After graduating from high school, it took me nearly three years to discover an educational path that felt right for me. When I learned of my major, Human Development and Family Science, I immediately knew that I had found my niche and an educational field that I am genuinely passionate about pursuing. Shortly after beginning my courses in this major last fall, an entirely new world opened up to me. I started volunteering my time with many different populations, including houseless youth in Fort Worth, Texas. This opportunity has given me many new experiences with a diverse range of people. I have learned from these children, and fellow volunteers, in innumerable ways. These children have taught me about their cultures, opened up to me about their hardships, and shared what brings them joy as they endure a traumatic experience that I cannot begin to understand. In addition to this volunteer experience, I began babysitting a young boy with a significant delay in his speech development in January of this year. I immediately started to use some basic American Sign Language with him to help him communicate. In these few short months, this young boy has gone from only verbalizing the word "no" to verbalizing over twenty different words. While this improvement may seem small, it has drastically increased his ability to self-regulate when he becomes upset, improving his and his parents' quality of life. This valuable work experience has allowed me to apply what I am learning in my education in real life and ultimately sparked a passion for early childhood intervention. To be able to help parents navigate a period of their child's development in which they are encountering struggles, reassuring them when they are concerned about their child's developmental and educational future, aid children as they struggle in a particular developmental domain, and help ensure future success for the entire family ignites excitement for my future that is difficult to contain. I am eager to utilize my passion, experience, and education to make a positive impact on children and families in Texas. As I move into the senior year of my undergraduate education, which will hopefully include an internship working in early childhood intervention services, this scholarship would help me focus more on my studies and volunteer work and alleviate some of the stress that accompanies figuring out how to pay for college. Thank you for your consideration.