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Cameron Eberly

255

Bold Points

1x

Nominee

1x

Finalist

Education

Brighton High School

High School
2021 - 2024

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Bachelor's degree program

  • Majors of interest:

    • Psychology, General
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Psychology

    • Dream career goals:

      Go Blue Crew Scholarship
      I come from a Midwest family that enjoys hunting. Many children in my family are taught to use and own rifles responsibly. Unfortunately, I also live in a community that had a mass high school shooting when I was in high school. On November 30, 2021, a 15-year-old student armed with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun went into a local school where he shot and killed four students and injured seven other people. This shooter pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. More recently, the college that I am planning to attend, also had a mass shooting, bringing this reality even closer to home for me. Three students were killed, and five others were injured. The shooter committed suicide when he was confronted by police off campus three hours after the shooting. After the shootings, classes were canceled for a week and the buildings where the shootings occurred were shut down for the remainder of the semester. Before 2017, car accidents were the leading cause of death for teenagers. Since 2017, firearm-related deaths have surpassed car accidents becoming the number one cause of death for teenagers and young adults. There have been more than 630 mass shootings so far in the year 2023. I believe that the common thread in all these school shootings is the dire need for mental health intervention for the shooter. As a student who wants to pursue psychology as my coursework in college, I foresee a movement to make mental health therapy more accessible in elementary and high school for all American children. School counseling should focus on a student’s coursework and plan for success in education. In addition to counseling, there should be Psychotherapists on staff in all schools, helping children with their mental health. We need these experts to intervene and assist before children get too far down the road of mental disease and depression that contribute to a shooter's desire to act out so horribly. Only professionals in psychotherapy can identify students with mental illness and can help with students who have substance abuse or are at elevated risk for violence. Students may need help with other risk factors like home life stressors, legal problems, challenges of fitting in, and feelings of emptiness and anger. Both personally and professionally it is my belief and desire that I will make a difference not only by pursuing my degree in Psychology but also by educating my generation on the need for psychotherapy for all American children as part of their school experience. If my generation focuses on the problem versus the politics, we can all live in a world without mass shootings.