Since birth, I have been faced with major health challenges. I was born with Biliary Atresia. This condition affected my bile ducts, both inside and outside the liver, causing blockages and scarring. In the first seven months of my life, I underwent three major surgeries, including a liver transplant surgery, lovingly supplied by my mother. As I have grown older, I have become increasingly aware of the large scar on my stomach and its significance. This knowledge brought about insecurities, especially when it came to my appearance in comparison to others. Despite the challenges of growing up in a pediatric office, I treasured every moment spent there. I had regular check-ups with my main doctors, who were always cautious not to touch my surgery line, understanding my fear and creating a comforting environment. These experiences shaped the person I am today and fueled my passion for the medical field. As a result of my medical challenges I have often viewed myself as different from other girls. I have always been hard on myself because I have to do things differently. A main occurrence would be dressing in the locker room, and getting stares for my scars.Now that I am a senior, I am finally in a place of acceptance. I realize that my early medical challenges have only contributed to my uniqueness and have developed me into the young lady I am today. My resilience has given me the courage to continue to talk to other people about my journey and fueled my determination to help other kids facing any issues in life. I continued to enhance my determination of helping others by working as a camp counselor during this past summer at the Southeast Raleigh YMCA. This opportunity helped me take a view into working with children and learning about different cultural aspects children come from at home in mental and physical ways that made them “different” like me. Through all of the adversity I faced growing up feeling different, my vision in life is to focus on helping others in the area of healthcare. Which is why I aspire to become one. With all this, I aspire to pursue a career in chemistry pre-med. My goal is to become an Hepatologist, so that I too, can help others, contribute to research and take on a profession that comes with many challenges. My story motivates me every day to work towards saving lives, inspiring young kids to chase their dreams, and ensuring that everyone feels safe, comfortable, and loved in their journey to recovery and to continue to find their “difference” in the world like I did.

Since birth, I have been faced with major health challenges. I was born with Biliary Atresia. This condition affected my bile ducts, both inside and outside the liver, causing blockages and scarring. In the first seven months of my life, I underwent three major surgeries, including a liver transplant surgery, lovingly supplied by my mother. As I have grown older, I have become increasingly aware of the large scar on my stomach and its significance. This knowledge brought about insecurities, especially when it came to my appearance in comparison to others. Despite the challenges of growing up in a pediatric office, I treasured every moment spent there. I had regular check-ups with my main doctors, who were always cautious not to touch my surgery line, understanding my fear and creating a comforting environment. These experiences shaped the person I am today and fueled my passion for the medical field. As a result of my medical challenges I have often viewed myself as different from other girls. I have always been hard on myself because I have to do things differently. A main occurrence would be dressing in the locker room, and getting stares for my scars.Now that I am a senior, I am finally in a place of acceptance. I realize that my early medical challenges have only contributed to my uniqueness and have developed me into the young lady I am today. My resilience has given me the courage to continue to talk to other people about my journey and fueled my determination to help other kids facing any issues in life. I continued to enhance my determination of helping others by working as a camp counselor during this past summer at the Southeast Raleigh YMCA. This opportunity helped me take a view into working with children and learning about different cultural aspects children come from at home in mental and physical ways that made them “different” like me. Through all of the adversity I faced growing up feeling different, my vision in life is to focus on helping others in the area of healthcare. Which is why I aspire to become one. As I got older, I moved through school playing sports, engaging in the organization, and improving my academic career. I grew into a passion for playing basketball and engaging with children in positive aspects to give back to the community. When covid began, and the lockdown measures were in place, I was unable to physically attend high school as a freshman. My home life during this time changed, as I relocated to North Carolina with my mother from New York. I have remained a strong-willed person and participated in activities such as the American Sign Language Club, Best Buddies, Chic FifLa Leadership Academy, Delta Gems, International Club, and the Student Advocacy Team. In addition to my participation in various organizations. I also began the Black Student Union club for African American students to have an outlet to celebrate their heritage and community throughout high School with other cultural and ethnic races. With all this, I aspire to pursue a career in chemistry pre-med. My goal is to become an Hepatologist, so that I too, can help others, contribute to research and take on a profession that comes with many challenges. My story motivates me every day to work towards saving lives, inspiring young kids to chase their dreams, and ensuring that everyone feels safe, comfortable, and loved in their journey to recovery and to continue to find their “difference” in the world like I did.

Since birth, I have been faced with major health challenges. I was born with Biliary Atresia. This condition affected my bile ducts, both inside and outside the liver, causing blockages and scarring. In the first seven months of my life, I underwent three major surgeries, including a liver transplant surgery, lovingly supplied by my mother. As I have grown older, I have become increasingly aware of the large scar on my stomach and its significance. This knowledge brought about insecurities, especially when it came to my appearance in comparison to others. Despite the challenges of growing up in a pediatric office, I treasured every moment spent there. I had regular check-ups with my main doctors, who were always cautious not to touch my surgery line, understanding my fear and creating a comforting environment. These experiences shaped the person I am today and fueled my passion for the medical field. My story motivates me every day to work towards saving lives, inspiring young kids to chase their dreams, and ensuring that everyone feels safe, comfortable, and loved in their journey to recovery and to continue to find their “difference” in the world like I did. When I lived in New York as a younger kid, I never knew what a HBCU was. Once I moved to North Carolina and saw the cultural differences and it impacted me heavily. I have remained a strong-willed person and participated in activities such as the American Sign Language Club, Best Buddies, Chic FifLa Leadership Academy, Delta Gems, International Club, and the Student Advocacy Team. In addition to my participation in various organizations. I also began the Black Student Union club for African American students to have an outlet to celebrate their heritage and community throughout high School with other cultural and ethnic races. Once I began this club it impacted my school deeply for the huge difference in culturally diversity. Changing into a white school was a huge cultural shock for me. Being able to create the black student union and change cultural aspects in my high school was a huge accomplishment for me. With this is the reason I want to go to a HBCU to continue my influence and joining various organizations as well. Another addition is the influence of me wanting to go to a HBCU was becoming a Delta Gem and being educated on the history as well. With all this, I aspire to pursue a career in chemistry pre-med. My goal is to become an Hepatologist, so that I too, can help others, contribute to research and take on a profession that comes with many challenges.