I always struggled academically during most of elementary school. Fighting through this, I somehow always managed to bring my grades up towards the end of every school year. My parents and teachers believed my academic struggles resulted from being one of the youngest students in my grade. I was big for my age, physically, so I fit in perfectly in the group. However, academically and emotionally, I did not. I was not able to keep up with the other students and my grades and achievements were below that of my peers. The judgment by my peers was quick and harsh as former classmates would tease me and called me stupid. By this point, my mother believed there might be another reason for my academic situation. After many doctor consultations, I was diagnosed with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The diagnosis was a turning point in my life. The following few years were challenging. My flareups and ADD interfered with my ability to concentrate in school. My grades manifested the challenges I was enduring. With the diagnosis and over time, doctors were able to get my PANDAS and ADD under control and my grades began to improve. PANDAS is a pediatric disorder often outgrown as you age, which I did. I have maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout school, including 60 dual enrollment credits. One of my most proud accomplishments is being a 17-year-old senior in high school in the top 2% of my class. In addition, I work part-time at the local community college’s Academic Support Lab tutoring college students in math and chemistries. Through my experience with PANDAS and ADD, I have learned that I can persevere through a difficult situation and accomplish any goal I set out to achieve.

For as long as I can remember, my main career goal has been to become a medical doctor specializing in Orthopedic Surgery. This type of surgeon helps people with joint and skeletal problems. As our ever-increasing population ages, more and more people need replacement joints. With a background in biomedical engineering, I will use engineering to improve medical devices. Implanted devices are not always designed to last a person for the rest of their lives and often must be replaced in less than a decade. An example of this type of shortcomings are most artificial hip replacement joints in heavier patients. They usually start to fail soon after the patients are finally fully healed from the procedure. My goal is to be at the forefront of this field, forging new tools, techniques, and devices to help my patients by leveraging my engineering background to improve their outcomes. This career has been my goal for a long time. However, the world's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened my desire to be in the health sciences. The pandemic has highlighted some of the shortfalls in our systems. I believe in the principle of helping by doing and becoming a doctor will place me in a position to help my community. Orthopedic surgeons are not the first doctors that come to mind when one thinks about the pandemic response. Hospitals were stressed to the point where it was all hands on deck. Even surgeons were called upon to help in the emergency rooms. When my community needs my help, I want to be in a position to contribute my skills to help us move forward.