Karen Tejada
2022 Grenee McCollum-Dobbs Memorial Scholarship Recipient
I am nominating myself because I wholeheartedly believe that I deserve this scholarship. I wanted to be valedictorian of my class so I decided early on that I would put in all the necessary work to achieve this goal, but I was still surprised a few weeks ago when I found out that I was named class co-valedictorian. It brought me so much joy and made me emotional because I know the amount of work I put in. I know the times I stayed up late at my desk trying to finish an assignment or the number of times I stressed myself out over tests. I know the number of times I got mad and irritated when I didn’t understand things in math or biology class. My junior year was especially tough. Not only was I doing school virtually, but it was also the same year that I lost my grandmother. Finding the motivation to complete my work became a difficult task at times. Those weeks when I was in and out of the hospital with my mom checking on my grandma broke my heart in pieces. This was a stressful experience because we were not allowed to go into the room and give her a hug or be close to her. I had to play the role of a translator and it was a difficult task when they finally let me walk into the room and see my exhausted grandmother struggling to breathe. I will never forget this day because I did not know it at the time, but this would be the last time I ever got to see her alive. I could hear the frustration in her voice when she was begging for water. She didn’t have a nurse who could speak to her in Spanish and help her out. One day I hope to help people in the same way that I wish they would have helped my grandma. That experience sparked an interest in exploring the health and sciences academic areas in college. I hope to bring a positive impact into the healthcare field by serving the people in our community with compassion and by being a language resource to non-English speakers in the hospital setting. While patients are enduring tremendous stress and battling illness, it is important that they have someone they can easily communicate with, who also understands the science behind the illness. I want to be this link because I am captivated by how the body can naturally fight off infections caused by disease, and I am passionate about making non-English speakers comfortable in the healthcare setting. While I am sure other students have had their own share of hardships and challenges, dealing with the death of someone you love deeply while also juggling a job and striving to achieve the valedictorian title was far from an easy task, but I did it.