My name is Charles Mullins and as long as I can remember I have always wanted to be a medical doctor, in large part because of my type 1 diabetes diagnosis. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the summer of 2006. I’m now 22 years old studying Biology and Chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill. Type 1 diabetes is a large reason why I’ve chosen the path of a pre-med student. I’ve spent much of my life around the medical system visiting all the other doctors necessary to ensure that I was managing my condition well. Seeing how healthcare affected me made me want to make an impact on others in the same way. My first endocrinologist, Dr. Morris made such an impact on me. When my family and I were most scared by the diagnosis, she was able to provide a reassuring hand, and fantastic medical education. Without her my life would look far different. I have always looked up to her and the other medical professionals who were able to help me and my family along our journey. Type 1 diabetes also taught me valuable lessons and habits that I’ve been able to use in other areas of my life. Management of my disease takes organization and planning to ensure that I remain healthy. I think that by looking at type 1 diabetes as an obstacle that grants valuable lessons, I’ve been able to stay grounded and maintain my drive to continue forward. Two extremely important lessons have really helped me further along the way. I remember at one of my first crew regattas in high school I had run out of low treatments and was going low. I began to get worried, but my team of 8 began checking through their lunches to find me something that would help. In that moment I learned two things: It is far better to overprepare and not need it, than it is be underprepared at a critical moment. It is also necessary to have a strong community to lift you up when you stumble. Countless times these have saved me from failure. As I’ve overprepared in academics, organization of events, and travel planning, to name a few. I also have built a strong community around me that has been able to support me when life gets hard. I have been able to understand how much it means to be helped by a community, and so when the opportunities present themselves, I have been able to joyfully lend my hand in whatever way is necessary. These all play into who I am, and in large part I have diabetes to thank. If I could talk to Dr. Morris today, I would say thank you for everything. Because of her I’ve been able to grow into a hard-working, compassionate, and resilient young man. She inspired me to work towards something extremely challenging but extremely rewarding. I have seen the impact she made, and I aspire to be an empathetic and adept doctor like her. I want to be able to serve my community with the skills that have been given to me. One way I specifically hope I can do this is by improving healthcare education for type 1 diabetes and other chronic illnesses that affect many others, like heart disease. I believe I am on that track, and I know that this scholarship would help me drastically as I apply to medical schools during my gap year as an intern.