KC Royals Charities Scholarship Essay

During high school, my most important leadership experience that ultimately led to the inspiration of my desire of going to college would be my time balancing my schedule of being a student-athlete and a pharmacy technician. I was blessed with the opportunity to get hands-on experience in the healthcare system all while leading my teams through difficult seasons and interpersonally, gaining critical leadership experience. As a junior, I was named captain in both of my main sports; softball and volleyball. As luck would have it, I also entered each season with entirely new coaching staff. I knew this would pose an issue as both of my teams lacked seniority but I was able to persevere through and even received honors in both sports and academics. Despite facing a lot of new changes in my extracurricular activities, I also made sure to focus on how I could also help my community. I entered the technician position with a simple goal of just being able to help others as they had no bilingual technicians but I gained much more experience and knowledge on the healthcare field and how to truly make a difference in someone’s day. Balancing both of these tasks I still remained true to my academics and ultimately these experiences made me realize that I want to help people remain healthy and feel confident in accepting care from a healthcare professional. Which is why my participation in many activities inspired my desire to attend college and become a dental hygienist with aspirations to one day become a dentist.

As a first generation student, I’m understanding of the challenges that come with navigating through an unfamiliar environment, especially in healthcare. As a younger child, my father refused to go to the dentist or the doctor out of pure fear due to the fact that his parents never took him as a child. My father made it a priority to take care of my siblings and I by ensuring we attended consistent dentist and doctor appointments. This is an admirable act from my father because it goes to show that he is well aware that his fears must not become his children’s fears. I believe that it is now my responsibility to show my appreciation for my parents and take care of not only them but the other selfless parents who have taken care of their children to the best of their abilities. Being a pharmacy technician, I saw firsthand how anxious people who didn’t speak English felt when trying to ask for help. Many would hesitate at the counter, unsure of how to properly express their needs. But the moment I spoke to them in Spanish, they would let out a deep sigh of relief. That sigh of relief meant everything to me, it showed how much of a difference language and understanding can make. It’s exactly what I want to bring to my community. That sense of comfort and relief that helps them overcome the fears older generations have about seeking medical care.

Balancing both a job and two sports taught me how to be responsible, prepared and a leader. I led my volleyball team to 2 back to back league championships and I was even ranked #22 nationally and #1 in the state for my service aces. Out of these great accomplishments I’ve always made sure to thank my teammates, coaches, friends, and mentors because a great leader should always recognize the support system behind their successes. My teammates often looked up to me in their times of doubt, we had many challenging moments whether it was during games or even just personal. Their trust in me during those moments motivated me to become a better role model for them everyday. Even just being a high school student, the effects one person has on another is notable. People truly struggle behind closed doors, and being the person that my teammates looked up to meant the world to me. I knew the younger girls on my team needed a person to be there for them and it was genuinely rewarding seeing the smile on their faces after a win on and off the court. The experience of leading both my softball and volleyball teams with new coaching staff was critical in building me up as a person and as a genuine leader. Thanks to that experience, I felt confident enough in myself to apply to college and I now aspire to continue to work to help others in life because no matter what might stop me, I know it won’t be fear.

For me, these important tasks and accomplishments I’ve had over the years are just the foundation of what I plan to achieve in college. My aspirations in life are not just to become the best version of myself but also help others prosper in life. My community has provided me with great resources and I plan to continue its greatness. Helping the older generations would just be the beginning of my goals. These amazing programs I’ve been in during high school have taught me wonderful things but most importantly, they have taught me to give thanks to all the previous leaders that have helped build me into the leader I am today. Giving back to my community and helping those who are scared to take care of themselves would enable me to potentially create my own clinic and help people overcome their fears, as a leader once helped overcome my own. Thank you.