As a child, I was interested in a lot of things, like marine biology and veterinarian science. However, seeing the impact of drugs and pharmaceutical companies led my interest in taking a career in Pharmacy to learn more about how drugs as well as medications impact the human body and mind. I come from a family with a history of drug addiction and this personally fuels me to want to investigate the sciences of drugs. However, before I want to make that impact, I am excited to start with learning the fundamentals of pharmacy, an example of this is understanding how our body reacts differently to Tylenol than to ibuprofen. Another goal of mine is to investigate how can one go from a loving and law-abiding citizen to the complete opposite and try to prevent this. This curiosity has led me to educate myself on the true realities of the drug epidemics that swarm my community and the continuous abuse of prescribed painkillers. For example, one epidemic that I learned more about is the Oxycontin Epidemic. Through my research, I learned about the alikeness between Oxycontin and heroin and how that's why it is so effective has opened the door for my deeper understanding of drugs and exploring ways to drift away from the addictiveness. I want to know how to make them less addictive while still being effective. Also, I learned about how pharmaceutical companies were able to push the drug into the public and directly target people and communities that are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy hits close to home for me and I want to work to make it so other families don't have to deal with the hardship of having addiction. Although I am not at that point yet, I have found other ways to help my community. I have volunteered to help pass out meals and flew to California to give clothes to people living on Skid Row through an organization called "Sistas with Jeeps". Also, I have volunteered through the environmental club at my school. We have picked up trash at a local park, and school, and even built raised garden beds with an Atlanta organization called "Earth Tomorrow". This is why I am excited to learn more about Pharmacy in college. I am excited to further my education at North Carolina Central University where I will study Pharmaceutical Sciences with a dual accelerated bachelor's and master's degree.

As a child, I was interested in a lot of things, like marine biology and veterinarian science. However, seeing the impact of drugs and pharmaceutical companies led my interest in taking a career in Pharmacy to learn more about how drugs as well as medications impact the human body and mind. I come from a family with a history of drug addiction and this personally fuels me to want to investigate the sciences of drugs. However, before I want to make that impact, I am excited to start with learning the fundamentals of pharmacy, an example of this is understanding how our body reacts differently to Tylenol than to ibuprofen. Another goal of mine is to investigate how can one go from a loving and law-abiding citizen to the complete opposite and try to prevent this. This curiosity has led me to educate myself on the true realities of the drug epidemics that swarm my community and the continuous abuse of prescribed painkillers. For example, one epidemic that I learned more about is the Oxycontin Epidemic. Through my research, I learned about the alikeness between Oxycontin and heroin and how that's why it is so effective has opened the door for my deeper understanding of drugs and exploring ways to drift away from the addictiveness. I want to know how to make them less addictive while still being effective. Also, I learned about how pharmaceutical companies were able to push the drug into the public and directly target people and communities that are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy hits close to home for me and I want to work to make it so other families don't have to deal with the hardship of having addiction. Although I am not at that point yet, I have found other ways to help my community. I have volunteered to help pass out meals and flew to California to give clothes to people living on Skid Row through an organization called "Sistas with Jeeps". Also, I have volunteered through the environmental club at my school. We have picked up trash at a local park, and school, and even built raised garden beds with an Atlanta organization called "Earth Tomorrow". This is why I am excited to learn more about Pharmacy in college. I am excited to further my education at North Carolina Central University where I will study Pharmaceutical Sciences with a dual accelerated bachelor's and master's degree.

As a child, I was interested in a lot of things, like marine biology and veterinarian science. However, seeing the impact of drugs and pharmaceutical companies led my interest in taking a career in Pharmacy to learn more about how drugs as well as medications impact the human body and mind. I come from a family with a history of drug addiction and this personally fuels me to want to investigate the sciences of drugs. However, before I want to make that impact, I am excited to start with learning the fundamentals of pharmacy, an example of this is understanding how our body reacts differently to Tylenol than to ibuprofen. Another goal of mine is to investigate how can one go from a loving and law-abiding citizen to the complete opposite and try to prevent this. This curiosity has led me to educate myself on the true realities of the drug epidemics that swarm my community and the continuous abuse of prescribed painkillers. For example, one epidemic that I learned more about is the Oxycontin Epidemic. Through my research, I learned about the alikeness between Oxycontin and heroin and how that's why it is so effective has opened the door for my deeper understanding of drugs and exploring ways to drift away from the addictiveness. I want to know how to make them less addictive while still being effective. Also, I learned about how pharmaceutical companies were able to push the drug into the public and directly target people and communities that are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy hits close to home for me and I want to work to make it so other families don't have to deal with the hardship of having addiction. Although I am not at that point yet, I have found other ways to help my community. I have volunteered to help pass out meals and flew to California to give clothes to people living on Skid Row through an organization called "Sistas with Jeeps". Also, I have volunteered through the environmental club at my school. We have picked up trash at a local park, and school, and even built raised garden beds with an Atlanta organization called "Earth Tomorrow". This is why I am excited to learn more about Pharmacy in college. I am excited to further my education at North Carolina Central University where I will study Pharmaceutical Sciences with a dual accelerated bachelor's and master's degree.

As a child, I was interested in a lot of things, like marine biology and veterinarian science. However, seeing the impact of drugs and pharmaceutical companies led my interest in taking a career in Pharmacy to learn more about how drugs as well as medications impact the human body and mind. I come from a family with a history of drug addiction and this personally fuels me to want to investigate the sciences of drugs. However, before I want to make that impact, I am excited to start with learning the fundamentals of pharmacy, an example of this is understanding how our body reacts differently to Tylenol than to ibuprofen. Another goal of mine is to investigate how can one go from a loving and law-abiding citizen to the complete opposite and try to prevent this. This curiosity has led me to educate myself on the true realities of the drug epidemics that swarm my community and the continuous abuse of prescribed painkillers. For example, one epidemic that I learned more about is the Oxycontin Epidemic. Through my research, I learned about the alikeness between Oxycontin and heroin and how that's why it is so effective has opened the door for my deeper understanding of drugs and exploring ways to drift away from the addictiveness. I want to know how to make them less addictive while still being effective. Also, I learned about how pharmaceutical companies were able to push the drug into the public and directly target people and communities that are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy hits close to home for me and I want to work to make it so other families don't have to deal with the hardship of having addiction. Although I am not at that point yet, I have found other ways to help my community. I have volunteered to help pass out meals and flew to California to give clothes to people living on Skid Row through an organization called "Sistas with Jeeps". Also, I have volunteered through the environmental club at my school. We have picked up trash at a local park, and school, and even built raised garden beds with an Atlanta organization called "Earth Tomorrow". This is why I am excited to learn more about Pharmacy in college. I am excited to further my education at North Carolina Central University where I will study Pharmaceutical Sciences with a dual accelerated bachelor's and master's degree.

As a child, I was interested in a lot of things, like marine biology and veterinarian science. However, seeing the impact of drugs and pharmaceutical companies led my interest in taking a career in Pharmacy to learn more about how drugs as well as medications impact the human body and mind. I come from a family with a history of drug addiction and this personally fuels me to want to investigate the sciences of drugs. However, before I want to make that impact, I am excited to start with learning the fundamentals of pharmacy, an example of this is understanding how our body reacts differently to Tylenol than to ibuprofen. Another goal of mine is to investigate how can one go from a loving and law-abiding citizen to the complete opposite and try to prevent this. This curiosity has led me to educate myself on the true realities of the drug epidemics that swarm my community and the continuous abuse of prescribed painkillers. For example, one epidemic that I learned more about is the Oxycontin Epidemic. Through my research, I learned about the alikeness between Oxycontin and heroin and how that's why it is so effective has opened the door for my deeper understanding of drugs and exploring ways to drift away from the addictiveness. I want to know how to make them less addictive while still being effective. Also, I learned about how pharmaceutical companies were able to push the drug into the public and directly target people and communities that are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy hits close to home for me and I want to work to make it so other families don't have to deal with the hardship of having addiction. Although I am not at that point yet, I have found other ways to help my community. I have volunteered to help pass out meals and flew to California to give clothes to people living on Skid Row through an organization called "Sistas with Jeeps". Also, I have volunteered through the environmental club at my school. We have picked up trash at a local park, and school, and even built raised garden beds with an Atlanta organization called "Earth Tomorrow". This is why I am excited to learn more about Pharmacy in college. I am excited to further my education at North Carolina Central University where I will study Pharmaceutical Sciences with a dual accelerated bachelor's and master's degree.

As a child, I was interested in a lot of things, like marine biology and veterinarian science. However, seeing the impact of drugs and pharmaceutical companies led my interest in taking a career in Pharmacy to learn more about how drugs as well as medications impact the human body and mind. I come from a family with a history of drug addiction and this personally fuels me to want to investigate the sciences of drugs. However, before I want to make that impact, I am excited to start with learning the fundamentals of pharmacy, an example of this is understanding how our body reacts differently to Tylenol than to ibuprofen. Another goal of mine is to investigate how can one go from a loving and law-abiding citizen to the complete opposite and try to prevent this. This curiosity has led me to educate myself on the true realities of the drug epidemics that swarm my community and the continuous abuse of prescribed painkillers. For example, one epidemic that I learned more about is the Oxycontin Epidemic. Through my research, I learned about the alikeness between Oxycontin and heroin and how that's why it is so effective has opened the door for my deeper understanding of drugs and exploring ways to drift away from the addictiveness. I want to know how to make them less addictive while still being effective. Also, I learned about how pharmaceutical companies were able to push the drug into the public and directly target people and communities that are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy hits close to home for me and I want to work to make it so other families don't have to deal with the hardship of having addiction. Although I am not at that point yet, I have found other ways to help my community. I have volunteered to help pass out meals and flew to California to give clothes to people living on Skid Row through an organization called "Sistas with Jeeps". Also, I have volunteered through the environmental club at my school. We have picked up trash at a local park, and school, and even built raised garden beds with an Atlanta organization called "Earth Tomorrow". This is why I am excited to learn more about Pharmacy in college. I am excited to further my education at North Carolina Central University where I will study Pharmaceutical Sciences with a dual accelerated bachelor's and master's degree.

As a child, I was interested in a lot of things, like marine biology and veterinarian science. However, seeing the impact of drugs and pharmaceutical companies led my interest in taking a career in Pharmacy to learn more about how drugs as well as medications impact the human body and mind. I come from a family with a history of drug addiction and this personally fuels me to want to investigate the sciences of drugs. However, before I want to make that impact, I am excited to start with learning the fundamentals of pharmacy, an example of this is understanding how our body reacts differently to Tylenol than to ibuprofen. Another goal of mine is to investigate how can one go from a loving and law-abiding citizen to the complete opposite and try to prevent this. This curiosity has led me to educate myself on the true realities of the drug epidemics that swarm my community and the continuous abuse of prescribed painkillers. For example, one epidemic that I learned more about is the Oxycontin Epidemic. Through my research, I learned about the alikeness between Oxycontin and heroin and how that's why it is so effective has opened the door for my deeper understanding of drugs and exploring ways to drift away from the addictiveness. I want to know how to make them less addictive while still being effective. Also, I learned about how pharmaceutical companies were able to push the drug into the public and directly target people and communities that are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy hits close to home for me and I want to work to make it so other families don't have to deal with the hardship of having addiction. Although I am not at that point yet, I have found other ways to help my community. I have volunteered to help pass out meals and flew to California to give clothes to people living on Skid Row through an organization called "Sistas with Jeeps". Also, I have volunteered through the environmental club at my school. We have picked up trash at a local park, and school, and even built raised garden beds with an Atlanta organization called "Earth Tomorrow". This is why I am excited to learn more about Pharmacy in college. I am excited to further my education at North Carolina Central University where I will study Pharmaceutical Sciences with a dual accelerated bachelor's and master's degree.

As a child, I was interested in a lot of things, like marine biology and veterinarian science. However, seeing the impact of drugs and pharmaceutical companies led my interest in taking a career in Pharmacy to learn more about how drugs as well as medications impact the human body and mind. I come from a family with a history of drug addiction and this personally fuels me to want to investigate the sciences of drugs. However, before I want to make that impact, I am excited to start with learning the fundamentals of pharmacy, an example of this is understanding how our body reacts differently to Tylenol than to ibuprofen. Another goal of mine is to investigate how can one go from a loving and law-abiding citizen to the complete opposite and try to prevent this. This curiosity has led me to educate myself on the true realities of the drug epidemics that swarm my community and the continuous abuse of prescribed painkillers. For example, one epidemic that I learned more about is the Oxycontin Epidemic. Through my research, I learned about the alikeness between Oxycontin and heroin and how that's why it is so effective has opened the door for my deeper understanding of drugs and exploring ways to drift away from the addictiveness. I want to know how to make them less addictive while still being effective. Also, I learned about how pharmaceutical companies were able to push the drug into the public and directly target people and communities that are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy hits close to home for me and I want to work to make it so other families don't have to deal with the hardship of having addiction. Although I am not at that point yet, I have found other ways to help my community. I have volunteered to help pass out meals and flew to California to give clothes to people living on Skid Row through an organization called "Sistas with Jeeps". Also, I have volunteered through the environmental club at my school. We have picked up trash at a local park, and school, and even built raised garden beds with an Atlanta organization called "Earth Tomorrow". This is why I am excited to learn more about Pharmacy in college. I am excited to further my education at North Carolina Central University where I will study Pharmaceutical Sciences with a dual accelerated bachelor's and master's degree.

My parents divorced when I was young. At first, I didn't understand what was happening, so it didn't have much effect on me. However, as I grew older and more aware, I witnessed the true effects of living with a single mother. After the divorce, we moved to her hometown and lived with my grandma. This didn't damage my mom's morale, as she was constantly job and house-searching because she wanted to move us into a better place. A couple of years passed, and she achieved this goal. When we moved, she went back to school to get her master's and landed a good job. I was still young and unaware of our situation, but I now know that during this time she had to do side hustles along with asking my dad for support in funding activities like dance classes, gymnastics, and others. Despite these difficulties, my mom always put on a smile. One thing my mom taught me was to know my worth. My mom and I are very close with each other, so she tells me why her relationships don't work out. One common theme was that they didn't like her outspokenness. Of course she wasn't going to change herself for a man, and knowing that they don't respect her, she won't hesitate to leave. Another thing was that she didn't settle for less. If she doesn't like something, she will let the person know, and if the person doesn't change, she won't talk to the person anymore. She's not the one to go back and forth with someone, as she's not going to waste her time on nonsense. Even if she's right, she will agree to disagree. Seeing the way she holds herself engraved the confidence I have today. In school, if someone asks for criticism, I don't hold my tongue. One thing that people say about my personality is that I'm straightforward. Though many say this is a bad thing, I don't change myself to "fit in" because this is who I am, and I'm not going to adjust it to make you feel comfortable. The way that my mom carries herself inspires me to have high self-dignity and to be proud of who I am. Another way that my mom shaped me was to be grateful for opportunities. Every summer, she kept me busy. Whether that is flying to see family or going to summer camps. She could've easily just let me stay at home, but she researched camps that would broaden my career interests and called family to see if I could spend time with them. After everything, I always thank her because of the amount of money and work it takes her to ensure that I have a good summer. Whenever someone gives me an opportunity or does something for me, I truly mean it when I say "thank you," because they don't owe me anything but they still go out of their way to help me. Now that I'm older, I don't let what my mom says to me go into one ear and out the other. I take her advice, and I make myself a better person. Her constant encouragement reminds me that the sky's not the limit and that I can always go higher. I understand the sacrifices that she's made for me, and I am forever grateful that she’s my mom.

In my junior year of high school, I decided to study abroad in Italy. At 15, leaving my mom and going to live on a completely different continent was something that nobody would have expected. I wanted to go to Italy to try something new, to learn about a culture that's different from mine, and to completely immerse myself in a new way of living. Finally, in the days leading up to my departure, I packed my life for the next nine months in two suitcases and savored the last moments in my house. When I first arrived in Italy, my Italian was an absolute beginner. This would soon prove to be an obstacle in school. The first few days of school, I couldn't understand what was being taught and had to constantly ask for help. When students came to talk to me, all I could do was smile and nod, hoping that it was an appropriate reaction, or turn to my classmates for the translation. My classmates saw it as no problem when it came to helping me; however, I felt as though I would eventually become bothersome. This motivated me to become proficient in Italian. I didn't want to be as dependent on others, so as time went on, I went from only being able to smile and nod confusingly to being able to laugh and fully express myself with my friends. I have always been a star student. All A’s, passing tests, and things coming easy to me were what I was used to. However, this year would be different. No matter how much I studied, I couldn't pass tests for French. I didn't speak a word of French, and it just so happened to be my luck that my French teacher explained mainly in French. Going through the exercises in class, I grew disappointed whenever I would get a question wrong. So when I had to study for a test, I dedicated the week before to doing whatever I needed to pass. Even after all the studying, I always felt unconfident about how I did. With all the studying, seeing the failing grade made me feel defeated. With the cycle of constantly getting answers wrong in class and failing tests, my confidence diminished. Despite this pessimistic attitude, I had to persevere. I couldn't let these failures get in the way of my success. I soon gained confidence when I started getting answers right and when my teacher took notice of my improvements. With patience, French became easier, and I would start to pass my tests. This experience showed me my full potential with the challenges that I overcame. The independence that I developed impacts me today because I know that what I want or need others to do, I can do for myself. Of course, I still ask for help, but I'm not dependent on others for answers because I know that I can solve it myself. Also, the independence from being away from my mom has caused me to have more trust in myself in making responsible decisions and that I don't need her to hold my hand every step of the way. From the failures that I persevered through, I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and to not stress over things that I can't get on the first try because, with time and hard work, I will get them. My exchange has shaped me into being more confident in myself and my abilities and I wouldn't have wanted it to have gone any different.