone will make a scholarship out of my name and grant it to a lucky student like me one day. I want to make an impact like that with my career. Not in it for the fame, want to spread love and equality to everyone regardless of age, race, or preference of look. Overall, being a CNA has changed my perspective of life and how I should treat others. Just like the saying 'kill them with kindness." this is my way of killing them with kindness. Thank you for taking time to read my paper; I appreciate it very much.