As a transgender person navigating college life and preparing for medical school, I have learned that maintaining mental and physical health is not just important, it’s essential for survival. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community adds layers of complexity to this effort, as we are often asked to care for ourselves within institutions that weren’t built with us in mind. Systems that are supposed to promote health - such as healthcare, education, and even campus wellness initiatives - often lack the cultural competency and inclusivity needed to truly support queer and trans students. As a result, wellness becomes a continuous act of resilience, self-advocacy, and empowerment. For me, the journey toward health has been deeply personal. Navigating gender-affirming care, balancing a demanding academic workload, and confronting societal misunderstanding all require immense mental and emotional energy. These challenges are not hypothetical, they are lived realities. Discrimination, microaggressions, and invalidation can occur in classrooms, clinics, or even casual conversations, and their cumulative effect takes a toll. Maintaining wellness in this context means not just surviving, but actively resisting the forces that try to diminish your worth. Mental health has been the foundation of all other aspects of my success - academically, socially, and personally. Living authentically as a transgender person brings with it constant challenges: the fear of being misgendered, unsafe, or denied care, the exhaustion of educating others about my existence, and the emotional weight of anti-trans rhetoric in the media and politics. Early in my college career, I struggled to stay afloat amid these stressors. I often felt isolated and overwhelmed, which impacted both my motivation and my physical health. There were times when I questioned whether I had the strength to keep going, not because I doubted myself, but because the pressure felt unrelenting. But through therapy, community support, and deep self-reflection, I developed the tools to manage anxiety, establish boundaries, and reframe how I approached my identity and goals. Prioritizing wellness is now a conscious, daily practice for me. I focus on getting enough sleep, eating consistently, moving my body when I can, and scheduling time for mental rest. I also seek out affirming environments, both on campus and in the broader community, where I can exist without having to explain or defend who I am. These acts, while seemingly simple, are deeply radical. In a world that often tries to undermine my autonomy and invalidate my experiences, reclaiming control over my health is a form of resistance. Wellness, for me, is not about perfection - it’s about persistence. It’s about showing up for myself when it’s hardest. It’s about recognizing that my needs are valid, even when society fails to meet them. It’s about ensuring that I have the emotional and physical stability to pursue my dreams, support others, and help transform the systems that harmed me. Mental and physical wellness is the bedrock of everything I do. It allows me to show up not only for myself, but for my community, and for the future patients I will one day serve. As I work toward becoming a physician, I carry these lessons with me. In a world that tries to deny LGBTQ+ people the right to care and comfort, choosing wellness is an act of defiance - and one I choose every single day.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community and someone who continually advocates for both myself and others, I am no stranger to the challenges that come with embracing this aspect of my identity. I identify as a transgender man, and in today’s political climate, people like me have every reason to feel uncertain about the future, especially in accessing gender-affirming care and being treated with respect and dignity. These fears are not abstract; they are personal and pressing. Yet, despite moments of hopelessness, I’ve come to understand that change is only possible through action, and I am committed to being part of that change. Currently, I am entering my final year at SUNY Polytechnic Institute as part of the Upstate Accelerated Scholars program. Through this program, I have a conditional acceptance to SUNY Upstate Medical University’s class of 2027. This opportunity brings me closer to my goal of becoming a physician who specializes in reconstructive surgery, with a focus on gender-affirming procedures. My personal experiences navigating the healthcare system as a trans person have shown me how deeply flawed and inaccessible it can be, especially in Western New York, where there are few providers equipped or willing to deliver affirming care. I’ve become intimately familiar with the challenges transgender individuals face: long waitlists, insurance denials, misinformation, and a lack of accessible resources Because of this, I recently partnered with the Jacobs School of Medicine’s “OUTpatient” Student Working Group to create a community resource guide for accessing gender-affirming care in Western New York. This guide offers step-by-step instructions to help transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals understand how to begin the medical transition process. It also lists providers in the area, their specialties, and what kind of care they offer. While the number of affirming providers is small, compiling this information into one accessible and reliable source makes a significant difference for those seeking care in an often isolating and opaque system. My work in this area has just begun. As I move forward in my medical education, I am committed to continuing my advocacy and becoming the kind of provider I once struggled to find—one who listens, understands, and genuinely supports their LGBTQ+ patients. I hope to improve not only individual patient outcomes, but also the larger systems of access and education around trans healthcare. Receiving this scholarship would be deeply meaningful. Although I am fortunate to have a path forward into medical school, the costs associated with undergraduate and medical education remain significant. A scholarship would ease some of the financial burden, allowing me to continue dedicating time and energy toward advocacy and service within my community —both now and as a future physician.

Reflecting on where I am in life and the path I have taken to get here, I wouldn’t change a thing. Although most people raised with the knowledge of being transgender will experience tribulations, I hope that I can speak for many of us in saying that these experiences have shaped me into who I am today. I will be forever grateful for having been accepted into my top choice college at SUNY Polytechnic through their dual degree BS/MD program, and recognize that I would not have found myself in the position in life that I am without the road, however difficult it may have been, that I’ve taken. Up until the 8th grade, I was enrolled in a private school that espoused stereotypical gender norms and viewed my boyish appearance and behavior with contempt. To the faculty and students, I was seen as an oddity; I lacked any modicum of femininity, and deviated from their expectations regarding the pursuit of knowledge by young girls. As time passed, I came to realize that I did not live up to others’ expectations because I was not what others expected; I was a transgender male attempting to survive in an environment non-conducive to my acceptance. Despite performing at the top of the class, I was routinely antagonized by my teachers and alienated by classmates. I endured that way of life for years, until my eventual return to a public-school, where I was able to openly identify as male in a school setting for the first time. Although harboring some reservations regarding my identity and ability to take pride in it, I found myself longing to advocate for others in the LGBTQ+ community. I joined my high school’s Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) club my freshman year of high school - becoming vice-president sophomore year, then president for both my junior and senior years. Throughout my time in GSA, I noted the similarities between my younger self and the growing number of diverse persons in relation to their need for acceptance. By establishing myself as a support system, I knew I could provide validation in a way I felt was lacking in my earlier developmental years. I began meeting with school officials to advocate for a protected space for transgender or gender non-conforming individuals to use the restroom and comfortably change for gym class. Through these efforts, I successfully secured the approval for my high school’s first gender neutral bathroom. The construction of this facility not only provided a decided degree of comfort, it also served as an undeniable sign of support for our community. The acceptance I have felt towards my community and myself has only grown since then, continuing on as I have left home in pursuit of a higher level of education. Alongside my studies as a Biology major and Chemistry minor, I make time to try to address the needs of those around me through meetings with student government and faculty regarding implementation of further gender neutral restrooms, as well as suggestions to improve the name changing policy on campus. Serving the LGBTQ+ community has become a significant priority of mine, and will continue to play a major role in my life as I eventually pursue my medical degree through SUNY Upstate Medical in affiliation with SUNY Polytechnic. With the assistance provided from this scholarship, I would be able to decrease the financial burden these next 11 years of schooling will place on me, and strive to become a doctor that plays an active role in facilitating inclusion and diversity to better address the needs of my community.

My aspirations to become a physician, coupled with my desire to address the medical needs of LGBTQ+ community and surgical needs of trans people, have been the driving force behind my ongoing pursuit of academic excellence. My work in this regard has proven successful as I recently learned of earning Valedictorian status of my senior class; a feat that entailed significant effort and diligence to achieve. My commitment to these academic endeavors has been unwavering with the purposeful intent of preparing me for the rigors of the extremely competitive BS/MD dual degree program I will begin in Fall 2023. My interest in becoming a physician was sparked by many circumstances that occurred during my upbringing, and later fueled by the events that unfolded after socially coming out as a transgender male in the 8th grade. My proclamation at a young age was followed by an oftentimes painstaking journey that ultimately led me, years later, to gender affirming surgery; an event that cast light on the paucity of available resources in my area. That artistic surgery led to an epiphany; I could meld my passion for art and serving the LGBTQ+ community, with my interest in medicine into a career in reconstructive surgery for those with gender dysphoria. While I have endured a multitude of the struggles experienced by many members of the trans community, I am a firm believer that my successful perseverance of these obstacles, both in the past and those likely to occur in my future, will prove integral in helping me become a successful surgeon who is steadfast in promoting social justice, and dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to the personal experiences that initiated my journey towards working in the field of reconstructive/gender affirming surgery, my passion and inspiration for these endeavors come from my research on the work by Stanley H. Biber - A pioneer in sex reassignment surgery who helped modernize transgender healthcare. Biber recognized the importance of assessing a patient's goodness of fit for transitioning and revolutionized many of the techniques utilized to determine a patient's readiness and preparedness for the impending change. In essence, he was one of the first medical scientists to consider the mind-body interplay and the bidirectional nature of influence between one’s emotional and physical well-being with positive treatment outcomes. Although Dr. Biber was integral in taking the first steps towards addressing the totality of needs presented by trans individuals, transgender people continue to be routinely antagonized and ostracized for attempts to align their physical appearance with their gender identity. It is my goal to continue Dr. Biber’s crusade and mitigate the dysphoria of trans people, not only through advocacy, but by spearheading innovative practices to modernize and transform this field of medicine. It is at this time that I take pause and reflect with gratitude to be at this place in my life - at the precipice of taking the first steps towards a future I have consciously and purposefully planned out, and one that I witness in sincere reverence as it begins to unfold. Facing the distant future and looking beyond the 12+ year academic and training path ahead of me (i.e., 4 years for bachelor's, 4 years for medical school, and multiple years for residency and fellowship), my future sights involve my ultimate ambition of utilizing my medical degree in a manner that benefits the trans and LGBTQ+ community. Overall, I am extremely excited at the prospect of a career in medicine, and look forward to the prospect of dedicating my services to the WNY’s trans community in this capacity.