I grew up in a typical thriving Midwest community where everyone knows everyone. Overall a great community but I never felt like I belonged. My single mother and I lived in a duplex and did not drive the latest most expensive car. Although I never missed out on anything, my home life was one where most of the suburban kids looked down their noses in displeasure. In my current school, I was the minority and reminded of my melanin often. From “free the poof” comments when I would wear my natural hair, to the black truck that sat in the parking lot with racial slurs etched into the dirt for all to see. The decision was made, I desired to surround myself with people that understood me culturally, I was excited for the new journey and looked forward to a new challenge. Day one was stressful, as I had to return to the office multiple times for schedule changes. While waiting for the third correction, I found myself in the bathroom stall, alone, discouraged and crying. I called my mother and without missing a beat she answered, eager to see how my day was going. She quickly realized that I was upset, and jumped into mother mode to assist me in fixing the complications. After her typical motivational mommy speech and prayer, I felt a weight lift. Six months later, I'm thriving. I made captain of the varsity basketball team, I'm ranked in the top 10 of my class, my cumulative grade point average is unwavering and I'm going to the top medical HBCU when I graduate in 2022. Making the decision to leave my comfort zone was difficult but a necessary personal choice. I feel seen, heard and finally feel like I belong

The American healthcare industry lacks diversity in every capacity, from certified nursing assistants, to nurses and therapists to Doctors of Medicine. As of 2020, forty percent of healthcare workers were people of color with sixteen percent being black and five percent physicians. It is imperative that people of color are available to advocate for our race particularly because the medical history in America has not always been fair towards people of color. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks to James Marion Sims unfair and unethical practices have been performed against people of color's consent. The ideology that people of color have a higher pain tolerance and therefore require less pain medication when in distress paired with unethical physicians lead to progress in healthcare but not without violating the oath to do no harm. As a young black woman, I pride myself on my personal values that respect and honor others regardless if it aligns with personal beliefs. My goal in life is to become an anesthesiologist so I can advocate and fairly assist all people during their medical journey. I don't just want to work in healthcare, I want to inspire change and advocate for patients across this nation, particularly my own community.

I grew up in a typical thriving Midwest community where everyone knew everyone. Overall a great community but I never felt like I belonged. My mom was a single, yet very hard working parent. We lived in a duplex and did not drive the latest, most expensive car but I never missed out on anything. Despite knowing my childhood has been great, my life was looked at with displeasure by most of the suburban kids. Overcoming adversity is something that I learned early in life. From growing up in a single parent home,to dealing with racial injustices within my family. Life has taught me anything is possible when you remain positive, determined and have faith that your current situation does not mean it will go unchanged. My favorite way to help others is to be the person that I wish I had growing up for them. Growing up, it was only me, my mother, and my dog, but no siblings. While me and my mother had a very close relationship, I didn't particularly want to go to her about everything. I longed for a sibling type of relationship. Someone my age who I could laugh and hang out with. Someone who understood, could relate, give advice and not lecture or give me the most rational answer. In conclusion, everyone needs at least one person in their life that they know they can always talk to no matter the terms or distance.

Joy is defined in numerous ways and is considered a feeling that every individual seeks in life but I consider it to be a place of consistent peace that comes from within my being. I believe it's easy to find joy from money, romance, faith, family and other earthly satisfactions, however the ultimate joy that I seek resides in my faith in Jesus Christ. My mother tells the story of how she prayed over her belly while pregnant with me. As cliche as it sounds, my mother said that she felt this undeniable feeling that I would be born into this world and God would use me to touch many people. Thus being said, I was born into a very religious family whose faith in God is a major pillar in the lineage. By the ripe age of 3, I routinely said my grace with my family during dinner time, could recite multiple scriptures and prayed constantly. The discipline that my mother instilled in me at an early age set a foundation and was the beginning of my walk with Christ. At the age of 15, I made the choice to get baptized. Despite receiving dedication and christening at birth my family felt it was important for me to make the educated choice to accept Christ. The day of my baptism, I experienced an indescribable feeling. It was as if everything traumatic in my life no longer existed. The failures of this world that previously held me hostage no longer had me in bondage. It was that day that I knew without doubt that my joy comes from my faith in Christ. Although my earthly family, entertainment, and sports bring me joy, I have never experienced an overwhelming joyous feeling like I did on the day I was baptized.

Many people enter into your life and inspire you through their own personal experiences. Knowing that your inner circle is important, I was taught to surround myself with individuals that have a positive outlook on life and are motivated to set and complete goals. My inspiration in life has always been my mother. She gave birth to me at the tender age of 22, put herself through licensed practical nursing school when I was five and later on completed her own lifetime goal of becoming a registered nurse. She completed her goal as a single mom to an athlete, while working a full time job and through a global pandemic. During my eighth grade year, my mother had a cyst on her coccyx which required surgical intervention. Ten days post-operative, she fell and ruptured one hundred and sixty internal and external sutures. Unfortunately, once dehiscence occurred, she was unable to return to the operating room and was left with a large surgical wound that required bandage changing twice a day while on bed rest. I was trained by her Director of Nurses to change her bandages using a sterile procedure. This was important to minimize the risk of infection in her wound. In the beginning, I did not like the idea of changing the dressing because it caused my mother a lot of pain and it was a terrible sight to see. After sixteen weeks of routine care, I successfully healed the wound. Since then, my goal has been to become a Doctor and help others. My passion for medicine grew as I watched my mothers healing process. She taught me about proper hand washing, careful placement of the medicine into her wound and why the doctor selected that particular medicine over the other options. I was intrigued by the anatomy and physiology of the human body, igniting my passion to look into a career in healthcare. I don't just want to work in healthcare, I want to inspire change and advocate for patients across this nation, particularly my own community. The American healthcare industry lacks diversity in every capacity, from certified nursing assistants, to nurses and therapists to Doctors of Medicine. As of 2020, forty percent of healthcare workers were people of color with sixteen percent being black and five percent physicians. It is imperative that people of color are available to advocate for our race particularly because the medical history in America has not always been fair towards people of color. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks to James Marion Sims unfair and unethical practices have been performed against people of color's consent. The ideology that people of color have a higher pain tolerance and therefore require less pain medication when in distress paired with unethical physicians lead to progress in healthcare but not without violating the oath to do no harm. As a young black woman, I pride myself on my personal values that respect and honor others regardless if it aligns with personal beliefs. My goal in life is to become an anesthesiologist so I can advocate and fairly assist all people during their medical journeys.

Many people enter into your life and inspire you through their own personal experiences. Knowing that your inner circle is important, I was taught to surround myself with individuals that have a positive outlook on life and are motivated to set and complete goals. My inspiration in life has always been my mother. She gave birth to me at the tender age of 22, put herself through licensed practical nursing school when I was five and later on completed her own lifetime goal of becoming a registered nurse. She completed her goal as a single mom to an athlete, while working a full time job and through a global pandemic. During my eighth grade year, my mother had a cyst on her coccyx which required surgical intervention. Ten days post-operative, she fell and ruptured one hundred and sixty internal and external sutures. Unfortunately, once dehiscence occurred, she was unable to return to the operating room and was left with a large surgical wound that required bandage changing twice a day while on bed rest. I was trained by her Director of Nurses to change her bandages using a sterile procedure. This was important to minimize the risk of infection in her wound. In the beginning, I did not like the idea of changing the dressing because it caused my mother a lot of pain and it was a terrible sight to see. After sixteen weeks of routine care, I successfully healed the wound. Since then, my goal has been to become a Doctor and help others. My passion for medicine grew as I watched my mothers healing process. She taught me about proper hand washing, careful placement of the medicine into her wound and why the doctor selected that particular medicine over the other options. I was intrigued by the anatomy and physiology of the human body, igniting my passion to look into a career in healthcare. I don't just want to work in healthcare, I want to inspire change and advocate for patients across this nation, particularly my own community. The American healthcare industry lacks diversity in every capacity, from certified nursing assistants, to nurses and therapists to Doctors of Medicine. As of 2020, forty percent of healthcare workers were people of color with sixteen percent being black and five percent physicians. It is imperative that people of color are available to advocate for our race particularly because the medical history in America has not always been fair towards people of color. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks to James Marion Sims unfair and unethical practices have been performed against people of color's consent. The ideology that people of color have a higher pain tolerance and therefore require less pain medication when in distress paired with unethical physicians lead to progress in healthcare but not without violating the oath to do no harm. As a young black woman, I pride myself on my personal values that respect and honor others regardless if it aligns with personal beliefs. My goal in life is to become an anesthesiologist so I can advocate and fairly assist all people during their medical journeys.

Many people enter into your life and inspire you through their own personal experiences. Knowing that your inner circle is important, I was taught to surround myself with individuals that have a positive outlook on life and are motivated to set and complete goals. My inspiration in life has always been my mother. She gave birth to me at the tender age of 22, put herself through licensed practical nursing school when I was five and later on completed her own lifetime goal of becoming a registered nurse. She completed her goal as a single mom to an athlete, while working a full time job and through a global pandemic. During my eighth grade year, my mother had a cyst on her coccyx which required surgical intervention. Ten days post-operative, she fell and ruptured one hundred and sixty internal and external sutures. Unfortunately, once dehiscence occurred, she was unable to return to the operating room and was left with a large surgical wound that required bandage changing twice a day while on bed rest. I was trained by her Director of Nurses to change her bandages using a sterile procedure. This was important to minimize the risk of infection in her wound. In the beginning, I did not like the idea of changing the dressing because it caused my mother a lot of pain and it was a terrible sight to see. After sixteen weeks of routine care, I successfully healed the wound. Since then, my goal has been to become a Doctor and help others. My passion for medicine grew as I watched my mothers healing process. She taught me about proper hand washing, careful placement of the medicine into her wound and why the doctor selected that particular medicine over the other options. I was intrigued by the anatomy and physiology of the human body, igniting my passion to look into a career in healthcare. I don't just want to work in healthcare, I want to inspire change and advocate for patients across this nation, particularly my own community. The American healthcare industry lacks diversity in every capacity, from certified nursing assistants, to nurses and therapists to Doctors of Medicine. As of 2020, forty percent of healthcare workers were people of color with sixteen percent being black and five percent physicians. It is imperative that people of color are available to advocate for our race particularly because the medical history in America has not always been fair towards people of color. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks to James Marion Sims unfair and unethical practices have been performed against people of color's consent. The ideology that people of color have a higher pain tolerance and therefore require less pain medication when in distress paired with unethical physicians lead to progress in healthcare but not without violating the oath to do no harm. As a young black woman, I pride myself on my personal values that respect and honor others regardless if it aligns with personal beliefs. My goal in life is to become an anesthesiologist so I can advocate and fairly assist all people during their medical journeys

During my eighth grade year, my mother had a cyst on her coccyx which required surgical intervention. Ten days post-operative, she fell and ruptured one hundred and sixty internal and external sutures. Unfortunately, once dehiscence occurred, she was unable to return to the operating room and was left with a large surgical wound that required bandage changing twice a day while on bed rest. I was trained by her Director of Nurses to change her bandages using a sterile procedure. This was important to minimize the risk of infection in her wound. In the beginning, I did not like the idea of changing the dressing because it caused my mother a lot of pain and it was a terrible sight to see. After sixteen weeks of routine care, I successfully healed the wound. Since then, my goal has been to become a Doctor and help others. My passion for medicine grew as I watched my mothers healing process. She taught me about proper hand washing, careful placement of the medicine into her wound and why the doctor selected that particular medicine over the other options. I was intrigued by the anatomy and physiology of the human body, igniting my passion to look into a career in healthcare. I don't just want to work in healthcare, I want to inspire change and advocate for patients across this nation, particularly my own community. The American healthcare industry lacks diversity in every capacity, from certified nursing assistants, to nurses and therapists to Doctors of Medicine. As of 2020, forty percent of healthcare workers were people of color with sixteen percent being black and five percent physicians. It is imperative that people of color are available to advocate for our race particularly because the medical history in America has not always been fair towards people of color. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks to James Marion Sims unfair and unethical practices have been performed against people of color's consent. The ideology that people of color have a higher pain tolerance and therefore require less pain medication when in distress paired with unethical physicians lead to progress in healthcare but not without violating the oath to do no harm. As a young black woman, I pride myself on my personal values that respect and honor others regardless if it aligns with personal beliefs. My goal in life is to become an anesthesiologist so I can advocate and fairly assist all people during their medical journeys.

Many people enter into your life and inspire you through their own personal experiences. Knowing that your inner circle is important, I was taught to surround myself with individuals that have a positive outlook on life and are motivated to set and complete goals. My inspiration in life has always been my mother. She gave birth to me at the tender age of 22, put herself through licensed practical nursing school when I was five and later on completed her own lifetime goal of becoming a registered nurse. She completed her goal as a single mom to an athlete, while working a full time job and through a global pandemic. During my eighth grade year, my mother had a cyst on her coccyx which required surgical intervention. Ten days post-operative, she fell and ruptured one hundred and sixty internal and external sutures. Unfortunately, once dehiscence occurred, she was unable to return to the operating room and was left with a large surgical wound that required bandage changing twice a day while on bed rest. I was trained by her Director of Nurses to change her bandages using a sterile procedure. This was important to minimize the risk of infection in her wound. In the beginning, I did not like the idea of changing the dressing because it caused my mother a lot of pain and it was a terrible sight to see. After sixteen weeks of routine care, I successfully healed the wound. Since then, my goal has been to become a Doctor and help others. My passion for medicine grew as I watched my mothers healing process. She taught me about proper hand washing, careful placement of the medicine into her wound and why the doctor selected that particular medicine over the other options. I was intrigued by the anatomy and physiology of the human body, igniting my passion to look into a career in healthcare. I don't just want to work in healthcare, I want to inspire change and advocate for patients across this nation, particularly my own community. The American healthcare industry lacks diversity in every capacity, from certified nursing assistants, to nurses and therapists to Doctors of Medicine. As of 2020, forty percent of healthcare workers were people of color with sixteen percent being black and five percent physicians. It is imperative that people of color are available to advocate for our race particularly because the medical history in America has not always been fair towards people of color. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks to James Marion Sims unfair and unethical practices have been performed against people of color's consent. The ideology that people of color have a higher pain tolerance and therefore require less pain medication when in distress paired with unethical physicians lead to progress in healthcare but not without violating the oath to do no harm. As a young black woman, I pride myself on my personal values that respect and honor others regardless if it aligns with personal beliefs. My goal in life is to become an anesthesiologist so I can advocate and fairly assist all people during their medical journeys.

Many people enter into your life and inspire you through their own personal experiences. Knowing that your inner circle is important, I was taught to surround myself with individuals that have a positive outlook on life and are motivated to set and complete goals. My inspiration in life has always been my mother. She gave birth to me at the tender age of 22, put herself through licensed practical nursing school when I was five and later on completed her own lifetime goal of becoming a registered nurse. She completed her goal as a single mom to an athlete, while working a full time job and through a global pandemic. During my eighth grade year, my mother had a cyst on her coccyx which required surgical intervention. Ten days post-operative, she fell and ruptured one hundred and sixty internal and external sutures. Unfortunately, once dehiscence occurred, she was unable to return to the operating room and was left with a large surgical wound that required bandage changing twice a day while on bed rest. I was trained by her Director of Nurses to change her bandages using a sterile procedure. This was important to minimize the risk of infection in her wound. In the beginning, I did not like the idea of changing the dressing because it caused my mother a lot of pain and it was a terrible sight to see. After sixteen weeks of routine care, I successfully healed the wound. Since then, my goal has been to become a Doctor and help others. My passion for medicine grew as I watched my mothers healing process. She taught me about proper hand washing, careful placement of the medicine into her wound and why the doctor selected that particular medicine over the other options. I was intrigued by the anatomy and physiology of the human body, igniting my passion to look into a career in healthcare. I don't just want to work in healthcare, I want to inspire change and advocate for patients across this nation, particularly my own community. The American healthcare industry lacks diversity in every capacity, from certified nursing assistants, to nurses and therapists to Doctors of Medicine. As of 2020, forty percent of healthcare workers were people of color with sixteen percent being black and five percent physicians. It is imperative that people of color are available to advocate for our race particularly because the medical history in America has not always been fair towards people of color. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks to James Marion Sims unfair and unethical practices have been performed against people of color's consent. The ideology that people of color have a higher pain tolerance and therefore require less pain medication when in distress paired with unethical physicians lead to progress in healthcare but not without violating the oath to do no harm. As a young black woman, I pride myself on my personal values that respect and honor others regardless if it aligns with personal beliefs. My goal in life is to become an anesthesiologist so I can advocate and fairly assist all people during their medical journeys.

“Basketball is life”, is a phrase that we see everywhere, but for me it's not just a statement. It is my essence, my mantra, my way of life. I was introduced to basketball in second grade, and began to indulge in it in sixth grade. The more that I played, the more I yearned for it. As cliche as it sounds, I didn’t feel one-hundred percent myself when a ball wasn’t in my hands. Basketball taught me leadership, on the court and in life. It exposed me to the importance of communication styles as they relate to interaction amongst different people and groups. Over the years, I grew to appreciate the depth of teamwork that was taught through camaraderie, encouragement, issue resolution, critical thinking, and active listening. Prior to becoming dedicated to basketball, I struggled with time management which was rectified with the discipline that basketball provided. Of all the life lessons that positively impacted me, the one that I hold dear would have to be community, not only a sense of community, but community service also. Annually we participated in a Thanksgiving Day drive collecting food for those in need, for Christmas we held an Angel Tree in which we were assigned a family to provide for. My favorite was helping the middle school basketball team and hosting summer camps for the youth, because it allowed me to give back and instill the qualities, attributes, and characteristics that basketball instilled in me to what I saw as my proteges.

The American healthcare industry lacks diversity in every capacity, from certified nursing assistants, to nurses and therapists to Doctors of Medicine. As of 2020, forty percent of healthcare workers were people of color with sixteen percent being black and five percent physicians. It is imperative that people of color are available to advocate for our race particularly because the medical history in America has not always been fair towards people of color. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks to James Marion Sims unfair and unethical practices have been performed against people of color's consent. The ideology that people of color have a higher pain tolerance and therefore require less pain medication when in distress paired with unethical physicians lead to progress in healthcare but not without violating the oath to do no harm. As a young black woman, I pride myself on my personal values that respect and honor others regardless if it aligns with personal beliefs. I don't just want to work in healthcare, I want to inspire change and advocate for patients across this nation, particularly my own community. My goal in life is to become an anesthesiologist so I can advocate and fairly assist all people during their medical journey.