2026 – Noah Steele – Juab High School HS

When Caregiving Changes Generations

I don’t think resilience is something you actually fully understand until it becomes a life lesson. I have always lived next door to my grandparents, and have seen how hard they have worked their whole life, showing so much resiliency. But my own lesson in resilience didn’t unfold until a few months ago.

My grandma is 86 and my grandpa is 89. Eight years ago, my grandma suffered a stroke and was life flighted, and ever since then my grandpa has been her full-time caregiver. Growing up, I watched him take care of her every single day without ever complaining. I never realized how much strength that took until now.

About 5 months ago, I walked over to talk to my grandpa while he was working in the garden. Something felt wrong immediately. His speech was slurred, his mouth drooped, and he seemed confused. My family and I begged him to go to the hospital, even though he hadn’t gone to a doctor in over twenty five years. The only reason he agreed was because he wanted to make sure he was healthy enough to keep taking care of my grandma. She has always been his reason, maybe that is what drives his resilience. That to me, is a lesson in and of itself.

At the hospital, we got confirmation that he had suffered a stroke. Even harder to hear was that his liver was failing and he had less than a year to live. In one day, everything changed. My grandfather, who has always been the backbone of my entire family, who was the caretaker himself, suddenly also needed care. Since then, I have stepped in to help take care of both of my grandparents, especially on days when the home health nurse isn’t there. I help with dinner, medications, and cleaning. But most important is to just be with them. It is important to me to know all of their stories, and it is important for them to be able to remember and relive all those good memories. 

Balancing this time with school my senior year has been difficult, and there were days I felt overwhelmed and exhausted. Because of these responsibilities, I wasn’t able to complete my CNA licensure this year, and my grades aren’t what they should be either. But I believe this experience to be even more valuable and is a much deeper kind of learning experience. In this irreplaceable time, I learned patience, showing up even when I was tired, and gratitude for small wins. I also learned that strength doesn’t always look big or impressive. It sometimes looks like simply being present for someone who needs you.

 

Helping my grandparents showed me that I want to become a nurse and serve people, especially in my rural community. This scholarship would help me continue toward nursing school. I think my story shows that you can find purpose in the face of challenges, as this experience that I thought would shatter my family, grew us closer together and made me discover what I want to become.