My name is Madelynn Pfister, or Madi for short. The most influential reason I decided to go down the path that I did, was due to my own mental health crisis. I suffered a severe depressive episode during my second semester of my sophomore year of college, and I ended up in the hospital’s care for a few months. I only then received treatment for my decrepit mental health, for the very first time in my life. I was nineteen years old, and I barely knew how to identify my own emotions. I had to process through trauma from an early age, which still affected my daily thoughts and activities. I was then diagnosed with PTSD, OCD, an unspecified eating disorder, severe clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, and any other diagnosis they could throw at me. As a child, I struggled with my demons alone. Although my parents were very capable and loving, they did not have the education and background information to see that I needed help and that the symptoms that I was experiencing were not normal and very, very serious. I battled severe mental illness all by myself and did not learn any helpful coping mechanisms until my young adult years. My love of knowledge and education has never failed me. I have worked multiple jobs at a time since I was fifteen so that I could have my dreams come true. I use my weaknesses as stepping-stones. I turned my social phobia into an opportunity to become a paid actress at a small, not-for-profit entertainment company, which then resulted in becoming the Chief Executive Officer years later. I was once a small, fearful child who was not confident in her abilities. I am now the person others look up to. I may not have planned to come this far in my life, but I have. Right now, I have already come further than I ever thought I could, and I am truly grateful for that. I would love to continue challenging myself. My dream career is to be a counselor for victims of violent crime which is a profession that is greatly needed. My dream is to help others work through their trauma, and I believe I would be able to do this with further education in Lakeland’s MAC program. Finally, I thank you for your time and consideration with this beautiful opportunity to make a difference in a very well-needed field. Because of my experience, I want to do my best to make sure that there are no children out there who are battling their demons alone. I want to make sure that parents and loved ones all have the awareness and education to help support these children. You can help make this possible by contributing to my funds to complete my schooling.

My name is Madelynn Pfister, or Madi for short. The most influential reason I decided to go down the path that I did, was due to my own mental health crisis. I suffered a severe depressive episode during my second semester of my sophomore year of college, and I ended up in the hospital’s care for a few months. I only then received treatment for my decrepit mental health, for the very first time in my life. I was nineteen years old, and I barely knew how to identify my own emotions. I had to process through trauma from an early age, which still affected my daily thoughts and activities. I was then diagnosed with PTSD, OCD, an unspecified eating disorder, severe clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, and any other diagnosis they could throw at me. I was a very sick young girl, and I had been experiencing detrimental symptoms of my disorders since I was a child. My parents and family did not have the proper education to see the signs of my disorders, so they went untreated for years. I was struggling for so long that I almost lost my life. You see, Education has always been a huge part of my life. I find every new topic intriguing. Each experience is a new way to expand my knowledge. As a child, I planned my entire life. I knew everything that I wanted to accomplish. I made sure that I did what I needed to achieve my goals. At thirteen-years-old, I planned what type and color vehicle I would get, what jobs I would need to earn enough money, the groups and clubs that I wanted to be in, the classes to take, the college to go to, my intended major, and my future career. I planned every single little thing to get to my junior year of college successfully. The only caveat was, I didn’t think that I would make it past my junior year. I was a child with a lot of personal issues. I had health problems that made me feel as if I was always ill. I also had mental health problems that were left untreated, due to the disbelief and education of family members on the topic. I struggled through my day-to-day activities. I was a child on my own, with my “inner demons”. I got through each day by making plans for my future, and through my studies. I found comfort in knowledge and education, and I threw myself into books and learning. I knew that no matter what, I had my intellect. Fast forward to age seventeen, I committed to Lakeland University. This was a school that I would later learn, was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got to be the first in my family to further my education, and this was a true blessing. Even further to age nineteen, I was a sophomore at Lakeland University. Sadly, however, I had stopped feeling worthy of my knowledge. I was no longer succeeding. I ended up in the hospital for a few months so that I could learn new skills and coping mechanisms, which disrupted my fourth semester at Lakeland. Fortunately, this ended up saving my life. My professors were supportive and gave me hope, my counselor assured me things would work themselves out in the end. It was my junior year at Lakeland University that I finally understood why I could never bring myself to plan past 20-years-old. I never believed that I would be able to make it this far, but now I had. My studies helped bring me to where I am today. Not only was I a first-generation student, but I was also the first of my siblings to successfully take the leap and get a secondary education. I come from a very large family, with ten siblings. Because I came from such a big family, I was not able to rely on my parents for any financial support. I worked seven jobs at once while being a full-time student so I could continue my education. Due to my perseverance, I gained great time management skills and proved my true dedication to my love of learning. My love of knowledge and education has never failed me. I have worked multiple jobs at a time since I was fifteen so that I could have my dreams come true. I use my weaknesses as steppingstones. I turned my social phobia into an opportunity to become a paid actress at a small, not-for-profit entertainment company, which then resulted in becoming the Chief Executive Officer years later. I was once a small, fearful child who was not confident in her abilities. I am now the person others look up to. I may not have planned to come this far in my life, but I have. Upon graduating from Lakeland University, I successfully obtained a job in my field of study. I was a caregiver and house manager at the Sheboygan County Halfway House. I was also accepted into my first-choice school and program- the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee right after I had bought my first house. I had literally everything I had ever dreamed of, but I still felt extremely depressed. I ended up back in the hospital for a second, and then third time. I learned that you could have everything that you ever dreamed of and still have a chemical imbalance in your brain that requires medication. Again, I went through different treatment programs and again, education saved my life. Wistfully, I ended up in the hospital. I had to drop out of school to focus on my health. It has been almost two years since that incident, and I have grown so much as a person, and I am truly happy with myself and my life. Because of my love of learning I have taken multiple online courses for continuing my education, while on my “break” from school. I even decided to get my Paralegal Certificate and my Advanced Paralegal certificate, which both helped my progression into my position as a Criminal Defense Paralegal. The thing about me is, if I don’t know something, I WILL figure it out. If I want something, I WILL go and get it. I am now deciding to apply back at Lakeland University for my graduate degree in the Master’s of Counseling, or MAC, program where I can use my personal experiences to help myself and others flourish. Because of my past trials and tribulations, I now have the time management skills, the drive and motivation to learn, the background knowledge and first-hand experience on the subject, and I am an extremely driven young woman. I am finally at a place in my life where I believe that I am happy and proud of myself; to the point where I can share my experiences and show proof of “Life gets better”. Right now, I have already come further than I ever thought I could, and I am truly grateful for that. I would love to continue challenging myself. My dream career is to be a counselor for victims of violent crime which is a profession that is greatly needed. My dream is to help others work through their trauma, and I believe I would be able to do this with further education in Lakeland’s MAC program. As a child, I struggled with my demons alone. Although my parents were very capable and loving, they did not have the education and background information to see that I needed help and that the symptoms that I was experiencing were not normal and very, very serious. I battled severe mental illness all by myself, and did not learn any helpful coping mechanisms until my young adult years. Today, I work as a Criminal Defense Paralegal at a small law firm in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Although I am still helping people, this is not the field I have dreamed of being in. With the help of you and this scholarship, I will be able to successfully and confidently make my way through the Master’s of Counseling (or MAC) Program at Lakeland University. With that, I can continue to prove myself worthy of my education and put forth the effort in helping others in a way that I always hoped I would. Finally, I thank you for your time and consideration with this beautiful opportunity to make a difference in a very well-needed field. Because of my experience, I want to do my best to make sure that there are no children out there who are battling their demons alone. I want to make sure that parents and loved ones all have the awareness and education to help support these children. You can help make this possible by contributing to my funds to complete my schooling.

My name is Madelynn Pfister. But my dream job is to work as a counselor specializing in substance abuse disorder and trauma-informed care. I believe we can get to the root of the recidivism issue by assessing the problems when they arise and offering treatment instead of punishment. My dream is to work towards that goal and help others accomplish their own goals in the process. Education has always been a huge part of my life. I find every new topic intriguing. Each experience is a new way to expand my knowledge. I made sure that I did what I needed to achieve my goals. I planned every single thing to get to my junior year of college successfully. The only caveat was, I didn’t think that I would make it past my junior year. I was a child with a lot of personal issues. I had health problems that made me feel as if I was always ill. I also had mental health problems that were left untreated, due to the disbelief and education of family members on the topic. I struggled through my day-to-day activities. I was a child on my own, with my “inner demons”. I got through each day by making plans for my future, and through my studies. I found comfort in knowledge and education, and I threw myself into books and learning. I knew that no matter what, I had my intellect. I got to be the first in my family to further my education, and this was a true blessing. I was a sophomore at Lakeland University when things started to change. Sadly, however, I had stopped feeling worthy of my knowledge. I was no longer succeeding. I ended up in the hospital for a few months so that I could learn new skills and coping mechanisms, which disrupted my fourth semester at Lakeland. Fortunately, this ended up saving my life. My professors were supportive and gave me hope, my counselor assured me things would work themselves out in the end. It was my junior year at Lakeland University that I finally understood why I could never bring myself to plan past 20-years-old. I never believed that I would be able to make it this far, but now I had. My studies helped bring me to where I am today. Not only was I a first-generation student, but I was also the first of my siblings to successfully take the leap and get a secondary education. I come from a very large family, with ten siblings. Because I came from such a big family, I was not able to rely on my parents for any financial support. I worked seven jobs at once while being a full-time student so I could continue my education. Due to my perseverance, I gained great time management skills and proved my true dedication to my love of learning. I use my weaknesses as steppingstones. I may not have planned to come this far in my life, but I have. Right now, I have already come further than I ever thought I could, and I am truly grateful for that. I would love to continue challenging myself. My dream career is to be a counselor for those who suffer from substance abuse disorder and specialize in trauma-informed care, which is a profession that is greatly needed. My dream is to help others work through their trauma, and I believe I would be able to do this with further education in Lakeland’s MAC program. Please help me accomplish my dream.

My name is Madelynn Pfister, or Madi for short. I currently work as a Criminal Defense Paralegal in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. But my dream job is to work as a counselor specializing in substance abuse disorder and trauma-informed care. I am currently working on accomplishing my dream by working through the Master of Counseling program at Lakeland University. I believe we can get to the root of the recidivism issue by assessing the problems when they arise and offering treatment instead of punishment. My dream is to work towards that goal and help others accomplish their own goals in the process. Education has always been a huge part of my life. I find every new topic intriguing. Each experience is a new way to expand my knowledge. As a child, I planned my entire life. I knew everything that I wanted to accomplish. I made sure that I did what I needed to achieve my goals. At thirteen-years-old, I planned what type and color vehicle I would get, what jobs I would need to earn enough money, the groups and clubs that I wanted to be in, the classes to take, the college to go to, my intended major, and my future career. I planned every single thing to get to my junior year of college successfully. The only caveat was, I didn’t think that I would make it past my junior year. Fast forward to age seventeen, I committed to Lakeland University. This was a school that I would later learn was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got to be the first in my family to further my education, and this was a true blessing. Even further to age nineteen, I was a sophomore at Lakeland University. Sadly, however, I had stopped feeling worthy of my knowledge. I was no longer succeeding. I ended up in the hospital for a few months so that I could learn new skills and coping mechanisms, which disrupted my fourth semester at Lakeland. Fortunately, this ended up saving my life. My professors were supportive and gave me hope, my counselor assured me things would work themselves out in the end. It was my junior year at Lakeland University that I finally understood why I could never bring myself to plan past 20-years-old. I never believed that I would be able to make it this far, but now I had. My studies helped bring me to where I am today. My entire life, I have had a love for learning. During that time, I had some incredible trials and tribulations, while also battling the difficulties of being me. Not only was I a first-generation student, but I was also the first of my siblings to successfully take the leap and get a secondary education. I come from a very large family, with eleven siblings. Because I came from such a big family, I was not able to rely on my parents for any financial support. I worked seven jobs at once while being a full-time student so I could continue my education. Due to my perseverance, I gained great time management skills and proved my true dedication to my love of learning. My love of knowledge and education has never failed me. I have worked multiple jobs at a time since I was fifteen so that I could have my dreams come true. I use my weaknesses as steppingstones. I may not have planned to come this far in my life, but I have. Please help me further my education and accomplish my dream.