What is success? To me success is significance. I think in order to be successful, my life has to be significant. To be significant, I have to pursue my calling with passion and perseverance, while making an impact on others and on my community. Success is more than just personal accomplishments and accolades. While these are nice, they do not constitute success entirely. I believe that being significant to improve the well being and the lives of others, truly defines success for me. I am going to school to become a social worker. People may laugh and frown upon this career choice because in the common view of success with it being possessions, certain professions, and hefty incomes, social work does not measure up. However, in considering success as being able to be significant in making a difference for someone else, social work is at the top of career choices. My goal is to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and provide mental health therapy to those in need. There is a huge shortage of qualified mental health professionals and many are left to deal with their challenges on their own, which often leads to substance use or suicide. I believe that being able to play a small part in providing much needed mental health services, my life will be significant to others and therefore, successful, in my opinion. This scholarship opportunity would play a major role in helping me achieve that goal of success and significance. College is not cheap and there are so many other expenses that go right along with it; books, supplies, housing, food, gas; the list goes on and on. Each semester when that financial balance statement comes in, I find myself wondering if I am doing the right thing by pursuing this dream. Knowing that social workers do not "get rich," the thought of graduating with a huge amount of student loan debt is very frightening. I am fortunate to have received a few other small scholarships, as well as a merit scholarship based on my grade point average through my university. Despite that help, which I am eternally grateful for, it does still leave an amount due each semester. I work full time during the summers to make as much money as I can. My mom, who is also a social worker, works two jobs to be able to help me as much as possible. This scholarship would take a lot of stress off of myself and off of my mother, as the award amount for each winner is almost exactly the amount that I am left owing each semester. I am approaching my goals, one semester at a time. So this would take care of one semester. I am working diligently to maintain good grades to keep my current scholarships. I am applying for any and every scholarship opportunity that I can. I am working as many hours as I can during the summer. All these things, I am doing to be successful, not only now, but in the future and by being successful, being significant to others; making a difference.

Mental health matters! Sadly, I think society as a whole and people individually have historically neglected to realize the importance of mental health. There has been a stigma of being weak or "crazy" if needing help to deal with mental health concerns. This has led people to ignore their mental health and not seek help when needed, which has created a mental health crisis that has led to increased substance use, suicide, and violence, just to name a few. I believe that each of us can make a difference when it comes to advocating for mental health. This can be as simple as advocating for our own mental health by voicing our feelings and emotions to others, seeking help ourselves when needed, engaging in self-care, setting healthy boundaries, and being very aware of our own mental health. I do this by recognizing my triggers for anxiety; such as feeling overwhelmed with tasks or responsibilities. Then when recognizing that trigger, I try to create ways of coping with that such as being very organized, talking my feelings through with someone that I trust, and making sure to engage in some relaxation methods like a walk, a hot bath, or prayer. By engaging in such things myself, I am setting an example to my friends, my classmates, and even my family. I talk openly to them about my own struggles and the things that I do to cope with those struggles. I encourage others to seek out help if needed and validate their feelings to help them see that they do not need to be ashamed of their mental health challenges. This might not seem like a huge impact, however, if I can be an example to even one person, to me that is enough impact. Mental health concerns often go hand in hand with other concerns such as homelessness and food insecurity. I volunteer to help in my church's food pantry to distribute food to those in need, as well as, have volunteered at the "soup kitchen" near my university. I volunteer each year to ring the bell for the Salvation Army during the holidays. As I am volunteering in these settings, I try to be kind, smile, be empathetic and caring. I feel that being able to play a part in meeting a basic need for someone goes a long way in helping to improve their mental health by giving them a spark of hope. Finally, I am going to school to become a social worker, with dreams of becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I want to be able to provide mental health counseling to those in need. I believe there is a huge shortage in qualified clinicians who can offer help people with mental health concerns or that are dealing with tough situations and just need someone to listen and help provide them with healthy coping strategies. One of my favorite quotes is "Be the change you wish to see in the world," Gandi. I believe one of the changes that the world desperately needs is changing the mental health narrative. I desperately want to be a part of that change.

Far too many lives are lost due to suicide and there are far too few resources to combat this issue. My goal is to be able to be part of the solution in the fight against suicide, which is why I dream of becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the aspiration of providing mental health therapy to those in need. I believe this starts by increasing the number of qualified professionals that are available to help people dealing with depression, hopelessness, and other mental health concerns that could potentially lead to suicidal ideations. There is currently a national shortage of qualified, mental health therapists. This is a huge problem for people that are actually crying out for help and there is no one available to give them the help they so desperately need. Being able to connect with the right therapist at the right time could definitely fill a huge gap in the current system. I know that I am only one person, however, I could be the one person to fill that void for someone and even one person can make a huge difference. Saving one life is worth it. My grandfather's dad died by suicide when my grandfather was only a child. My grandfather was too young at the time to remember the details of his passing, however, the loss of his father created a huge void in his life from that point on. My grandpa's brother was a teenager at the time and because he did not have the support he needed to process his grief, as well as the trauma surrounding how his father had passed, he suffered from PTSD, anxiety, and depression for the rest of his life. During that time, mental health counseling was not widely accepted and was frowned upon. I truly believe had my great grandfather had the help he so desperately needed, it might have changed the outcome for him, which would have most definitely changed the outcome for my grandfather and his brother. As an LCSW, I hope to be able to provide individual counseling to those that are suffering from mental health concerns or from tough situations in their life that could potentially lead to suicidal thoughts or attempts. I want to be able to actively listen to their thoughts, feelings, and concerns; develop trusting relationships with them, so that they know that they have support; connect them to emergency resources that they can utilize in times of crisis; and teach them valuable coping skills to help combat their feelings of hopelessness, despair, depression, anxiety, or whatever the negative emotions may be. As I mentioned earlier, far too many lives are lost due to suicide. Far too many families, like your own are faced with complicated grief in processing such losses. I hope to help as many people as possible regain some sense of hope to live and find another day. I hope to be able to help prevent as many families as possible from having to endure that pain.One of my favorite quotes is "Be the change you wish to see in the World." Gandi. The number of lives lost to suicide each day needs to change dramatically and I plan to be a part of that change!

Career or calling? I truly believe my career choice of social work is my calling. I’ve know from a young age that I wanted to somehow be of service to others in a deep and meaningful way. I struggled with career choices of teaching, nursing, etc. and never really thought about social work, even though my mom has been a social worker for over 20 years. However, late in my senior year of high school, it became clear that my calling in life is to be a social worker. I feel very passionate about this because as a social worker, I will have the opportunity to work in an endless variety of settings from children protection, healthcare, mental health, etc. to serve vulnerable populations. Not to “fix” them, but to empower them through education, advocacy, and resources to have a better quality of life. My dream as a social worker is not to have a life of success, but rather a life of significance. I want to make a meaningful difference for as many people as possible and for society as a whole, through one person at a time. In order to accomplish my educational goals, I worked extremely hard in high school to maintain a grade pint average of 3.8, in order to be able to qualify for as many academic scholarships as possible. This meant long nights of studying instead of having fun with friends. As I mentioned previously, my mom has been a social worker for over 20 years, so anyone who knows social work, knows it’s not a glamorous, high paying career. My mom has often worked two jobs to make ends meet as a single mom. I knew that without scholarship opportunities the expense of college would be a huge challenge. I’ve also worked full time the summer before college and this summer between my freshman year and sophomore year, to help with expenses. I maintained a 4.0 grade point average my freshman year of college to ensure that I kept all my scholarships. I do not want financial concerns to stand between me and my goals, better yet to stand between me and my calling. I truly believe that such sacrifices have made me appreciate the opportunity that I do have in being able to go to college and not take that for granted, which in turn motivates me to continue to give my all in the effort to do well. It has also continue to nourish my work ethic, in that it has not just been handed to me and it has not been easy. I have learned to work my absolute hardest to accomplish my goals. This work ethic will help me later as a social worker to be the best social worker I can possibly be in working hard to serve the population and community that I am working to help. My hope as a social worker is that I can see other people reach their goals and have a better quality of life with tools and resources that I have been able to lead them to. A scholarship such as this would really help me continue my dream of reaching such goal and in turn make a difference for everyone that I can touch as a social worker one day!

Service is an action. It is about doing something to make life better or easier in some way, big or small, for someone. Service is at the core of who I am and have been since I was very small. For example, in elementary school, mg school gave a “CHAMP” award at the end of each school year to one student in grades 3rd, 4th, and 5th. This award was based on character in how the student exhibited kindness, positivity and service towards others. I won this award three years in a row. I did not win because I was consciously making an effort throughout the year to do acts of kindness so that I would win the award, in fact, I did not ever think about it. Those acts of selflessness just come natural to me. One year, we had gone on a short field trip to a small store to shop. One of the students dropped her bag on the way out and her items spilled out. I was the only student that stopped to help her pick up her things, as well as wait for her. Again, I never even thought about not stopping to help her. I know this is a small example and is from many years ago, however, I think it’s very important that acts of service truly come from a servant heart and for the right reason, which is to improve the quality of life for even one person in even a small way. Those small acts of service can sometimes leave the biggest impact. In considering my future career path, I knew I wanted to somehow be able to make a difference through servanthood. After much thought and prayer, I realized social work was my calling. I believe this career path will allow me to serve vulnerable populations, as well as become familiar with and firm partnerships with community resources to help people and communities overcome barriers. This will allow me to serve others on a larger scale both professionally, as well as voluntarily. In the meantime, I look for any opportunity to serve. Currently, I serve as a volunteer at my church by cleaning the church, helping in the food pantry, and helping in the nursery. Each year I participate in the “kettle project” with the Salvation Army by ringing the bell to collect donations. I help serve hot meals at the local “soup kitchen” in the city of my university. I help fill shoe boxes for the Operation Christmas Child Project, in which these shoeboxes are sent to third world countries for the children to receive a Christmas gift. This project is dear to my heart and I would love to have the opportunity in the future to be one of the volunteers that actually gets to travel to handout the shoe boxes to children. I cannot imagine seeing the joy these very simple items being to the children. I would not want to be there for the recognition or to receive a “thank you” but just to get to witness their happiness. I believe the world could greatly benefit from more “servant hearts” and servant minded leaders. If more people would do even one act of service each day, it could lighten the load for someone, as well as spread joy, which goes a long way in a time where so many struggle with mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety. My pastor recently said, we should strive for significance, not success. That is exactly what I want my life to be about, significance by making a difference.

Mental health matters to all of us every day. It truly does impact every aspect of our life. I believe that we are currently in a mental health crisis, with a shortage of professional providers to help with the needs. Which is why I am majoring in social work, with ambitions of pursuing bachelor's degree, then master's degree, and then working towards my licensure to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and provide mental health therapy to those in need. As I mentioned, I do believe that mental health impacts every aspect of our life from our mood, behaviors, habits, relationships, education, career, and economic status. However, it continues to be a taboo topic, that has negative stigma attached to it. Therefore, I believe the first step in maintaining mental wellness is awareness and tearing down that negative stigma. For me personally, this means being very aware of my moods, feelings, triggers, etc by paying close attention to how I am feeling mentally and physically. When I become aware of negative feelings or emotions, I share those feelings with someone that I know I can trust, such as my mom. Often times, just knowing someone is there to listen, helps validate my feelings and gives me relief. With this awareness, I know when I am overthinking or having negative self talk and can challenge those thoughts, sometimes on my own, or sometimes with the help of someone else. I have recognized my triggers for anxious thinking, which has allowed me to have systems in place to combat those triggers. For example, when I feel overwhelmed with stress such as multiple school assignments, tests, and other obligations, I tend to get very anxious. I have learned that staying very organized with different methods such as a planner, folders, highlighting system, and prioritizing to break things down into more manageable pieces, I am able to avoid or combat that trigger when I feel overwhelmed. I also engage in strategies for my mental wellness to try to maintain my mental health. These things for me personally are spending quality time with friends and family, reading, exercising, facials, my dog, prayer, and rest. I know that I must do these things on a regular basis to maintain positive mental health and can see the difference when I do not. I have a history of panic attacks, which make me feel short of breath, makes my heart race, and makes me feel nauseous. I know how something that seems minor to others can trigger a scary response. I have felt embarrassed and ashamed to talk to others about this. I understand first hand, the importance of maintaining mental wellness, to not minimize the impact that mental health concerns can have on day to day life. I am excited for the day that I can professionally assist others with maintaining their own mental health goals to have their best quality of life.

Mental health matters to all of us every day. It truly does impact every aspect of our life. I believe that we are currently in a mental health crisis, with a shortage of professional providers to help with the needs. Which is why I am majoring in social work, with ambitions of pursuing bachelor's degree, then master's degree, and then working towards my licensure to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and provide mental health therapy to those in need. As I mentioned, I do believe that mental health impacts every aspect of our life from our mood, behaviors, habits, relationships, education, career, and economic status. However, it continues to be a taboo topic, that has negative stigma attached to it. Therefore, I believe the first step in maintaining mental wellness is awareness and tearing down that negative stigma. For me personally, this means being very aware of my moods, feelings, triggers, etc by paying close attention to how I am feeling mentally and physically. When I become aware of negative feelings or emotions, I share those feelings with someone that I know I can trust, such as my mom. Often times, just knowing someone is there to listen, helps validate my feelings and gives me relief. With this awareness, I know when I am overthinking or having negative self talk and can challenge those thoughts, sometimes on my own, or sometimes with the help of someone else. I have recognized my triggers for anxious thinking, which has allowed me to have systems in place to combat those triggers. For example, when I feel overwhelmed with stress such as multiple school assignments, tests, and other obligations, I tend to get very anxious. I have learned that staying very organized with different methods such as a planner, folders, highlighting system, and prioritizing to break things down into more manageable pieces, I am able to avoid or combat that trigger when I feel overwhelmed. I also engage in strategies for my mental wellness to try to maintain my mental health. These things for me personally are spending quality time with friends and family, reading, exercising, facials, my dog, prayer, and rest. I know that I must do these things on a regular basis to maintain positive mental health and can see the difference when I do not. I have a history of panic attacks, which make me feel short of breath, makes my heart race, and makes me feel nauseous. I know how something that seems minor to others can trigger a scary response. I have felt embarrassed and ashamed to talk to others about this. I understand first hand, the importance of maintaining mental wellness, to not minimize the impact that mental health concerns can have on day to day life. I am excited for the day that I can professionally assist others with maintaining their own mental health goals to have their best quality of life.

What is a "servant's heart"? Having a servant's heart, is having a genuine desire to serve others, putting their needs before you own, without judgement. I have been told, as long as I can remember, that I have a servant's heart. This is my personality, but my Christian faith also contributes to my desire to act upon that servant's heart. That is what motivates me to commit my education and future career to addressing social issues by serving others. There are so many important social issues that need to be addressed, which is why I am pursuing an undergraduate degree in social work with plans to continue my education for a master's degree in social work, as well. My goal is to obtain my LCSW, to become a mental health therapist. I believe that Social Workers are at the core in addressing most social issues from poverty, advocacy, violence at all levels, substance use, and behavioral health. That is why I chose the career path of social work over other another mental health professions. I truly have a desire to be able to make an impact for others. I have observed this first hand by my mother, who started her career as a social worker, 20 years ago, working in the field of child protection. This was before my birth, however, I have heard countless stories about the issues that she saw families face. Her career has expanded to working with developmental disabilities, hospice, chronic health conditions, and no mental health therapy. I have seen how many social issues she has had the opportunity to address throughout her career and what an impact she has made, which further motivates my desire to do the same. As I mentioned previously, I plan to work towards obtaining my clinical licensure to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Among other things, this will allow me to provide behavioral health counseling/therapy. There is currently a mental health crisis in the world and a shortage of providers to address the need. Mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, substance use, etc. contribute to many other social issues, therefore, I believe that working in the mental health field as a therapist, I can work to address multiple issues. Being a college freshman, there is some time before I can professionally work to address such social issues, however, currently, I do volunteer with projects to make a difference. I am actively involved in the food bank at my church by assisting with preparing food boxes or non-perishables, as well as hot meals, to deliver to those in need of healthy food. I also take non-perishable food items to the food donation boxes that are set up in various places throughout my home community. I recently served as a volunteer at a local soup kitchen to provide a hot meal inside a warm, dry facility to those in need. My belief is that if I can change the world for one person, the work I am doing is worthwhile, because to that one person, that change is everything. Saving one life from poverty, substance use, gun violence, etc. can make a tremendous impact on that one person, their family, and their community. And one person it worth it, no matter their situation.

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question that I was struggling with throughout high school. I knew I wanted to have a career that would truly make a difference and impact in the lives of others. I thought about nursing, teaching, and physical therapy. Then I looked at my mother, who is an LCSW and knew that social work was the obvious career choice for me. Like Cara, who was able to see the passion her dad had for making a difference for others, I have been able to personally witness this with my mom during her almost 20-year career. She has worked in many different roles with many different concerns such as hospice, long-term care, developmental disabilities, dialysis, and behavioral health therapy. I have seen the financial struggles that my mom had as a single mom with a social worker's salary, however, my mom has never regretted her career choice and has always stressed to me the reward in seeing the difference she is making is far greater than any financial wealth. My goal is to specifically provide behavioral health support for children. The need for behavioral health services is so great for children, however, there is also a huge demand for more helping professionals. There are not enough mental health professionals to meet the need. And this need is increasing exponentially every day with the ever-increasing stress and pressures on today's youth. When I walked onto the campus of Campbellsville University, I saw many signs that stated, "Find Your Calling at Campbellsville." I truly believe Social Work is a calling and more importantly is my calling. It sounds like Mr. Mark Forgette found his calling and made a huge impact in the lives of others because of his passion for that calling. I hope to also make that impact, even for just one person. I think of the difference potentially saving the life of one child from substance use could make. One person might not seem like much to some, but to others it is everything. Why am I motivated to pursue a career in substance abuse? I am motivated to pursue this career because of the love, passion and sacrifice of people like Mark and my mother and because I think even helping one person recover is reason enough. I truly want to be an instrument of change in the world of behavioral health and substance abuse.

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question I had been struggling with in high school. In thinking about a major and future career choice, I knew making a difference for others and the community had to be at the center of that career. I considered teaching, nursing, and physical therapy. But then started thinking about social work. Social work seemed like an obvious choice. My mom has been a social worker for almost 20 years and I have seen the difference she has made in hospice, child protection, substance use, dialysis, and mental health counseling. It made me realize how vast the opportunity for helping is with a career in social work. The opportunities to make a difference are truly endless. I would like to first obtain my BSW at Campbellsville University, then go on to receive my MSW, and at Campbellsville University and then my LCSW. My ultimate goal is to become a mental health therapist and specifically provide therapy for children. There is such a rising need for counseling and behavioral health support for children today and this need will only grow. Due to a lack of therapists, many children are not receiving the help and support that they need to cope with their mental and behavioral health needs. As a result of this lack of professional support, children often turn to substance use, suicide, and other poor coping choices which could have detrimental effects on their well-being and lives. I would like to be a person that can help fill that gap and provide much-needed support to children in need. I think Social Work is the preferred option above other counseling degrees/licenses because of the holistic approach social workers learn, as well as the case management aspect. Social Workers learn to look at the entire psychosocial picture, using a systems approach to understand the environmental, social, physical, and emotional components of each person served. They also gain a wealth of knowledge on community resources and how to both connect and empower clients to utilize those resources. I do not ever expect to gain financial riches in a career in social work, but I know the rewards of being able to truly make a difference in someone's life will far succeed financial wealth. When I walked onto the Campbellsville University Campus, there were signs that stated, "Find your calling at Campbellsville." I believe that Social Work truly is a calling, not a profession and I feel very strongly that it is not just a calling, but it is MY calling.