Digital Hall Scholarship

In high school, I decided I wanted to become a veterinarian. I remember the moment that solidified this decision. It was a day during vocational schooling at the ACE Center for Hermitage High School. I was taking a veterinary science program that interested me, and I was still deciding on whether this was the right path for me. We had loads of animals ranging from hamsters & gerbils to dogs & kittens. There was a specific hamster named Eloise, who was old for her species. She started to develop a lump on her neck. This concerned me since I believed it was a malignant tumor, which is a common death within hamsters of old age. I explained to my teacher at the time of my suspicions but she thought it was just food in her pouches. One night, my teacher noticed that Eloise was a bit sluggish and overall was not as active as she should have been. She took her home for the day and during the night she passed away. When my teacher dug deeper to see the cause of her death, it was indeed a malignant, cancerous tumor that caused her death. My teacher was very impressed with how I was able to identify something serious in one of our many class pets. After this, I was formally accepted to become a student at the number one public HBCU in the U.S. at North Carolina A&T State University to major in Animal Science. One of my biggest goals in life is to be able to own a veterinary practice dedicated to those with lower income and to open an orchestra for those with talent in orchestral music including a program that involves teaching those about string instruments at my university. If there is anything I wish I was able to do, it would be to open a non-profit organization for people with a gift in music to show off their talent for dogs and cats awaiting adoption in various animal shelters. I currently have a pet dog named Heaven aka Tootie Boots (her nickname). She has been my pride and joy for years, but taking care of her can be expensive, especially since she’s an older dog. As she got older, she developed a condition called “collapsing trachea” which is when the cartilage rings in her throat collapse during excitement or stress, making it difficult for her to breathe normally. Even though she is regularly given medicine prescribed to her by the vet, there are some days where even that doesn’t seem to help. Because I am from a low income family, I cannot afford to continuously take her to the veterinary clinic during every flair up. I took matters into my own hands and figured out ways to keep her calm during these difficult times. I’ve tried many different methods; I took her to the park, tried to comfort her by putting her in comfortable positions, etc. and it seemed that nothing worked for her. One day, I began to practice my violin for the 50th anniversary at my previous daycare which is where I first started violin 10+ years ago. I noticed that my dog began to calm down and even fell asleep to me playing music to her. It dawned on me that music wasn’t just a gift to me, but a form of comfort for her. With this, I realized I could calm other pets down in shelters awaiting adoption & for animals dealing with high amounts of stress during those times. Hopefully, I can make this dream become a reality.