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.