My name is Camille Gehrke. I attend Minnesota Center for advanced professional studies in the healthcare pathway. First of all, the reason I chose MNCAPS is that I wanted to get real-world experience in the medical community. Along with school, I am a varsity swimmer for Farmington, I teach swim lessons and lifeguard at Lifetime Fitness, and I am also in NHS, Farmington Student Council, and Link crew. After high school, I am looking to enter the medical field as a medical researcher. I am interested in medical research because I had a family friend who died of HLHS, which made me decide to do a project on the syndrome. This project made me realize how fitting it was for me to research different medical issues and conditions. While science has become a lot more diverse when it comes to gender, women still tend to be a minority. I intend to go into the field of Bioinformatic sciences, nearly 82% of the scientists in this field are men. I have been lucky enough to have a mentor, named Alice, who is a Genetic Counselor at The National Institute of Health who has helped and encouraged me to pursue my dreams. She told me that there is a large shortage in the medical community, especially in research. She has helped encourage me to think about myself and my accomplishments in a more positive and realistic way. Previously, I found it unlikely that a girl from Farmington, Minnesota could make a difference in the scientific community. However, Alice has helped me get out of my own way and realize that every scientist was once a student just like me. She also gave me advice on what major and schools could help set me on a path to becoming a bioinformatic scientist. I hope to use Alice’s advice to better myself and to follow in her footsteps by becoming a mentor for other young women just like me. In my future career as a Bioninformatic Scientist I hope to be able to use my knowledge to make genetic research quicker, easier, and more advanced. As well as using my future accomplishments to become a role model for students similar to me. I have had this wonderful opportunity to learn about a field of study that most people have never heard of and I hope to help other young women find their passion and goals for their future.

As a 17-year-old girl with a genetic disease called Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), I have had many experiences with nurses and doctors. Many of my doctors would order x-rays, MRIs, or even CT scans. However, hEDS is not something that is seen in a scan. It is because of this nearly imperceptible disease that I have had bad experiences. As a 15-year-old I was accused of phishing for narcotics and told by my peers that I was faking. My pain started when I was nine years old, but it was written off as growing pains until I was 17. The first doctor who believed my pain was an online second opinion M.D. that I have spoken to once. It is because of my experiences with people not believing me and talking down to me that I have decided that I want to be the one to validate, lift up, and support those who are going through tough experiences. A good nurse advocates for their patients and supports them. I wish, more than anything else, that I had someone to tell me that they believed me. For once I wanted to be heard and not discounted. Nurses should treat everyone with the same level care that they would hope for if they were in the position the patient is describing. Simply listening to a patient and helping them find the words or voice they may not be able to find on their own.