Before coming to Xavier, I was unaware of what field I wanted to pursue. I was interested in being a doctor, but I never found the foundations of biology—meiosis, mitosis, etc.— interesting. Oddly enough, being a doctor was never taken off the table, as I felt compelled to be interested in obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology, and oncology. Since being a student at Xavier, I have fallen in love with research, particularly virology, genetic engineering, and chemical applications. These three areas of concentration fascinate me because they are combinations of what I love and am passionate about: pathology, math, pharmacology, and engineering. I developed my passion for pathology through my experience in microbiology lecture and microbiology lab. I never realized how far research has come, knowing exactly how viruses produce their progeny and overtake their hosts’ cells. I also never realized how much research has fallen short, lacking the ability to find cures for tricky viruses such as HIV and HSV. The latter fascinated me. My love for engineering and pharmacology evolved as I was enrolled in an XCOR class about the philosophy of pharmacy. During that time, I learned that “Big Pharma” has a terrible reputation due to its lack of consistency in the medication its employees manufacture, approve, and distribute. The efficacy of some medication is questionable at best, with some of them not working adequately and others being counterproductive. Taking that class made me realize that I could be of much better use to my community as a manufacturer or engineer of medicine than a distributor of medicine—a doctor. Although elated about my newfound interest, I did not gain any experience in these fields until this past summer. This past summer, I worked as a clerical specialist in the Sexual Health Clinic at the Shelby County Health Department. Those eight weeks seemed to be some of the longest, most strenuous weeks of my life. Unlike medical doctors, I lacked the ability to not get too attached to patients. This inability had a negative effect on my mental health, as I would think about these patients and their situations and lose sleep. Due to these negative effects and the aforementioned realization about distributing medicine, being a doctor was no longer an option. I concurred that I would be most productive and efficient in a laboratory, where I can help my community indirectly. Toward the end of the internship, my focus shifted to my capstone project. While doing research, I encountered too many statistics about Memphis, my hometown, having some of the highest STD rates in the world and how most of these numbers were composed of African Americans. Because of my experience this summer and prior personal experiences, I have decided that I want to dedicate my career to chemical engineering in the public health sector, curing sexually transmitted diseases, ensuring that sexual health services are available to the community that I will serve, and making vaccines that are effective and safe for the community.