I believe that in order to be successful, you need to take care of you as a whole. That includes caring for yourself physically and mentally, because the two are connected. Transition to college life can be difficult for most, and it was particularly hard for me. I started taking classes and living in the dorm over the summer. It was hard being away from home, family and friends. It was hard being in a place I had no connection with, so my days were spent between going to classes (I took two) and my dorm room. I was not reaching out to make friends and I was on the phone with my mom every chance I had. I realized that I was starting to feel depressed and my anxiety was through he roof. So, at my mom's insistence, and with her help, I started to go and explore my campus and started getting involved with local groups. The most supportive people I encountered were part of the Center for Gender Equity Organization. I participated in some events they organized, such as Bingo. In fact my mom would check the daily and weekly event calendar for the program I was in and kept sending me texts with what was happening on campus. So, slowly, I started making friends and going out. I started attending Bingo games, movie showings, social events and even festivals. The point I am trying to make with this story is that my family recognized I was struggling with my mental health and they made sure I was building support while away from them. Mental health is extremely important for your overall well being. I feel lucky they recognized I was struggling and helped me get better. I am now officially in my freshman year and, while the transition was smoother, I am working hard on ensuring I take care of my mental health. I work hard on balancing the stress I feel. I make sure I also spend time with my friends and participate in activities. While I am staying away from the party scene, my support group (a.k.a. friends and family) are a big part of ensuring my mental health is being cared for. Especially while I was in isolation due to testing positive for Covid. It was really hard being stuck in a room for five days, but my support group made sure they checked on my all the time.

My favorite Disney character is WALL-E. When I was younger, I loved WALL-E because I thought he was really cute. I thought the movie was just as cute. I remember being so obsessed with the character, that my parents bought me a Hallmark ornament that was WALL-E wrapped in Christmas lights. As I grew older, and continued to watch the movie, I started to appreciate it more. I found the character more and more relatable. He keeps doing his job even though the mountains of garbage are never ending. I feel like I am like WALL-E when it comes to keep on going no matter the obstacles. I also admire his care for his "pet" roach. I relate to him on that aspect, because as a pre-vet major, I care for a lot of animals in my house. Take it they are our family pets, but still. I do practice on our cats, dogs and bunnies. The story was just as relatable to our current situation. The pollution we are subjecting the planet to , makes the movie a prediction of what our future might look like. The fact that EVE finds a plant and the characters are able to return to Earth, gives everyone hope that there is still hope for our current situation. I love how the robots were given human characteristics because that makes the characters more relatable. However, WALL-E truly made the movie. His kindness, tenacity, determination, care and love represents everything I adore about WALL-E, both the character and the movie. And every Christmas, WALL-E has a special spot on our Christmas tree, where he belongs. He is still my all time favorite, even though he has had some serious competition from the new stories and characters Disney is providing us. I am yet to find one that comes close to WALL-E, so it is safe to say that he is and will be my favorite Disney character.

I believe it is important to have healthy eating habits because diet greatly influence your health, both mental and physical. When I eat healthy foods, I have more energy and I feel better mentally. When my diet is not so healthy, I feel sluggish and have a lot of highs and crashes, especially when sugar and caffeine is involved. So I have been working really hard to find a healthy balance between what I eat and how much I exercise, because I feel both are essential when it comes to achieving healthy habits overall. My family always tries to eat healthy. My dad is diabetic, so my mom and my dad are both very conscientious when they cook. They both try to ensure that our meals are balanced. Often times my mom has what she calls "detox days" when she cooks vegetarian and even vegan meals. My dad swears by those meals, because he always proclaims how much better he feels. I decided to give them a try, and it was true. Besides the meals being super tasty, I felt better both physically and mentally. I also pay attention to what I eat due to the health issues that are in my family. For example, my dad's side of the family had been dealing with diabetes for generations. I want to prevent getting diabetes if I can. Starting college my concern was related to eating healthy, because it is a knows fact that most college students are poor, and the cheapest food out there is not necessarily the healthiest. I have a lost of classes early in the morning and late in the evening. This means that my food choices for breakfast and dinner might be questionable. It is important to have a nutritious breakfast, because I don't want to have a sugar high and then crash. So, what are some quick options? I looked them up and obviously I need protein. My healthier options were protein bars and oatmeal to go. I can say that eating my two choices, pairing them with fruit or veggie for a snack to hold me off until lunch, have really worked out for me. I can tell that I am able to focus, I am not hungry an hour after I eat, and I am able to be productive in my classes. Comparing this with eating sugary cereal or a sugary coffee drink, there is a huge difference in how I feel both physically and mentally. Removing the sugar rush and consequently sugar crash, have done wonders for me. I also plan to add nuts in my diet as a snack because I have been experiencing first hand the benefits of healthy eating habits and the amazing effects such a diet has on my mental and physical health.

My chosen field of study is veterinary and biomedical studies. From an early age, as young as five years old, I have been interested in becoming a veterinarian. I have always loved animals and even more so, the idea of working with animals has been extremely appealing to me. I grew up with house pets, as we always had cats and dogs. My love of animals was evident to my parents from the time I was a young girl and they ensured that I was exposed to what it meant to work with animals by facilitating veterinarian shadowing at our local vet hospital, Avalon Veterinary Hospital in Pittsburgh. I had the opportunity to go and follow their doctors around once a week and experience what it would look like to work in the field of veterinary medicine. Through this experience, I was often lucky enough to sit through minor surgeries, like teeth cleaning. I found the experience amazing as it reinforced my desire to be a vet. However, there was always the question of what type of veterinarian I would be. The office I was shadowing typically only saw house pets, however, watching television shows like Dr. K Exotic Animal ER and The Amazing Dr. Pol, I was able to gain an understanding that some vet offices saw exotic animals, and others may work with farm animals. Over the past two years, I had participated in the 4H programs that were offered in my county when a close friend convinced me to join since I love animals so much. I decided to give it a shot sinceI have always wanted to be a vet. I thought that participating in 4H would afford me experiences that I have never had an opportunity to have in Pittsburgh. So, I joined Beaks and Buns, an animal based group to expand my learning. The club was run by my friends and their parents, and our meetings were held locally on their farm.As I mentioned previously, I have always wanted to be a veterinarian, but I have not been sure if I wanted to be a farm vet, exotic vet, or just deal with house pets. Beaks and Buns helped me figure out that I really would enjoy being a farm vet. Last year I showed a market rabbit and a market turkey. While both are smaller animals, I had a lot of fun working with them. My friend had a market lamb last year and I absolutely love him. He acted like a big dog and would let you do anything to him. Being around him has motivated me to want to work with bigger animals this 4H year, which is why I showed a market cow. I had never been close to a cow, and it was honestly super interesting. I named my girl Olive and she was amazing to work with. I loved taking care of her, bathing her,walking her with a lead, and just being around her. I also worked with a lamb and a couple of rabbits for this year’s 4H. However, cows have become my all time favorite animals. Luckily Olive was bought by a farmer who had her join his herd. I do plan to visit her when I am home for breaks. As I start college, I have joined a pre-vet club and I plan to join the dairy club at Penn State. I can’t express how excited I was to learn that the dairy club works closely with dairy cows. I think this will make me more knowledgeable to work with farm animals.

The reason I love Math, is because Math is universal.To quote my favorite movie, "Mean Girls", "Math is the same in every language". That is part of why I love math. Math provides a great challenge for me, a challenge that I love. As soon as I reached middle school, I started to attend higher grade classes through our honors program. I loved the fact that the class was no longer boring, because everything was too easy. The challenge was great and I appreciate it. When I was in 8th grade, I participated in a STEM activity at a local college. While I was enjoying the activities, my dad sat through a parent event. When I saw him later, he told me that based on what he spoke to some of the professors, if I wanted to be accepted into the college of my dream (Penn State Main Campus), and in the major I was interested in (Veterinary Sciences), I needed to take extra math and science classes. I was super excited to hear that because taking two of my favorite classes was going to be the best thing ever! I continued to be challenged by harder math classes throughout high school, and my love of math grew just as I grew as a person. Math continued to be my one trusted companion, and like a good friend, has stuck with me until now. The advice I received at that STEM activity from long ago has allowed me to reach my goal of getting accepted into Penn State Main Campus, and yes, into my dream major. I am still taking math as a freshmen, and I love that my favorite class and friend in with me as I navigate being away from home. Sometimes that trusted friend follows you and your dreams. Math was and will be one of my greatest loves.

My family has had a dog since I was four years old. Izzie, our first dog, was by far one of the best dogs we have owned. Izzie was always near my brother and I, especially when we were little. She always protected us from what she perceived as dangerous situations. Eventually my parents adopted a second dog. Theo was the sweetest and craziest puppy ever. I remember the dogs always being with us, whether we were hiking in the woods, or go on vacation. My parents always purchased cars with the dogs and kids in mind. I remember always having at least one dog between my brother and I while traveling to visit family. Some of my best memories always have a dog in it. My aunts, uncles, and grandparents all had at least one dog in their homes. Sadly, we lost Theo first, and then two years ago, we lost Izzie. However, my parents adopted another puppy after we lost Theo, and then, during the pandemic, two more dogs joined our home. Slowly, we ended up with four dogs, even if it was for a brief period of time. After we lost Izzie, the three boys we currently own, became even more central to our home. Somehow, everyone had a dog in their room at night. My buddy is Tucker, who loves to be in my room. He is liker an old man because he loves to sit on the couch and watch TV with my mom. My mom's dog is a Malamute and the two of them love to go for walks. My dad also has a dog that is a therapy dog for him. Our dogs are central parts of our family. We treat them more than just pets. We even buy them Christmas gifts! Our dogs are extremely attached to us, and we are just as attached to them. At any given time, there is a dog with one of us. The boys are outside when my mom cuts grass and it is always funny to watch them, play in the freshly cut grass, because their white fur always turns green. The boys are with my dad when he picks us up from school, or when we go fishing and hiking. I could not imagine not having dogs. Life without dogs would be so boring. They are the biggest clowns out there. They make life so much fun!

My chosen field of study is veterinary and biomedical studies. From an early age, as young as five years old, I have been interested in becoming a veterinarian. I have always loved animals and even more so, the idea of working with animals has been extremely appealing to me. I grew up with house pets, as we always had cats and dogs. My love of animals was evident to my parents from the time I was a young girl and they ensured that I was exposed to what it meant to work with animals by facilitating veterinarian shadowing at our local vet hospital, Avalon Veterinary Hospital in Pittsburgh. I had the opportunity to go and follow their doctors around once a week and experience what it would look like to work in the field of veterinary medicine. Through this experience, I was often lucky enough to sit through minor surgeries, like teeth cleaning. I found the experience amazing as it reinforced my desire to be a vet. Over the past two years, I had participated in the 4H programs that were offered in my county since a close friend convinced me to join knowing my love for animals. I decided to give it a shot since I have always wanted to be a vet. So, I have joined Beaks and Buns, an animal based group to expand my learning. The club was run by my friends and their parents, and our meetings were held locally on their farm. As I mentioned previously, I have always wanted to be a veterinarian, but I have not been sure if I wanted to be a farm vet, exotic vet, or just deal with house pets. Beaks and Buns helped me figure out that I really would enjoy being a farm vet. Working with farm animals will continue as I start college. I already know I want to join the Vet club at Penn State, and possibly the Dairy Farm Club. As you can see the importance of higher education has been fostered in me since I was very young and I always look for new learning opportunities. Experiences provided by the 4H and college clubs will get me closer to my dream job: being a vet. I also plan to work part time, whether I continue to work for Rite Aid, my current employer, or through a work study. Saving money to ensure I graduate with as little student debt as possible is one of my main goals. I see how burdening student loans are for my parents, and they have been advising me to save money and apply for scholarships to avoid that burden when I graduate. While Penn State is a big college, oftentimes scholarships are not available for incoming freshmen. I was however lucky due to our financial situation, but I still need money to cover the remainder of my tuition and be able to attend. Right now, my family and I need to borrow about $10,000. It is hard because due to my mom’s student loans and overall high debt (mortgage and car loan), I am not sure if I can attend past the fall semester. My dad is disabled and on a fixed income, which leaves my mom as the main breadwinner and the one who usually takes on a second job to help out. I qualify for work study which I plan to use to contribute to my tuition. Winning this scholarship will allow me to get closer to my goal of graduation with little student loan debt.

My chosen field of study is veterinary and biomedical studies. From an early age, as young as five years old, I have been interested in becoming a veterinarian. I have always loved animals and even more so, the idea of working with animals has been extremely appealing to me. I grew up with house pets, as we always had cats and dogs. My love of animals was evident to my parents from the time I was a young girl and they ensured that I was exposed to what it meant to work with animals by facilitating veterinarian shadowing at our local vet hospital, Avalon Veterinary Hospital in Pittsburgh. I had the opportunity to go and follow their doctors around once a week and experience what it would look like to work in the field of veterinary medicine. Through this experience, I was often lucky enough to sit through minor surgeries, like teeth cleaning. I found the experience amazing as it reinforced my desire to be a vet. However, there was always the question of what type of veterinarian I would be. The office I was shadowing typically only saw house pets, however, watching television shows like Dr. K Exotic Animal ER and The Amazing Dr. Pol, I was able to gain an understanding that some vet offices saw exotic animals, and others may work with farm animals. Over the past two years I had participated in the 4H programs that were offered in my county when a close friend convinced me to join since I love animals so much. I decided to give it a shot since I have always wanted to be a vet. I thought that participating in 4H would afford me experiences that I have never had an opportunity to have in Pittsburgh. I joined "Beaks and Buns", an animal based group. As I mentioned previously, I have always wanted to be a veterinarian, but I have not been sure if I wanted to be a farm vet, exotic vet, or just deal with house pets. Beaks and Buns helped me figure out that I really would enjoy being a farm vet. Last year I showed a market rabbit and a market turkey. While both are smaller animals, I had a lot of fun working with them. My friend had a market lamb last year and I absolutely love him. He acted like a big dog and would let you do anything to him. Being around him has motivated me to want to work with bigger animals this 4H year, which is why I am showing a market cow. I've never been close to a cow, and it's honestly super interesting and I can't wait for this year’s roundup so I can show off my heifer. My intended major require me to take a variety of science and math classes. Science has always been a favorite subject for me. Up until the Covid pandemic, science was a subject I studied in school and a subject I really enjoyed. The pandemic showed me how important science is to our society. Medical staff and doctors have become superheroes, and as a society we have learned how important science really is. Science allows us to have healthy and long lives, because of advancements in medicine, for example. The researchers working on vaccines have shown us that technology is always evolving and that when presented with a problem, scientists will work tirelessly to find a solution. Finding a vaccine solution to Covid has allowed us to return to a new found sense of normalcy.

My favorite scientific discovery is stem-cell treatment because of how versatile is can be. I know stem-cell research is a controversial and sensitive topic when it comes to humans, it is actually FDA approved for animals, especially for treating animal orthopedic problems such as tendon, ligament, bone fractures and arthritis. I first learned about stem-cell treatment for animals when my dog Tucker fractured his ACL. We were playing in the yard, Tucker jumped and immediately started limping. I did not think much of it as he was about 10 months old. Because he was not improving, we took him to the vet who gave us the bad news and a referral to a Veterinarian specializing in orthopedic surgery. When we arrived to the office, we were given two options: stem-cell treatment or surgery. Stem-cell treatment while approved in dogs, is not cheap. In the end we chose the surgery because it was more financially available to us. Today Tucker has recovered and is just as energetic and silly as always.

I am going into a very challenging major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences . This means that stress levels will be high, so it is essential I find balance. I plan to not over do it, by being overly busy. While I intend to join a couple of clubs and student organizations, I am also aware that my schedule is very demanding. I have a lot of interests and hobbies, and since I have qualified for work study, I have applied for jobs that will align with my interests, because i think it is important to do what you love in order to be successful. However, for my mental health, I plan to be involved with people that share common interests, so that I have a strong support system. I also rely on my family to keep me grounded. When it comes to the physical aspect, I plan to exercise, and even meditate. I feel that exercising and meditation will be beneficial to both my mental and physical health. I am lucky to have a roommate that is very health conscientious, so I know she will keep me motivated and provide me with support. I think medication is a good way to maintain balance. I am very interested in yoga, even though I have never took classes. I feel that yoga will help me with both physical exercise and with mental balance. Nutritional health is also important to be successful in college. It is well known that college kids often time eat cheap food because most of us are broke. I am lucky to be in a dorm this year, which means that i also have a meal plan. The challenge, however, is to make sure I eat balanced and nutritious meals. All the lessons I have received about the food pyramid and plate, will come handy now. It is essential to eat everything in moderation, but more importantly i need to have balanced meals so that I can focus on studying and be successful. Overall, balance is they key when it comes to maintaining my mental, physical, and nutritional health while in school. being involved in clubs and building friendships are important keys in maintaining a healthy mental state. Being away from home for the first time can be extremely challenging, and it is very important to build a support system with others who are going through this same experience. Physical health is just as important to be a well rounded individual. Whether you play sports at an academic level, or just work out to improve your health, physical activities also improve your mental state. A balance diet is just as important. As we are navigating adulthood, it is important to find the balance needed to maintain our mental, physical, and nutritional health.

My chosen field of study is veterinary and biomedical studies. From an early age, as young as five years old,, I have been interested in becoming a veterinarian. I have always loved animals and even more so, the idea of working with animals has been extremely appealing to me. I grew up with house pets, as we always had cats and dogs. My love of animals was evident to my parents from the time I was a young girl and they ensured that I was exposed to what it meant to work with animals by facilitating veterinarian shadowing at our local vet hospital, Avalon Veterinary Hospital in Pittsburgh. I had the opportunity to go and follow their doctors around once a week and experience what it would look like to work in the field of veterinary medicine. Through this experience, I was often lucky enough to sit through minor surgeries, like teeth cleaning. I found the experience amazing as it reinforced my desire to be a vet. However, there was always the question of what type of veterinarian I would be. The office I was shadowing typically only saw house pets, however, watching television shows like Dr. K Exotic Animal ER and The Amazing Dr. Pol, I was able to gain an understanding that some vet offices saw exotic animals, and others may work with farm animals. The way I hope to positively impact the world with my careers of choice is through education and by giving back to my community. The way I want to impact it through education is by providing children and adults with lessons on how to better care for their animals. I feel that by providing experiences to children, we can ensure better adults. What I mean by lessons is something as simple as a show and tell type activity for children, where children are introduced to various animals, both pets and farm animals, to ensure they learn about and appreciate their purpose. I was fortunate to be able to shadow vets and participate in 4H. Both experiences have been tremendously impacting on how I interact with animals. Many first time pet owners are eerie about cleaning their pets ears or trimming nails. I feel that by providing adults with simple lessons on how to better care for their pets, I would ensure a closer bond between the two. Giving back to the community is also very important to me. When I moved to Grove City, Pa, I joined a local chapter of 4-H. While working on my own projects, I also worked on group projects. For our club “Gone Country” we had multiple community projects such as building birdhouses for the 4-H park. Along with this, we had gotten together to build a bench, stain it, and put a finish on it. We will eventually be putting it in our town as a donation from our club. I had also helped put together the barns and cages for the 4-H roundup. Overall, being involved with the 4H community has taught me a lot. As a vet, I would love to be involved in 4H because I feel that would be one of the best ways to give back to my community. Taking care of animals is important and can also be costly. I would love to donate my services to the local 4H organization and support parents and children in this amazing program. Obviously as a vet there are many ways one can positively impact the world, and through education and by giving back to the community is how I plan to do that.

My chosen field of study is veterinary and biomedical studies. From an early age, as young as five years old, I have been interested in becoming a veterinarian. I have always loved animals and even more so, the idea of working with animals has been extremely appealing to me. I grew up with house pets, as we always had cats and dogs. My love of animals was evident to my parents from the time I was a young girl and they ensured that I was exposed to what it meant to work with animals by facilitating veterinarian shadowing at our local vet hospital, Avalon Veterinary Hospital in Pittsburgh. I had the opportunity to go and follow their doctors around once a week and experience what it would look like to work in the field of veterinary medicine. Through this experience, I was often lucky enough to sit through minor surgeries, like teeth cleaning. I found the experience amazing as it reinforced my desire to be a vet. However, there was always the question of what type of veterinarian I would be. The office I was shadowing typically only saw house pets, however, watching television shows like Dr. K Exotic Animal ER and The Amazing Dr. Pol, I was able to gain an understanding that some vet offices saw exotic animals, and others may work with farm animals. This past year I have participated in the 4H programs that were offered in my county when a close friend convinced me to join since I love animals so much. I decided to give it a shot since I have always wanted to be a vet. I thought that participating in 4H would afford me experiences that I have never had an opportunity to have in Pittsburgh. As I mentioned previously, I have always wanted to be a veterinarian, but I have not been sure if I wanted to be a farm vet, exotic vet, or just deal with house pets. Beaks and Buns helped me figure out that I really would enjoy being a farm vet. Last year I showed a market rabbit and a market turkey. While both are smaller animals, I had a lot of fun working with them. My friend had a market lamb last year and I absolutely love him. He acted like a big dog and would let you do anything to him. Being around him has motivated me to want to work with bigger animals this 4H year, which is why I am showing a market cow. I've never been close to a cow, and it's honestly super interesting and I can't wait for this year’s roundup so I can show off my heifer.

The most important piece of advice that I have ever received was that education can change my life. I saw this as a prime example in my mom, an emigrant, who went back to school when my brother and i were very young. She graduated with honors, and my brother and I were there to see her walk and receive her diploma. She continued on with her education and obtained a Masters Degree within one year. Once again, my brother and I were present for her graduation. Having her as a role model has inspired me to work hard, study harder, and keep a great GPA, that allowed me acceptance into my dream college: Penn State. As I am getting ready to start summer classes as an incoming freshman, I am once again reminded that education is the key to success. Based on my GPA, I was able to receive scholarships that will allow me to pay for my education. I know that going into Veterinary and Biomedical Studies is a very competitive and challenging field, so I have to stay focused and continue to work hard. I want to use my mom's story and my own story to inspire others to stay in school, work hard, and dream big. Education truly is the answer and the secret ticket out of poverty-I know this because not too long ago we depended on welfare and food banks to make it every month. Education has allowed us to move forward and become financially independent once again.