Hello! My name is Azaria Brown. Im 18 years old and from Columbus, Ohio. I will be going to Kent State University and will be majoring in nursing and minoring in public health. I love listening to music and reading in my free time. I plan on becoming a certified nursing assistant and work throughout nursing school so that I can gain clinical experience and pay for my tuition. I know that working as a certified nursing assistant is an under appreciated job that is very physically demanding but very clinically valuable. I believe that my work as a certified nursing assistant will be a humbling experience that will teach me valuable bedside manner skills. I also learned that I could be a travel CNA. I think it will be fun to work out of state during the summers, my work could double as a vacation. I plan to make an impact on the world through my medical career as a humanitarian midwife. I plan on becoming a midwife because of the mortality rate of African American mothers and infants., I would like to work for a variety of non-governmental organizations. I would like to work for non-governmental organizations such as Jphiego, Doctors Without Borders, Medair, and Save the Children. I have the deepest desire not only to serve African American mothers but to also serve mothers internationally. The epidemic of maternal mortality is across most continents. I plan on earning a Doctor of Nursing Practice, with a double specialty in midwifery and women’s health. This degree opens up opportunities for leadership positions in hospitals and health departments. I also plan on earning a Master of Public Health, specializing in maternal and child health. This degree will give me the opportunity to work in governmental agencies, healthcare systems, and lead in a variety of non-governmental organizations. There is a definite need for more African Americans in the medical field, especially on account of the historical systemic racism in the healthcare system that continues to this day. With my credentials, I will be able to hold leadership positions in the healthcare system and change the mortality rate of Black mothers and infants. There will be numerous opportunities for me to put my research to use. I desire to work with expectant mothers directly but, I also would like to hold leadership and managerial positions for health departments, hospitals, research institutes, and non-governmental organizations.

The history of how African Americans are treated in the healthcare system has greatly inspired me to pursue nursing. Throughout history, the stereotypes of high pain tolerance and invincibility have negatively impacted Africans Americans who are under the care of medical professionals. There are two instances in history that implanted the desire to be a leader within the healthcare system. The first instance is Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman diagnosed with cervical cancer whose cells greatly helped in the development of many modern day vaccines. The doctors and researchers treating her took advantage of the fact that she was African American and low-income and profited greatly from her cancerous cells. The second instance is the father of gynecology, J. Marion Sims. He was a slave master who performed live experimental procedures on enslaved mothers and infants. His experiments included unanesthetized procedures on both the female genitalia and on the skulls of infants which lead to adverse effects and even death. He went on to publish numerous books on his experimental procedures that were used in medical schools. He convinced many within the medical field that African Americans could not feel pain. Hearing the birthing stories of Beyonce and Serena Williams greatly inspired me to become a midwife. They reported that they felt like the doctors were not taking their symptoms seriously and brushed off their concerns. This case clearly shows that regardless of if an African American is wealthy or not, the healthcare system still has its roots set deep in systemic racism. I will be majoring in nursing with the intention of eventually becoming a certified nurse midwife. I plan on earning a Doctor of Nursing Practice, with a double specialization in midwifery and women’s health. This degree is relatively new but is considered the clinical equivalent to a PhD. This degree requires more hands-on research compared to the traditional master’s degree and opens up opportunities for leadership positions in hospitals and health departments. I also plan on earning a Master of Public Health, specializing in maternal and child health. This degree will give me the opportunity to work in governmental agencies, healthcare systems, and lead in a variety of non-governmental organizations After earning both my DNP and MPH, I would like to work for a variety of non-governmental organizations. I would like to work for NGOs such as Jphiego, Doctors Without Borders, Medair, and Save the Children. I have the deepest desire not only to serve African American mothers but to also serve mothers internationally. The epidemic of maternal mortality is across most continents. There is a definite need for more African Americans in the healthcare system, especially on account of the historical systemic racism in the healthcare system that continues to this day. With my credentials, I will be able to hold leadership positions in the healthcare system and change the mortality rate of Black mothers and infants. There will be numerous opportunities for me to put my research to use. I desire to work with expectant mothers directly but, I also would like to hold leadership and managerial positions for health departments, hospitals, research institutes, and non-governmental organizations. I believe that in order for African Americans to be placed in leadership roles within the healthcare system, systemic racism needs to be addressed. Educating healthcare workers would be my top priority. Incorporating mandatory workshops, conferences, and professional development programs with topics surrounding conscious and subconscious biases, and the history of systemic racism. By doing so, medical workers will have the knowledge and ability to examine their behavior when treating African American patients.