General Information

Name	Carley
Last Name	Mykut
Nickname	Carley Mykut

Background

Organization	Huntingdon Area High School
Why I am a Force for Health® Member...	My goal for joining the Force for Health Network is to educate and promote living a healthy lifestyle, especially to those living in underprivileged areas. I live in rural Pennsylvania and the need for health literacy is grand, but with the resources from this program, I aspire to teach others about caring for their bodies and how to maintain their physical, mental, and emotional health.
My inspiration	Children inspire me, as they are the future of our world but also hold an innate positive and innocent view about the world. Educating young individuals is such a fulfilling activity. Likewise, I love expressing myself through the art form of dance. I am passionate about using my body to exercise and using it to convey feelings to others. I believe that I can combine these two and teach young children how to express and advocate for themselves.
What would you like people to know about your community?	I live in rural Pennsylvania in an area filled with the need for education and health literacy. Most individuals in my community will graduate high school and take then one of two paths. One, enter the workforce within my community, or two, graduate high school and come back to the community to work. This means that our school system is crucial to educating those who come through the schools, so improving education is crucial in promoting literacy.

My Citizenship Health Factors

Some of the factors that have been challenging for me have been...	A struggle for me has been finding groups in my area that promote health. In my town there are many fast food restaurants, and healthier foods are normally more expensive than nutrient dense, high calorie foods. For me, it is just sometimes easier to get these nutrient low meals because they are cheaper and more convenient than making a healthier meal.
It's important for me to be part of my community's health because...	Another factor that has been a challenge for me is living a balanced lifestyle. I have been a person that is extremely busy and likes to be apart of a lot of groups and organizations. Sometimes this leads to be juggling so much that I forget to focus on my mental and physical health. I have realized that sometimes I just need to take a breath and take a walk to clear my mind, also to set my priorities straight. Likewise, I have had trouble eating healthy foods when I am busy and am currently still working on that. I hope to set a schedule for myself and block out time to focus on my health.
Some of the strength of my community health factors are:	Some of the strengths of my communities health factors are the proximity of our hospital, numerous urgent care facilities, and organizations that promotes health literacy. Our hospital in my community is extremely close to many town houses that could even walk up to their appointment if needed. This infrastructure makes it more convenient for people than if the hospital was on a busy highway. Likewise, we have at least three urgent care facilities that people can go to is they feel it is an emergency and need to seek help. Moreover, there is an organization in my community that helps families out in anyway that they can. For example, this group has provided hygiene products to families for Christmas, finance summer sporting camps, and promote social events for these children to interact with others their age.
Some of the challenges in my community regarding certain health factors are:	Some of the challenges in my community would be the health literacy aspect. As I believe individuals need to be more educated on how to take care of their bodies and the harmful effects of their behaviors. This could mean educating people on the detrimental effects of smoking, or the process of acquired immunity from the COVID-19 vaccine, to the basics of eating a balanced diet.
I believe I can help improve my community's health by...	I believe that I can help with my communities challenge areas by striving to educate more and more people. If they know the science behind their actions and what it is truly doing to their body, it might make them rethink their decisions. Personally, I would love to hold summer camps for children, free of charge to teach them about being an overall healthy person. This would make being healthy seem more fun and would give them resources to make those healthy choices.

Advancing the DREAM

Advancing the DREAM - What it means to me

As a white woman, healthcare inequalities does not affect me directly, but indirectly. I desire for all people to have healthcare, so that they are able to focus on other aspects of their life like going to school or finding their passion. If African Americans are not receiving equitable resources and/or care, then America is failing its people. All people should have the tools to live their healthiest life. Personally, I can advocate for my fellow African Americans by insisting these disparities be eliminated and and demanding systematic changes to the healthcare system for this reason. All people deserve to have equitable access to medicine and healthcare professionals to ensure that they are living to their fullest extent. Also, as a future healthcare professional I can focus even more on treating all individuals the exact same regardless of their sex, ethnicity, race, or sexual identity. People are people and all should have healthcare.

My Action Pledge to Advance the DREAM?

I pledge to advance the DREAM by continuing to advocate for all Americans. I can also focus on spreading health literacy within my community to those individuals that may be facing healthcare disparities to guarantee all that people have the tools and resources to know when to seek medical help, and what they can do to be a healthier person. Likewise, I vow to push against all forms of racial discrimination and to be an antiracist. Whether it is healthcare, employment, or education discrimination, racism must be perpetually solved so that the next generation of BIPOC do not have to endure any of these issues. I pledge to advance the DREAM by speaking out on problems and teaching all people about living a healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally.

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Carley Mykut