My decision to pursue a healthcare career, specifically as a nurse practitioner, is rooted in personal experience and a growing academic interest in how healthcare systems and policies shape health equity. Growing up in a low-income household with a single mom battling both breast cancer and a substance use disorder, I witnessed firsthand how unequal access to essential services can alter the course of a person’s life. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, she had to postpone rehab services simply because she could not afford both. Though both types of treatment were technically available, the financial barriers made pursuing them simultaneously impossible. That experience shaped my understanding of healthcare as a system that often treats care as a privilege rather than a basic right. It also fueled my commitment to becoming a provider who can advocate for more accessible, equitable healthcare.
As I continued my education, my interest in healthcare deepened, particularly in understanding its historical development and the persistent disparities that continue to affect underrepresented and marginalized communities. Indigenous peoples, racial minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals have faced exclusion from quality care or have been subjected to unethical medical practices throughout history. Even today, outdated biases still influence patient outcomes. I saw this clearly during an EMT course I took in high school. My instructor shared his old medical books from his collection with me, and while reading them, I was struck by the stereotypes and gender bias embedded in what should have been objective resources. One diagnostic textbook described “Emotional Immaturity: Hysterical Personality” using language that portrayed women as overly emotional, sexual, and manipulative, a clear reflection of outdated views that have shaped patient care for decades. This moment reinforced my understanding that healthcare disparities are not just systemic but are also perpetuated through flawed knowledge and attitudes within the field itself.
These experiences are what drew me to nursing, a profession uniquely positioned to address both individual patient needs and broader systemic challenges. I have seen how nurses consistently serve as advocates for their patients while also contributing to research, education, and policy reform. One of my professors, who served on her state’s board of nursing and helped advance policies protecting trans youth, demonstrated how nursing combines clinical care with leadership and advocacy, qualities I hope to develop throughout my career.
Currently, I am pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a focus on public health. This fall, I will participate in my university’s study abroad program while working toward a minor in international relations. I am especially interested in understanding how other countries manage public health with limited resources and how their strategies can inform more equitable healthcare in the U.S. Additionally, I plan to volunteer in the Dominican Republic through a university-sponsored health initiative. I draw personal inspiration from leaders like Marguerite Barankitse of Maison Shalom in Burundi, whose work exemplifies how compassion and community-driven solutions can transform healthcare for those most in need. In the long term, I hope to pursue graduate education to become a nurse practitioner.
As a woman entering the healthcare field, I am especially committed to advancing research and policies that better reflect the needs of women and underrepresented groups, particularly in areas like mental health and chronic disease management. Through clinical practice, research, and policy advocacy, I want to be part of building a healthcare system that reflects the realities and meets the needs of the diverse communities it serves.
My father died by suicide when I was 5 years old. In the years that followed, I was bullied for that loss, told to get over it, and made to feel different. When my grandmother, with whom I was extremely close after my dad's death, died suddenly and traumatically when I was 13, I struggled with extreme anxiety and feelings of isolation.
I am now motivated by my own experiences as a child who lost her father at a young age. I had trouble finding the right therapeutic supports, as do many of the kids I work with. I volunteered with a young woman whose life I saw transformed by finding the right combination of medications. I was in awe at the positive change in her, and that experience has inspired me to become an adolescent psychiatrist. I’m very interested in the psychology of grief and how it presents in adolescents and young adults. Through my own and my volunteer experience, I've noticed it's especially hard for girls to advocate for their needs in a mental health setting.
I had the unique opportunity to be part of a national team developing a teen-led grief support curriculum. With a team that ranged from a social worker to a med student to three high schoolers, we tested the proposed curriculum. Though we all had a shared bereavement experience, each of us had access to different grief resources and tools that had led us on our own path. As someone who had experienced traumatic and stigmatized loss, I helped the group understand that losses can be perceived very differently and made sure the language and tone of the curriculum reflected that. One example of this was that instead of saying “your loved one,” I encouraged the team to change the wording to “your person who died” in order to acknowledge that stigmatized grievers may have a complicated relationship with the person who died. I also worked to make sure that the curriculum remained accessible to teens with rural backgrounds and fewer educational or socioeconomic resources. The original curriculum assumed that participants would have knowledge and experiences that reflected a privileged background. So, I advocated for language and concept changes that would better serve teens. Because I was included in this space, I was able to bring different perspectives that improve a resource and made it more accessible to an increased number of people.
I have come from a place where I had little hope to a place where I can be a source of hope for other kids and teens with death losses. The systems that exist, especially school systems, are not set up well to support bereaved children, especially young women. This fall I was able to testify before our state legislative committee for families and children about my experiences and what help that I needed that didn't yet exist at the state and local level. I want to fight for others to get the help and supports they need, and I have already started using my voice at a state and national level to do that. I know that this is my life's work--improving the experiences of other children and transforming systems.
