Community Service Scholarship Recipient

I am a first year student attending the University of Wisconsin Madison planning to be accepted into the School of Nursing the Fall of 2016. I am also pursuing a certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies. I aspire to come back to UW-Madison after establishing my career as a Registered Nurse to earn my PHD to become a Nurse Practitioner and specialize in Cardiology or Women’s Health. Ever since I toured Madison I knew I would be calling it home. The beautiful lakeshore, the academic rigor, the ample amount of volunteering opportunities, and of course, the football games solidified my choice. Volunteering has always been a large part of my life and I knew that wouldn’t change coming into college despite the increased rigor and workload. Over the past semester I have become actively involved in the Aspiring Nurses Association (ANA), Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA), Best Buddies, and Badgerthon. In regards to ANA, I have participated in volunteering opportunities such as HOPE, an organization that assists underprivileged teenagers in the madison community that aspire to go into the medical field, bell ringing for the Salvation Army, and our Bone Marrow Registry drive. Being on the special events committee for HOSA has involved myself contacting medical professionals around the Madison area to volunteer on a panel for the Health Care Symposium that was organized for fellow students on campus who are also interested in healthcare careers. Currently, we are contacting local businesses to fundraise for our large event of the semester Trots for Tots, and all proceeds are going to the Children’s Hospital here in Madison. Speaking of the Children’s Hospital, I am also a member of Badgerthon, which focuses on fundraising for the Children’s Hospital. Our large Dance Marathon is happening this weekend where students, including myself, will be dancing for 15 hours straight. The grand total that we raised will be revealed at the end of the event. Finally, the organization that I wrote my application about, Best Buddies, is an organization that helps create relationships between students and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities within their community, along with leadership and employment skills. A large upcoming event that Best Buddies, along with other organizations on campus are hosting, is Disability Awareness Week, April 13-17. I can’t wait to spread awareness around campus and hopefully get more students involved in Best Buddies. The Best Buddies organization holds a special place in my heart because of my twin sister, Alayna. On May 14, 1996 we came into this magnificent world together two and a half months early and fought for our lives. Being premature, my sister and I were delayed with almost every milestone, but we struggled together. At a young age she was diagnosed as cognitively disabled with ADHD and was most recently diagnosed as learning disabled. Alayna has taught me many valuable lessons, like to not take my learning abilities for granted. She is the reason why I push myself so hard in the academic arena. To me, knowledge is power and gives an individual the opportunity to be their own person. This knowledge shouldn’t just be limited to factual and scientific information, but knowledge about the diverse individuals in our world, relationships, healthiness, and happiness. I believe that the University of Wisconsin Madison has provided and will provide me with both types of knowledge that I speak of. Thus, I plan to use this scholarship towards my tuition for the Fall of 2015. This is the only financial support I  have for next semester as of now and this generous scholarship helps me tremendously. Being able to focus less on finances allows me to focus more on my education and pursuing experiences, like volunteering, that will continue to make me a more well rounded student and individual. Thank you from the bottom of my heart HonorsSociety.org.