Virginia Jeanette Drummond Kissane Women in STEM Memorial Scholarship

When I turned ten, I was finally old enough to help my dad decorate the house for Christmas, and I loved spreading that joy. At age thirteen, I connected our holiday spirit to charity by starting a fundraiser for Make@Wish, a foundation that supports hospitalized children and provides hope during the holidays, and this has become our annual tradition. Since then, we've set up a photo booth, baked cookies, and handed out hot cocoa while collecting donations through QR codes; in the last five years, I've raised over $8000 for the foundation. Through Make@Wish, Sacred Heart, tutoring, and local food distributions, I've spent 400+ hours giving back to my community. When Covid hit, I learned there was a way to influence change through the world of STEM. Now that I'm older, I want to participate in that impact. During my junior year, AP Biology's challenging content came to me instinctively. I spent hours studying after class because I found the lectures on cancer research fascinating. Through experiments that made E. coli glow in the dark by cross-mixing genetics, learning how GMOs can solve food insecurity, and the comradery that came with solving complex math equations as a team, it was clear that biology was my calling. By studying science, I can find ways to further help children in Make@Wish by advancing medical research. This year in Biotechnology/Bioethics we are studying ethical decision-making in STEM, like using PGD to select genetics for children, and where to draw the line between advancing medicine and playing God. I plan to implement these progressive lenses of morality and equity as I pursue my degree. I want to find ways to allocate resources to communities of color that lack access to proper healthcare and be an inspiration to future generations. My goal to create a diverse, trustworthy, equitable industry of medicine To be a black woman in STEM means I can open doors for people like me, inspire feminism in science culture, and work towards developing research aimed at curing childhood illness. I also want to allocate resources to communities of color without access to proper healthcare. By studying science, I can change people's lives on a broader scale and impact the world. Receiving this scholarship would allow me to attend USC and explore the academic and social opportunities that I have dreamed about since I was young. As the only black woman in my current high school class, I have learned to fight for representation and take advantage of every opportunity provided to me. Spreading awareness of my experience as a black lesbian and educating others throughout my high school journey is how I’ve made myself seen, and I am ready to take on the world with the same mindset. If given the opportunity to receive this scholarship, I will be sure to use it to the fullest extent and uplift women of all ethnicities and sexualities to help them find their true potential in the world of STEM.