Teen Life Council Personal Statement

I am applying to your Masters of Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. I have earned my undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies from Mount Vernon Nazarene University. During my time earning my undergraduate degree I also minored in psychology. I am motivated to earn this degree because of the experiences that I have had while growing up in a home with a workaholic father and a bed ridden mother. This childhood has inspired me to work with those who are struggling emotionally and are in need of guidance and assistance.

I have chosen to enter the field of Mental Health Counseling at this particular time in my life because I would like to learn the skills needed to help people with their life and mental health issues. While attending the University of Saint Joseph during my undergraduate years I took various courses that have led me to making my decision. The courses I took focused on business, biology, social work, and psychology. After graduation I decided to take a year off and gain work experience in customer service and health care. I wanted to experience working with the people in my community. I was hired as a pharmacy technician at a Walgreens in Vernon. Working as a pharmacy technician has been a very rewarding experience for me and I learned a lot about people and their unique needs. I also learned about patient care and how to be pacient and understanding under stressful situations.

Pursing a career as a medical doctor is an opportunity for me to mentor youth in underserved populations. As a child, I was raised in the low income, urban community of Roxbury, MA. Although not as notorious today, the neighborhood had garnered negative attention for its high crime rates. My mother emigrated from Haiti and raised me as a single parent. Due to our financial circumstance, Roxbury became our permanent residence. I have always felt there was something lacking in Roxbury in comparison to other towns I visited. My teenage years were largely spent in the suburban town of Stoneham where I attended high school. There was a literal difference in air quality and a psychology contrast in future prospects. While native students of

In modern-day society, there are numerous people who take pleasure in separating themselves from the typical standards of society; however, there are also people who feel uncomfortable expressing themselves in the own, distinctive ways. Because they feel this way, many adolescents believe that by camouflaging themselves into their peer’s behaviors and beliefs that they will fit in with social norm, accepted beliefs and behaviors in a social group or society, and the reason why they have this mentality, is because of the lack of confidence to express their ideas in their own unique ways. The belief that students and kids have to live up to social norms, are implemented on them by social influences, more specifically, their peers.

In turn, I believe that I have taught both the patients and the staff that there?s more to young people than just hormones and we are capable of feeling compassion and empathy. Numerous patients have told me how nice it is to see today?s youth so eager to please and willing to give back to the community. Perhaps the knowledge of this fact instills hope within each patient and helps them find their voice.

My paternal grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 7yr old. At this age, I was too young to comprehend what was going on, but I do remember the significance of the situation and the impact that it had on my entire family. It truly influenced me. My research done on Radiation Therapy substantiates that this field has a strong impact on people’s lives both physically and mentally. Within this past year my maternal grandmother was also diagnosed with breast cancer. Seeing the effect that a positive support system can have as well as the success that the radiation therapy has had on her has reinforced my desire to be able to pursue a career that would allow me to help people get through tough times in their lives by being able to provide physical care as well as emotional support.

There are few certainties of what one will encounter during life. A common joke names two: death and

What is a teen activist? A teen activist is a teenager who wants to help people or animals for a cause. What I think about all teen activists is that they all fight for what they believe in. They go to extensive lengths to help people to help us. They don't do this because they have to they do it because they want to do it. They don't care that the odds were against them or they have very little chance of succeeding. They do what they want and the do it right.They are like the voice of the people fighting up against poverty and all the other struggles in the world. Most activists go through a lot like Malala but I won't get to deep into that yet. They all have the courage to do what they do.

The biggest influence of my life has been the Dr. Bill Neches Heart Camp for Kids. Heart Camp is a weeklong summer camp for children who live with Congenital Heart Disease. I have been attending this camp since the age of eight and have worked as a junior counselor the past two years. As I have grown older and learned more about my heart problem, I realized that I wanted to work with children who are faced with similar trauma. By attending Heart Camp, I have had the wonderful opportunity to speak with many nurses who work at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Not many teenagers have the opportunity to have a personal connection with people that save lives every day. By attending Heart Camp, I have met dozens of health professionals that I am

Teen activists are determined and passionate about what they believe in because they fight for what they believe in, get support in different ways, and they work in different ways. This shows they are all working to get their way to make the world peaceful. Teen Activism is when a kid either went through a tough problem or heard about the problem and wanted to set the problem right. The activist uses whatever they can to get their word out, advertisements, books, newspaper, internet, t.v, and people like their peers, parents, pets, family members, friends, and all of their fans.

I have been exposed to a variety of clinical experiences that have developed my nursing proficiencies and passion for caring for these children. This floor has allowed me to work with patients and families that have a complex chronic illness as a result of their cancer diagnosis and treatments received. It has also given me the opportunity to treat acute illnesses that develop as a result of these children disease process, treatment, and immunocompromised status. These experiences have provided me a strong foundation to build my skills and knowledge of these disease

Hospitals are not the best places; no one wants to stay, but one was my favorite place for six months. People think of hospitals as some place to sit and wait for bad news. Brunswick hospital is the hospital I visited every day. It had plain white walls, red seats to sit in while waiting, and had a great staff. I was in sixth grade living life as any normal eleven year old. Life was a breeze. Then on February twenty-sixth, my whole world changed. My mother found out she had stage three Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. “Mom was going to die,” was the only thing running though my little scatter brain. She would not see my graduate or follow my dreams.

Also, I find the dynamics of cancer treatment to be absolutely fascinating. I’ve experienced the physical and emotional toll it takes on an individual and their family, and I would like to make a contribution to help better understand the disease as well as better the lives of those who are diagnosed. Along with seeking acceptance into the SURF+ program, I am also in the process of looking for opportunities in which I can volunteer or work in a cancer care setting. Volunteering or working in a cancer care setting while supplementing that experience with research in the field is an extremely rare and invaluable opportunity. If I am accepted, I am almost certain that my experiences during this summer will serve as the core of any of my future endeavors. Currently, I am close to wrapping up my first year of volunteering with Honor Health at the Deer Valley Medical Center, and I can say, without any hesitation, that my desire and motivation to make health care my career has only continued to grow. Additionally, I have taken the time to learn about MIHS itself, its mission, and the services it provides to the

Many people do community service, in and out of school. However, many haven't had the event opportunities I've had in the past. For this reason I am grateful for being a member of Key Club. Through my Key Club experience I have been able to assist families who have had to dealt with cancer and abuse. In the month of October alone, I have been able to to attend two walks for cancer. The first walk I attended was the Annual Believe Walk, hosted at Redlands. Waking up at 4:30am and volunteering with such an amazing organization might have been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had the pleasure to experience. The second was the Light the Night Leukemia and Lymphoma Walk, hosted at Fontana. Attending this walk was a different experience

A teen activist is a child or teen that speaks for what they feel is right. Teen activists are cheerful, dedicated, and ambitious. They strive to make a difference in the world, and do not give up, even when they are going through tough times. These inspirational people are Malala Yousafzai who speaks out for a girls’ education, Alex Lin who wants to reduce the amount of improperly disposed electronic waste, and Iqbal Masih, a boy who fights against child slavery. All three serve for a purpose, to make a positive change or difference in the world.