Those who know or have been affected by cancer understand how frightening the possibility of losing a loved one is. After discovering that both of my parents had cancer, everything went gray. It made me realize how easily one event can drastically change your whole life. From the medical bills to the endless surgeries, it was getting more difficult to breathe. Tensions were high and waves of obstacles kept crashing non-stop. With no healthcare knowledge, I was simply a hopeless, powerless elementary student. It was then that I decided to take the initiative to promote a heart healthy lifestyle in my community as a high school freshman. In order to get my foot in the door, I volunteered at several hospitals as Key Club’s Service Project Coordinator (2018), Vice President (2019), President (2020), Division Service Project Coordinator (2021). From donating care packages to orphanages to creating thank you cards for hospital staff, my burning passion to help make a difference in my community grew. Since cancer often links with tobacco use, I help plan Public Service Announcements with healthcare professionals in the Orange County Department of Education as Vice President for Friday Night Live (FNL). Regardless of the pandemic, I helped promote graphics and videos to our campus and peers. As the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) Underclassman Representative (2019) and Secretary (2020), I learned the importance of diversity and culture. In addition to attending monthly district meetings, I creatively promote multiple healthy Asian dishes that would help enrich one’s health. Overall, I took various leadership opportunities to help promote heart healthy habits within my campus and local community. My ambition allowed me to expand my horizons even more in an attempt to make a bigger difference in my community. By being part of the Anaheim Innovative Mentoring Experience (AIME) mentor to Walker Junior High students, I built connections with future generations as I hosted heart healthy workshops. Additionally, as an American Heart Intern (2021), I expanded my disease and cardiovascular research, where I learned that a person dies every 36 seconds from cardiovascular disease and more than 6 million adults experience heart failure in America. Due to the lack of healthier lifestyles, it is understandable that these types of diseases are the #1 cause of death in America. As I had the opportunity to build my communication and publication, I learned innovative ways to inform my school campus about this concern through PSAs and zoom meetings. Another way that I became more involved in my community was being aware of today’s issues, such as the dangerous rise of diabetes in Vietnam. With many of my own diabetic family members, I understand how difficult diet management and costly insulin injections may be. Thus, as an International Baccalaureate Program student, I was inspired to independently research mung beans to help fight against heat stroke, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Due to Vietnam’s constant erosion issues, this experiment’s purpose was to see if mung beans can be grown indoors under different growing conditions (IA). With the probability of success, this may promote the increase of mung bean consumption and decrease heart related diseases. Not only did I value the wonders of science, but also my Asian heritage. Prior to summer, I had the opportunity to write a research paper about the Vietnam War and the waves of immigration into America. With my very own parents immigrating for economic and political reasons, the continuous terror of restarting their lives with no plan feared many. Therefore, I took the opportunity to learn about possible diseases and diets that immigrants experienced during the late 1900s. As a zealous leader continuously looking to improve, I plan to use my summer to extend my research paper on how my ancestors further adapted to foreign situations after the war. Upon self-reflection, I always find myself making time once a challenge presents itself. With my pursuit into the oncology field, I strive to gain rich experiences and skills to grow as an ambitious and knowledgeable individual. As I grow from my elementary school self who waited helplessly for fate to take its course, I aspire to become a supportive leader who will use her experience to grow into a role model for her peers.

Those who know or have been affected by cancer understand how frightening the possibility of losing a loved one is. After discovering that both of my parents had cancer, everything went gray. It made me realize how easily one event can drastically change your whole life. From the medical bills to the endless surgeries, it was getting more difficult to breathe. Tensions were high and waves of obstacles kept crashing non-stop. With no healthcare knowledge, I was simply a hopeless, powerless elementary student. It was then that I decided to go down the medical oncology route to not only help my parents, but other families as well. In order to get my foot in the door, I volunteered at several hospitals as Key Club’s Service Project Coordinator (2018), Vice President (2019), and President (2020). I advocated for anti-tobacco use and created Public Service Announcements with healthcare professionals in the Orange County Department of Education as Vice President for Friday Night Live (FNL). Additionally, as an American Heart Intern (2021), I expanded my disease and cardiovascular research, where I learned that a person dies every 36 seconds from cardiovascular disease and more than 6 million adults experience heart failure in America. Due to the lack of healthier lifestyles, it is understandable that these types of diseases are the #1 cause of death in America. As I had the opportunity to build my communication and publication, I learned innovative ways to inform my school campus about this concern through PSAs and zoom meetings. My ambition allowed me to expand my horizons even more in an attempt to make a bigger difference in my community. As the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) Underclassman Representative (2019) and Secretary (2020), I learned the importance of diversity and culture. In my job description, I had to attend monthly district meetings where we had to verbally give out updates from our home clubs and President. From this, I developed my communication skill sets as it was important to maintain strong communication among a team. By being part of the Anaheim Innovative Mentoring Experience (AIME) mentor to Walker Junior High students, I had the opportunity to establish a closer connection with aspiring future generations. With this experience, my social skills developed quickly as I was able to take on the challenge of creating engaging activities. Another way that I became more involved in the healthcare field was being aware of today’s issues, such as the dangerous rise of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in Vietnam. With many of my own diabetic family members, I understand how difficult diet management and costly insulin injections may be. Thus, I was inspired to independently research on a cheap and fast method that would help enrich one’s health, such as mung beans. These starchy legumes are high in nutrients and antioxidants that may protect the consumer against heat stroke, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Due to Vietnam’s constant soil runoff and erosion issues, this experiment’s purpose was to see if mung beans can be grown indoors under different growing conditions. With the probability of success, this may promote the increase of mung bean consumption and decrease heart related diseases. Upon self-reflection, I always find myself making time once a challenge presents itself. With my pursuit into the biology college major, I strive to gain rich experiences and skills to grow as an ambitious leader. As I grow from my elementary school self who waited helplessly for fate to take its course, I aspire to become a leader who will use her experience to grow into a role model for her peers.

Those who know or have been affected by cancer understand how frightening the possibility of losing a loved one is. After discovering that both of my parents had cancer, everything went gray. It made me realize how easily one event can drastically change your whole life. From the medical bills to the endless surgeries, it was getting more difficult to breathe. Tensions were high and waves of obstacles kept crashing non-stop. With no healthcare knowledge, I was simply a hopeless, powerless elementary student. As an upcoming high school freshman, I stumbled upon a powerful woman, Oprah Winfrey, saying “You are responsible for your own life”. Her wise words gave me a taste of reality for those who were helplessly waiting for a person to change their life. Thus, she inspired me to go down the medical oncology route to not only help my parents, but other families as well. I volunteered at several hospitals as Key Club’s Service Project Coordinator (2018), Vice President (2019), and President (2020). I advocated for anti-tobacco use and created PSAs with healthcare professionals in the Orange County Department of Education as Vice President for Friday Night Live (FNL). Additionally, as an American Heart Association Intern (2021), I collaboratively worked with a team to research and promote the organization’s mission statement in regards to cardiovascular health. Due to the lack of healthier lifestyles and other health concerns, it is understandable that cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death in America. In addition, I had the exciting opportunity to meet with various heart survivors and diabetic patients who took charge of their own lives regardless how suffocating their medical issues may be. Seeing their smiles as they take initiative further burns my passion as an aspiring biology major. My ambition allowed me to expand my horizons even more in an attempt to be more involved in today's medical issues, such as the dangerous rise of diabetes in Vietnam. With many of my own diabetic family members, I understand how difficult diet management and costly insulin injections may be. Thus, I was inspired to independently research on a cheap and fast method that would help enrich one’s health, such as mung beans. These legumes are high in nutrients and antioxidants that may protect the consumer against heat stroke, blood pressure, and more. Due to Vietnam’s constant soil runoff and erosion issues, this experiment’s purpose was to see if mung beans can be grown indoors under different growing conditions. With the probability of success, this may promote the increase of mung bean consumption and decrease heart related diseases. Upon self-reflection, I always find myself making time once a challenge presents itself. With my pursuit into the biology college major, I strive to gain rich experiences and skills to grow as an ambitious leader. As I grow from my elementary school self who waited helplessly for fate to take its course, I aspire to become a leader that will take charge of her own life.