I am grateful for this opportunity to apply for the Viola B. Wilson Endowed Scholarship and the John S. Staley Memorial Fund scholarships. Scholarship opportunities have been of particular importance to me; I paid for my undergraduate education primarily on my own and will be paying for my graduate schooling on my own as well. While I am asking for financial help, my work ethic and commitment to education are a strong part of who I am. Growing up, it was my responsibility to pay for things that I wanted, and my parents provided me with work opportunities around the house to earn the money. As a result, I learned not only how to plan, save, and work hard for the things I wanted, but I learned to value those things as a result of all the …show more content…
My plan is to pursue a career in clinical social work, specifically rural work. Growing up in rural Southeastern Idaho, I was able to see areas that lack access to mental health and social services as a result of their geographic isolation. I want to give back to the community I grew up in through providing much needed services and utilizing my talents to help this population. While I am open to and interested in working with a variety of people, the target populations I want to work with are couples and children, particularly adolescents. Interning for a private counseling practice this summer has helped solidify my interest in owning my own private practice to serve these populations after building up my skills and experience. My undergraduate internship at the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline has also sparked interest in crisis intervention work, possibly through paving the way for crisis intervention resources to be brought to rural areas in Idaho where they are greatly needed, or by simply being involved in mental health advocacy and legislation, such as when I met with Idaho legislators and successfully advocated for the permanent funding of the Idaho Suicide Prevention …show more content…
As a high school student, I was greatly involved in service through activities such as being a junior volunteer at my local hospital and creating my own donation drive for a domestic violence shelter. My time at Boise State not only allowed me to continue to serve my community, but I also developed leadership skills and carried out projects I never thought I could be capable of. As a freshman, I helped found the Boise State chapter of Colleges against Cancer and was in charge of creating, implementing, and managing the Luminaria Ceremony at Boise State’s first Relay for Life event. The following year, not only was I director over both the Survivor and Luminaria Ceremony, but as a resident assistant for Boise State Housing, I helped my residents create a team and put on fundraisers for the event as well. Last summer, I volunteered as a counselor for both sessions of the Boise Youth Spectacular, a three-day, LDS-ran youth conference. Interacting with those teenagers cultivated in me a desire to work with this population and their families in my clinical work, and it revealed to me that I have a strong ability to connect with this population as well. Finally, during my internship at the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline, I spearheaded the implementation of a crisis text program that is currently being