I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health. Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

Until marrying and moving to the Portland Metro area, I had no experience connecting poverty and food insecurity. I encountered friends and neighbors who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line, and while we did not go without food, we did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest regarding food insecurity and its mitigation. I started my inquiry by making connections with my children’s school counselor. Students at Kinnaman Elementary had access to meals, yet they were unsure if they would get the chance to eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without food so that their children could eat. Seeing students’ concentration waver while their stomachs rumble, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to nutritious food. Together, she and I brainstormed ways we could help food insecure families. We observed that income is not the only risk factor of food insecurity. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare costs reduced the resources left to feed families. In response to our conference, I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks and assisted with a weekend food backpack program. However, through this I noticed a cultural disconnect between the donated food and the families receiving it. Families not only had to choose between housing or food, but the food they could access was not close to their cultural heritage. Lack of access to culturally appropriate foods creates negative health outcomes across their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Knowing of others who have the same view of cultural equity, I made connections with my church, Christ United Methodist Church (CUMC). Historically they have provided meals for 100 disadvantaged families each holiday season. With this partnership, CUMC ensured communication was in each family's native language and provided culturally appropriate meals for one week along with a holiday dinner.   Seeing the social determinants of health impacting students and their families in these programs reinforced my decision to pursue public health. As I began my studies my eyes were opened not only to the silent epidemic that is higher education food insecurity, but its impact on students’ futures. Physical and mental effects of food insecurity often lead to reduced student attendance and performance, invariably resulting in withdrawing from school. With over 40% of college and university students facing food insecurity, the adage “starving college student” has become a reality (Hagedorn-Hatfield et al., 2022). While society accepts this as part of higher education, I was drawn to public health more than ever. I want my peers to be able to focus solely on their education as I am able to. As I work toward my MPH, I have been able to find ways to center each of my assignments and projects on higher education food insecurity, enriching my knowledge and educating my peers as I write. By enriching my Public Health degree through the UNC Charlotte Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, I can be part of making holistic, systemic changes to strengthen food security. My goal is to continue my 4.0 while finishing my MPH program at OSU (Oregon State University), then graduate from UNC Charlotte with a Public Health Sciences Afterward, I plan to work with food justice, sovereignty, and security among all school populations, especially those attending higher education. While there is a myriad of safety net programs in place for younger children, the higher education population falls in the gap, reducing their chances at equitable educational and career opportunities. The PhD program will strengthen my Public Health foundation, thus helping to connect college students with sustainable and culturally appropriate food resources through in-depth research and health promotion. No one should have to go without nutritious food to gain an education. My motivation lies in supporting a healthy population that does not hunger, as well as students who can concentrate on learning and making connections rather than thinking of where their next meal will come from. The fortification of my public health foundation will facilitate empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. Empowerment will take shape in advocating for increasing food access by making the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits accessible for higher education students who need it. Promoting community gardens and barter farmer’s markets will empower individuals to produce sustainable and nutritious food resources. Advocating for Hunger Free Campuses, reduced tuition, and low to no cost learning materials along with increasing awareness of food insecurity on higher education campuses will empower students to flourish while reaching for their dreams. Each form offers students equitable ways to succeed in their education and beyond. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and achieve their best selves. Hagedorn-Hatfield, R. L., Hood, L. B., & Hege, A. (2022, January 28). A decade of college student hunger: What we know and where we need to go. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpubh.2022.837724

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Repeatedly I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing students’ concentration waver while their stomachs rumble, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health. Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Repeatedly I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing students’ concentration waver while their stomachs rumble, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health. Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I started my education journey in the Spring of 2019 with the goal of an AA degree in Paraeducation. My plan was to work with students on their reading skills. I took 12 credits a term year-round, worked full time, and raised three children. Spring term 2020 was supposed to see me finishing my bacc core classes and starting my practicum. However, March came and turned that plan to rubble. First my mother-in-law passed from an aggressive form of cancer. In the wake of her passing, Covid-19 closed the world. With this closure came the inability to do my practicum and a new bubble life for us. My youngest child has severe asthma brought on by respiratory infections. A simple cold sends him into pneumonia within 3 days. His daily medications to keep his airways open make him immunocompromised. This made the threat of contracting Covid-19 terrifying. I was no longer able to work, and our social interactions ceased to exist. We are still, in 2024, wearing KN95 masks when we leave the house and limiting our interactions with the outside world. With the loss of my practicum and the ability to work, I took the last classes I needed to finish my bacc core. I discovered a love for public health through one of these classes. Ironically in a time of global pandemic. It was with this class that I knew my true calling was to work with students, and their families, on accessing sustainable and culturally appropriate food resources. With this driving me like nothing had before, I talked to advisors at OSU and PCC, where I currently attended, to figure out the best path for this. OSU had an e-campus Public Health major which was perfect for our isolated family. However, credits for e-campus are more costly than in-person and I had used quite a bit of my student loan aggregate already on education classes that I could no longer use. I faced my senior year of OSU, being accepted into the Accelerated Master of Public Health (MPH) program, not able to cover the tuition for it. In between drafting innumerable papers, I wrote hundreds of scholarship essays. This effort rewarded me with the ability to continue with my studies and graduate summa cum laude in June 2024 with my Bachelor of Science in Public Health. As the 2024-2025 school year looms upon the horizon, I find myself once again facing one more year of tuition without the means to pay for it. I have already completed one year of my MPH program within my undergraduate studies, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. The inability to work, and the constant worry over my children’s health has put my educational future, and our family's financial future, at risk. With my degree in Public Health, I will be able to not only improve the life of my family and myself, but those of the lives around me, by having the foundation of skills and evidence-based knowledge required of a dedicated public health professional. Gaining my degree will improve our family’s condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. None of this will be possible without the assistance from resources such as scholarships. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality, by empowering those in need with the ability to access food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

In a world dominated by male athletes, I turn my support to soccer start, MVP, and golden boot honoree, number 11, Sophia Smith. Smith is a forward for both the Portland Thorns and United States Women's National soccer teams. As one of the youngest players on the field, she has won numerous awards and honors for her skill and focus on the field. I cheer Sophia Smith on at both the local and national level because of what she stands for in the eyes of our future leaders. Sophia Smith is just a few months older than my daughter who also plays soccer. At each home match, my daughter gets a chance to see possibilities, in the form of Smith. Sophia Smith provides inspiration to young girls the world over, my daughter included, that you can follow your dreams and stand out in a crowd. One does not have to stand by and let the men of the world dominate the field. Sophia Smith has shown repeatedly her grit and determination, playing in every Concacaf match, world cup match, and Olympic matches with her teams. I am proud to support the women’s national team and Portland Thorn team start Sophia Smith and cannot wait to see what else she does as a positive example for the girls of our world.

I started my education journey in the Spring of 2019 with the goal of an AA degree in Paraeducation. Taking education classes full-time, year-round, my plan was to work with students on their reading skills. Spring term 2020 would have been my practicum and last baccalaureate core class; however, Covid-19 closed the world. With this closure came the inability to do my classroom practicum so I took the last classes needed to finish my baccalaureate core. I discovered a love for public health through Community Health class, ironically in a time of global pandemic. I knew my true calling was to work with students and their families on accessing sustainable and culturally appropriate food resources. With this passion driving me like nothing had before, I found myself working toward my MPH (Master of Public Health) (Master of Public Health), after being accepted into the accelerated master's program at Oregon State University. My journey through graduate school has exposed me to a love of writing. Through my writing, I can educate individuals about the disparities and needs of our society. By pouring out my passion for public health through writing I can captivate others and engage them with my goal to reduce hunger across students and their families. Until marrying and moving to the Portland Metro area, I had no experience connecting poverty and food insecurity. I encountered friends and neighbors who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line, and while we did not go without food, we did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest regarding food insecurity and its mitigation. I started my inquiry by making connections with my children’s school counselor. Students at Kinnaman Elementary had access to meals, yet they were unsure if they would get the chance to eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without food so that their children could eat. Seeing students’ concentration waver while their stomachs rumble, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to nutritious food. Together, she and I brainstormed ways we could help food insecure families. We observed that income is not the only risk factor of food insecurity. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare costs reduced the resources left to feed families. In response to our conference, I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks and assisted with a weekend food backpack program. However, through this I noticed a cultural disconnect between the donated food and the families receiving it. Families not only had to choose between housing or food, but the food they could access was not close to their cultural heritage. Lack of access to culturally appropriate foods creates negative health outcomes across their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Knowing of others who have the same view of cultural equity, I made connections with my church, Christ United Methodist Church (CUMC). Historically they have provided meals for 100 disadvantaged families each holiday season. With this partnership, CUMC ensured communication was in each family's native language and provided culturally appropriate meals for one week along with a holiday dinner. The fortification of my public health foundation will facilitate empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and achieve their best selves.

There is no denying that resources on our planet are finite and squandered. However there has been debate as to whether humans are escalating the planet's decline more than the natural course of things. A prime example of the human influence in this debate is the food insecurity pandemic. The resources on this planet are such that every person residing here could have plenty to eat each day. Unfortunately, distribution of food sources is not equitable. Not only is the food not getting distributed fairly, but its production and subsequent waste are playing a part in the escalation of Earth’s decline. Production of food clears forests, increases methane emissions, deteriorates soil and water conditions, makes use of combustion engines, and involves substantial plastic use. Food produced and discarded for many reasons creates more methane and carbon dioxide emissions. I am working toward a world where there is no hunger, nor is there anthropogenic environmental decline. A world where parents do not have to go without so that their children will have food, and families would not have to make the choice between a roof over their heads, heat, fuel, or food. My goals begin with community gardens, seed and plant start exchanges, bartering farmer’s markets, and free food preservation classes. Schools with gardens to provide fresh produce for their free school lunch programs. Having a hand in producing your own food reduces the carbon footprint and makes those foods more appealing. I am working toward organically grown produce, as well as humane dairy and meat accessible to all economic levels. Families who participate in, and promote, sustainable food sources from farm to table will be the norm not the exception. Reducing stress levels over where the next meal will come from, or what new catastrophic weather patterns will emerge, which both increase the risk for disease and death, falls under my mitigation aim. My goals emphasize creating access to culturally appropriate foods, where students see their race or ethnicity reflected in their meals. Food deserts should be razed, while local nutritious options found with abundance. Fed and safe children, with negligible risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease, will achieve higher marks in education, allowing ascension up the socioeconomic ladder. Students who are better able to concentrate on their studies, and not worried about paying for the bare minimum of food or the destruction of their home, will pursue higher education, the foundation for strong careers. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security and environmental safety. Giving my studies a strong multicultural foundation has contributed to my understanding of the cultural respect all families deserve. Through my public health journey, I have learned that we must make holistic changes to strengthen food and environmental security. With a Master’s in Public Health from Oregon State University, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food waste and insecurity. I will be able to not only improve the lives of those around me, by having the foundation of skills and evidence-based knowledge needed from a dedicated public health professional, making my goals a reality.

I started my education journey in the Spring of 2019 with the goal of an AA degree in Paraeducation. Taking education classes full-time, year-round, my plan was to work with students on their reading skills. Spring term 2020 would have been my practicum and last baccalaureate core class; however, Covid-19 closed the world. With this closure came the inability to do my classroom practicum so I took the last classes needed to finish my baccalaureate core. I discovered a love for public health through Community Health class, ironically in a time of global pandemic. I knew my true calling was to work with students and their families on accessing sustainable and culturally appropriate food resources. With this passion driving me like nothing had before, I found myself working toward my MPH (Master of Public Health) (Master of Public Health), after being accepted into the accelerated master's program at Oregon State University. Living below the poverty line, on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon, my mother, grandparents, and I never worried about food. I was taught at an early age about planting and harvesting crops, canning, making cheese, and animal husbandry. My years in the 4-H program helped further instill these skills. Until marrying and moving to the Portland Metro area, I had no experience connecting poverty and food insecurity. I encountered friends and neighbors who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line, and while we did not go without food, we did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest regarding food insecurity and its mitigation. I started my inquiry by making connections with my children’s school counselor. Students at Kinnaman Elementary had access to meals, yet they were unsure if they would get the chance to eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without food so that their children could eat. Seeing students’ concentration waver while their stomachs rumble, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to nutritious food. Together, she and I brainstormed ways we could help food insecure families. We observed that income is not the only risk factor of food insecurity. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare costs reduced the resources left to feed families. In response to our conference, I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks and assisted with a weekend food backpack program. However, through this I noticed a cultural disconnect between the donated food and the families receiving it. Families not only had to choose between housing or food, but the food they could access was not close to their cultural heritage. Lack of access to culturally appropriate foods creates negative health outcomes across their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Knowing of others who have the same view of cultural equity, I made connections with my church, Christ United Methodist Church (CUMC). Historically they have provided meals for 100 disadvantaged families each holiday season. With this partnership, CUMC ensured communication was in each family's native language and provided culturally appropriate meals for one week along with a holiday dinner.   Seeing the social determinants of health impacting students and their families in these programs reinforced my decision to pursue public health. As I began my studies my eyes were opened not only to the silent epidemic that is higher education food insecurity, but its impact on students’ futures. Physical and mental effects of food insecurity often lead to reduced student attendance and performance, invariably resulting in withdrawing from school. With over 40% of college and university students facing food insecurity, the adage “starving college student” has become a reality (Hagedorn-Hatfield et al., 2022). While society accepts this as part of higher education, I was drawn to public health more than ever. I want my peers to be able to focus solely on their education as I am able to. As I work toward my MPH, I have been able to find ways to center each of my assignments and projects on higher education food insecurity, enriching my knowledge and educating my peers as I write. By enriching my Public Health degree through the UNC Charlotte Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, I can be part of making holistic, systemic changes to strengthen food security. My goal is to continue my 4.0 while finishing my MPH program at OSU (Oregon State University), then graduate from UNC Charlotte with a Public Health Sciences Afterward, I plan to work with food justice, sovereignty, and security among all school populations, especially those attending higher education. While there is a myriad of safety net programs in place for younger children, the higher education population falls in the gap, reducing their chances at equitable educational and career opportunities. The PhD program will strengthen my Public Health foundation, thus helping to connect college students with sustainable and culturally appropriate food resources through in-depth research and health promotion. No one should have to go without nutritious food to gain an education. My motivation lies in supporting a healthy population that does not hunger, as well as students who can concentrate on learning and making connections rather than thinking of where their next meal will come from. The fortification of my public health foundation will facilitate empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. Empowerment will take shape in advocating for increasing food access by making the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits accessible for higher education students who need it. Promoting community gardens and barter farmer’s markets will empower individuals to produce sustainable and nutritious food resources. Advocating for Hunger Free Campuses, reduced tuition, and low to no cost learning materials along with increasing awareness of food insecurity on higher education campuses will empower students to flourish while reaching for their dreams. Each form offers students equitable ways to succeed in their education and beyond. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and achieve their best selves. Hagedorn-Hatfield, R. L., Hood, L. B., & Hege, A. (2022, January 28). A decade of college student hunger: What we know and where we need to go. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpubh.2022.837724

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

The social determinants of health are “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks” (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2020). These determinants are broken down into: social and community context, neighborhood and built environment, healthcare access and quality, education access and quality, and economic stability (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2020). I believe the most important way an individual can embody selflessness is through actions to improve any or all these categories. I have focused my research on food insecurity which is both at the hub of these categories and a result. Without access to nutritional foods physical and mental health will suffer resulting in less opportunities for education and employment. Alternatively, food and healthcare cannot be accessed without a stable income, or education to attain employment and safe living environments. Access to food is diminished if the built environment does not include healthy food sources or if social inequities present barriers. Any community service action that addresses a social determinant of health will result in increased healthy equity for its members. I first became aware of food insecurity as a young wife and mother in the Portland Metro area. Repeatedly I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line and while we did not go without, we did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest regarding food insecurity and its mitigation. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Children who attended school had access to meals, yet they were unsure if they would get the chance to eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing students’ concentration waver while their stomachs rumble, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program, and paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Seeing the social determinants of health impacting students and their families gave me the drive to start college. I majored in public health with the goal of helping students, and families, access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on food security, along with interventions that could be put in place to strengthen their security. Giving my studies a strong multicultural foundation has contributed to my understanding of the cultural respect all families deserve. Whether a community is made of a geographic location or a group with shared interests, addressing the social determinants of health through acts of community service will help us all create equity. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2020). Social Determinants of Health. Social Determinants of Health - Healthy People 2030. https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I started my education journey in the Spring of 2019 with the goal of an AA degree in Paraeducation. My plan was to work with students on their reading skills. I took 12 credits a term year-round, worked full time, and raised three children. Spring term 2020 was supposed to see me finishing my baccalaureate core classes and starting my practicum. However, March came and turned that plan to rubble. First my mother-in-law passed from an aggressive form of cancer. In the wake of her passing, Covid-19 closed the world. With this closure came the inability to do my practicum and a new bubble life for us. My youngest child has severe asthma brought on by respiratory infections. A simple cold sends him into pneumonia within 3 days. His daily medications to keep his airways open make him immunocompromised. This made the threat of contracting Covid-19 terrifying. I was no longer able to work, and our social interactions ceased to exist. We are still, in 2024, wearing KN95 masks when we leave the house and limiting our interactions with the outside world. With the loss of my practicum and the ability to work, I took the last classes I needed to finish my baccalaureate core. I discovered a love for public health through one of these classes. Ironically in a time of global pandemic. It was with this class that I knew my true calling was to work with students, and their families, on accessing sustainable and culturally appropriate food resources. With this driving me like nothing had before, I talked to advisors at OSU and PCC, where I currently attended, to figure out the best path for this. OSU had an e-campus Public Health major which was perfect for our isolated family. However, credits for e-campus are more costly than in-person and I had used quite a bit of my student loan aggregate already on education classes that I could no longer use. I faced my senior year of OSU, being accepted into the Accelerated Master of Public Health (MPH) program, not able to cover the tuition for it. In between drafting innumerable papers, I wrote hundreds of scholarship essays. This effort rewarded me with the ability to continue with my studies and graduate summa cum laude in June 2024 with my Bachelor of Science in Public Health. As the 2024-2025 school year looms upon the horizon, I find myself once again facing one more year of tuition without the means to pay for it. I have already completed one year of my MPH program within my undergraduate studies, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. The inability to work, and the constant worry over my children’s health has put my educational future, and our family's financial future, at risk. With my degree in Public Health, I will be able to not only improve the life of my family and myself, but those of the lives around me, by having the foundation of skills and evidence-based knowledge required of a dedicated public health professional. Gaining my degree will improve our family’s condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. None of this will be possible without the assistance from resources such as scholarships. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality, by empowering those in need with the ability to access food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I started my education journey in the Spring of 2019 with the goal of an AA degree in Paraeducation. My plan was to work with students on their reading skills. I took 12 credits a term year-round, worked full time, and raised three children. Spring term 2020 was supposed to see me finishing my baccalaureate core classes and starting my practicum. However, March came and turned that plan to rubble. First my mother-in-law passed from an aggressive form of cancer. In the wake of her passing, Covid-19 closed the world. With this closure came the inability to do my practicum and a new bubble life for us. My youngest child has severe asthma brought on by respiratory infections. A simple cold sends him into pneumonia within 3 days. His daily medications to keep his airways open make him immunocompromised. This made the threat of contracting Covid-19 terrifying. I was no longer able to work, and our social interactions ceased to exist. We are still, in 2024, wearing KN95 masks when we leave the house and limiting our interactions with the outside world. With the loss of my practicum and the ability to work, I took the last classes I needed to finish my baccalaureate core. I discovered a love for public health through one of these classes. Ironically in a time of global pandemic. It was with this class that I knew my true calling was to work with students, and their families, on accessing sustainable and culturally appropriate food resources. With this driving me like nothing had before, I talked to advisors at OSU and PCC, where I currently attended, to figure out the best path for this. OSU had an e-campus Public Health major which was perfect for our isolated family. However, credits for e-campus are more costly than in-person and I had used quite a bit of my student loan aggregate already on education classes that I could no longer use. I faced my senior year of OSU, being accepted into the Accelerated Master of Public Health (MPH) program, not able to cover the tuition for it. In between drafting innumerable papers, I wrote hundreds of scholarship essays. This effort rewarded me with the ability to continue with my studies and graduate summa cum laude in June 2024 with my Bachelor of Science in Public Health. As the 2024-2025 school year looms upon the horizon, I find myself once again facing one more year of tuition without the means to pay for it. I have already completed one year of my MPH program within my undergraduate studies, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. The inability to work, and the constant worry over my children’s health has put my educational future, and our family's financial future, at risk. With my degree in Public Health, I will be able to not only improve the life of my family and myself, but those of the lives around me, by having the foundation of skills and evidence-based knowledge required of a dedicated public health professional. Gaining my degree will improve our family’s condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. None of this will be possible without the assistance from resources such as scholarships. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality, by empowering those in need with the ability to access food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.

I was raised by my mother and grandparents on a self-sustaining farm in Southern Oregon. Though we were very low-income, we never went without food. I was taught from an early age about canning, making cheese, animal husbandry, and how to plant and harvest crops. My experiences in the 4-H program helped instill these skills even deeper. While I understood shopping second hand and wearing homemade clothes, I had no experiences to make the connection of poverty and food insecurity in my life. It was not until I got married and moved to the Portland Metro area that I became aware of food insecurity. Time and time again I encountered neighbors and even friends who had to make the difficult choice between housing, utilities, or food. There were times that my young family was living just above the poverty line. We did not go without, yet we definitely did not eat nutritionally dense meals either. This piqued my interest in what could be done about food insecurity. I started my inquiry and mission by contacting my children’s school counselor. She had the best views into who was needy and what their circumstances were. Students had access to food for breakfast and lunch, yet they were unsure if they would eat again before school the next day. Parents in the community would go without so that their children could eat. Seeing student’s concentration waver while their stomachs rumbled, and young children already overweight from inexpensive food choices, I knew families needed ongoing sustainable access to food. Together, the school counselor and I shared views as to how we can help these families. I built relationships with local retailers and wholesalers to procure food donations for all school breaks, assisted with a weekend food backpack program called Shine, as well as paired with my church to provide culturally appropriate meals over the holiday season. Many of these families had two working parents, or at times one or both parents working two jobs. Housing, utilities, medical, transportation, and childcare, reduce the resources left to feed families. I learned that income is not the only indicator of food insecurity. Working in these programs gave me the drive to start college. I took public health as my major with the goal of helping students and families access sustainable and culturally appropriate food. Through my studies I have learned which determinants of health have the most impact on a family’s food security, along with interventions that can be put in place to strengthen their security. With a master’s degree in public health, my goal is not only to help families access food, but to also research ways to eradicate food insecurity. As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure that everyone, no matter their background, race or ethnicity has the right to food and good health Supporting our family on one salary out of necessity, due to the health of my youngest child, puts a drain on our family’s finances. Gaining my degree will improve this condition immensely, however the journey to that end is rocky. Scholarships will ease the burden of my education, both as I take the classes and in reducing the debt that awaits me at graduation. I will spend my career repaying the gifts I receive to make my education a reality by empowering those in need with the ability to access sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. I will dedicate myself to nurturing our future generations in ways that will help them thrive and attain their own education. An investment in me is an investment in our future.