Star Farm Scholarship for LGBTQ+ Students

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, this scholarship will help me pursue my educational goal of becoming a biomedical engineer. Engineering as a male-dominated field has some downsides to it. For example, the Harvard Business Review conducted a survey that resulted in the finding that 40% of female engineering students do not finish their degree because of the "masculine culture" of engineering itself. (Silbey, 2016). As a gay woman, I feel that these experiences of being treated differently would pertain to me especially. I would love to be able to one day give back to the community that has accepted me with such open arms. When I went to my first pride parade, I was 16 years old. I went with my best friend, who is also gay, and who ultimately convinced me to go to this event. I was absolutely terrified. I had come out not a month ago, and here I was at this enormous festival celebrating what I am, but was too scared to admit to being a mere four weeks ago. We stopped at a tent on the corner of the street run by a few older women whom all had rainbow ribbons feathers in their hair and clothes. Perhaps I looked nervous, because the leader of the tent took me from my friend for a moment, and asked me why I was there. I responded that I was there for my friend because he had asked me to accompany him. She turned me around to reveal my orange, white, and pink pride flag sewn into the back of my jean jacket and took my hands in hers. She told me, "It does not matter who you love, it does not matter who hates you for it, and it does not matter what anyone else has to say about it. You are welcome here. Do not feel ashamed to be something that you did not choose. Have pride.". Her words ring in my head often. Being able to get through college would be an amazing achievement because I would be studying exactly what I love and doing it for the community that loved me without hesitation. In the future, I plan to work to improve the mechanics and processes of gender-affirming surgery. I want to work with teens and young adults to truly expand the research being done on these types of surgeries, and discover how we can make it safer and better. Transgender people deserve to feel seen and understood, and that should reflect in the quality of affirming surgery they receive. I truly believe this to be my ultimate goal in life, and even if my efforts make one person's surgery slightly less painful, the results slightly more euphoric, or the recovery slightly less time, I will have considered my ultimate goal complete. I cannot thank you enough for your consideration. I truly am grateful that there are people in this world that are so generous as to set aside funds for people who identify as LGBTQ+ to study. I cannot wait to be able to help my community and to see the smiles that I indirectly helped create. References: Silbey, S. (2016). Why Do So Many Women Who Study Engineering Leave the Field?. Harvard Business Law. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://hbr.org/2016/08/why-do-so-many-women-who-study-engineering-leave-the-field

My aspirations to become a physician, coupled with my desire to address the medical needs of LGBTQ+ community and surgical needs of trans people, have been the driving force behind my ongoing pursuit of academic excellence. My work in this regard has proven successful as I recently learned of earning Valedictorian status of my senior class; a feat that entailed significant effort and diligence to achieve. My commitment to these academic endeavors has been unwavering with the purposeful intent of preparing me for the rigors of the extremely competitive BS/MD dual degree program I will begin in Fall 2023. My interest in becoming a physician was sparked by many circumstances that occurred during my upbringing, and later fueled by the events that unfolded after socially coming out as a transgender male in the 8th grade. My proclamation at a young age was followed by an oftentimes painstaking journey that ultimately led me, years later, to gender affirming surgery; an event that cast light on the paucity of available resources in my area. That artistic surgery led to an epiphany; I could meld my passion for art and serving the LGBTQ+ community, with my interest in medicine into a career in reconstructive surgery for those with gender dysphoria. While I have endured a multitude of the struggles experienced by many members of the trans community, I am a firm believer that my successful perseverance of these obstacles, both in the past and those likely to occur in my future, will prove integral in helping me become a successful surgeon who is steadfast in promoting social justice, and dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to the personal experiences th