I have been strongly connected to animals and their well-being since I was a very young child. I have autism and have felt disconnected from people for a lot of my life. I watched people treat animals and anyone different from them as if they were lesser. I related to animals a lot in that way of being treated. My parents struggled to care for the animals they got, and I would ensure they were fed and healthy, even when I was barely old enough to care for myself. I remember one day in 2nd grade, it rained a lot, and worms were covering the sidewalks, trying to keep from drowning. I spent all of recess carefully moving them so they were safe from being stepped on and from the puddles of water. As we lined up to go inside, the other kids noticed what I was doing and began grabbing worms to step on in front of me. It broke my heart and didn't make sense to me. I've never understood the desire to kill animals senselessly. People put a lot of love into cats and dogs, but many disregard insects, fish, rodents, reptiles, and all sorts of other animals. I want to become a veterinary technician for exotic animals. I've worked to understand how to provide the best care to all species. Throughout my life, ive helped my family care for dogs, cats, fish, rats, a chinchilla, and a snake. I've personally cared for 4 frogs, a snail, a dog, several insects, and a spider. My pet grey tree frog, Moss, died a few weeks ago after having had him for about 3 years. He developed a mass on the underside of his neck. I took him to an exotic vet several hours from me for care and got medicine for him. I believe that gave him more months to live and helped the end of his life be more comfortable. A lot of people in my life thought it was silly to take a frog to the vet, but his life mattered to me. I've yet to encounter a creature whose life didn't matter to me. My golden tree frog, Bog, died a year ago, and I had her cremated. I'm going to have Moss cremated as well. My family told me I was wasting my money, but I pointed out that very few people in my family didn't choose to have their dogs or cats cremated. I think a lot of people value the lives of other creatures based on how much enjoyment or entertainment they can get out of them, rather than simply because all life is important and special. The difficulty I had getting care for Moss solidified my desire to go into the field of exotic animal care. Humanity is destroying animals' homes and neglecting them. I want to care for both pets and wild animals. I've seen animals mangled by cars still fighting for life, ive seen people hurting animals for fun, and ive seen very few people take the time to stop and help injured animals. I believe no animal should suffer. Even if an animal is to be killed for meat, it shouldn't live just for the sake of dying; it should have a life and be cared for. I want to educate people on how to treat the world right and care for the creatures in it.

I have been strongly connected to animals and their well-being since I was a very young child. I have autism and have felt disconnected from people for a lot of my life. I watched people treat animals and anyone different from them as if they were lesser. I related to animals a lot in that way of being treated. My parents struggled to care for the animals they got, and I would ensure they were fed and healthy, even when I was barely old enough to care for myself. I remember one day in 2nd grade, it rained a lot, and worms were covering the sidewalks, trying to keep from drowning. I spent all of recess carefully moving them so they were safe from being stepped on and from the puddles of water. As we lined up to go inside, the other kids noticed what I was doing and began grabbing worms to step on in front of me. It broke my heart and didn't make sense to me. I've never understood the desire to kill animals senselessly. People put a lot of love into cats and dogs, but many disregard insects, fish, rodents, reptiles, and all sorts of other animals. I want to become a veterinary technician for exotic animals. I've worked to understand how to provide the best care to all species. Throughout my life, ive helped my family care for dogs, cats, fish, rats, a chinchilla, and a snake. I've personally cared for 4 frogs, a snail, a dog, several insects, and a spider. My pet grey tree frog, Moss, died a few weeks ago after having had him for about 3 years. He developed a mass on the underside of his neck. I took him to an exotic vet several hours from me for care and got medicine for him. I believe that gave him more months to live and helped the end of his life be more comfortable. A lot of people in my life thought it was silly to take a frog to the vet, but his life mattered to me. I've yet to encounter a creature whose life didn't matter to me. My golden tree frog, Bog, died a year ago, and I had her cremated. I'm going to have Moss cremated as well. My family told me I was wasting my money, but I pointed out that very few people in my family didn't choose to have their dogs or cats cremated. I think a lot of people value the lives of other creatures based on how much enjoyment or entertainment they can get out of them, rather than simply because all life is important and special. The difficulty I had getting care for Moss solidified my desire to go into the field of exotic animal care. Humanity is destroying animals' homes and neglecting them. I want to care for both pets and wild animals. I've seen animals mangled by cars still fighting for life, ive seen people hurting animals for fun, and ive seen very few people take the time to stop and help injured animals. I believe no animal should suffer. Even if an animal is to be killed for meat, it shouldn't live just for the sake of dying; it should have a life and be cared for. I want to educate people on how to treat the world right and care for the creatures in it.

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.