Donna Davis Memorial Scholarship

Kindness is a necessity just as food, water, or shelter is. Kindness doesn’t have to be grand, it can be simple. It sustains people in immeasurable ways. In my community, I help out wherever I can, whether that’s volunteering to dress as an inflatable snowman for a small business event or helping support a community dance or parade. The communities that matter most to me are those that are disadvantaged and lack access to academic support, mentorship, and healthcare. I was raised by a single mother caring for twins, who must now help pay two college tuitions, and must also care for my toddler sister. So, I understand how limited resources can greatly limit one’s opportunity. My mother taught me compassion doesn’t depend on status or wealth. Even when resources are scarce, kindness is always within reach and goes a long way. I intend to become a nurse. A career that will allow me to turn my passion into meaningful action. I plan to achieve this goal by attending a four-year accredited institution and obtaining a BSN degree. After gaining experience as a nurse, I plan to further my education and become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), regulating anesthesia to patients undergoing surgery ensuring safety and comfort throughout surgery. However, the impact I hope to make in healthcare won’t be defined by my title, but by the way I care for people in the smallest moments along the way. I want to be the nurse who sits a little longer when a patient is afraid, who offers reassurance and interest, who genuinely cares and displays their emotions rather than being distanced and regurgitating a diagnosis to the patient's family. I want to matter to my patients, through consistent empathy, presence, and understanding. Nursing won’t simply be a job, but an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of as many patients and families as possible and comfort them during their most vulnerable moments. Through advocacy and persistence, I will strive to deliver care that is not only of clinical excellence but that is also deeply human. Beyond the hospital, I aspire to open a community tutoring center to uplift youth. I’m a firm believer that education and healthcare shape opportunity. I’m committed to strengthening both within my community. I understand this goal begins not with a building, but with small consistent acts. Giving my time, listening to others, and showing up where I am needed most in my community. By doing so, I hope to help others move forward, offering support, stability, and encouragement so they can become the best versions of themselves. Support from the Donna Davis Memorial Scholarship would help me pay for tuition, so I could focus on pursuing my studies and alleviate the financial constraint I’ve been subjected to all my life. Thank you creators of the Donna Davis Memorial Scholarship, for offering support to students like me in order to pay for the expensive education that comes with obtaining a degree.

A way in which I intend to make a positive impact in the lives of others is through becoming a physician assistant in the future, which I have discovered I wanted to become through South Side’s IB diploma program. Without this program and the various opportunities South Side has to offer, I wouldn’t have found this career path that will allow me to pursue a lifetime of helping others. South Side offers many different programs, many of which I have grown to love. For example, South Side offers various opportunities in working with students with intellectual disabilities. I am currently in Unified PE and have been since sophomore year, where I work with students with intellectual disabilities and assist them in various sports for gym class. Alongside that, I am also currently participating in Centre Stage, an inclusive theatre program that allows me to continue working with these students. Outside of school, I have volunteered in various community service opportunities that allow me to raise advocacy and awareness for people with multiple disabilities such as the YAI Central Park Challenge, the NYC Disability Pride Parade, and volunteering in bake sales, whether it was for the iHOPE Academy in Manhattan or the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Through my outside community service experiences and the programs offered at South Side, I have found a love for working with children and plan to somehow incorporate this in my future as a physician assistant. Another program that has helped me discover my future as a PA is the IB diploma candidate program. While I was hesitant to join the full IB diploma program due to the extra work load it carries (the extended essay, TOK class, and CAS), it has helped me immensely in achieving my goals of helping others and pursuing my career in the future. Through CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service), I have been able to participate in multiple community service opportunities, which while I would have been reluctant to at first if it were not required, these multiple opportunities have allowed me to find my passion for helping others and being involved in different communities, such as Centre Stage. With my writing of my extended essay junior and senior year, as well as the IB Biology HL class that South Side has to offer, I have come to love researching and studying human biology, which I wouldn’t have had the opportunities to take at any other school that didn’t offer the IB program. When I talk to my friends from other schools pursuing a biology major in college, I usually hear it’s because they know a future in becoming a doctor or a nurse can earn a lot of money in the future, but because of the extensive writing I have done in biology in the IB program, I have been able to develop a passion for biology research over time and look forward to pursuing a career where I love the journey of studying biology and the outcome of helping others.