"You got a dream, you gotta protect it...You want something? Go get it." -Chris Gardner, The Pursuit of Happyness During my Junior year of high school, my film studies teacher announced that we were going to watch a movie called "The Pursuit of Happyness." I expected an inspiring story about perseverance or whatnot, the kind of movie that makes you feel inspired for a couple of hours, then simply fades into memory. It didn't fade. The film follows Christopher Gardner, a father who, after being left by his wife, was evicted from his apartment and left homeless with his young son. He lands an unpaid internship at a brokerage firm, hoping to improve his life, despite a 1 in 20 chance that he'll land a full-time position. Chris and his son go through many hardships - sleeping in shelters, subway bathrooms, and Chris studies endlessly wherever and whenever he can. Every moment of survival requires sacrifice. Every step forward costs something. Most people say the film is about determination, but for me, the main lesson I took away from it was empathy. One scene never left me. Chris's boss at the brokerage firm asks to borrow 5 dollars to pay for a cab. Chris looks in his wallet, and 5 dollars is all the money he has. Chris hesitates to give up his money, but the boss insists. To the boss or anyone else, it's just 5 dollars, but to Chris, it was all he had to feed his son or help them survive another night. This scene revealed to me how easily we misunderstand the weight of someone else's reality. How 5 dollars can be pocket change to one person, and a lifeline to another. After watching the film, I couldn't stop thinking about the quiet struggles happening around me. Most of which I had never truly seen. Not because they were invisible, but because I didn't care enough to look. Soon after, I began volunteering at a local food bank. I expected to hand out groceries and go home. Instead, I was allowed to connect to my community in a way I never had before. Parents were calculating how to stretch meals for their children, elderly were choosing between medication and food. Individuals who carried dignity, resiliency, and dreams far bigger than the circumstances they were living in. I believe that most people are not failing-they are fighting. The world is full of people doing the best they can. Most people wake up, and despite all the struggles they're facing, they keep pushing forward, try to take care of those they love, and hold hope in their hearts. I think if I hadn't seen that movie, they might've just been a blur of people, but I understood that this wasn't just a group of people; it was individuals. Lives. Stories. Experiences. I'm grateful I saw that movie that day because it reshaped how I understand humanity. It made me feel responsible to notice, to care, and to act. That sense of responsibility is why I volunteer in my community. It's why I've chosen Public Health as my major. I want to help communities gain access to proper hygiene, health education, and disease prevention. These resources aren't only essential, but also allow people the opportunity to live with dignity. Empathy is not just understanding someone's struggle. It's choosing to do something about it. That film taught me to truly see people, not just their struggles, but them as individuals with dreams, families, people they care about, and unique experiences. Once you learn to see, you can never look away.

Hello, my name is Mckayla-Faith Urista. I'm a senior at Centennial High School and have been admitted into the University of Nevada, Reno for the Fall 2026 semester as a Public Health major. During my sophomore year of high school, I began volunteering across Las Vegas. It was an experience that slowly reshaped my understanding of community and my relationship with others. I served at a variety of places from the children's museum to the springs preserve, and at school as a member of the National Honor Society. What stood out to me was volunteering for my local food bank. My first time volunteering for Three Square, I went to hand out food to those in need at a local nearby church. This experience stood out because it was one of the first times I was able to connect with the people I was helping on a personal level. Many of the individuals I met were not only grateful for the food, but eager for conversation as well, reminding me that community support extends beyond just physical resources. I had many conversations that made me laugh and allowed me the opportunity to learn more about my local community. One thing that surprised me though was how hesitant many of the people seemed-keeping to themselves, and acting as though they didn’t want to be seen there. After discussing with other volunteers about this, I learned that many people struggle to reach out for help in times of need. Feeling as though it is an embarrassing act that hurts their pride. This made me face a tough reality, that access to resources like this were hard to find, and sometimes, even harder to work up the courage to go to. After this realization I purposefully made more of an effort to connect personally with the people I met, I figured the more welcoming these places were, the more comfortable people would feel. After all, the entire point of volunteering is caring for the community. Before this, I was struggling to pick a career path. I knew I wanted to do something meaningful with my career but wasn't sure what. After this experience, I decided I wanted a career rooted in humanitarian work, one that would allow me to help deeper challenges communities face. In this same year, my parents began to face hardships financially and health wise. Especially my mother, as since my parents divorced, she had to work extended shifts and, unfortunately, had to go without health insurance as well. With her health problems only extending and not being able to afford treatment, my moms daily quality of life has declined rapidly. She struggles with vision, walking, picking things up, and even just a cold will have her bed ridden for days. Watching my mom struggle to afford basic health care sparked a deep passion within me. I hated seeing people I love and care face barriers to gain access to the care they need and have resolved to become part of the solution. It is for this very reason that I have chosen public health as my area of study. Through a Master’s degree in public health, I aim to ultimately serve low-income communities by improving access to health resources and enhancing overall quality of life.

Hello, my name is McKayla-Faith Urista. I'm a senior at Centennial High School who's been admitted into the University of Nevada, Reno, and I plan to start my college journey in the fall of 2026. In order to understand me and my ambitions, it's important you know my story. I was what people call a "rainbow baby." This means that I was born soon after the death of a loved one, my grandpa. When I was born, they said I was able to bring light to the room and banish the sadness that once lingered there before. My mother and father taught me from a young age to value my education. They explained that many people, including them, aren't fortunate enough to have access to a higher education. They told me that if I wanted to achieve great things in life, as they believed I could, then I would have to work hard and aim high. I took this advice sincerely, and as a result, have been able to maintain a 3.8 GPA in high school, participate as a member of the Centennials NHS, and complete over 100 community service hours, helping various causes I'm passionate about. As a result of my upbringing and faith as a Christian woman, I've always felt I had a higher purpose to be of use to the world. I feel a calling to help people. As ambitious as it sounds, I know I will not be satisfied in life unless I feel that I am doing important work to help those in need. My experience volunteering at children's organizations, food pantries, and in environmental education only worked to motivate me further to pursue a career that would have a global impact for those in need. My combined interest in serving others and health has led me to pursue a degree in public health, and soon after, a master's degree in public health. With the education I receive, I plan to work in international humanitarian aid. Specifically, I want to work with refugees, helping them receive access to basic health care, trauma treatment, and ensuring disease control for their communities. I want to do international work, traveling to communities that are most in need of my help. I know that for them, health is a core element in helping their communities thrive. Without access to health care, displaced individuals are at risk for malnutrition, chronic and infectious diseases, and endangered reproductive care, along with many other detrimental risks for their families and communities. I know the work I do after college will be important and leave a positive impact globally. Earning this scholarship would help ensure that I can afford the cost of the education I will need to help those in need and I'd be eternally grateful for the financial aid I receive.

One thing I would like to see improved in my community is stronger support for families who are struggling to afford healthcare. In Nevada, a lot of families struggle to make ends meet with the cost of housing rising and the cost of basic necessities growing as well. On top of that, many families struggle with affording health insurance. In fact, according to a Nevada survey conducted by Healthcare Value Hub, 3 in 5 Nevada citizens experienced healthcare affordability burden, and 4 in 5 worry about affording healthcare in the future. It's difficult to witness good, hard-working people that I know personally work themselves to death in manual labor jobs, and then their job still refuses to cover the most basic health insurance plans. My own mother, uncle, grandma, and many other relatives can't afford their medication even though they've worked their whole lives, and are forced to either deal with their pain in silence or look towards alternative, less effective treatments. I can’t tell you how many GoFundMe’s I've seen with people begging for money to afford basic healthcare. Hard-working Americans should be able to get the treatment they need without selling all their belongings in the process or putting their kids in generational debt. We need a solution for this problem so that less families suffer and have more access to the resources they desperately need. The way I plan to make a difference in my community is by using my career to address the issue of people not being able to afford healthcare. I plan on going to college to major in public health. With this degree, I plan on focusing on solutions that make healthcare more accessible and affordable to everyone. I want to be people's voice by advocating for policy change and potentially expanding preventative care services in Nevada, as well as making medical testing more accessible, as many families delay medical treatments because of cost, which leads to worse outcomes and more time and money spent in the end. I know that the more minds we have focusing on coming up with solutions for healthcare affordability, the better chance of making effective policy changes, coming up with community-based programs, and raising public awareness. People deserve to get the treatment they need without it costing more than their house. People deserve not to suffer in silence after they’ve given their lives to providing and working hard for their families.