I have always cared for communities in need and right out of highschool I immediately wanted to help anywhere I could, so I Traveled across the country and began volunteering in hurricane disaster relief efforts in Texas and Florida. Then years later, when the COVID pandemic hit, I saw a need within my community on the Navajo Nation, and despite my concerns for my family and my own health, I decided to make a sacrifice. I left my job and poured all my energy into creating the grass roots relief effort known as K'eh Native Action. I raised funds, planned routes, and partnered with distributors, then assembled a team of local community members. We located hundreds of elders, sick people, and families in need to deliver food and water. Volunteering initiatives will always be in my life, except soon they will be in the medical field. I aim to better connect my local native community with their healthcare providers through reservation event organization, because healthcare is more than just treating a symptom, it's connecting with patients and improving their lives as a whole. I will also be returning to the Navajo Nation after graduation to become a medical practitioner for my people. I will bridge the gap between traditional medicine and modern medicine because having access to culture is important. Beside that, just being present on the reservation as a medical professional will show the younger generation that we are capable of becoming doctors. My studies as a Physician Assistant (PA) will be important because the PA career was created to end the medical inequality caused by poverty. The PA position fills in health care gaps across the United States and serves within low income communities which have a large demand for doctors. To this day, the demand for health care in these areas has continued to grow and made PA's more of a necessity than ever. When I graduate, I will have a focus on rural communities like the isolated reservation towns I grew up in. Healthcare access is scarce in those areas and most people don't get adequate care. I remember having to wait hours with a concussion because the only hospital nearby was overrun with patients, an experience I don't think anyone should have to go through. While shadowing PA’s across Michigan I became passionate about two things: the caring mentality they approach health care with and a patient focus above all else. The mentality I was taught is that healthcare is not just a systematic way to treat disease, but rather an art that takes a high degree of thought. Not every patient is to be treated the same and not every symptom will lead to the same disease, only through a deep understanding of each individual and their circumstances can we treat the whole person. This patient centered view and focus on underserved communities is what makes me passionate about learning the rigorous course requirements PA school has to offer.

I have always cared for communities in need and right out of highschool I immediately wanted to help anywhere I could, so I Traveled across the country and began volunteering in hurricane disaster relief efforts in Texas and Florida. Then years later, when the COVID pandemic hit, I saw a need within my community on the Navajo Nation, and despite my concerns for my family and my own health, I decided to make a sacrifice. I left my job and poured all my energy into creating the grass roots relief effort known as K'eh Native Action. I raised funds, planned routes, and partnered with distributors, then assembled a team of local community members. We located hundreds of elders, sick people, and families in need to deliver food and water. Volunteering initiatives will always be in my life, except soon they will be in the medical field. I aim to better connect my local native community with their healthcare providers through reservation event organization, because healthcare is more than just treating a symptom, it's connecting with patients and improving their lives as a whole. I will also be returning to the Navajo Nation after graduation to become a medical practitioner for my people. I will bridge the gap between traditional medicine and modern medicine because having access to culture is important. Beside that, just being present on the reservation as a medical professional will show the younger generation that we are capable of becoming doctors. My studies as a Physician Assistant (PA) will be important because the PA career was created to end the medical inequality caused by poverty. The PA position fills in health care gaps across the United States and serves within low income communities which have a large demand for doctors. To this day, the demand for health care in these areas has continued to grow and made PA's more of a necessity than ever. When I graduate, I will have a focus on rural communities like the isolated reservation towns I grew up in. Healthcare access is scarce in those areas and most people don't get adequate care. I remember having to wait hours with a concussion because the only hospital nearby was overrun with patients, an experience I don't think anyone should have to go through. While shadowing PA’s across Michigan I became passionate about two things: the caring mentality they approach health care with and a patient focus above all else. The mentality I was taught is that healthcare is not just a systematic way to treat disease, but rather an art that takes a high degree of thought. Not every patient is to be treated the same and not every symptom will lead to the same disease, only through a deep understanding of each individual and their circumstances can we treat the whole person. This patient centered view and focus on underserved communities is what makes me passionate about learning the rigorous course requirements PA school has to offer.

I have always cared for communities in need and right out of highschool I immediately wanted to help anywhere I could, so I Traveled across the country and began volunteering in hurricane disaster relief efforts in Texas and Florida. Then years later, when the COVID pandemic hit, I saw a need within my community on the Navajo Nation, and despite my concerns for my family and my own health, I decided to make a sacrifice. I left my job and poured all my energy into creating the grass roots relief effort known as K'eh Native Action. I raised funds, planned routes, and partnered with distributors, then assembled a team of local community members. We located hundreds of elders, sick people, and families in need to deliver food and water. Volunteering initiatives will always be in my life, except soon they will be in the medical field. I aim to better connect my local native community with their healthcare providers through reservation event organization, because healthcare is more than just treating a symptom, it's connecting with patients and improving their lives as a whole. I will also be returning to the Navajo Nation after graduation to become a medical practitioner for my people. I will bridge the gap between traditional medicine and modern medicine because having access to culture is important. Beside that, just being present on the reservation as a medical professional will show the younger generation that we are capable of becoming doctors. My studies as a Physician Assistant (PA) will be important because the PA career was created to end the medical inequality caused by poverty. The PA position fills in health care gaps across the United States and serves within low income communities which have a large demand for doctors. To this day, the demand for health care in these areas has continued to grow and made PA's more of a necessity than ever. When I graduate, I will have a focus on rural communities like the isolated reservation towns I grew up in. Healthcare access is scarce in those areas and most people don't get adequate care. I remember having to wait hours with a concussion because the only hospital nearby was overrun with patients, an experience I don't think anyone should have to go through. While shadowing PA’s across Michigan I became passionate about two things: the caring mentality they approach health care with and a patient focus above all else. The mentality I was taught is that healthcare is not just a systematic way to treat disease, but rather an art that takes a high degree of thought. Not every patient is to be treated the same and not every symptom will lead to the same disease, only through a deep understanding of each individual and their circumstances can we treat the whole person. This patient centered view and focus on underserved communities is what makes me passionate about learning the rigorous course requirements PA school has to offer.

My name is Ashkii Abini Naatsiilidi and I belong to the Bit'ahnii clan of the Navajo Nation. During my formative years, I had a unique introduction into health care as I was an apprentice to a local medicine man. My average day would look a little like this: I would attend second grade by day, at the only Navajo immersion school on the Navajo reservation, and sing at traditional singing's by night, always making sure my mom tied my hair in the traditional bun just right or I'd throw a fit. I was lucky enough to see patients from all walks of life including teenagers having their coming of age ceremony, mothers preparing to give birth, and soldiers coming home from war. Although I had the privilege of seeing all the beauty within my culture, I also experienced the generational trauma that consumed many people, which I saw in my father. He had lost both of his parents at a young age during a drunk driving accident and spent the rest of his childhood in a boarding school where he faced physical and sexual abuse. I didn't know it at the time but, I see now that he had a tremendous amount of hardship and no resources to heal, he never learned how to handle his emotions and turned to violence instead. Unlike him, I have turned my pain into a purpose, which is helping my community heal using my talents in the medical field. My studies as a Physician Assistant (PA) will be important because the PA career was created with similar goals as the Gerianne Pfeiffer scholarship fund . Both are aimed at ending the inequality caused by poverty. The PA position was created to fill in health care gaps across the United States and serve within low income communities which have a large demand for doctors. To this day, the demand for health care in these areas has continued to grow and made PA's more of a necessity than ever. When I graduate, I will have a focus on rural communities like the isolated reservation towns I grew up in. Healthcare is scarce in those areas and most people don’t get adequate care. I remember having to wait hours with a concussion because the only hospital nearby was overrun with patients, an experience I don't think anyone should have to go through. While shadowing PAs across Michigan I became passionate about two things: the mentality they approach health care with and a patient focus above all else. The mentality I was taught is that healthcare is not just a systematic way to treat disease, but rather an art that takes a high degree of thought. Not every patient is to be treated the same and not every symptom will lead to the same disease, only through a deep understanding of each individual and their circumstances can we treat the whole person. This patient centered view and focus on underserved communities is what makes me passionate about learning the rigorous course requirements PA school has to offer.

My name is Ashkii Abini Naatsiilidi and I belong to the Bit'ahnii clan of the Navajo Nation. During my formative years, I had a unique introduction into health care as I was an apprentice to a local medicine man. My average day would look a little like this: I would attend second grade by day, at the only Navajo immersion school on the Navajo reservation, and sing at traditional singing's by night, always making sure my mom tied my hair in the traditional bun just right or I'd throw a fit. I was lucky enough to see patients from all walks of life including teenagers having their coming of age ceremony, mothers preparing to give birth, and soldiers coming home from war. Although I had the privilege of seeing all the beauty within my culture, I also experienced the generational trauma that consumed many people, which I saw in my father. He had lost both of his parents at a young age during a drunk driving accident and spent the rest of his childhood in a boarding school where he faced physical and sexual abuse. I didn't know it at the time but, I see now that he had a tremendous amount of hardship and no resources to heal, he never learned how to handle his emotions and turned to violence instead. Unlike him, I have turned my pain into a purpose, which is helping my community heal using my talents in the medical field. My studies as a Physician Assistant (PA) will be important because the PA career was created with similar goals as the American Indian Education Fund. Both are aimed at ending the inequality caused by poverty. The PA position was created to fill in health care gaps across the United States and serve within low income communities which have a large demand for doctors. To this day, the demand for health care in these areas has continued to grow and made PA's more of a necessity than ever. When I graduate, I will have a focus on rural communities like the isolated reservation towns I grew up in. Healthcare is scarce in those areas and most people don’t get adequate care. I remember having to wait hours with a concussion because the only hospital nearby was overrun with patients, an experience I don't think anyone should have to go through. While shadowing PAs across Michigan I became passionate about two things: the mentality they approach health care with and a patient focus above all else. The mentality I was taught is that healthcare is not just a systematic way to treat disease, but rather an art that takes a high degree of thought. Not every patient is to be treated the same and not every symptom will lead to the same disease, only through a deep understanding of each individual and their circumstances can we treat the whole person. This patient centered view and focus on underserved communities is what makes me passionate about learning the rigorous course requirements PA school has to offer.