A new technology that I’m really excited about is bioprinting. 3D printing has been around for several decades, however, bioprinting did not get introduced until much later. Even after it had been thought of, it took until April 2019 to successfully print the first human organ, a heart. With this technology, transplant lists are going to be able to move along much quicker, and the likelihood of someone dying while waiting on a new organ are going to drop drastically. Bioprinting uses human cells as “ink” to print in a way that allows the cells to grow into a functioning tissue or organ. It’s much, MUCH less invasive than a surgical removal of an organ from a donor to then be surgically transplanted to the person who needs one. The printer uses cells and biocompatible material to build a structure layer by layer to mimic the structure and function to meet the needs of the patient without ever needing another person to sacrifice part of their body. Any procedure that requires cutting into the body is risky, and reducing the amount of times that this must happen reduces the incidence of infection or death due to the procedure. The progression of our technology allows medicine to be less dependent on organ donors to save lives and use bioprinting to be able to skip the donation as a whole. The eradication of need for organ donors obviously lessens their risk of complications or death as a result, but it will dramatically increase the chances of survival for someone who does need a new organ. My great uncle has been on the kidney transplant list for almost a year now and undergoes dialysis treatment on a very regular basis. With the advancement of bioprinting, there is hope that he won’t have to wait on another person for a kidney, instead a doctor could print a new one for him. I’m very hopeful to see how bioprinting advances and is made available to normal people like my great uncle, in hopes to save lives.

Since I was a little girl, I have always loved spending time volunteering and giving back to those in need. My mother is the executive director of a nursing home, and has worked in the building she works in now for as long as I can remember. Before I attended school, I would tag along with her to work and volunteer around the building. Growing up, my parents always stressed the importance of donating clothes and toys I had grown out of to organizations and shelters for the less-fortunate. I have always been involved in clubs and student organizations for community service, like National Technical Honor Society in high school, and Alpha Phi, the Order of Omega, and Choose Ohio First during my undergrad. I recently moved to Florida for graduate school, and even now I make it a point to stay involved by participating in beach clean-ups, food and blood drives, and volunteering at animal and homeless shelters. Giving back is very important to me because I believe that the more good you do for the world, the more good the world will do for you. What goes around really does come back around and it plays a role in your success and how you feel about yourself. Anything I can do to benefit even one person’s day, I do because I know there will be a day that I need a little something from someone else.

Simple pleasures are described as something that may go overlooked on a normal day, but brings you peace, joy, or satisfaction. My favorite simple pleasure is to watch the sun set on the beach. I’ve recently relocated from Ohio to Florida for chiropractic school, and my favorite little thing that I get to do on a regular basis now is sitting on the rocks on the beach and watching the sun dip below the horizon. There’s something about being alone out just far enough in the middle of the water and having nothing to focus on except the sky. Dolphins surfacing every few minutes, the breeze coming in off the ocean, and the sound of the waves really grounds me after a hectic day in a way that nothing else can. It’s something that happens every single day, but as busy as our lives are we don’t notice and aren’t present to realize the beauty and peace that it brings. It’s so easy to forget about the things that occur in our daily lives that we should appreciate and be grateful for, and seeing a nice sunset every once in a while is one of those things.

Since I was a little girl, I have always loved spending time volunteering and giving back to those in need. My mother is the executive director of a nursing home, and has worked in the building she works in now for as long as I can remember. Before I attended school, I would tag along with her to work and volunteer around the building. Growing up, my parents always stressed the importance of donating clothes and toys I had grown out of to organizations and shelters for the less-fortunate. I have always been involved in clubs and student organizations for community service, like National Technical Honor Society in high school, and Alpha Phi, the Order of Omega, and Choose Ohio First during my undergrad. I recently moved to Florida for graduate school, and even now I make it a point to stay involved by participating in beach clean-ups, food and blood drives, and volunteering at animal and homeless shelters. Giving back is very important to me because I believe that the more good you do for the world, the more good the world will do for you. What goes around really does come back around and it plays a role in your success and how you feel about yourself. Anything I can do to benefit even one person’s day, I do because I know there will be a day that I need a little something from someone else.

One investing tip that I’ve taken to heart that can also be used in your daily life is to keep your portfolio diverse. It is important to use many different avenues to increase your passive income. Sometimes, like in life, you have to take risks and invest in stocks with high volatility to get a high reward. Other times it’s the best case scenario to invest in a stock with low volatility but for the opportunity for long-term growth and earnings. For example, companies that have been around for a long time like Coca-Cola (KO) are good ones to invest in for long-term growth, especially because KO pays out dividends to their holders. On the other end of the spectrum, getting in at the right time with newer companies like Coinbase (COIN) is a good way to make short-term gains. One more way I like to keep my portfolio and strategies diverse is participating in option trading. When discussing option trading in terms of the risk-reward relationship, it’s very high. However, if you see that your option may fail, there is usually time to get out of it before you lose everything you put in. Diversity in life and your stock portfolio are good ways to ensure success in general. Keeping a few hobbies and participating in different activities in life ensures your personal success and happiness as developing different stock market strategies ensures your financial success.

When thinking about goals for myself, it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few to write an essay encompassing the big picture. I have so many things that I want to achieve and see and do, and I don’t really know how to summarize it all into 150-300 words. Setting goals is obviously a very important thing for anyone to do and for me personally, it’s especially important to speak things into existence and write things down to keep myself accountable. My most prevalent long-term goal for my education and career is to graduate as a Doctor of Chiropractic in December of 2024 with a 3.0 GPA and a clear idea of where I will go from graduation. Chiropractic school has been a big goal of mine for a long time, and now that I’ve achieved getting here, I had to modify my current list. In regards to my personal life, a pretty important short-term goal is to gain confidence in everything that I do, get ahold of my mental health and learn how to self-care, and live life to the fullest. Mental health, for whatever reason, is awkward for some people to talk about, and getting over that should be a goal for the world to achieve next. We all struggle with something, and accepting our struggles is the first step to achieving this goal. While this barely even starts to scratch the surface of the goals I’ve set for myself, I think these two are the most important for me, and the ones that I put the most effort into achieving. I’m really proud of all of the goals I’ve set for myself and achieved so far, and I will never stop doing so.

Simple pleasures are described as something that may go overlooked on a normal day, but brings you peace, joy, or satisfaction. My favorite simple pleasure is to watch the sun set on the beach. I’ve recently relocated from Ohio to Florida for chiropractic school, and my favorite little thing that I get to do on a regular basis now is sitting on the rocks on the beach and watching the sun dip below the horizon. There’s something about being alone out just far enough in the middle of the water and having nothing to focus on except the sky. Dolphins surfacing every few minutes, the breeze coming in off the ocean, and the sound of the waves really grounds me after a hectic day in a way that nothing else can. It’s something that happens every single day, but as busy as our lives are we don’t notice and aren’t present to realize the beauty and peace that it brings. It’s so easy to forget about the things that occur in our daily lives that we should appreciate and be grateful for, and seeing a nice sunset every once in a while is one of those things.

Since I was a little girl, I have always loved spending time volunteering and giving back to those in need. My mother is the executive director of a nursing home, and has worked in the building she works in now for as long as I can remember. Before I attended school, I would tag along with her to work and volunteer around the building. Growing up, my parents always stressed the importance of donating clothes and toys I had grown out of to organizations and shelters for the less-fortunate. I have always been involved in clubs and student organizations for community service, like National Technical Honor Society in high school, and Alpha Phi, the Order of Omega, and Choose Ohio First during my undergrad. I recently moved to Florida for graduate school, and even now I make it a point to stay involved by participating in beach clean-ups, food and blood drives, and volunteering at animal and homeless shelters. Giving back is very important to me because I believe that the more good you do for the world, the more good the world will do for you. What goes around really does come back around and it plays a role in your success and how you feel about yourself. Anything I can do to benefit even one person’s day, I do because I know there will be a day that I need a little something from someone else.

One investing tip that I’ve taken to heart that can also be used in your daily life is to keep your portfolio diverse. It is important to use many different avenues to increase your passive income. Sometimes, like in life, you have to take risks and invest in stocks with high volatility to get a high reward. Other times it’s the best case scenario to invest in a stock with low volatility but for the opportunity for long-term growth and earnings. For example, companies that have been around for a long time like Coca-Cola (KO) are good ones to invest in for long-term growth, especially because KO pays out dividends to their holders. On the other end of the spectrum, getting in at the right time with newer companies like Coinbase (COIN) is a good way to make short-term gains. One more way I like to keep my portfolio and strategies diverse is participating in option trading. When discussing option trading in terms of the risk-reward relationship, it’s very high. However, if you see that your option may fail, there is usually time to get out of it before you lose everything you put in. Diversity in life and your stock portfolio are good ways to ensure success in general. Keeping a few hobbies and participating in different activities in life ensures your personal success and happiness as developing different stock market strategies ensures your financial success.

There’s no one way to live a long, healthy life - the Fountain of Youth isn’t real, there’s no miracle food or medication, and there isn’t enough manifestation or prayer in the world to keep us healthy without making any other effort to do so. I think there are many factors into preserving our youth, and it would take more than a 150-300 word essay to explain. (I’ll do my best to sum it up though.) Spending your time with people you love, eating good food, staying active, being involved in organizations that mean something to you, doing your favorite hobbies, and simply being grateful for the opportunity to do these things, are just the tip of the iceberg of ways to ensure longevity. Now, as a Doctor of Chiropractic student, there are other, more scientific ways to ensure longevity too, and I feel like it would be very out-of-my-character to not include those too. Exercising, eating healthy food, taking your vitamins, avoiding stress, prioritizing your physical and mental health, making good habits and avoiding bad ones, and sleeping well are some other ways that are proven to be associated with longevity and quality of life. Like I said, this essay doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what it takes to live a long, healthy life, but I think it hits some pretty good points!

The dictionary definition of “generosity,” is as follows: the quality of being kind and generous; showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected. There is something missing from this definition that is very important to what it truly means to me to be generous. To do something and to want to do the thing you are doing are very different scenarios. If you have to force someone to go to a soup kitchen, for example, they are not really being generous, they are just completing a chore assigned to them. Generosity is wanting to contribute to someone's life or the world around you and following through in doing it. Generosity is willingly giving your time or money for someone or something other than yourself. Generosity is picking up trash at the beach, and volunteering to do laundry at the homeless shelter, and donating goods to organizations that help the less-fortunate. Generosity is putting your neighbor’s Christmas tree up for them because they can’t do it themselves anymore, and remembering to come back after the holidays to take it down. Generosity is more than just giving, it’s about wanting to give for no reason.

A new technology that I’m really excited about is bioprinting. 3D printing has been around for several decades, however, bioprinting did not get introduced until much later. Even after it had been thought of, it took until April 2019 to successfully print the first human organ, a heart. With this technology, transplant lists are going to be able to move along much quicker, and the likelihood of someone dying while waiting on a new organ are going to drop drastically. Bioprinting uses human cells as “ink” to print in a way that allows the cells to grow into a functioning tissue or organ. It’s much, MUCH less invasive than a surgical removal of an organ from a donor to then be surgically transplanted to the person who needs one. The printer uses cells and biocompatible material to build a structure layer by layer to mimic the structure and function to meet the needs of the patient without ever needing another person to sacrifice part of their body. Any procedure that requires cutting into the body is risky, and reducing the amount of times that this must happen reduces the incidence of infection or death due to the procedure. The progression of our technology allows medicine to be less dependent on organ donors to save lives and use bioprinting to be able to skip the donation as a whole. The eradication of need for organ donors obviously lessens their risk of complications or death as a result, but it will dramatically increase the chances of survival for someone who does need a new organ. My great uncle has been on the kidney transplant list for almost a year now and undergoes dialysis treatment on a very regular basis. With the advancement of bioprinting, there is hope that he won’t have to wait on another person for a kidney, instead a doctor could print a new one for him. I’m very hopeful to see how bioprinting advances and is made available to normal people like my great uncle, in hopes to save lives.

Financial freedom, to me, means following my heart and living out my dreams with no restrictions. I finished my first trimester of chiropractic school yesterday actually, and I’m already drowning in student loan debt. The pause on student loan payments ends in a little over a month, and as a graduate student I am required to start making payments immediately, even though I have no income and am still a full-time student. This being the case, it’s hard to be optimistic about life when I can’t afford to do anything other than go to school. I am technically following my dream of becoming a chiropractor, but it would be nice to see something other than my laptop sitting on my desk every day after school. Financial freedom means not having to worry about how I’m going to eat this week, or how I’m going to pay rent - and in Florida, rent is NOT cheap! Bills add up very quickly and it’s really hard to participate in any other activities because there isn’t enough money in my account. Financial freedom means not feeling guilty accepting gifts for the holidays or my birthday because I can’t afford to get anyone anything in return. I love the holiday season because I’m able to go home to Ohio and see my family that I don’t get to see a lot now that I’m living in Florida, but I feel so bad receiving gifts because I was barely able to budget out a plane ticket with no luggage. Financial freedom means having the resources to be able to give back to the community and help those in need with my money and time. I love to volunteer in the community and do a lot to help where I can. With 25 credit hours and no income though, it’s a little hard to do so right now. One of my biggest goals once I establish my career, is to give back to the organizations that have helped me get through my education. During my undergraduate career, I received a couple scholarships, and received assistance from my school, like getting free groceries and gift cards to help me with expenses. I keep track of all of the assistance I get, whatever it may be, and I plan on not only repaying the amounts given to me, but as much as I can after that too to help students like myself. Financial freedom means I get to live the life I’ve always wanted, and it means that I am able to repay all of the people and organizations that led me to financial freedom. It means that my hard work didn’t go unnoticed and that I am recognized for my efforts. It means that I did something right, and am able to do something right for the world around me as a result.

Mental health is a huge issue in our world and often seen as taboo. As a future healthcare professional, I strive to normalize the acceptance and treatment of our mental health. Growing up, my parents either didn’t struggle with, or chose to ignore their own mental health issues. Because of their self-denial, I was too scared to address my own issues and be denied in the same ways they denied themselves. I have struggled with depression and severe anxiety for as long as I can remember. My anxiety would get so physically crippling sometimes that I would throw up, and I couldn’t even think about eating. I hid this from my family my whole life because I felt ashamed for not being able to control it myself in the way they did. When I was in 6th grade, my uncle took his own life, and the lives of his wife and daughter. I firmly believe the reason this immense action was taken was because of the image attached to receiving help for our mental health. He had randomly shown up alone at our house the week before – he seemed totally normal and we all talked together for a few hours and had dinner with him, completely unknowing what was happening inside his head. The fact that he was more comfortable taking a gun to the heads of his 6-year-old daughter, his wife, and himself, rather than seeking help from his family truly embodies the culture we have created surrounding mental health in our society. My beliefs have changed tremendously on mental health from when I was younger. I personally believe everyone, regardless of their mental state, should go to counseling on a regular basis. We all need to talk about something, and even though it may not weigh on your mind when it happens, it can linger for years to come. I am still currently learning to deal with situations I experienced more than 5 years ago, and it’s all because I wasn’t comfortable confronting them when they happened. If I would have had just one person validate me, the story may be a little different, and for that reason I strive to be that one person for everyone I come in contact with. My relationships are much healthier with everyone in my life because of the progress I’ve made with myself. I know my boundaries and I know they’re important to keep, I know how I should be treated by others and myself, and I know that I am not alone. I communicate more effectively, I’m not as easily overcome by emotions, and I can deal with my internal struggles with much less stress than ever before. I am currently enrolled to start my first year of chiropractic school this fall, and while mental health may not be in my scope of practice, it is a requirement among taking a new patient to ask about their stress levels and mental health. If I am able to validate someone’s and recommend them to another professional to avoid a situation like I had with my uncle, I will go to every length to do so.

Science and math are very divided from spirituality in our current world, and often times seen as opposing entities that do not fit with each other. For me personally, I think all 3 are essential for our lives. Without math, we have no logic or explanation for the physical world. Without science, we are unable to advance our knowledge on that logic and explanation for the physical world. Without spirituality, we have no faith or reasoning for the metaphysical world and beyond. There are so many mysteries that we have solved in our universe thanks to all 3 – science, math, and spirituality. Science and math are more definitive and fact-based, and spirituality may be more faith-based and have less evidence of fact, but spirituality recognizes and validates the feeling of being a part of a whole much bigger than us individually. In my opinion, without spirituality and faith of a divine entity in the universe, what is our purpose as human beings? Why does it matter if we are good people? If we have no soul or spirit and we all just die and get buried 6 feet underground, what is the point? On our current political spectrum in the United States, the people who lean to the right are typically defiant of scientific and mathematical theories when it comes to the world and focus the most on their spirituality (mostly Christianity) to explain the mysteries of the universe. On the other end of the spectrum – those who lean more to the left – tend to defy religion and focus more on science and math to provide the explanations of our being. While these generalizations are not applicable to everyone, we do see them to be common on the far ends of the political spectrum and it is very common to have extreme views in the United States right now. On the issue of opposing religions, we can still all agree that there is some form of divine entity (or entities) responsible for the existence of all, and that we achieve eternal life by being a good person. I think our biggest issue as a human race is stubbornness when it comes to new or different views than what we have based our lives around, and that we fail to see the commonalities between those and ours. We often hear of a new way of thinking or a religion called something different than ours and because it has a different name, we don’t even look into the things that we may have in common and refuse to acknowledge it as a plausible way of life. All in all, we have so many things set up in our world to divide people, and when it comes to science, math, and spirituality, the only way we will ever see peace is not if we all agree, but that we all respect each other, open our minds, and accept that although we may be different, that we are all one human race.

Mental health is a huge issue in our world and often seen as taboo. As a future healthcare professional, I strive to normalize the acceptance and treatment of our mental health. When I was in 6th grade, my uncle took his own life, and the lives of his wife and daughter. I firmly believe the reason this immense action was taken was because of the image attached to receiving help for our mental health. He had randomly shown up alone at our house the week before – he seemed totally normal and we all talked together for a few hours and had dinner with him, completely unknowing what was happening inside his head. The fact that he was more comfortable taking a gun to the heads of his 6-year-old daughter, his wife, and himself, rather than seeking help from his family truly embodies the culture we have created surrounding mental health in our society. Growing up, my parents denied their internal struggles and for that reason, I used to do the same. I have learned so much in the last few years and made lengthy strides to improve my mental health. My relationships are much healthier with everyone in my life because of the progress I’ve made with myself. I know my boundaries and I know they’re important to keep, I know how I should be treated by others and myself, and I know that I am not alone. I communicate more effectively, I’m not as easily overcome by emotions, and I can deal with my internal struggles with much less stress than ever before. I am currently enrolled to start my first year of chiropractic school this fall, and while mental health may not be in my scope of practice, it is a requirement among taking a new patient to ask about their stress levels and mental health. If I am able to validate someone’s and recommend them to another professional to avoid a situation like I had with my uncle, I will go to every length to do so.

I have very recently heard about Luv Michael and everything I hear or read about your organization, I love. I think your efforts to create opportunity and awareness for humans on the Spectrum are so amazing and thoughtful. Discrimination in the workplace is very real, and creating an organization to specifically end this discrimination, bring the issue to light, and provide proper training are all things that we desperately need to make normal in our society. As a healthcare worker, I see patients all the time that fall somewhere on the Autism Spectrum. I wish that there were more organizations like yours that not only help individuals with Autism, but also educate others on ways to properly care for and really, just interact with someone on the Spectrum in a way that makes sure they are comfortable and feel safe. Luv Michael is an amazing organization and I can't wait to see it grow and spread across the country and the world!

Is this a trick question? Why not do both? Without helping the present generation, they miss out on a higher quality of life and our foundation to build up from isn't as strong as it could be. Without putting forth effort to ensure the future goes well, the bricks we stack will not be as steady as they could be. Investing in the current generation not only helps them but also the future generations to come. Finding out and meeting their needs, learning about things they find to be important to them, and spending time with them builds a sense of moral respect between generations, thus providing a foundation to grow and evolve our society into a stronger one. It's very common for everyone to be very stubborn today, however, I think that if we all put in a little effort to learn about the generations before and after our own, we may learn a few things from each other. We are so divided currently because there is no mutual respect between generations, but I think with a little open-mindedness on all sides, we may come to an understanding. It is important for younger generations to keep in mind where we have come from, and that we haven't gotten all this way by ignoring the guidance of those who have come before us. It is equally important for older generations to accept change and learn new techniques and ways of living because the world is constantly changing for the better and it may not always be an easy transition, especially if you do not have an open mind in the process. Investing in future generations ensures that we will keep progressing forward and improving the world we live in. I think that now more than ever, it is very important for older generations to hear the younger generations out, and really listen to what we have to say. Again, the world is changing fast and Generation Z is going to be running the country sooner than later. In order to transition smoothly into a new era, we're going to need to respect each other on all points across the spectrum. All in all, I believe that as human beings we need to realize that all of us are just that: human beings. We all have new ideas that might work better than another, and someone might have an idea that's better than our own. We must all recognize that none of us are the best at everything, and that we all have something to learn from everyone else in the world, regardless of if they are older or younger than ourselves.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." -Wayne Gretzky This quote means a lot to me as a former athlete, as a student, and as an individual. Wayne, as a professional hockey player, came from an athlete's perspective, but this quote can mean so many more things. As a student, the shots that you take may include changing your career path and trying a new major - you'll never make it if you don't try. The same goes for life in general - you'll never make friends with someone if you don't try, you'll never get a raise if you don't ask, you'll never get your dream house if you don't make an offer, the potential scenarios are endless. The moral of the story is, take the risk, branch out, take the shot. Your accuracy can only improve if you keep trying.

There have been more nights than I'd like to admit that I've taken a nap for dinner because I ran out of groceries before I got my next paycheck. I've also been involved in sports my entire life and a regular visit to the chiropractor would do wonders for my body, but the insurance I have doesn't cover enough of the cost for it to be affordable for me to do so. I want to work in an underserved community specifically to provide care and treatment for people who are not lucky enough to be able to afford all of the preventative care and reactive treatment they need. Making health services more accessible will not only make it easier for people to be treated, but it will also make the rest of their lives easier by making them more comfortable in their bodies as they're moving around, and by allowing them to spend their money on more or better quality items they need to live. Throughout my undergraduate career, I have been solely responsible to pay for my own bills, tuition, groceries, and anything extra I wanted to do outside of that. I've lived paycheck to paycheck and I know it isn't fun. As I move on to medical school, I am grateful for the adversity I have overcome specifically for my future patients. A lot of people in the world do not understand what it's like to not go to the doctor because you can't afford it, or not eat for a day because you don't get paid until the next. Having gone through these struggles have made me realize that people deserve certain things regardless of how much money they have, and medical treatment is one of those things. As a doctor of chiropractic medicine, I will not only be able to provide affordable care to my patients, but also provide them with natural supplements that are far less expensive than prescription medication. While some conditions may require traditional treatment or prescription meds, giving patients the access to preventative healthcare will decrease the incidence of more severe cases. My perspective is unfortunately not unique, however my perspective in the medical field will be, and I will be able to help those with my same perspective access a healthier and more comfortable life.

There have been more nights than I'd like to admit that I've taken a nap for dinner because I ran out of groceries before I got my next paycheck. I've also been involved in sports my entire life and a regular visit to the chiropractor would do wonders for my body, but the insurance I have doesn't cover enough of the cost for it to be affordable for me to do so. I want to work in an underserved community specifically to provide care and treatment for people who are not lucky enough to be able to afford all of the preventative care and reactive treatment they need. Making health services more accessible will not only make it easier for people to be treated, but it will also make the rest of their lives easier by making them more comfortable in their bodies as they're moving around, and by allowing them to spend their money on more or better quality items they need to live. As a doctor of chiropractic medicine, I will be able to provide affordable, natural treatment, and also provide natural supplements to aid their preventative measures and often times as reactive treatment as well. There are so many vitamins, herbs, and supplements that come directly from the earth that have the exact same effect on the body and are safer to use rather than unnatural chemicals processed in a lab with dangerous side effects. The medications that are most commonly prescribed today are expensive and not always safe. Vitamins are much more affordable and in most cases better for our bodies than prescription medication. Garlic is a great antibiotic, vitamin B complexes aid in mental stability, vitamin E has anti-inflammatory properties. While some severe conditions may require traditional treatment and prescription medication, if we are able to shift to a more preventative approach to our health instead of reactive, we would have less incidence of severe cases. While I would like to serve all ages, I would like to make myself more available to high school and college athletes whose families may not be able to assist in receiving medical care, especially in a sports environment where bumps and bruises are pretty normal to take home. We may not realize the effects of sports on our bodies while we're young, but once again preventative healthcare can reduce our chances of having to get our joints replaced 50 years down the line. All in all, I strive to be a healthcare provider to everyone I can, regardless of how much money they have. I strive to create an environment that all feel welcome and safe. I strive to contribute to a more inclusive and accessible world.

I believe the greatest invention we’ve seen in the last 10 years is successful bioprinting. 3D printing has been around for several decades, however, bioprinting did not get introduced until much later. Even after it had been thought of, it took until April 2019 to successfully print the first human organ, a heart. With this technology, transplant lists are going to be able to move along much quicker, and the likelihood of someone dying while waiting on a new organ are going to drop drastically. Bioprinting uses human cells as ink to print in a way that allows the cells to grow into a functioning tissue or organ. It’s much, MUCH less invasive than a surgical removal of an organ from a donor to then be surgically transplanted to the person who needs one. The printer uses cells and biocompatible material to build a structure layer by layer to mimic the structure and function to meet the needs of the patient without ever needing another person to sacrifice part of their body. Any procedure that requires cutting into the body is risky, and reducing the amount of times that this must happen reduces the incidence of infection or death due to the procedure. The progression of our technology allows medicine to be less dependent on organ donors to save lives, and reduces the risk of complications during or as a result of surgery because it could potentially 50% of the surgeries out of the equation. For me personally, I hope to contribute new ways to treat the body holistically and naturally, rather than relying on unnatural chemicals to treat disease. While I do know that some cases absolutely require more harsh treatment, there are so many ways to treat and prevent illness and disease. I truly believe that more people would be on board if they knew about the possible benefits that natural supplements have on our bodies. I also believe that it would be more likely for people to try natural treatment if it weren't made to be so political, and while I don't necessarily have much impact on how political it is, I am very much able to spread knowledge and hopefully regardless of how people identify politically, they are able to look past their views and see the facts. While the world is very political right now, I hope that in the future our culture becomes less extreme so we are able to advance our knowledge and make the world better for everyone here.

The one change that I wish to see in my community, the country, and the world would be for everyone to be just a little more empathetic. There are nearly 8 billion people on the planet, and in the last few years, nearly half of the world's population has fallen into poverty. Throughout college, I have been responsible for paying for all of my bills, tuition, food, and any extra activities I wanted to do. There have been many nights that I have taken a nap for dinner because I ran out of groceries before I got my next paycheck. I do not even meet the qualifications to be considered impoverished, so I can only imagine what half of the entire world goes through. I wish people would understand their privilege and take advantage of their opportunity to give back to those in need. I do community service on a very regular basis at our local homeless shelter and food bank, and I have never seen anyone other than college students there to help. It is so confusing to me why people that have so much income that they don't even have to work on their own, wouldn't donate even just their time to help feed people in need. The top 10% of people in the world have over 70% of the world's money. It is truly baffling that they are able to sleep in their multi-million-dollar homes peacefully at night knowing that there are people in the world suffering, or dying, because they have no food, no water, or no home at all. As for the bottom 90%, I believe that too many people have the mentality that they are only one person and they feel that they are unable to make a big difference, but every time I go to the homeless shelter or the food bank, each person that comes down the line is so grateful for the service that we provide for them for just a few hours out of our day. It does not take money to make a difference, sometimes a few hours of our time is enough to encourage someone to keep pushing. I do everything I can to give back to the community and also spread awareness and encouragement for others to do the same. I spend a week a few times a year cleaning out my house to find clothes, shoes, accessories, toiletries, non-perishable foods, and anything else I can find that I can donate to the local shelters, I donate what I can to charity, and I spend as much time as I can out doing community service. It is very common for some people to forget that we are all human and deserve to be happy. It is so important to use the privilege that we have to help those who are not so lucky. Not everyone has to be a "social justice warrior" to make a difference in our world, and some empathy might make that a little more apparent.

As a high school athlete, I was exposed to many aspects of sports medicine. I have always wanted to work in healthcare, but my original plan was to go into sports physical therapy. I worked very closely with physical therapists and chiropractors both as an athlete and a student, and knew that this was my future. Holistic healthcare has been something that I have always leaned towards my whole life, but the path to get to this point has been quite an interesting one. I started my undergraduate studies as a Biology major with pre-medicine concentration. I wasn’t completely sure where I wanted to go with it initially, but I knew that I was right in starting down a medical route. Finally, I figured it out and am finishing up my bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. I have also interned at a local Chiropractic clinic, and that’s what really sealed the deal for me in following my dream in Chiropractic. The internship has shown me every element of a chiropractic practice and how much of an impact it has on the patients. Some patients even say before they leave how grateful they are to get their adjustments because it makes them feel better than they even thought they could. I want to help people in that way, and have a lasting impact on their life and their health. All throughout my undergrad, I have participated in intramural flag football, Alpha Phi Fraternity, Panhellenic Council, Choose Ohio First STEMM Program, Akron Against Cancer, and The AKRowdies. I have also worked part-time on campus in the admissions office since my freshman year, and done community service at many places like the Haven of Rest and the Akron-Canton Food Bank. I love finding new ways to be involved on campus and in the community, and making a difference even if it may be small. I am currently most passionate about reducing my carbon footprint and learning ways to live more sustainably. I'm not sure why it's not everyone's goal to find ways to make the Earth last longer so we are all able to live longer, healthier lives. There are so many easy ways to reduce the amount of waste we are responsible for, and so many resources to find information to live more sustainably. It has become a political issue because of the millions of jobs in the coal and natural gas industries, however if we were to make a united switch to more sustainable resources, there would be plenty of new jobs to switch to. I am very passionate not only about making these small but impactful changes on my own, but also to share this information and create more awareness with others.

My parents bought my first smartphone when I was a freshman in high school - an iPhone 4. I think smartphones play a key role in organization, networking, and safety. I have personally kept an extensive calendar and to-do list on my phone since I was 14. Being a 3-sport athlete, practices and games were a lot to keep track of sometimes, so keeping it all laid out in the palm of my hand really helped keep it together. I have apps for my email accounts, online banking and credit cards, my Google Drive, airlines, and shopping. I prefer to manage these services on my laptop, but being able to access all of the information when I don't have my laptop readily available is very convenient and keeps me put together. As for networking, I have the usual social media apps to stay up to date with my friends and family and for entertainment, but also LinkedIn, Zoom, and a few other apps to network professionally and build relationships with potential future employers. In regards to safety, as a college student, there have been many nights that I've had to walk home late from class or visiting with friends, and if I didn't have my phone with me, I'd have had no way of contacting anyone if an emergency occurred. Especially walking from class, there isn't always a classmate that lives near me, so I'd have to walk a few blocks alone in the dark. My college campus is truly not a very safe place to be after dark, and I've had several experiences in which I've been sprinting down the sidewalk with 911 on my phone. Without being able to call emergency services, my life could have been in much greater danger than it already was, and I may not be here to write this essay. My day-to-day activities would probably not be completed in full as I rely on my calendar to keep my days in order! It's much more convenient than using a planner, in my opinion, because you are able to set reminders to notify you automatically when something is coming up! When I'm driving, I am always listening to music or a podcast, and especially when I work a long shift into the night, it is really nice to be able to choose the content that I'm listening to, to keep me alert and focused on the road. This summer especially, I am working 4 jobs to save up for grad school and the days are starting to feel exceptionally long. I don't rely on caffeine to keep me awake, so it's nice to be able to blast some music and sing along, or put on an interesting podcast episode to keep me awake behind the wheel! Overall, I think smartphones are looked down upon because our screen time can sometimes get excessive, however if you're conscious enough to limit your screen time and spend your time in other ways, smartphones are great tools for our daily lives!

As a high school athlete, I was exposed to many aspects of sports medicine. I have always wanted to work in healthcare, but my original plan was to go into sports physical therapy. I worked very closely with physical therapists and chiropractors both as an athlete and a student, and knew that my future would be in the field of chiropractic. Holistic healthcare has been something that I have always leaned towards my whole life, but the path to get to this point has been quite an interesting one. I started my undergraduate studies as a Biology major with pre-medicine concentration. I wasn’t completely sure where I wanted to go with it initially, but I knew that I was right in starting down a medical route. Finally, I figured it out and am finishing up my bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. I have also interned at a local Chiropractic clinic, and that’s what really sealed the deal for me in following my dream in Chiropractic. The internship has shown me every element of a chiropractic practice and how much of an impact it has on the patients. Some patients even say before they leave how grateful they are to get their adjustments because it makes them feel better than they even thought they could. I want to help people in that way, and have a lasting impact on their life and their health. I prefer, personally, to treat my medical issues as naturally as possible, and the field of Chiropractic is a perfect way for me to make my career around something I am really passionate about. Pursuing a Doctorate of Chiropractic specifically at NUHS is intriguing to me as well, as I will be trained to be a primary care chiropractic physician. There are so many branches of chiropractic and this gives me the opportunity to integrate them all into my practice. At the end of the day, I want to help people solve their medical problems, not just put a bandaid on it and expect them to come back to me when it falls off. My goal isn’t to make money from my patients, it’s to help them heal themselves naturally at the root of their problem and stop it from recurring. I want my patients to trust that I am on their team, I want to help them help themselves, and although they may need me to push them in the right direction, I want them to know that it is not difficult to use natural remedies to heal and prevent medical conditions.

All my life, I have known that I am meant to be my own boss. I have always been a strong leader, I’m persuasive, and I find the best way to succeed. I’ve learned that these skills are essential in being an entrepreneur, but also that the title entails a lot more than just this. Being a leader means caring about the people I oversee and the people that are affected by my actions. When making decisions about my future, obviously I myself am the most important person in the equation. However, just because I am the most important does not mean I am the only one. It is so important as a leader to keep the people in mind that help me maintain my status as the leader. A business is an assembly line, and each moving part is extremely important to achieve an end goal. A leader creates an environment not only for themselves to succeed, but for others to as well. Being a leader means asking for help when I need it, and knowing that it doesn’t make me less of a leader to admit that I don’t know an answer. There is not a single person on earth that knows every answer to every question, so why put that unreasonable pressure on myself? I will hire people to help me succeed because they are able to complete tasks that I am unable to do on my own - they’re not “below” me, they will lift me up! Being a leader means creating an environment for anyone walking in the door to feel comfortable and never question their safety. I will never not put forth the effort to make a safe space for my employees and patients alike. It should be a place to feel accepted and not judged, it should be a place of passion and not work, it should be a place of treatment and healing, and most importantly it should be a place built on a foundation of trust and understanding. We are human beings and a big mistake in our current world is treating us as if we are machines. Being a leader means supporting the people that help you succeed every day. People need days off, people get sick, people have other responsibilities that are more important to them than their jobs. It has become so normalized to give consequences to people when an unexpected event occurs causing them to not have the ability to work. Being a leader also means having backup plans in place when human beings have normal human events occur in their lives. The most important thing I’ve learned as an aspiring entrepreneur is that although I am shooting for the top, there are steps to get there. I am not going to wake up one day and have everything fall into place for me without any effort or preparation. I determine my success by working to get there.

The most influential educator I’ve ever had taught an elective course required for me to graduate that I took in my last semester of my undergrad. Toni Bisconti, my professor for Psychology of Hate, changed my outlook on my life and myself. I have never had a course challenge me in the ways that Hate did, and I am so incredibly grateful for what I was taught in Dr. B’s class. On the first day of class, we did an exercise called a “Power Shuffle.” We were asked a long series of questions and told to raise our hands (virtually) if the question applied to us. Some questions were “are you a woman, are you a man, are you non-binary… are you straight, are you LGBT… etc.” The questions got increasingly more personal as it went on: “have you ever been assaulted by a romantic partner, have you ever assaulted a romantic partner?” It ended with questions about common “-isms” that we experience in our society: “are you racist, are you homophobic, are you ageist, are you classist, are you anti-Semetic, etc.” When we got to these questions, it was very rare for anyone to raise their hands, whether it was true or not, but Dr. B raised her hand admitting to being all of those things. After the Power Shuffle was over, Dr. B explained that we are all inherently racist, homophobic, ageist, etc. because of the way our society is built. Just because you do not perform racist actions, for example putting on a white hood, but big black men are seen more frequently as dangerous criminals, while big white men are seen more frequently as heroes and protectors. Pay attention to your favorite shows and movies, even the ones you watched growing up, and you will learn that even without knowing it, we are all prejudiced in many different ways. Until we realize and act on our inherent prejudices, we will never move forward away from them. The Power Shuffle is just one of the instances that we, as a class, were able to connect with each other in other ways than complaining about school and how much money we don’t have. We were able to see each other for who we all are: human beings. Starting this way was a perfect foundation for the relationships we would build with each other and all in all, become better people. The content that we covered in class called out, loud and proud, all of the ways we are individually prejudiced, and showed us how we can improve ourselves and diminish that prejudice. All of our classes were discussions about the articles, videos, and other content we had viewed prior to class. We were able to talk about our feelings about the topic at hand, we were able to be vulnerable in our discussion, and we were able to overcome struggles in ways that I would have never been able to do in my regular classes. Dr. B could have made us read articles, watch PowerPoint presentations in class, write our papers, and take our final as every other professor I’ve ever had has done, but instead she chose to thoroughly teach us material, and for the most part, she let us do it in the way we wanted to, not following an agenda or Table of Contents. I learned so much about myself and the people and world around me, and I personally think Psychology of Hate should be required for any major, any job, any person in the world.

Since I was a little girl, I have always loved spending time volunteering and giving back to those in need. My mother is the executive director of a nursing home, and has worked in the building she works in now for as long as I can remember. Before I attended school, I would tag along with her to work and volunteer around the building. Growing up, my parents always stressed the importance of donating clothes and toys I had grown out of to organizations and shelters for the less-fortunate. I have always been involved in clubs and student organizations for community service, like National Technical Honor Society in high school, and Alpha Phi, the Order of Omega, and Choose Ohio First in college. I have volunteered at local food banks, homeless shelters, schools, and more, and nothing feels better to me than making someone’s day better, even by a little bit. One of my favorite experiences giving back to the community was in college, at my sorority’s biggest philanthropy event of 2019. Alpha Phi’s Red Dress Gala wins a Greek Leadership Award every year on our campus because of the amount of money we are able to raise in one night. I served as the Vice President of Community Relations, and Red Dress was all mine to put on. We invite our families, friends, alumni, and other Greek chapters to have dinner, participate in raffles and other fundraisers, and end the night on the dance floor to raise money and awareness for our philanthropy, Women’s Heart Health. In just 3 hours, we were able to raise $14,000 to donate in our chapter’s name for research and treatment of our hearts. Even now, I am overcome with emotion while thinking about the impact that we were able to make on just one heart. I chose Alpha Phi during my freshman year sorority recruitment for many reasons, but our philanthropy was the selling point for me. My grandmother has had issues with her heart since before I was even born, but the summer before I started college she had an emergency open-heart surgery due to her low ejection-fraction and overall heart function. She currently has a defibrillator implant that is able to shock her heart back into rhythm without her even knowing that it was off to begin with. Raising money for women like her, grandmothers and mothers and sisters like her to be able to receive the help they need to be healthy again and live another day, is the reason I picked Alpha Phi and the reason that I will always give every effort to continue doing so.

2020 was an interesting year for most and included a lot of changes for the entire world. For me specifically, working in a nursing home was especially challenging. In 2018, my mother, a nursing home executive director, recruited me to work for her in her housekeeping department because she had a shortage of housekeepers. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was transferred from housekeeping to reception to work midnights, because each staff member and visitor then had to be separately screened in and out of the building with a series of 24 questions (that I now recite in my sleep) and temperature and pulse ox check. We avoided infection of the coronavirus in our building until early summer, but as soon as we got the first one, it spread like wildfire. From May 2020 to March 2021, we suited up in our hazmat gear every day and did everything we could to keep our patients safe. COVID-19 ended many lives right in front of us, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to witness. They told me as soon as I started working there to not pick favorites, but it was really hard for me to follow that direction. My favorite lady ever, with stage 4 Alzheimer’s, lost her husband a few months into the pandemic to COVID-19. In her state, she was past the point of memory loss, and she never remembered that he passed away. He used to visit her every afternoon and bring her a cookie from the bakery downtown. At some point over the summer, visitation was suspended and we no longer allowed anyone in the building, and families were only allowed to visit patients through their windows and talk on the phone with them from the outside. She and our other memory patients never did, and for those that are still here have not been able to grasp our current situation. “Why won’t they spend time with me?” “Why don’t they want to see me anymore?” The questions that we tried to explain over and over again, but our answers were never received. She became very distraught and confused when he stopped showing up, and started refusing to eat and take her medication. For those types of instances, we had to have the family come in and provide comfort and encouragement in an effort to get her to eat or take anything. Not long after this point, she contracted COVID-19, and because she was so weak from not eating much or taking her regular doses of medicine, she was unable to fight for very long. This is just one of many, many patients that we’ve lost in the last year, and each one takes as much of a toll on us as the first. We ask ourselves what we could have done differently to save the lives we lost, and for the employees that ended up COVID-19 positive, they blame themselves every day because there is potential that they spread it to someone that lost their life. Thankfully, I dodged COVID-19, am now fully vaccinated and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve learned so much over the last year, and am still continuing to learn every day. I’ve learned to not take anything for granted anymore. I went months without seeing most of my family, aside from my mom because we worked together every day. Living at school made it uncommon to see my family on a regular basis anyway, but I had never gone more than a couple months. It got to the point where I would drive home and sit at the top of the driveway and I’d sit in my car 20 feet away from them for hours to catch up. I’ve learned how important it is to always keep others in mind, and that you have no idea what others are going through. I’ve also learned how uncommon it is for people to realize these things. I think the world is changing for the better, but I have learned that it is not easy to open peoples’ minds to a new way of thinking. I have learned that during this time of change the world is very divided, and what may be the start of something great, is not going to be easy to achieve. I have learned that my voice matters, and that I should use it to advocate for the things I believe in. I have learned the importance of amplifying voices that may have more difficulty being heard. I have learned how important I am to myself and to others. 2020 may have been a storm of a year, but there is always a rainbow after the rain.

My name is Claudia Pedro and I am getting ready to start my first year of chiropractic school. With my doctoral degree, I plan to start a community chiropractic clinic with affordable treatment plans for those in need. I also plan to supply my patients with vitamins to help their bodies become stronger even if they may not have access to the healthiest of foods. There are much more sustainable options to keep our bodies healthy, and it starts with prevention. Many people in the United States do not have the means to afford preventative care, which results in hefty medical bills from emergency room visits and treatment for diseases that they could have prevented if it were not so expensive. Even preventative care is not as affordable as it should be, and while it won’t be as easy to pay my loans off if I create more affordable options, it is much more ethical to do so and the fact that I’ll be a doctor allows me to make those sacrifices to help others. Our current medical system is built extremely unethically and although I am only one person, I believe that I can create a ripple effect and start a trend of ethical, affordable preventative care. Many issues in the system are coming to light now more than ever, and I think these changes are on the way whether I do it or not. Pharmaceutical companies shun the idea of using natural supplements as medicine because it does not make as much money, and it also gives common people the opportunity to find these supplements in their own backyards. When people start to realize that they don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a medication for their heart health because they can eat beets, dandelions, among others that they are able to grow in their gardens, the game will change. As a chiropractor, I will not make my patients rely on paying me to treat them, but I will teach them ways to treat themselves. The biggest issue we see with our medical system is that doctors make their patients dependent on them to feel good. Holistic medicine not only treats patients in a natural way, but it also gives the patient opportunities to learn how to help themselves. Exercise, vitamins, and diet are the easiest ways to prevent disease and increase your quality of life, but we hear all too often that we just need to take a pill that impairs our ability to drive, and then come back next week for another test. All in all, I will help push our healthcare system in a direction that benefits the people who currently cannot afford it. I will keep an ethical practice and not aim to benefit at the cost of my patients. I will aim to benefit the lives of my patients at a reasonable price. I will dedicate my practice to creating a healthier, more sustainable community. I will use my continued education to champion accessible health- and local-activities programs.

I truly hate having to answer questions like this one, but since I do need this scholarship, I’ll go ahead and answer it for you. I am currently enrolled to start my first year of a doctorate of chiropractic program at National University of Health Sciences. There are less than 20 chiropractic programs in the United States, and 0 in my home state of Ohio. My aspirations may be big and require major changes and choices - the biggest ones I’ve ever made - but when I set a goal, I achieve it no matter what. I have paid my own way through life without the help of anyone else (except when my mom insists that she buys just one load of groceries) when I moved out and went to college at 18. I owe it to my family and myself to be financially independent as I still have two little brothers who are completely financially dependent on my parents. I know it is a privilege to make the decision to rely on no one but yourself to make it through life, but it’s something that I have to do for my family, something I know I am able to do, and something that I am doing. It is so important to me to prove to the world and myself that I have the power to do whatever I want whenever I want to, and being Dr. Claudia Pedro, DC, is at the top of my list of ways to do so. I’m going to be Dr. Claudia Pedro, DC whether I’m awarded any of the million scholarships I’ve applied for and will continue to apply for, but it’s going to be significantly better if I do it without having 30 years of student loans ahead of me. Me and everyone else, right? Maybe. But my main goal I intend on achieving once I am Dr. Claudia Pedro, DC, is to build a practice that may reach and serve communities that cannot currently afford preventative medicine. Our current medical system is built extremely unethically and although I am only one person, I believe that I can create a ripple effect and start a trend of ethical, affordable preventative care. Many issues in the system are coming to light now more than ever, and I think these changes are on the way whether I do it or not. Reactive healthcare is much more popular to be used than preventative care, and each is far outside of an affordable cost for the vast majority of people in our country. Most medical practices shy away from using remedies like yoga or exercise to make us feel better, instead they prescribe us a pill worth one entire paycheck. I want to be the reason any type of person is able to make themselves healthier, and I want to be able to do it on my own.

Mental health is a huge issue in our world and often seen as taboo. As a future healthcare professional, I strive to normalize the acceptance and treatment of our mental health. Growing up, my parents either didn’t struggle with, or chose to ignore their own mental health issues. Because of their self-denial, I was too scared to address my own issues and be denied in the same ways they denied themselves. I have struggled with depression and severe anxiety for as long as I can remember. My anxiety would get so physically crippling sometimes that I would throw up, and I couldn’t even think about eating. I hid this from my family my whole life because I felt ashamed for not being able to control it myself in the way they did. When I was in 6th grade, my uncle took his own life, and the lives of his wife and daughter. I firmly believe the reason this immense action was taken was because of the image attached to receiving help for our mental health. He had randomly shown up alone at our house the week before – he seemed totally normal and we all talked together for a few hours and had dinner with him, completely unknowing what was happening inside his head. The fact that he was more comfortable taking a gun to the heads of his 6-year-old daughter, his wife, and himself, rather than seeking help from his family truly embodies the culture we have created surrounding mental health in our society. My beliefs have changed tremendously on mental health from when I was younger. I personally believe everyone, regardless of their mental state, should go to counseling on a regular basis. We all need to talk about something, and even though it may not weigh on your mind when it happens, it can linger for years to come. I am still currently learning to deal with situations I experienced more than 5 years ago, and it’s all because I wasn’t comfortable confronting them when they happened. If I would have had just one person validate me, the story may be a little different, and for that reason I strive to be that one person for everyone I come in contact with. My relationships are much healthier with everyone in my life because of the progress I’ve made with myself. I know my boundaries and I know they’re important to keep, I know how I should be treated by others and myself, and I know that I am not alone. I communicate more effectively, I’m not as easily overcome by emotions, and I can deal with my internal struggles with much less stress than ever before. I am currently enrolled to start my first year of chiropractic school this fall, and while mental health may not be in my scope of practice, it is a requirement among taking a new patient to ask about their stress levels and mental health. If I am able to validate someone’s and recommend them to another professional to avoid a situation like I had with my uncle, I will go to every length to do so.

My "Bold" image is of me receiving my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This global pandemic has taken so many lives and I refuse to be a reason for it to keep happening!

The thing that drives me the most is my impact on other people’s lives. I strive to make a difference in every life I touch, whether big or small. My whole life, even as a little girl, I have always gone the extra mile, or stayed an extra hour, or taken an extra task to help someone else. I am currently enrolled to start my first year of a Doctorate of Chiropractic program, and my main goal for my career is to open a practice and provide affordable treatment to those who may not be able to afford the normal cost of preventative healthcare. The medical system in our country is tailored to benefit people at the top of the food chain and it has been for hundreds of years. Today, these issues are being brought to light more than ever, and now is the time to make the change. Preventative care is arguably more important than reactive treatment. What I mean by that is, if every American had the means to have regular check-ups, take vitamins and nutritional supplements, and eat healthy, reactive treatment would be much less of a necessity. As a chiropractor, I aim to build a practice that provides affordable care, supplements, and nutritional advice to avoid the thousands of dollars in medical expenses that an emergency room visit or disease treatment requires. I was fortunate enough, growing up, to be part of a family that could afford preventative medicine, however I know that it’s very rare to be able to do that, and now that I’m in college and on my own, I know how hard it is. I’m only one person and I struggle to make ends meet for myself, so I can’t even imagine what it must be like to have to do it for an entire family. I want to be able to provide the care that people need regardless of their income, or insurance, or how many mouths they have to feed every night. While it may be hard, I know I have the ability to do it and because of that I won’t stop until I make it happen.