I am Odelette Chaparro, and I am currently studying in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at my local community college. I am in my last semester, and I am excited to get out there and work with many patients in their rehabilitation phase. While I have managed to get this far, I would be grateful to have an opportunity to receive the scholarship. This will alleviate many obstacles, most notably those that have to do with financial and housing stability, reduced work hours, and graduation expenses. To give you a little context, I am passionate about many things. The arts, specifically theater, were my dream job. I studied in Mexico, and wanted to complete my studies here in the US. However, because of my lack of knowlege about the universities in the US, as well as unfortunate financial advice, I ended up with owing quite a lot for the one semester I took. While I am still working in the arts, unpaid, but I still enjoy every second, I had to take a pause in my studies to pay off the tuition. It took a whole year; it was quite upsetting to see the result of the hard hours leave my account. This occurred at the same time my sister and I saved up for our first car, and managed to get an apartment with roommates. The first years were hard, but I managed. After working in the restaurant scene for a couple of months, I knew I had to continue my education. I looked up programs in my local community collage and read through the choices I had. My eyes laid upon Physical Therapy, and I knew what I had to do. A while back, I was in a car accident and had to receive 40 days of rehabilitation. It was a difficult time because a month before, my oldest brother had passed away. I remembered the conversations I had with the physical therapists and observations of those around me. It wasn't just motivation to keep on going, but I received emotional help seeing those who wish they had my capabilities. I immediately applied, and I do not regret it. Many had warned my cohort that the program was tough, and it definitely was. I dedicated a large amount of time to studying while balancing my work shift times. I would sometimes even need to hear lectures in the parking lot at work! I have learned so much! I understand the human body, and am entranced by how we grow and move around. I also went to my first clinical rotation this year in January, and it was so fun! I felt like I was applying what I only saw in paper. Helping people walk was my favorite moment, seeing their delight when they realized the reached a father distance compared to the last session. I am eager to practice my profession, and thus far I have received a bit of help from my school, which I was very grateful as it took off my plate. However, my family needs support back in Mexico, and my sisters and I have struggled a bit. With school expenses, personal expenses, and cooperating on my niece's college fund (in support since my older brother cannot support her anymore), I have encountered some difficulties. Due to careful consideration, I have decided to live in the school dorms. While this still requires payment, I calculated that it would reduce my living costs. This is important because for my last semester, I am required to do my clinicals, 40 hours a week, unpaid, in order to graduate. This highly affects my work hours and study time. At the moment, I am working as much as I can in the summer, because I am stressed and fearful of the end of my semester. Receiving this scholarship will be of great help! I could focus more on growing my educational path. I want to continue my studies and get a doctorate in Physical Therapy some day. In order to do that, my transition from student to graduate needs to be as fluid as possible. I am nervous I will spent most of my savings on school, food, or other necessities, and not have enough once I graduate. In addition, another reason I am applying is to motivate my sisters to do the same. I want to graduate and show them that it is realistic to finish education here and find a profession. Because of our monetary struggle, their focus has shifted from education to overworking themselves. I want to inspire them and even support them in any way to complete a program. All I want is for them to have a stable job and security, not having to worry if today I will make enough at work. As you have read, I have many reasons to be looking for support. In summary, I wish to receive this scholarship in order to grow, participate in society, help others, and make my family proud.

I am the daughter of immigrant parents, who separated when I was 8. My father was sent back to Mexico, leaving my mother to raise 4 girls by herself. My childhood had a lot of obstacles, which I didn't notice how bad it was until my sisters and I were older and would talk about it. Somehow, my mom would find a way to distract us from this. So even though we would literally be hopping from home to home, eventually ending up in a homeless shelter for a bit, we were always together and never felt alone. My mother had a lot to take care of, and I am grateful for everything she has done over the years. It is hard to take care of 4 children alone, in a place where you don't have papers and no one to help you financially. She rarely talks about this with us, just mentions how she was also jumping from job to job. She did tell us of one experience, how it had gotten to a point where she was so scared because she didn't have any money fr groceries one day. She was alone crying and folding clothes, praying for something good to happen. Then right after, she found 20 dollars in her pocket and felt so much relief. It is one of the few stories she likes to talk about with us, which breaks my heart. Eventually, things caught up to us, and she took us all back to Mexico. And even though I financial situation wouldn't get better until years after, at least she was around family. My grandmother, divorced, would help take care of us as much as she could. Now as grown ups, my sisters and I are planning to give my mom a life she deserved, no financial burden, a house, ability to visit us in the US. Being separated from her was difficult, but once we finish ou education, we can start helping her even more. My mom is a hard worker, but also human. This has shaped me into a hardworking person, and motivates me to grow my career, hopefully getting my doctorate. I was raised the oldest, so I always tried helping her with what I could, taking care of my sisters, motivating them to continue school. While I am also struggling with housing at the moment, I took the opportunity for school housing, I am determined to finish my last semester and finding a stable career. These are values i saw in my mother, and I want to make her proud and not worry about my future. This scholarship will give me a push in the right direction, so I can focus on completing my education instead of my financial state. And I not only want to make my mother proud, but my sisters as well. Seeing me graduate will make their own dreams more achievable, and when I find a job I can also support their education as well.

Hello fellow Leftie! While I was never teased for it, kids actually thought it was cool that I write with my left. To this day I give a shout out to my fellow lefties, and it is a great icebreaker as a server. However, I did stand out a lot because I was very introverted and quiet all until highschool. The worst part is, I didn't even know it! Apparently I was always known as the serious one in every class I was in, whether in the US or Mexico. Later in life people would tell me they always thought I didn't like them, or that I was basically mute. I just preferred to listen and talking wasn't something on my mind. After taking theater I was able to express myself more, but that lack of social communication evolved into a new awkward thing, my tones. I didn't know how to converse with people at all! Now people notice I speak a bit differently, especially when I get excited. I guess, I pronounce or enunciate in a funny way, because no matter what social group I am in (work, family, partner, school, etc) someone always imitates a certain word, phrase, or even gesture. At first it would make me feel bad, because I didn't know I spoke in a curious way. But now I understand the light teasing, and I guess it's a funny little quirk of mine that is unique. It actually gives me some peace though. This is because I reflected on my past self, the one who doesn't express her self and can barely utter a word and would never even dream of looking at someone in the eyes. I had a fear of people, so bad I would literally go and eat lunch behind the school. I didn't realize it was a true fear until I remembered how anxious it made me to approach people. I am glad I faced these fears, as a server I talk to people everyday! I know this is also a skill I will definitely need, as a futre PTA I definitely want to make people relaxed and feel at easy before, during, and after treatment. All I have to do is say "hello" in my usual tone and we can get the conversation going, using our awkward thing as our advantage. I do wish you the best, I had and older brother who had fallen victim of gun violence. He was much older so this wasn't in a school setting, but crime. And yes, remembering the awkward traits we have definitely brings up good memories.

My plan for the future is to graduate and assist others with the skills I develop in physical therapy. My dream is to one day provide these services through traveling, especially in areas where there is limited access to healthcare. My parents live in Mexico, and I lived there during my teens and have witnessed firsthand how the lack of finances affects health, education, and even just living peacefully. A personal goal of mine is the be more at ease. I am independent, working, and paying for my education. This scholarship is a step in the right direction to complete my education and pay off my loans. While the program I am currently attending is much more affordable than others, it saddens me that my options were limited because of financial troubles. I hope that once I complete this degree, I can keep on studying and discover many more areas that education can provide. Funny enough, I was a kid who did well in school but did not enjoy it. Now, I can say I love school! I love learning! I would like to be in a good situation where I can live and provide for myself, as well as provide for my parents back in Mexico. I and always in fear that an emergency might happen, which requires me to be more prepared financially. I also have the goal of applying for a doctoral degree in physical therapy, but at the moment, it seems quite far. This stems from, of course, tuition and other expenses. I will also be honest here, I do wish to eventually complete a doctoral degree, but that goal seems far away. Last night I was looking at programs and saw the tuition rates, which almost killed a spark I had. I want to finish my current degree, then keep building my path, and hopefully, expanding my education becomes more realistic. My sisters have always had an interest in healthcare, but one of them said they will only pursue a bachelor's because any further is more expensive. I really do want to achieve more education, to motivate not only myself, but also my family, that postgraduate education is not impossible for us. It sometimes hurts to think that if I played my cards right, I would already have a doctoral degree by now. But I am also aware that it is never too late, so wish me luck on finishing this semester and the many more ahead!

1. Hello! My name is Odelette, and I am currently studying Physical Therapy. I am going to be honest, for most of my life, I have never imagined pursuing a career in healthcare. While my mother and sisters have shown an interest in this (but none have completed their education so far), I was the only one who was more inclined to the arts. I saw medicine as boring, too hard, and I couldn't find any interest in it. It wasn't until I had an accident in 2024 and had to receive physical therapy. It was like my mind was blown. I had acquired an interest in finding out what this science was about. Anatomy was something I didn't look much into, and when I applied, I was scared I would not pay attention since the majority of the program has to do with the human body. I was motivated to just try it one semester, and I fell in love. Art helps me see the beauty in things, and I have found beauty in something I never thought I would even look into. 2. Empathy means understanding how another person feels. While we don't have the same experiences, empathy allows us to share and receive emotions, thus comprehending what others go through. This is a quality important in professions that interact with other coworkers, patients, bosses, partners, etc. Physical therapy is a hands-on job, where the patient is usually in pain, and this can come with mental struggles as well. Apart from empathy, patience and respect are also qualities needed to enhance a better session. As providers, pain is subjective to the patient, and this may affect their response to treatment ot to other people. It is our job to make them feel comfortable and safe. The great thing about empathy is that it is contagious, and what we give to a patient, they can take home and share this kindness with others. Technology has definitely progressed treatments, and is valuable on an objective level. But to ensure health care isn't isolated from a human-centered lens requires a human touch. This is where my inclination to art might be helpful. We all need to express, communication is essential, and it will make the patient feel heard. I am beginning clinics in January, with my first patients, and funny enough, theater and serving have helped me develope and ear and skills to develop empathy. I am mindful and listen, patients will share their concerns, and I know I am capable of sharing interest and genuine concern for the well-being of others. We must also highlight the word care in healthcare, because we are responsible for picking up those who need one more step towards healing.

I believe women in any discipline, such as science and art, have a strong impact and role. I am currently in a long-distance project (with my Mexican companions) to create an idea for International Women's Day to promote their organizations to motivate more female scientists. I believe this will generate interest in many people to pursue education and contribute to great progress. Here in Kansas, I hope that my future job will inspire women to help others, especially patients in acute stages of healing after an injury. I know this is possible because I was inspired to continue my studies not only in the arts, but also in physical therapy. While receiving this service after my car accident, I was assisted by a female physical therapist. I was with her for 40 days, and she would talk to me about all the good work they would do. I asked about the education she received, and while it is hard, the profession is wonderful and gives a sense of fulfillment. Anyone can use physical therapy, men, women, individuals in urban or rural backgrounds, as well. I hope that once I graduate, I can have access to work while traveling. This would be ideal to help patients, even in rural areas, in times of need. I grew up in a financially troubled household, raised by a single mother, and faced many obstacles. Even so, I am managing to work and pay for my studies, and women who are also in similar situations can see that there is a way to become independent and study. I hope to become a role model, share the possibilities with other women, and build community. Sometimes all we need is a push in the right direction. I am currently a bit fearful because I have loans from a past degree I tried to pursue in the US, but I eventually found my footing and am in the process of finishing my degree. Thankfully, the school I found is very good, and if other Kansans are exposed to the professionals that graduate from a local then there would definitely be an interest in applying. Supporting women in the best ways is taking action, exposing women succeeding, demonstrating women lead projects, and conversing with leaders. If a woman or girl witnesses and relates to another, then the doors become wide open. I want to heal, I want to help others, teach others to move again, reassure patients that they are safe, I want to motivate other women, and I want them to realize that their professional dreams are much closer than they thought.

Community thrives on sharing, and I believe that it is a natural starter to help one another. I received physical therapy due to a car accident and discovered firsthand how the world of health care relates to empathy. We don't know the struggles most of us are facing every day. While I was lucky, I saw many people and their stories on how they worked to return to their prior level of physical function. When I complete my degree and develop these skills, I will be honored to participate in a patient's healing. If I communicate with patience and respect, I know the energy I emit will be shared. If we want people to be kind and help our community grow, we must act this way even when people are at their lowest point. The hospital, or most health care locations, are unfortunately where many people are at rock bottom, as healthcare workers, we have a responsibility to lift them back up (literally and figuratively). While my experience in the medical community is just starting, I have heard stories about how satisfactory it is to have helped someone lessen the pain in their back or have had a successful visit to the doctor. I one occasion, I remember I was doing observation hours at a physical therapy clinic, which was necessary for the admission process. There was this one patient who was in a wheelchair. They have made a lot of progress, and the PT was ready to have them try to stand. I remember the fear in the patient's eyes, but they were also determined. Once standing, the patient was still unstable and needed assistance. Self-inflating insults were said because the patient was scared of staying up and was disappointed in herself. That was when the PT gave her encouraging words and maintained both of the standing just a little longer. Once the patient was seated, she was crying with happiness, as was her mother. I thought it was a beautiful moment, and I was grateful for the experience. I believe even talking can lighten one's day, and good words can lead to good actions. While I am studying, I am also working as a waitress at a well-known restaurant. While most of my coworkers prefer the financial aspect of the job and are disappointed when it isn't a good day, I tend to find joy in connecting with the guests more. I developed better communication skills while serving. I enjoy my time with these interactions, and I can tell it is mutual. My guests always leave with a smile on their face, even if I forgot their side of ranch. I hope to bring these skills into the clinic and make people's dreaded visits a good one.

The first time I experienced the arts was in middle school when I participated in regional painting competitions. Even though I left painting behind, it permit me to discover a new art, theater. As a shy person, I didn't know what told me to join the theater club at my school. I am still an introvert, but theater has helped me developed my communication and creative skills. Now, I want to live my life on stage, behind the camera, as a designer, all of it. The need to create is essential. My favorite teacher from high school, we will call him Adam. This teacher taught me many theater-related classes like acting, theater history, corporal expression, etc. Adam has a strange personality, but when he talks about theater he's an encyclopedia, one of those people who know how to teach and assist you. He told me: "You are a student, mess up, make mistakes. Don't worry if you did it wrong, but at least do it." As a creator, this advice motivates me to move and stop mentally blocking my mindset. Art helps share a community's message, to express how culture and society live in the here and now. One example is making a compilation about people's experiences dealing with poverty (which is common in my community). Taking these testimonies, you can create a dance, a play, take meaningful photographs, direct a film, etc. In the art community, I failed by forgiving the violence theater directors have towards their crew members and actors. I thought that since they are the directors, they have the ability to treat us however they please, because we do it for the art. Now I know I must have self respect, and draw the line between what is professional and what is utter disrespect.

I cannot say that the pandemic helped me economically or in my education at the time, but what I can say is that it helped me mentally and emotionally. Before the pandemic, I was (and still am) a shy person. I didn´t have many friends mostly because distanced myself from people. I would sometimes go to social gatherings but not really do much. I thought being alone and without so many people was what I wanted, until COVID hit. Being in isolation started out fine, it was like an extra-long vacation. After about 9 months I started to miss people, I had a need to be with others and talk. I also discovered a more serious kind of loneliness, I felt like I was in solitude. It seems like a negative result instead of a positive, but let me assure you that understanding that I needed to take care of my mental health is a good thing the quarantine gave me, before I didn´t care about myself in that way. After quarantine, I expanded my social group, I was finally able to grow as a person who doesn´t have to be alone in this world.

I have a hard time deciding on my favorite things, but at the moment my favorite artist is Lin Manuel Miranda. Though he has many talents, the one that particularly captures my interest is the lyrics in his musicals "Hamilton" and "In the Heights". He is a very intelligent person, not only do these lyrics have a musical beauty to them but are also filled with historical messages and a lot of subtexts (speaking of Hamilton). As for the second musical, I love how the lyrics express the troubles of the Latin community in the US, I especially identified with the song "Breathe" which talks about a college girl who believes she fails because she couldn´t save enough for the tuition. They are beautiful pieces translated from Miranda's mind to the physical world with the power of the arts.

Video Essay: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JvoKx06nxdwUwTKt54dBg4lMBKD03VHD/view?usp=sharing Broadway Dreams: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbX-horHdjgRbIb8JLEQIkQ

Art: A Living Phenomenon Being an artist means being a creator; transferring what originates from your mind to the sensible world is true beauty in its form. Creation isn't an easy process; many obstacles make the journey a little longer than expected. Art must push you to take action like a constant impulse living inside you that wants to explore and share its energy with the world. We can define art with a quick Google search: "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, (...)". If you ask me what art is, I would say it is a living phenomenon that expresses what we perceive from our reality or what to share from our capabilities. I emphasize the word living which is the word that drives me to create. I know it isn't just me who has this necessity to do art, whatever you define it to be. I could be sitting down, reading a book, or looking at my phone and an idea can pop into my head: "What if I make a video about this word I just read? How about I talk to some friend to make a cool choreography about so and so? Do you know what would be cool? If I suddenly just get up and paint.". How does art connect with me? It is what I want to dedicate my life to, it is what I have to do just to be sane. It is impossible to tell you how this art will look like in the future because it changes, grows, and is inconsistent. I discovered my love for this discipline years too late, my first dance class what at the age of 17. When I was young, we were always encouraged to pursue what society calls 'a real job', especially when I lived in Mexico. Art usually isn't an ideal career option, so there are many talented artists out there who don't even know it. I am currently in an independent project in which we share our community's talent, and I must say it is amazing to witness these people working and being driven like me to the arts. In conclusion, I want to share the artists of our generation but it is complicated to do it alone. If you ever had this impulse to create, you must be familiar with it not simply going away. I want to finish school and help grow our current group to motivate and aid young artists, such as myself, to bring our ideas to life. In the attached link you can see a few of the projects we were able to do while in Mexico.

I cannot say dance and the performing arts have been present in my life since the beginning, like many other talented people. It was when I moved to Mexico when the arts became a reality, in one theater class in middle school. I attended a high school inclined to the arts and fell in love with all the different ways to express on self. I took a deep interest in theater, which was a challange since I am a shy person. I remember how exilerating it felt to be on a stage, how easy it was to be infront of a crowd. I started to focus on my acting and also started ballet lessons, it was difficult starting at such a late age but I knew it wa something I wanted to do for me. Choosing the performing arts as a career choice was not hard, but there were and still are obstacules. One of the challenges was family, many peope would comment on how complicated it was to make a living on theater and dance and suggested I do it as a hobby. Another obstacle was that I did not have and economic resources to go to particular classes, I would find anyone who would invite me over, many professors would have extra classes for those who wanted to learn and I gladly accepted, I would also try and participate as much as I can in any proyect I could find. Though I had these impediments and even close calls I when through it and started to study theater. The performing arts isn´t just a hobby for me, it is what I want to dedicate my life to because I want to do what I love for a living. I don't want to spend the rest of my time thinking on what could have been and where I could have gone. I remember one of my teachers saying: "Don't think, just do", it stuck with me because fear is something I struggled deeply with and it has held me back. When you are passionate about something, you look for ways to overcome it. I want to use the arts so people can see that you can creat beautiful thinks with your voice, body and imagination. That is how I want to touch the lives of anyone who accepts it, so we can motivate more creators and see what us humans are capable of. In conclsion, you can see how these artistic disciplines can influence anyone, even someone like me who had no interest in such things until a couple of years too late. The more we can share the faster people will explore these aspects of life usually cancelled out but logic and order, it is time to let loose and discover what is illogical, what is subjective and what conforms the world we build, show how we percieve life through our hands, vioces and our minds.