I am a senior pre-med student from Las Vegas, Nevada. I am majoring in Psychology with a minor in Pediatric Medical Research and working on a certificate in Criminology. I will graduate in the spring and spend a year off from school saving money and working as an MCAT tutor and medical scribe. Afterwards I would like to go on to medical school to work in pediatrics, specializing in Neonatology. I am currently a research assistant in the psychology department, hospice volunteer, and I volunteer with a local elementary school

I met Heather on the school bus at the age of 14. She was a year ahead of me and it mystified me that such an exotic, mature, beauty would condescend to ride the same bus home as us mortals. She struck up a conversation with me over my U2 t-shirt and we grew closer over the years from there. I always thought she was out of my league so I never made any advances, but she was always there with a quick wit and knowing smile.

Three years after high school I ran into her again when I returned to visit our small New England town. She was a sophomore at NYU, I was on the west coast, but we made plans to visit each other. We talked about our unrequited, mutual crushes. She told me I had always been such a charmer to her and she gave me one of the sweetest, soulful kisses that I have ever experienced. We began to speak regularly and make plans for an upcoming summer visit... In May she got into a car with someone who was more highly intoxicated than he let on. He crashed the car into a tree. Her neck was broken but she was conscious and begging him to call an ambulance. As a witness later testified: rather than help her, the driver of the car twisted and snapped her neck, ending her life. He tried to flee the scene to avoid responsibility but was ultimately arrested. He only spent 6 years in jail for killing my first love at the age of 22.

That loss is something I still feel, to varying degrees from time to time. The impact it has had on me is always in the back of my mind. At no time have I chosen to ride with a driver who has been drinking. I've always done my best to discourage any friends from driving regardless of how “little” they have been drinking. I have gone out of my way at all hours to pick up friends who were in need of a ride. These are things that I would likely have been doing anyway, so it isn't as if this incident determined my behavior. But it is always in my mind whenever one of these situations has arisen in my life since.

My name is Silvia Hernandez Vowles, I was born in Madrid, Spain. I had the opportunity to live there until I turned fifteen years old, and then my family decided to move to Geneva, Switzerland to be closer to my grandparents. While living there, I obtained a High School Diploma in Philosophy-Letters and Languages. I speak fluently four languages that I have used for twenty-five years in the field of Business, as an Executive Secretary. My International background has allowed me to work for the United Nations and many other International companies. Six years ago, I married a dear friend that I met when I was just a nine-year old girl, and who brought me here to the United States. I have always loved the field of Psychology and never thought it would be possible for me to graduate in this exceptional profession. Psychology, has given a 360 degrees turn to my life in every aspect. With some skepticism on my part, due to the fact that I needed to go to college in another new language for me - Spanish and French being my previous ones, I decided to start my new adventure. So, three years ago, I finally fulfilled my dream to start studying Psychology, and next semester I will graduate to pursue my Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Last summer, I also finished my Certificate in Positive Psychology. I love to study, and I know that in this field I will be studying until my life ends, but the most important is the impact that my help as a Psychology Professional has already had in the lives of special children with mental and environmental disabilities that I have been working with in the last four years, and the ones that I will be in contact with in the near future. Thanks for this great opportunity!!

I grew up in southern California and moved to Utah my junior year of high school. I am a transfer student here at the University of Utah. I have always loved psychology and learning about how the mind works, my favorite class here is the abnormal psychology class. I will be graduating in May 2016 and after I plan on going forward and getting a masters in drug rehabilitation and another in marriage and family therapy.