CHC Announces Winners of 2021 Scholarship Program

If there is one thing that the coronavirus pandemic has taught me, it is to recognize the differences of each and every person to a
deeper level. This scenario we have been thrown into is uncharted territory for all of us, and pushing through such a challenge was
difficult. However, I feel it is important for everyone to keep in mind that it was much more difficult for several demographics of people,
in a range of ways that the average healthy individual will not understand. Not everyone is the same person, not everyone faces the
same amounts of hardship, and not everyone can do what you can.

My third lesson of the pandemic was that family and friends are more important than we think. Being 19, I barely talk to my
parents as is, but since the pandemic, being trapped at home, communication was unavoidable. Which helped the entire family to
become a more healthy enviornment.

I’ve always wondered why companies proudly proclaim that they are “equal opportunity employers.” Is that really something to boast about, that you don’t discriminate against applicants when hiring? That should be the absolute bare minimum, something that doesn’t even have to be stated because it is already expected.

Seeing the dishonesty and the self centered ness around this vaccine and pandemic has really thrown me. I had previously thought we were
better people than that, or at least most of us.

I would say the greatest lesson of COVID-19 is to be considerate and a good civilian at the end of the day and if we follow the rules simply straight and narrow we can succeed in our goals as a country.

It’s upsetting to acknowledge or witness someone getting abused verbally, mentally, or physically due to something as small as the color of your skin, especially since we don’t choose how we look and that it’s completely out of our control.

Therefore, as self-care continues to become a ritual for many people today, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, it is best to
believe that it is one of the pandemics’ greatest lessons as it has initially saved lives and created better environments for individuals,
internally and externally.

Each community in every corner of the planet learned very quickly that in order to protect itself, every person must take on
responsibility not only to protect themselves, but the community as a whole. Global spread of the pandemic was impossible to contain.
But each and every community focused on protection of its individuals and every person was tasked with protecting everybody else.

During my clinical experience, it was very prominent that how a nurse reacted to a patient potentially having COVID exposure could change how the patient felt. When the nurse reacted in a calm and professional
manner, while still taking the appropriate precautions, you could see how the patient was more relaxed, as well as any family
members/friends they had accompanying them.

Dwelling back on events from last year, I am more appreciative of public places and my resources. During quarantine is when I realized how much I needed human connection for my brain to function. As technology took over and all communication was by video chat and email. My brain was suffering from lack of human connection.

We need to embrace our bodies for who we are. We need to love
our bodies, not be ashamed of them. This will allow self-confidence to rise. And with that, that is the most attractive trait a human can
have.

This pandemic has made me grateful and excited to look at the big picture that is life and all the facets that make me feel
fulfilled.

COVID-19 has taken a toll on everyone one I know, whether it was mentally, financially, healthwise, or in a different way. To me
personally the pandemic opened my eyes to how important my family is to me.

The greatest lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it has forced us to look at the inequalities that exist across our country. With a disproportionate toll on low-income Americans, the pandemic served to remind us that we still have much to accomplish in order to guarantee a leveled plain field for our society.

Healthcare is the single most important factor American society is facing today. We have the greatest healthcare system in the world if you have money, if you don’t well then not so much.

Equity essentially has the power to eliminate systemic racism and all prejudices if practiced daily by the population. All I can do in the present is practice equity in my daily life and hope its influence is enough to chain react.

One of the single most important problem that society is facing is the surrounding issue of gun control. Aren’t Gun laws supposed to make us feel safe?

But in reality, as everyone plays the part of the thriving post-pandemic individual, others are realizing that they are, and have always been left behind, no longer feeling the sense that we are all in this struggle together, something that those of privilege do not and fail to realize.

To me, equity in society means that everyone gets survival and safety needs, regardless of whether or not they can afford them. The first step to achieve equity is a reasonable minimum wage.

So, as much as the Covid-19 pandemic has been a disastrous journey, it has also been a process filled with growth and wonder, and I’m grateful I’ve been able to learn that good things can still come out of such negative experiences.