Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1267556
ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JULY 8, 2020 Page 5 Continued on page 6 Congratulations Isabelle! Isabelle Fobbe, the second of our five PSAI 2020 scholarship winners, grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Annandale High School in 2017. She is currently entering her senior year at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities with a major in Nursing. Ultimately, she hopes to work as a nurse in a pediatric unit. Since high school, Isabelle has been following her dream. She worked as a part-time certified nursing assistant (CNA) for more than four years at Annandale Health and Community Services along with other high school and college activities, and has still earned a cumulative university grade point of 3.71. She also spent just over a year as a CNA at Mayo Clinic Charter House. In keeping with her ultimate goal, Isabelle is currently living in Rochester, Minnesota and working three jobs. She's providing administrative support services at the University of Minnesota– Rochester, is a patient care assistant at Mayo Clinic's St. Mary's Hospital, and spends a couple hours a week as a nursing student Brand Ambassador. As her appraiser wrote, "Isabelle is hard-working, conscientious, and respectful in all things." Below is Isabelle's essay. Changing Portable Sanitation into a Respected Alternative in the Minds of the Public The old man sat silently on the soft grass, the sunshine warming his face as he listened to the sound of his grandchildren playing and laughing across the park. A small smile graced his face at the thought of how lucky he was to have his life, despite the hardships he had faced. It was peaceful, and he allowed himself to relax, only perking up as a sound of disgust erupted from his youngest granddaughter's mouth. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he sat up, looking over to where the two small children stood 20 feet away near the swing sets. A moment of realization flashed across his face as the young boy pointed to the blue plastic restroom near the tree line and let out a loud laugh. "What's wrong?" the grandfather called out, drawing the attention of the two children. The young girl walked closer to him, her tiny nose wrinkled in disgust. "He dared me to go in the port-a-potty. Yuck!" The grandfather's heart sank in sorrow at the children's disdain toward the portable restroom. He knew that many others shared the same thoughts. As he stared at the bright-eyed boy and girl in front of him, he thought back to when he was a small child. He thought of the joy that encompassed his whole body as he used a portable washing station to clean his sticky fingers after a day spent on his own grandfather's shoulders eating ice cream and watching the fireworks light up the night sky.