Black students in STEM are very rare. For most of my middle and high school years, I discouraged myself from pursuing STEM in college. The main reason was that I did not see many people like me in this field. Representation is extremely important. It is hard to maintain motivation when you feel as though you have no support. My passion for STEM comes from not wanting the future generation of black men and women to be discouraged, as I was, and also from my love of medicine. I want to be a part of the generation that makes a change. Black people in STEM are very rare for many reasons. We are not able to receive funding for higher-level education, not having good role models, and much more. I want future generations to never be afraid of pursuing what they believe in. A major influencer of this is having people around to encourage you. I hope to be a black woman in STEM that encourages other black women and men to be a part of this. I am passionate about making a difference in the diversity of the STEM field. I want to use my science degree to create more opportunities and provide funding for students like me. Studying for a degree is hard enough but studying a field where you are underrepresented is much harder. The need to be equally as good, if not better, than our white peers while also not having as many opportunities as them is something black students face every day. This is exactly why I'm passionate about STEM. I want to be a hands-on part of the reason the racial gap in this field is closed. One day I hope to reach a point in my career where I am able to give scholarships to minorities in STEM, provide them with tutoring, and many other opportunities. My other passion for STEM comes from my love of the human body. I am currently a freshman Biology major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I am on the pre-medicine track with hopes of becoming a Pediatrician. I have always loved the medical field. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a doctor. I love learning about how the body works. The way all of our organs work together, the way we make energy and so much more. This love is not limited to only humans but the way all living organisms work together to make our world function. Science has always been one of my favorite subjects growing up, especially biology, which is why I knew the STEM field was right for me. The way that this field is constantly changing and something new is being discovered fascinates me.

I am currently a freshman at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). I have always been very passionate about making an impact in the world. This is why I am a biology major on the pre-medicine track to become a pediatrician. I have volunteered doing a wide range of activities to make a difference. I've done beach and community clean-ups, food drives, assisted at nursing homes and much more. My volunteer work at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida, is what pushed me to choose a career in medicine. I loved being able to work with the patients and the staff. After doing some research and taking my experiences into account, I realized that I wanted to be specialize in pediatrics. My ultimate goal in life is to become a pediatrician and own a private practice. I do have a long ways to go until then, so my current goals is to graduate with my Bachelors of Science in Biology with a minor in Psychology. After recieving my bachelors, I plan on recieving my Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). I am hoping to recieve my medical degree from an Ivy League school but my fall back medical schools are UAB or University of Florida. My intermediate goals include making A's or B's in all of my courses, recieving Presidential Honors and being at the top of my class. The biggest obstacle I've faced in my life was losing my father in March of 2020. My dad was my best friend and losing him took a huge toll on my life. Due to his passing, as the pandemic began, we were not able to have a proper funeral for him and this heavily affected my ability to process his death. I had lost all motivation to continue my education and I honestly did not want to be in this world anymore. One day I woke up and realized that this is not what he would have wanted for me. As with any parent, he wanted me to be better than he was. He wanted me to graduate high school, go to college and become the amazing doctor he knew I could be. These thoughts helped pull me out of the depressive state that I was in and pushed me to keep moving forward. This experience taught me that I am much stronger than I think. I could have let the grief stop me from finishing school or going to college but I didn't. I miss my father every single day and I cry about it often, but every day I wake up ready to achieve my dreams. The most important lesson I learned was that it is okay to take a step back and prioritize your mental health while also pursuing your goals. I've come to realize that it does not matter how long it takes, as long as you get there. Some days are better than others, but in the end, I know that I will be everything I want to be in life. When I'm feeling down, I always remind myself how far I've come.