I've watched my father struggle from becoming a father at 18 and a single father at 19 to being a successful man in the medical industry. He helps people every day in medical rooms now. I was little when he was going through medical school. I used to sit on the chair with him and look over his shoulder at his medical textbooks. He taught me how to read the big words and understand some simple human anatomy. I believe that because he allowed me to learn alongside him, I got a very strong interest in the health field. I used to go to work with him because he had no one to watch me. I would sit in the back rooms, and he and his coworkers would take turns checking on me. They would give me hot towels, and I would show them how well I could pronounce the medical words despite being younger than 7 for most of that time. I struggled in school and socially for so much of my younger education years. My dad supported me and took me to therapy to work through my issues. I realized I connected to animals much more than people, and my dad supported me in that. Despite our tight budget at the time, he helped me get into activities involving helping animals, and when I was 8, he got me a dog. My dad took me to the library a lot to get all sorts of books about animals. He bought me some of the books I loved the most. I still have a huge shelf of nonfiction books about animals. Some of them are made for children, but they remind me of the support my dad has always had for me. My dad didn't have much money for most of my childhood, but he still gave to others in need. When I was little, I remember thinking, "If I had two dollars and someone else had none, why wouldn't I give them one of my dollars so we can each have some?" That's a belief I've always carried with me, and I attribute that to my dad. We decided to stay at a local hotel near a lake a few years ago instead of traveling for our summer vacation. We spent a few days there, and each day we went on walks by the water and nearby fields to pick up trash. We had a great time talking and looking at the wildlife as we walked with our trash bags. Each day, we each filled at least one trash bag. We plan to do it again soon. He put me in Girl Scouts when I was in 2nd grade, and he works with them to find projects we can do. I volunteer at Camp Sycamore Valley each year and help with the kids. My troop and I raised money for local organizations and groups in need, and last week we wove beds for the animals at our local shelter. I never could have done any of that without my dad. Now I'm pursuing a Veterinary Technician degree. I plan to use the degree to help people with animals who can't afford to take them to the vet and give checkups to animals in shelters when I'm not working at my job. I'm excited for the future ahead of me, which my dad's support has allowed me to have.

I've watched my father struggle from becoming a father at 18 and a single father at 19 to being a successful man in the medical industry. He helps people every day in medical rooms now. I was little when he was going through medical school. I used to sit on the chair with him and look over his shoulder at his medical textbooks. He taught me how to read the big words in the medical books and understand some simple human anatomy. I believe that because he allowed me to learn alongside him, I became very interested in the health field. I used to go to work with him because he had no one to watch me. I would sit in the back rooms, and he and his coworkers would take turns checking on me. They would give me hot towels, and I would show them how well I could pronounce the medical words despite being younger than seven for most of that time. I struggled in school and socially for so much of my younger education years. My dad supported me and took me to therapy to work through my issues. I ended up being diagnosed with autism at 15, but we didn’t know it at the time. I realized I connected to animals much more than people, and my dad supported me in that. Despite our tight budget at the time, he helped me get into activities involving helping animals, and when I was eight, he got me a dog. My dad took me to the library a lot to get all sorts of books about animals. He bought me some of the books I loved the most. I still have a huge shelf of nonfiction books about animals. Some of them are made for children, but they remind me of the support my dad has always had for me. My dad didn't have much money for most of my childhood, but he still gave to others in need. When I was little, I remember thinking, "If I had two dollars and someone else had none, why wouldn't I give them one of my dollars so we can each have some?" That's a belief I've always carried with me, and I attribute that to my dad. A few years ago, we decided to stay at a local hotel near a lake instead of traveling for our summer vacation. We spent a few days there, and each day, we went on walks by the water and nearby fields to pick up trash. We had a great time talking and looking at the wildlife as we walked with our trash bags. Each day, we each filled at least one trash bag. We plan to do it again soon. He put me in Girl Scouts when I was in 2nd grade, and he works with them to find projects we can do. I volunteer at Camp Sycamore Valley each year and help with the kids. My troop and I raised money for local organizations and groups in need, and last week, we wove beds for the animals at our local shelter. I never could have done any of that without my dad. Now, I've been accepted to college and plan to get a degree as a Veterinary Technician. I plan to use the degree to help people with animals who can't afford to take them to the vet and give checkups to animals in shelters when I'm not working at my job. I'm excited for the future ahead of me that my dad's support has allowed me to have.

As someone who's been surrounded by and has had mental health issues since I was small, I know how impactful animals can be for your mind. My mother has schizophrenia, DID, and depressive disorders and my dad has ADHD. I have autism, severe anxiety, and depression. At my dad's house, I got a dog when I was 8. I didn't have a lot of friends at the time and having a pet helped me so much. My lifelong connection with animals is what inspired me to pursue a degree as a veterinary technician. I have had all sorts of animals throughout my life, both typical and exotic. I realized that everyone has an animal they could benefit from a connection with even if it isn't a cat or dog. I currently have a pet tree frog. There are days that my depression ties me to my bed but I glance over at his tank and I get up to take care of him. Frogs require care multiple times a day and each time I care for him I'm reminded to care for myself and that he needs me. Honestly, we need each other. My other frog died about a year ago. I searched for exotic vets near me and there was nowhere near me that could help her. She died after having seizures for 3 days. In those 3 days I did constant research and did everything I could to help her while wishing I could do more. It solidified that entering a career where I can help animals is my future. On the side of working at a business, I plan to help people for free someday. I've seen a lot of people who are homeless with pets and I want to offer them a free checkup for their animal. I would also like to team up with shelters to help train dogs as service animals as training dogs is a hobby of mine. I've spent a long time training our dog at my mom's house to help my mom with her episodes and I've seen it helping. I hope to get this scholarship so I can help animals and the people that they help the minds of.

I've watched my father struggle from becoming a father at 18 and a single father at 19 to being a successful man in the medical industry. He helps people every day in medical rooms now. I was little when he was going through medical school. I used to sit on the chair with him and look over his shoulder at his medical textbooks. He taught me how to read the big words and understand some simple human anatomy. I believe because he allowed me to learn alongside him I got a very strong interest in the health field. I used to go to work with him because he had no one to watch me. I would sit in the back rooms and he and his coworkers would take turns checking on me. They would give me hot towels and I would show them how well I could pronounce the medical words despite being younger than 7 for most of that time. I struggled in school and socially for so much of my younger education years. My dad supported me and took me to therapy to work through my issues. I realized I connected to animals much more than people and my dad supported me in that. Despite our tight budget at the time he helped me get into activities involving helping animals and when I was 8 he got me a dog. My dad took me to the library a lot to get all sorts of books about animals. He bought me some of the books I loved the most. I still have a huge shelf of nonfiction books about animals. Some of them are made for children but they remind me of the support my dad has always had for me. My dad didn't have much money for most of my childhood but he still gave to others in need. When I was little I remember thinking, "If I had two dollars and someone else had none why wouldn't I give them one of my dollars so we can each have some." That's a belief I've always carried with me and I attribute that to my dad. A few years ago we decided to stay at a local hotel near a lake instead of traveling for our summer vacation. We spent a few days there and each day we went on walks by the water and nearby fields to pick up trash. We had a great time talking and looking at the wildlife as we walked with our trash bags. Each day we each filled at least one trash bag. We plan to do it again soon. He put me in Girl Scouts when I was in 2nd grade and he works with them to find projects we can do. I volunteer at Camp Sycamore Valley each year and help with the kids. My troop and I raised money for local organizations and groups in need and last week we wove beds for the animals at our local shelter. I never could have done any of that without my dad. Now I'm pursuing a Veterinary Technician degree. I plan to use the degree to help people with animals who can't afford to take them to the vet and give checkups to animals in shelters when I'm not working at my job. I'm excited for the future ahead of me that my dad's support has allowed me to have.