Will Johnson Scholarship

Contrary to popular belief, getting diagnosed with Autism was one of the best experiences of my life. For the first time, I had an explanation for why I struggled so much at school, why I always felt different from my peers, why everything seemed to overwhelm me so much more than other people. For the first time, instead of viewing myself as a broken person, I am able to see that I am a whole Autistic person. For me, and for many other Autistic people, grade school was a nightmare. Socially, I was forever on the outside looking in. Academically, I was deemed gifted at a young age and thus felt the need to overperform in every aspect of my classes, leaving me chronically burnt out. Like many Autistic students, depression and anxiety hit hard and life felt like a brick wall. I felt stuck; if I could hardly manage grade school, how would I ever manage college? Currently, I am a junior at the Cleveland Institute of Art, majoring in Game Design. It took years of self reflection, hitting the lowest of the lows, and rising back out of it stronger for me to feel confident enough to apply to CIA. And for me, discovering my Autism was the tipping point in this decision; I was now equipped with new knowledge about my needs, differences, and strengths, and I felt strong enough to take that leap. Of course, I still struggle in many areas—understanding Autism doesn’t magically negate the struggles it can bring about. I still have quite a hard time socially, and school still often leaves me exhausted. But I have found strength in pursuing art in education and as a career; it took me years longer than it should have to work this one out, but art is one of my longest-standing special interests! Being surrounded by others who are passionate about it is a complete reversal from my grade school experiences. This is one of my favorite aspects at a school completely centered around art. It feels like I can never get enough of learning about it and honing my skills, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As I enter my junior year, I have been contemplating more and more what career path I would like to follow. While a specialized job in the gaming industry is likely the most attainable, I have never been one to give up that easily. My dream is to start an indie game studio, or even more daring, to make a complete game experience on my own. Even if it’s not possible right away, or it takes years and years of work, I refuse to give up on that. As an artist, I feel a responsibility to provide content that resonates with people and that represents us all as equally worthy of dignity and representation. I’ve noticed a distinct lack of diversity and many gaming communities, and that’s something I wish to change. Secondary to a game production career, I have been exploring the idea of teaching art in the future. I currently work at my college as an Ambassador for Inclusive Learning, as well as a temporary position as a summer Teaching Assistant. I’ve always felt a strong calling for helping others, and by teaching I could both engage with my passion and guide future artists. Wherever my career takes me in life, I want to leave everywhere I go better than how I found it with special regard to accessibility. No matter someone’s disability, I believe we should feel fulfilled and valued in what we do.

"My class isn't for sick people" "Are you sure will be able to do that" "You may want to rethink your decision" and more have been said to me because of my disability. At first, I let the negativity get to me and thought that I would never get better. Laying in a hospital bed for over sixty days and having a feeding tube for eleven months made me think I would never be well enough to continue my education. I had to fight and advocate for myself becuase Knoxville didn't believe in me. When I finally got up to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, my life changed for the better. Many obstacles have been thrown my way due to my disability, but I persevere and continue to fight daily for my hopes and dreams. I have always pushed myself with education and knew that I wanted to do Middle College entering into my junior and sophomore years at Anderson County. However, I was discouraged because of my illness. Balancing college and Crohn's Disease has not been easy at all. In just the two years that I have been in Middle College, I had two port surgeries back to back to continue my infusions. Just recently, I was allowed to continue my treatments at home in Knoxville, but before, I had to travel back and forth to Cincinnati Children's every month for treatment of Remicade. I always had to schedule my Remicade on a Friday and let my professors know ahead of time that I would be out so that I could get my work ahead of time. Middle College and Crohn's Disease have opened many opportunities for me. Thanks to my disability, I know what it is like to be a patient and how I wanted to be treated as a patient. I was led to become a doctor due to the experiences I had as a patient. Being put on Remicade changed my life around and allowed me to get off the feeding tube and be able to do Middle College. I want to give back to people like me who had no hope of ever getting better and change their lives around for the better. Middle College allowed me to obtain ninety hours of prerequisite in two years for pharmacy school. At the young age of seventeen, I was accepted into all five pharmacy schools that I applied to. In August of 2023, I will be entering into Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. At this school, I hope to explore new opportunities for me and see what field of pharmacy I want to go in. As of right now, I am led to do pediatric oncology pharmacy because I can relate to the kids. I was a sick kid growing up spending a lot of time in and out of the hospital with tubes coming out of me and going in me. By the time I was eighteen, I had over twenty surgeries and had spent countless days in and out of the hospital. Additionally, I have had two ports in which I get treatment every month. I want to be a role model for these kids to look up to and show them that they are more than their disability. Despite their situation right now, I want them to know that they do not have to give up their hopes and dreams and that it is still possible for them to have an impact on this world. I am living proof of never giving up on my dream and doing great things despite my illness.

In 2019, my mom received a call from the spinal surgeon who had been seeing me for nearly 8 years: “Mrs. Tabitha Spencer? Your daughter has most likely quit growing, it's safe to do the surgery.” Me and my family had been waiting over a year for that call, the one that would kick-start the second chapter of my life. In January of next year, I had that surgery. It had been delayed six months due to COVID-19, but that didn’t matter all that much to me, what mattered is that it was happening at all. I ended up having to stay in the hospital for about three months due to extreme complications. I did a lot of things in that room, but I spent the majority of it watching TV. There weren’t many working channels- really you could only watch cartoons, car auctions, Fifty Shades Of Gray orrr the true crime channel. I was 15 and too old for preschooler programs and too young for the raunchiness that was Fifty Shades, so I turned on the true crime channel. I watched a lot of Forensic Files and The FIrst 48 and it sparked something in me. When I was 12 or 13, I wanted to be a police officer. I wanted to be someone people could look up to, someone that could put criminals behind bars and provide closure for families affected by violent crimes or robberies. Now that I look back, that was too big of a dream for me. I didn’t and still don’t have the physical strength for such a taxing job, but I can still work in some form of criminal justice. Forensics is pretty much the opposite of police work but they’re still intertwined. Perhaps my love of criminal justice started from my desire to be a police officer all those years ago, maybe it was watching murder cases be solved while I was in the hospital, who knows? Regardless, forensic science has been a passion of mine for many years, longer than any other college major or career choice I’ve had in the past. I love learning the science behind things in life and chemistry is both very interesting and a subject I am very good at. I appreciate you taking the time to read this essay and consider me for your scholarship, and I look forward to the time I spend in a few months learning more about forensic chemistry and I look forward to becoming a part of our state’s forensic toxicology program several years down the road.