Avani Doshi Memorial Scholarship

As an older sister, I have gotten to watch my siblings grow up which is an extremely surreal experience. One day they were babies just learning to walk, and the next I'm driving them around town to different events and games. My siblings and I have a stereotypical sibling relationship. We bicker and fight all the time, but the minute someone upsets one of us, the other two become essentially overprotective guard dogs. As the oldest I haven't had an older sibling to look up to, so I try to make sure I'm the best role model I can be for my brother and sister. I involve myself in lots of activities and spend a lot of time on school work to keep my grades up. Through this I became extremely active as the president of my schools Mini-THON which raises money for pediatric cancer patients. As I planned the fundraisers and our day of event, I got the opportunity to talk to families who have a child who is currently battling cancer, or have had to experience the devastating loss of a child due to cancer. These families often have more than one child, and these kids feel helpless as their watch their brother or sister go in and out of the hospital, never knowing if they're going to win or lose the battle. As my eyes were opened to these situations, I realized that I wanted to help families like this. As I was figuring out my path, I got to talk to the father of a little girl battling cancer. It started as a simple conversation with him asking what I plan to do after high school, and I gave him the basic answer of "I hope to be a physical therapist one day," but what he said after solidified my path. He told me that without great physical therapists, his daughter wouldn't be at our school running and playing like she was. She had to pretty much relearn how to walk, and that is when it clicked in my brain. I have found my passion in physical therapy, and I want to use this passion to help these families. I want to work with pediatric cancer patients after they WIN their battles. I want to help them learn to walk, run, jump, and skip, so they can play with their siblings again. I want to help them gain back the childhood that cancer ripped away from them. These families are so strong and I want to continue to give them support for the rest of my life. I believe that every child deserves a fair chance at life, and I want to be a reason this kids will get one.