Desire To Inspire Scholarship

1) What does inspiration mean to you? How would you use your platform in your future career in healthcare to inspire and uplift others? What inspiration means to me is seeing someone doing something or setting an example for others that allows them, or myself, to see a way to do something new. Allowing a new journey to begin, as a new spark has been lit, and now creativity and drive are in place for a new goal to be met. Without being inspired by others, many of the things I’ve accomplished might never have happened. An example of this would be the reason behind starting my own cotton candy business at eleven years old. While having a conversation with my cousin about where we would want to work for our first jobs, my godfather gave a piece of wisdom that will forever stick with me, which was, “Why work for someone when you can work for yourself?” That summer, I worked on my business plan, figuring out who my target audience would be, where I would get supplies, and more. Now I can proudly say I’ve been running my business for the last five years, and even inspired my older brother to start his own churro business. I also have another passion, which is to work in healthcare. This passion is inspired by many people—my mother, Doc McStuffins, and more recently, Dr. Andrea Alexander, known as @Paging.dr.dre on Instagram. I have seen my mom educate her students throughout my entire life, and most recently she became a community based doula providing care to women who typically could not afford this resource. Watching Doc McStuffins care for the toys in a loving and educated manner as a young Black girl on TV was inspiring because I saw a character who looked like me doing something that I want to do, which is care for others. Most recently, I’ve been inspired by @Paging.dr.dre on Instagram a young Black female OB-GYN who uses her platform not only to share day-in-the-life content, fashion tips, and a little humor, but most importantly to educate others about women’s health in a way that is engaging and accessible. I would use my platform in my future career in healthcare not only to inspire the healthcare community to do more research and studies on how certain diseases appear in African Americans but also to work toward changing the narrative that African Americans do not experience pain as much as Caucasians. This would help promote equality in treatment in a country where minorities are often overlooked or ignored when it comes to their symptoms due to a lack of understanding or empathy. Additionally, I would use my platform in a similar way as @Paging.dr.dre by explaining and breaking down disease processes, symptoms, tests, and medications into simpler terms to provide more understanding to patients. Helping to educate which in turn would ease any fear related to medical care, which leads to disparities in minority communities. 2) What intentional actions are you currently taking to inspire people around you? Starting my business was an intentional action that I took first to provide something that did not contain harmful chemicals and harsh dyes such as Red Dye 40. I spent my entire summer researching organic, sustainable ingredients. I also made sure my products were affordable to my community as a way to show that we deserve nice things at a reasonable price. It also teaches that we can do so much as a community by supporting one another. It is not just about buying and booking my services but about uplifting each other’s businesses, sharing resources, and celebrating our talents together. Another intentional action that I took at the start of my freshman year was joining the Associated Student Body and Student Council and becoming the class president. I have now taken on the role of ASB President for my upcoming senior year. My goal has always been to be the voice for my class and now the entire school, to bring a fun environment or simply address things we would like to see changed in a system that is not up to date or accepting at times. One of the first things I helped change was allowing us as students to wear our necklaces and chains out. With the demographic of the school mostly being African American students, many of us have nameplates or chains, which are very important within African American culture as a way of expressing ourselves. During a meeting with administration, I, along with other leadership members, explained why we should be able to wear our necklaces and chains. I explained in the meeting that nameplates were a beautiful protest, in which many African Americans were unable to find our names on amusement park displays or souvenir shops while on vacation. As a solution, we began making nameplates with our unique names. This resulted in my private Catholic traditional school revising the policy and meeting us in the middle by allowing students to now wear customized jewelry. This inspired the school to speak up more often and share any concerns to get change within our school. 3) If granted the scholarship, describe how you would utilize the award to propel yourself towards your goals and continue serving as a source of inspiration to others. If granted the scholarship, I would use this money towards my educational needs such as college application fees, tuition, books, and any additional software that I may need. I would also be diligent and purposeful about how this money is spent, as it will be of great help to my family, having two other children in college at the same time, as a way to help my parents and minimize additional stress. This would also allow me time to volunteer in community spaces with minority children to inspire them to go further in their education and help propel them towards college goals by providing them with resources and helping them move to the next step. This would allow young students to see that with hard work, support, and belief in themselves, college is possible no matter their background.

1). Inspiration to me is like that Gettys image—a big yellow light bulb above the head that flickers on and ignites something inside. It's an “aha” moment—a rush of clarity where suddenly everything makes perfect sense and the path seems clear. I’ve had a few “aha” moments when it came to knowing what I wanted to do after high school as a career. I now truly know that I want to go to nursing school and eventually become a Nurse Practitioner specializing in women’s health. But beyond the career title, I had to ask myself: Who did I truly want to be as a professional? What did I stand for? Sometime last year, I saw the story of Serena Williams’ birth experience on social media for the first time. After she had her daughter, Olympia, via C-section, she was at high risk for blood clots due to a pre-existing condition. When she requested a CAT scan to check for blood clots in her lungs, she was dismissed by a nurse. It was later found that there were, in fact, blood clots in her lungs that could have been fatal. When I heard this story, I thought to myself, “The 23-time Grand Slam Champion was dismissed?” If Serena Williams was dismissed, then what about other women who aren't a household name? That was another light bulb moment. I wanted to be the kind of Nurse Practitioner that not only cared for her patients, but cared to listen to them. In Serena Williams’ words, “being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life and death for me,” and this is why I want to become a Nurse Practitioner who advocates for all women—specifically Black women and women of color. My mission in my future career as a Black woman working in healthcare is to provide medically sound and culturally sensitive care. Healthcare is not “one size fits all.” Every case is unique. Every woman is unique, and every concern should be taken seriously. I aspire to use my future platform to close the gap between the health concerns of many women and the professionals they rely on to hear them. Hearing Serena’s experience not only reinforced my passion for nursing—it inspired my purpose. With my platform as a Nurse Practitioner, I will strive for patient advocacy each time I walk into the hospital. From the perspective of women of color, I will be mindful of the cultural background of each patient, try to deeply understand their perspective, and meet them in the middle with my clinical point of view. I will make it a point to be part of the solution to Black women and women of color being unheard, misdiagnosed unnecessarily, and misunderstood. Additionally, I aspire to support the next generation of nurses. I appreciated those who guided me with patience and kindness when I was learning something new. I want to share that light to inspire future nurses, remind them they belong, and uplift them by leading as an example. 2). Inspiring others isn’t always done through grand gestures or big accomplishments. Sometimes, inspiration is quiet— perhaps through a small smile. I’ve worked as a Junior Volunteer at Baylor Scott and White for the past two summers in high school. Each June, we attend orientation before starting rotations. We’re taught hospital protocols and how to carry ourselves, especially when our role involves interacting with patients. The main advice I took from orientation was that a smile and positive body language go a long way in making someone’s hospital stay more pleasant. Every Tuesday and Thursday, that advice sets the tone when I clock in for my shift at the front desk. At one volunteer info session, the hospital’s COO shared a story that stuck with me. A patient being discharged thanked her for the hospital’s excellent care and said he wanted to repay them. Jokingly, she told him the staff wanted a Starbucks but there weren’t enough funds. Weeks later, a $2 million check was on her desk—the rest of the money needed to build the new Starbucks. That moment showed me how even a positive experience or attitude can inspire big acts of change. I’ve practically grown up at Baylor Scott and White. My mom has worked there for 25 years. Still, I was nervous my first day because I wasn’t going to the comfort of the rehab floor where she works. I was stepping into a new environment with new expectations. Since I’d been a volunteer before, I was better equipped to help new volunteers on their first rotations. Whether it was directing them what floor they're going to or giving them advice to make conversation with staff to make their experience less awkward. I inspire others by doing things intentionally to make a person's day simpler. I've found that inspiring leadership isn't about advancement down the road; it's about people and how I treat them at this moment. As a Junior Volunteer, I have worked through different departments and have been assigned small but meaningful tasks on the Labor and Delivery unit and in the Pathology lab. In L&D, I helped nurses prepare IV bags and baby bags that hold hats and diapers for the newborns. In the pathology lab, my current rotation, I restock shelves with supplies like tourniquets and IV tubing. One lab tech explained how the lab supports the whole hospital. He said, “No matter how knowledgeable the doctors are, they can’t treat patients without the tests the lab runs.” The lab is behind-the-scenes work as he summarized. I see my volunteer role in a similar way, no matter how small the task, it matters. Inspiration is often behind the scenes, showing up consistently, doing your job well, and taking pride in it. That’s how I show up each day. If I’m volunteering, at volleyball summer workouts, or working with the student council to plan senior activities, I show up with effort and a positive attitude. That’s how I lead, and that’s how I inspire. 3). If granted the Desire to inspire Scholarship, I will invest it in my nursing school education to advance and challenge myself with a college degree. This scholarship award would be used to pay for nursing school tuition and room and board expenses. Support like this scholarship opportunity would allow me to focus less on the cost of college and more on molding into the healthcare professional I know I can be. I have committed myself to learning and personal growth as an individual. Through volunteer experiences with Baylor Scott and White, I have gained lessons in humility and serving others despite how small a task might be. The Desire to Inspire Scholarship helps me continue this mindset into college. I would be able to focus on academic opportunities in college that could otherwise be overshadowed by cost. This award will allow me to invest in myself so that I can reach a bigger platform to inspire through my future career as a Black Nurse Practitioner with a goal of patient advocacy for Black women and women of color. I believe being a source of inspiration at times is merely being present. I want to use this scholarship to be present. By pursuing my aspirations, I hope to be able to show other young Black women that their hopes should be in every room, every hospital, laboratories, and boardrooms. The Desire to Inspire Scholarship will not only help me in fulfilling my goals but open doors for others.

1. A new WhatsApp notification lights up on my phone, and I glance at my mother’s message briefly. Just as I am about to shut my phone off, I pause and begin to question why she sent me a photo. Her texts usually consist of “anda sacar la basura” (go take out the trash) or “anda lavar y secar los platos” (go wash and dry the dishes). Knowing my mother, I knew that this photo would either be a religious quote or a baby picture of me. Instead, I find a large, slightly pixelated image of the family tree from her side of the family. Curiously, I scanned through the hundreds of names and faces, but one person in particular stood out to me the most. I zoomed into a slightly blurry image of a short, pale-skinned brunette girl, smiling brightly from ear to ear. Below her name, read in bold Arial font: Carolina Orellana. Throughout that week, the image would not escape my head. Weeks passed, and I began to question why my heart felt so emotionally driven by this small, frail-looking girl. I never physically saw her or heard her voice. My family never liked to discuss health, specifically topics that involved illness or death. I only knew Carolina from the whispers that my mother and my uncle exchanged when we rarely visited Ecuador. Carolina was my cousin who died early in her childhood of cancer. I only knew her by pictures but I always felt her in my heart. Whether I am kneeling in the church pews during mass or planning my school’s annual 12-hour event to raise funds for childhood cancer. I had always felt her presence within life. Although I knew so little of her, she inspired me and shaped me into the person I am today and my future. She's my constant reminder to never give up on my dreams and inspires me to be a healthcare provider who fights for children like her. My goal is to utilize my platform as a physician’s assistant who specializes in oncology by serving underprivileged communities such as the one I grew up in: Queens, New York. I will utilize my voice as a PA, to not only advocate for patients who face language and income barriers that often keep them from receiving proper care but also to be the voice of clarity when everything feels uncertain. Furthermore, I want to be the voice for my family who is afraid of speaking about our health concerns. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I hope to contribute to pediatric cancer research helping uncover the environmental and genetic factors that may affect outcomes in young patients. With every patient I help, every child I comfort, and every parent I reassure there will be part of the legacy she left behind. Throughout my career, I will continue to share her story–not only as a tribute to her life, but as a promise to use mine for something greater. 2. The moment my name was called, my heart instantly began to pump blood faster than I could blink. My blood ran through my capillaries and was expelled through my arteries all while I stood in front of the podium surrounded by nearly 200 students but my face was fixated on the speech below me. As I began to read the first few lines of my speech I felt the sudden wave of adrenaline being released. I knew the moment I would look up that my worries would all go away yet I still felt this immense fear. In the back of my mind, I remember that same feeling with all of the actions I have taken to get myself to where I am now, a leader who hopes to drive others. My National Honor Society Speech was the first time in my life that I had felt both nervous and confident talking about who I am. I spoke about my vulnerability as a proud Latina who grew up in an underprivileged community that relied on volunteers to get through the week. I expressed how my success was not driven by my desire for accomplishment but rather by the journey and impact that happens as a result of hard work. My desire to lead others has allowed me to build a stronger and more inclusive community to inspire the next graduating class to do the same. When I won my presidency I instantly knew my worth and potential to teach others and allow them to follow my footsteps. I utilized these strengths to tutor ESL students within my school so that they too would be encouraged to achieve their goals. Just as my heart expressed fear through its speed, it also expressed love and dedication toward my school’s MiniTHON chapter. I have had the opportunity to lead my school’s 12-hour event to raise money for childhood cancer with a group of like-minded individuals. My inspiration and action to influence participants to join this event has allowed me to lead and organize the upcoming 2026 East Stroudsburg High School South MiniTHON. I utilize my platform with MiniTHON to honor the memory of my cousin Carolina and create a safe space where students can advocate for those who are fighting cancer. Beyond my school community, my heart has a deep passion for volunteering at my two local hospitals, St. Luke's and Lehigh Valley Health Network. Within both of these hospitals, I play a vital role in patient advocacy by providing comfort, helping the nursing staff, or delivering supplies. Volunteering in these hospitals is not just something I do on the side but rather something that I hope inspires others to follow so that my local community benefits. Inspiration does not require accomplishments like degrees or titles but rather the impact through actions that it is having on others. Just like the heart is triggered by emotion, inspiration is triggered by action and I intend to continue moving forward. 3. Receiving this scholarship would allow me to focus on education as an aspiring physician's assistant by helping to fund college tuition, future research opportunities, and science courses to prepare me for a physician's assistant program. It will also allow me support preparation toward the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination. As a rising senior coming from a low income household, I currently balance two jobs while also volunteering at two hospitals. This scholarship would greatly alleviate the cost for my future education and relieve any financial pressures for college. Additionally this award will allow me to continue my future plans in inspiring first generation, low income, latinas through healthcare careers. My ongoing actions to inspire others will continue through my efforts in expanding participation, fundraising for my school’s minithon chapter, creating a stronger and involved community within my National Honor Society chapter, tutoring ESL students within my school, and helping my community by volunteering at hospitals to gain insight into the healthcare field. With this scholarship, I will not only be able to reach my dreams within healthcare but it will also allow me to continue to be an inspiration to others through impact and action.