Karen Randall McClain Memorial Scholarship

My future goal in life is to help change the healthcare system. What drives my academic interests is a deep curiosity about the "why" behind human behavior and the systems we build around it. After I graduate from Howard University with my degree in clinical laboratory science, I plan to come back to Pittsburgh and work for UPMC which is a major healthcare system in the United States. My dream is to be able to work in the hospital lab to be able to help patients and see what's going on with their health. A big question I always think about is " How can we create systems that are more equitable, sustainable, and compassionate? " As a scientist, I want to figure out cures for diseases and creating equality in healthcare. A scientist superpower is to solve worldwide health issues by making experiments and provide data for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases. Being Black and trying to work in big industries like healthcare is hard because there is not a lot of representation. This natural inclination has fueled my passion for clinical laboratory science major. Only 9.5% of African Americans make up in this career. I want to be a part of that percent and take back what I achieve to show younger black people in my community that no matter the adversities or barriers against us, we have to fight hard for our respect and position in all work fields including healthcare. Healthcare in general for black people is not fair because of lack of resources with Medicaid, lack of trust or support with doctors and therapist, and still the racism against black people. I feel that's why a lot of black people don't take their mental and physical health seriously because the barriers they face with healthcare. That's why I am passionate for healthcare to be more equality for everyone. Choosing to attend an HBCU became my interest when I went on a HBCU tour back in eleventh grade. Traveling to different HBCUs and seeing the atmosphere, walking on all the different campuses and seeing the fraternities and sororities sister/brother hood was something I wanted to be a part of. I chose the illustrious Howard University as the HBCU I wanted to attend because of the unity, culture, and legacy. So many amazing black people have graduated from Howard like Chadwick Bossman, Taraji P. Henson, Phylicia Rashad and so many more educated Black people. My big thing for picking which college environment I wanted to be surrounded by when deciding between PWI's or HBCU's was my safety and feeling like I belong. HBCUs give a space of belonging and being around all kinds of black, melanated people from all over the world and being able to relate to the same struggles is what brings unity, community, and culture to HBCUs. I also was big on being able to join a sorority and being able to start my own legacy since nobody in my family is a part of any sorority or fraternity. Not a lot of my family went to a HBCU for college either. Howard also had a great allied health program for my major since a lot of colleges I was looking into didn't have my specific major. To be able to go to my dream HBCU will help me accomplish my dream goals in so many ways. Saying I go to Howard opens some many doors for me and great conversations about my experience and the "why" behind my interest in my major since nobody really understands what major is.