Shidarion Clark Tech & Innovation Scholarship

When I think about my future, I see more than just a white coat and a check. I see an impact, I want to heal, lead, and make a change. My goal is to become a cardiac surgeon and improve healthcare access in underserved communities. Specifically in African American communities, where African American patients are more likely to be treated in underfunded or lower resourced hospitals. A disparity like this means that people who need important life saving procedures will never receive them. I want to make a change in that, advocate for equal treatment, provide efficient care, and represent the people who are often missing in the surgical field. I have always been interested in how the heart functions to help us survive. It amazes me how one single organ works diligently to keep us alive, pumping our blood, oxygen, and life throughout our body. I want to understand how it works on an anatomical level, how it beats, what causes it to fail, and ultimately, how it can be healed. For me, the more knowledge I intake, the more fascinated or obsessed I become with the function and structure of the cardiovascular system. I think this is another factor that drives my dream of becoming a cardiac surgeon. I not only want to memorize the parts of the heart, I want to perform procedures that restore its rhythm within the human body. I need to be the hands that bring aid to patients and the person that explains their condition with clarity and compassion. Understanding how the heart works means understanding life, and there’s no greater purpose than using that knowledge to save lives. As a first generation student, making this dream attainable has been a tough journey. There were many times I felt like giving up because I felt like I didn’t have a lot of guidance. In terms of not having a lot of help from my parents, I always felt like I had to figure out everything on my own. For example, how to network for opportunities and make sure everything was lined up for college applications. These circumstances often made me feel like I have a lot of expectations to live up to. I carry my family’s hopes and sacrifices everywhere I go. But every obstacle only makes me more determined to succeed. I learned how to advocate for myself, learn from communities, and stay focused when I feel like I have a lot of weight on my shoulders. Volunteering at VITAS Healthcare and participating in Breakthrough Miami has shown me the value of helping others and the power of education. I know that the journey I’m about to head on will not be easy. But I am ready to meet it with the same durability, curiosity, and heart that made this dream appear in my head. I’ve overcome challenges that could have broken me and made me want to give up, but they have, in return, built me into someone I would have never thought of when I was younger. My goal is bigger than just a name, it’s about how I can impact, represent, and restore hope in communities that have gone unseen for way too long. In due time, I hope to be known not just as a cardiac surgeon but as someone who made a real difference in people’s lives. This path is very important to me. It reflects the things I've been through and everything I believe in.