Announcing the Winner of the Prince Law Firm Fall 2019 Scholarship

At Prince Law Firm, we’re proud to host an annual scholarship aimed to help students achieve their dreams and obtain a higher education. The Fall 2019 submission period just came to a close, and we were truly humbled by the quality applications we received. Thank you to everyone who applied! You made our first year of running our scholarship truly a pleasure.

We’re pleased to announce we’ve chosen a winner.

Congratulations to Caitlin Crow of Hawley, Texas!

Caitlin will be attending Cisco College and is planning on becoming an occupational therapist.

This was the essay topic:

“What creative outlet do you use to express yourself?”

This is her winning essay:

“I am what my friends call me, an “old soul.” I may be seventeen years old, but I have an appreciation for old literature, art and wisdom, I never get caught up in the latest teen “fads”, and I love to do anything crafty. For my sixth birthday, I asked for a sewing machine. Over my 2nd grade Christmas break, my grandmother taught me how to crochet. My whole family got coffee cup sleeves from me- whether they drank coffee or not. This past spring, I paid for my cheerleading uniform by selling decorated cookies. I don’t do crafts because of the product. While some of my projects are nice, some would also make the “pinterest fail” list. But even when my products are less than masterful- I enjoy the process. To be able to create with my hands is what I love.

In kindergarten, I created my own doll houses out of paper and duct tape. Much to my parents dissatisfaction, I decorated every wall on the inside of my closet, and I burned out my easy bake oven light. Creating things has been a part of my life since I can remember. Which is why when I broke my elbow, I was devastated.

It was an oddly non-committed Wednesday afternoon. Between softball for my sister and I, and t-ball for my little brother, we rarely had days we went home after school with no practice. I was ten years old, and sitting around watching tv wasn’t my thing, so I went to jump on the orthopedic doctor’s nemesis- the trampoline. I’m sure you can tell where this is going. Broke my elbow. It was an olecranon fracture to be exact. I remember screaming for my brother to go get my mom and dad. He turned up the tv to drown out my yelling. He thought I was just singing. I’m still bitter about that.

A broken elbow meant that I couldn’t comfortably use my hand- and that meant no drawing, no painting, no creating.

A week after the break, when the swelling went down, I had my first surgery, and came out with some new hardware in my left elbow. The doctor showed me the type of screw he used. It’s still in there. I can tell you when a cold front is headed this way. The recovery time for this type of injury and repair is pretty significant, and I was out of commision for a good 3 months. I couldn’t bake, sew or paint. This part was worse than any pain.

Because I was in a hard cast and unable to fully move my elbow for so long, the next step in my treatment was to see an occupational therapist. I couldn’t fully bend or extend my elbow, so over the next few months, I did a lot of therapeutic exercises- they all seemed silly- but they were working. But I took more than range of motion from my few months at therapy.

Most of my appointments were the same time as a sweet older lady, Nancy, who suffered from a stroke. The exercises she had to do, while seemingly easy for onlookers, physically wore her out. We talked while we were under warming wraps. She was a crafty lady- like me. We talked about knitting, and baking, and painting. My therapist was working with her- to try and get her back to being able to enjoy those things.

Over the next few months, my occupational therapist become one of my biggest role models. I couldn’t wait to go to my therapy appointments. Even at the young age of ten- I knew what she was doing was so important. She isn’t just going to work everyday and paying the bills, she is restoring dignity in people’s lives. Helping them be able to do daily tasks- like crafting- that we all take for granted. For the few short months that I couldn’t do crafts- I felt sad and depressed. At ten- I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to make a real difference.

It may sound odd, but I am thankful for my broken elbow. It taught me about perseverance and hard work, but most importantly, it led me to my life goal and dream career. I’m grateful to be on the path for just that. I want to help people rediscover their independence and to be able to do what they love with their hands. I want to help them rediscover their dignity. I am going to make a difference.”

——————————————

We’re pleased to announce we’ll be continuing the scholarship next year. For more information on the next entry period which will be for Fall 2020, please see our law firm’s scholarship page. Congratulations again, Caitlin! May all your dreams come true.