For as long as I can remember, I struggled with my mental health. As a child, it confused me to see others who were my age who did not experience high levels of anxiety or this intense sadness that I could not explain. I was raised in Queens, New York where it was only natural to feel some kind of resentment for our environment. Once I moved from New York to California, it became extremely evident that children like me in low-income areas experience higher levels of mental illnesses in comparison to those who live in suburban areas. It was heartbreaking to realize the severe lack of resources that the neighborhood I grew up in experienced. I wondered what could have been different if there were teachers, social workers, therapists, or any kind of adult who cared enough about our mental health. Would I have experienced less pain? Would my peers have experienced less pain? After graduating high school, I realized that my calling was to help children just like me. I began working on a campus for children with Emotional Disturbance which furthermore highlighted the extreme need for compassionate and relatable professionals in the field of psychology and education. As a queer Latinx person who experienced multiple mental illnesses and trauma from poverty, I knew that I would have the opportunity to offer something to children that I never was able to receive or experience. During my time working on this campus as an instructional assistant, I was able to observe the adults around me and how they handled high-stress situations. At times, it broke my heart to see the lack of empathy for children in a crisis. We had students who were victims of abuse, verbal, mental, sexual, and physical, who required an extreme amount of compassion and patience. Many of these students were also children of color and also were queer children. I began to explore the rates of depression, anxiety, and overall mental illnesses for students within these marginalized groups. I learned that children of color experience higher rates of anxiety and depression which surprised me but also validated my inner child. The current mental health crisis that caused me to choose a career in education and also psychology (my associate's and master's are in psychology - Childhood and Developmental Psychology) is the continuously rising suicide rates for queer children. The lack of care, as a whole, for queer children and the treatment received by society pushes children to harm themselves. There is something we must do. It is our duty as adults to protect children and allow them to express themselves in ways that are most beneficial for them. Children within the LGBTQ+ community are at a higher risk for self-harm in comparison to any other group of people and children. The information I learned and continuing to learn, causes an extreme sense of anxiety and paranoia for my students within the LGBTQ+ community. I knew that becoming a Special Education teacher would allow me to not only advocate for children with disabilities but also advocate for proper mental health care within the educational setting. Becoming an advocate for children has allowed me to see massive changes in behavior and overall self-confidence. I have had the opportunity to have wonderful conversations with my peers which have helped them support our students in a more meaningful way. Children need people who support them but show them how much they care. Words can be meaningless if the actions of adults do not match. Furthermore, the reason this mental health crisis inspired me to choose a career in this field is because I was a queer student who lacked any emotional support. I craved someone to understand me or to guide me in a positive way. I was unsure of myself for so long and I can't help but wonder what could have happened differently in my life if I had at least one adult tell me that there was nothing wrong with me. I wonder if there was a teacher or counselor in my middle school or high school who I could have confided in and how that would have affected my mental health. As a child, I was deeply confused with not only my environment and environmental changes but who I was as a person. What did I want and what did I need? Reflecting back on my educational career and experiences within the classroom, I noticed how different I felt. I was a child who struggled deeply with their sexuality and mental health and yet no one noticed. Not a single adult, not a single peer, and honestly, not even myself. Children who grew up like me did not have the resources nor the understanding of what it meant to have anxiety or what it meant to have depression. All I knew was that I needed to become stronger. I needed to hide how I was feeling even if it killed me. Why is this important or relevant you may ask? Because choosing what I wanted to do with my life was heavily influenced by my experiences and what I wished I had. I wanted to provide genuine support and care to children with similar experiences as me. How powerful is it to have someone you can relate to? In addition, to have an adult tell you "It's going to be okay. I know this because...". I have seen my student's eyes light up when they realize I am able to relate to their pain. Understanding that there is a high need for mental health support for children within marginalized groups is what drove me to explore the field of psychology. I feel as though this area of psychology is not highlighted enough. The need for psychological support in education is not discussed enough nor is there enough change to provide adequate accomodations within these settings. Due to this, there are limited resources, limited education and understanding, limited effective strategies, limited interventions, and limited safe spaces provided for not only children but for staff. Without the opportunity to learn, then there will never be change. There needs to be more people who want to make a change and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. Finally, learning and throwing myself into exploring what I can do in order to better support children in marginalized groups, I knew that this was what I was meant to do. I knew that working with children with disabilities and mental illnesses would allow me to provide adequate support due to my personal experiences. Not to say that my care would be considered "better" or "superior" than others but to emphasize that connection and relatability are powerful in all settings, regardless of age. The current mental health crisis that children within the LGBTQ+ community experience has inspired me to develop a safe space in my classroom and develop guided conversations that allow people and children to learn. I am inspired to use my voice and the guidance of my psychology degrees to provide proper care and support for those within the LGBTQ+ community. It is disheartening to know the level of suicides within American society simply due to sexuality and lack of care. Psychology allows me to explore successful strategies or interventions that can directly decrease these levels. It has been found that lack of care, lack of pronoun usage, and lack of support from family or from peers, ultimately increase the possibility of self-harm. It is evident that children within this community require a deeper connection and support in order to provide life-saving care. Ultimately, this is what it comes down to, life-saving care which can be done through the exploration of the field of psychology. Of course, it is not this simple but it is a stepping stone in the right direction. Without education, people in these careers that require higher levels of support, will not have the opportunity to properly provide life-saving care. The field of psychology uses factual evidence and proven interventions that support the needs of all kinds of people. I believe that choosing a career in this field has allowed me to provide proper aide that can support children within the LGBTQ+ community and decrease this mental health crisis. Of course, one person cannot change a crisis but I can at least provide care and support for those who are within my classroom and in my life. To me, this is the most powerful and rewarding way to spend the rest of my life knowing that I have had the opportunity to help those I can relate to and vice versa. I know that my inner child would smile from ear to ear knowing the impact I have been able to make.

As a child, growing up in New York, you assume that you will never have the opportunity to ever accomplish anything. At least, that's what I thought of myself based on my environment. The level of poverty my family experienced was something I never thought I would escape. This was my normal and it shocked me when others didn't have the same experiences. This was especially so when I began to realize that other kids do not experience domestic violence. It is not normal for children to watch their parents hit one another. But to me, that was my normal. Unfortunate, but true. It wasn't until I moved to California that I realized that I needed to change things regarding my environment. When I began my AA degree I struggled due to an undiagnosed learning disability. As a child, my parents refused to get me tested which caused me to struggle tremendously. I knew that I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to make a change and be a voice for kids just like me. Special Education kind of fell into my lap by accident. My brother was diagnosed with Autism when I was 18 years old which prompted me to learn as much as I could in order to better support him. When I decided to become a special education teacher, something in me finally felt right, I felt happy. Once I finished my bachelor's degree, I was nervous to start teaching. I wondered if I would be any good at it or if I could even make a difference. I quickly realized I offered something to my kids just by simply being myself. Being a person who grew up in poverty and experienced trauma. These aspects about me that I was ashamed of have helped me build a rapport with my kids that I will forever cherish. If I were to win this scholarship, I would reduce my current student loans for my Master's degree which would help me with a future in pursuing my PhD. I want to have the opportunity to become part of the small population of queer and Latinx individuals who receive a higher degree. Latinx individuals are so underrepresented in higher education and to have the opportunity to even think I could do it means the world to me. Winning a scholarship would allow me to earn a higher salary as a teacher and open doors for me that were closed. I would love to buy a house one day and show my siblings that we can do it even with a trauma-filled passed. I want to show my students that they can also follow their dreams to become a better them.