Take a Chance on Yourself: How a Scholarship to a Conference Changed Me, and How It Can Change You Too

Written by Hannah Sande, published May 30, 2023

Have you ever been to a conference or taken a class that has just absolutely rocked your world? The kind where you know when you get back home is going to completely change everything about how you interact with people or how you do your job? The ones where you are just so excited about it you can’t stop talking about it, can’t stop applying it to everything, and can’t stop encouraging other people to go so they can experience the same feelings you have? That’s the kind of opportunity the 911der Woman Firework Scholarship provided me with. 

When I first saw the posting announcing the opening for applications, I thought something along the lines of “why not?” I bookmarked the application with the intention to come back to it, but it just slipped my mind for a while. Eventually, the scholarship came back up in my social media feed, and I remembered that I was going to apply. I opened it up and began reading about what the scholarship provided and the types of things it would cover, from classes and conferences to certifications and letters after your name. One of my goals is to add ENP after my name, so I went into the application process thinking I was going to apply for that. As I got to reading about all the different things, though, I realized that I would much rather apply for the 360 Dispatcher Leadership Retreat in Texas. One of the struggles I have been targeting lately is my ability to communicate with my peers through conflict… Something that only improves with practice and time. As I was reading about this course and the different leadership AND communication courses we would go through, it was clear to me that this was something I needed much more right now than letters after my name. I shifted my application to the conference and began the internal reflection needed to complete it. About an hour later, I submitted my application, and then in true neurodivergent fashion, I completely forgot about it. 

Fast forward to several months later, in February. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day outside. The birds were chirping, the bees were buzzing, and pollen covered everything. (This is what we call false spring here in North Carolina). I was missing all of it, as I had just come off my first set of night shifts in this two-week rotation. I was completely dead to the world, catching up on some good sleep. I was woken up by the sound of my phone buzzing. Normally I would ignore it, but iPhones have this thing where they can sometimes tell you who is calling before you answer, and I saw it said, Sara Weston. I was super confused, but I was not about to miss a call from someone I looked up to so much. In true Sara fashion, she was beyond excited and cheering about how I had won one of the Firework Scholarships. I was trying to process it as quickly as I could, but my sleepy brain just couldn’t comprehend what she was telling me. She asked if it was a good time to go through some of the details, but I told her I would just call her back shortly once my brain could keep up with what was going on. It took about 10 seconds from the time we got off the phone to when it hit me like a train. I was going to Texas! I immediately told my husband, then called my agency director. A little bit later, I returned Sara’s call, we celebrated, and we began ironing out all the details. 

A few short weeks later, I found myself on a plane to San Antonio. For anyone that doesn’t know, I have a lot of anxiety, particularly around being in new places and unknown situations by myself. But I was determined that I was going to step outside my comfort zone and force myself to enjoy this week, whether it was my first instinct or not. Our first course of the week was on facing your fears and how to keep from limiting yourself. The first fifteen minutes of our class began with Joe saying, “Sometimes things are big and dramatic, and then sometimes we make things big and dramatic when they really aren’t.” As a big and dramatic person, this statement resonated with me. I did a lot of self-reflection that night, working through what fears and anxieties I was holding onto, what I was making big and dramatic that really wasn’t. This set my tone for the week and carried through all my actions. I could be afraid, and that was okay, but I wasn’t going to let that fear win and quit. I was going to see everything through. Over the next week, I let myself open up and be vulnerable with the people around me. I spoke about things weighing heavy on my heart, and I let myself feel my emotions exactly how they were instead of limiting or changing them. I made friends with people I never thought I would ever meet and chased armadillos with them, I rode a horse (easily the scariest thing I did all week), climbed in a river, sat on a cow, and even sang karaoke! I branched out in ways I never would have in my regular routine, and I was better for it. I looked into the face of every single thing that scared me and I conquered it valiantly. 

When the week was done and it was time to come home, I knew that I would be going back a different person. The things I learned in this course, from the opportunity I received as a Firework Scholarship recipient, have forever changed who I was as a friend, a telecommunicator, and a wife. I came back braver than before, with a new outlook on my life. I can communicate better with my coworkers, my family, and even my husband, and I face challenges head-on now. The opportunity provided to me through the scholarship is one that I would not have been able to do on my own. Thanks to the support and empowerment of the 911der Woman Foundation and its members, I have become a stronger, more resilient, brave telecommunicator and Woman. If you are truly interested in growing yourself as a person and in your field, I urge you to apply for the scholarship when it opens again. Take a chance on yourself. It may just change your life.

Thank you, Hannah for sharing your experience with us. If you are interested in writing a blog, please email amanda@911derwomen.com. Sign up for our newsletter on our homepage to stay up to date with 911der Women programming, exclusive content and blog updates. Click here and scroll to the bottom.

Thank you to Prepared for supporting Her Voice: The 911der Women Blog Spot.