My name is Madison McGarrigle. I am 22 years old and have worked as a Registered Behavior Technician since I was 18 years old. I graduated from Wingate University this past May with my Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Community Youth Development. I have always known that I wanted to be in a field where I was helping people. I started volunteering in the nursery at my church when I was 15 years old and that is initially where I fell in love with working with children. I was not looking to become an RBT, but things just happened and fell in place, and it did not take long for me to fall in love with this career. I decided to do everything that I could to learn as much as possible and be the best at my job that I could be. Any time that I was given an assignment or project while I was attending Wingate University, I would always pick topics related to ASD, disabilities, or some related field just to take the extra opportunity to research and learn more. After working for Alternative Behavior Supports for a little over a year, I heard about Positive Behavior Supports and decided to apply. As soon as I started with this company, I quickly grew to love it and find a deeper passion for my work as an RBT. Shortly after starting with PBS, I decided I wanted to use what I was learning at my job to help make the nursery at my church more accommodating to people of all abilities and help improve the quality of life for families who have children with disabilities. I collaborated with the person who is over the children’s department at my church to tell him what my goals were and the support that I would need to accomplish these goals. Since then, I have successfully been able to include so many children into our nursery program. These families hadn’t been able to come to church in-person and had just been watching online because they weren’t sure how or if the nursery would be able to accommodate and care for their children. When we have new families reach out that they have a child with autism spectrum disorder or any disabilities, they are instantly connected with me. I then will chat with the families about their child’s specific needs and come up with a game plan to best get their child acclimated to the nursey. After I get to know the child and their individual needs, I then train our other volunteers in the nursery so that they are also able to care for and include these children even if I am unable to attend. This job as an RBT has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, and it has opened so many doors for me as well. I am continuously learning and growing every day. I quickly knew that I wanted to pursue my master’s degree after completing my undergraduate degree at Wingate University. I am now attending Capella University to obtain my master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis with a specialization in autism spectrum disorder. I am so excited to enter this journey of becoming a BCBA and I cannot wait to keep learning. I have such a great support system with PBS that I know I will be able to accomplish my goals. I think that I am deserving of this scholarship for a few reasons. The main reason is because of the dedication that I have shown to this company over the last couple of years. I worked as an RBT anywhere between 15-30 hours a week the entire time I was working at my undergraduate degree as I did not have financial help for school. I always go above and beyond for my clients and their families to make sure that I am providing the best services possible for their child. I have received such great feedback from the families and BCBAs that I work with. This positive feedback has reached the Charlotte Leadership Team a couple times as well. I was also nominated for a Total Utilization Award from PBS which was very exciting. Another reason that I think that I am a good candidate for this scholarship is because of the work that I do outside of my job. I work for PBS Monday through Saturday and then volunteer at my church on Sundays to help with the children. I think whoever gets this scholarship should not only be passionate about their job at PBS, but also passionate about the field itself and advocating and supporting these children in all areas of our lives. I have made some great connections at my church through the work that I have done, and I have been able to build some special bonds with children who wouldn’t have had the chance to come to church every Sunday if it wasn’t for someone like me who pushed to make it possible for them. If I am awarded this scholarship, it will put in a much better financial position to pay for school. This will help me be able to focus more on my job, goals, and family. Having this scholarship money to put towards my education will help me be able to budget some of my income to things that I haven't been able to (like my car and housing situation) since most of my money goes towards my education. I want to finish by simply stating that I am truly grateful for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship, and I know that it will be awarded to someone who truly deserves it. Thank you!