Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. A big influence has certainly been my mother who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon to practice medicine Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be something I inherited from my mother. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending plenty of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research for leisure. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field which I believe is still in its infancy and still in dire need of capable clinicians. Although I am quite fascinated by the marvels of the human brain and its many intricacies, I am particularly passionate about the field of addiction treatment because my life has been deeply impacted by substance abuse. I underwent a medical procedure at the age of 15 years old and was prescribed opioids for postoperative pain during a time when painkillers were being laxly prescribed in the United States. As with so many other Americans at the time, I was not informed by any of the prescribing doctors of the risks and side effects of opioid pain killers. That prescription changed my life in unfathomable ways and set me on a dark path in the following years. My hardships led me to becoming intimately familiar with opioids, addiction, medication assisted treatment, drug rehabilitation, and the overarching field of psychiatry. After struggling for some time, I eventually triumphed with the help of medical intervention. These experiences left me with not only a very strong understanding of the emotional and physiological states of a drug addiction, but with an-in depth knowledge of various treatment protocols used for treating substance abuse and the overall recovery process. By combining my personal experiences with my scientific understanding of pathology and pharmacology, I hope to use my knowledge to treat other patients still suffering from substance abuse and other mental illnesses. As a teenager, I had the privilege of being able to rely on my parents to fund my education but with both of my parents retired, the tuition costs I will incur for my full-time nursing program, along with my living expenses, are solely my responsibility. Without any scholarships or family contributions, I will certainly have to take large and costly loans to cover my tuition and other day-to-day bills throughout my time as a full-time nursing student. Just as with so many other young Americans pursuing a graduate degree, the dream is often overshadowed by the financial burden it entails. Tuition fees, textbooks, and basic living expenses are going to be a major financial barrier that I must contend with in the next few years as an aspiring nurse practitioner. Even after I complete my nursing program in which I am currently enrolled, I will still have to complete another graduate program soon after to become eligible to start practicing as a nurse practitioner. During this time, I will be incurring loads of debt as a student which is why I see this scholarship more like a lifeline than mere financial aid. This scholarship would lower the heavy of burden of debt that I will be carrying and give me a chance not only to breathe, but to succeed as a nursing student.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. A big influence has certainly been my mother who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon to practice medicine. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending plenty of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research for leisure. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field which I believe is still in its infancy and still in dire need of capable clinicians. Although I am quite fascinated by the marvels of the human brain and its many intricacies, I am particularly passionate about the field of addiction treatment because my life has been deeply impacted by substance abuse. I underwent a medical procedure at the age of 15 years old and was prescribed opioids for postoperative pain during a time when painkillers were being laxly prescribed in the United States. As with so many other Americans at the time, I was not informed by any of the prescribing doctors of the risks and side effects of opioid pain killers. That prescription changed my life in unfathomable ways and set me on a dark path in the following years. My hardships led me to becoming intimately familiar with opioids, addiction, medication assisted treatment, drug rehabilitation, and the overarching field of psychiatry. After struggling for some time, I eventually triumphed with the help of medical intervention. These experiences left me with not only a very strong understanding of the emotional and physiological states of a drug addiction, but with an-in depth knowledge of various treatment protocols used for treating substance abuse and the overall recovery process. By combining my personal experiences with my scientific understanding of pathology and pharmacology, I hope to use my knowledge to treat other patients still suffering from substance abuse and other mental illnesses. As a teenager, I had the privilege of being able to rely on my parents to fund my education but with both of my parents retired, the tuition costs I will incur for my full-time nursing program, along with my living expenses, are solely my responsibility. Without any scholarships or family contributions, I will certainly have to take large and costly loans to cover my tuition and other day-to-day bills throughout my time as a full-time nursing student. Just as with so many other young Americans pursuing a graduate degree, the dream is often overshadowed by the financial burden it entails. Tuition fees, textbooks, and basic living expenses are going to be a major financial barrier that I must contend with in the next few years as an aspiring nurse practitioner. Even after I complete my nursing program in which I am currently enrolled, I will still have to complete another graduate program soon after to become eligible to start practicing as a nurse practitioner. During this time, I will be incurring loads of debt as a student which is why I see this scholarship more like a lifeline than mere financial aid. A scholarship will lower the overall amount of student loans I will have to rely on, thereby lowering the monthly payments I will be making on loans and interest. This scholarship would lower the heavy of burden of debt that I will be carrying and give me a chance not only to breathe, but to succeed as a nursing student.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending much of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research. Since I was a teenager, friends and acquaintances have always come to me with their health concerns, asking me random questions about medications and potential side effects because they knew and I could [almost] always provide them with an evidence-based answer. On the rare occasion that I did not already know the answer to a health-related question, I could not rest until I had researched it and educated myself on the topic. A big influence on me has certainly been my mother, who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon to become a physician and has been practicing medicine in the Phoenix area since 1991. Upon graduating from ASU with a B.S. in Public Health, I thoroughly considered all career options in the health industry. During this time, it became increasingly clear that being a clinician has always been my ideal career path. Although medical research will remain a topic of interest of mine, I decided that being in a 1-on-1 patient setting has always been where I belong. Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be a desire I inherited from my mother. I have always been a clinician at heart, and after eliminating all other potential career paths, I resolutely decided that I would pursue a career in nursing. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field that I believe is still in its infancy, and is still in dire need of capable clinicians. On my transcript, there is a noticeable gap between the time I completed high school until the time I returned to university, including two semesters in which enrolled at ASU, only to later withdraw from all classes on medical grounds. I was struggling with a crippling opioid dependency during this period and was unable to recover until being treated with medication-assisted therapy. Around 2018, there is a visible change in my academic performance, which reflects a period in which I began receiving long-term treatment, which saved my life. Being adequately treated for opioid use disorder allowed me to become a functional person again and to excel as a student during the last two years as an undergraduate student at ASU; I was even honored by being named on the Dean’s List in my junior and senior years. As a nursing student in recovery, I hope that as a nurse practitioner, I will one day be able to pass on the gift I was given by providing effective treatment to those still suffering.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending much of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research. Since I was a teenager, friends and acquaintances have always come to me with their health concerns, asking me random questions about medications and potential side effects because they knew and I could [almost] always provide them with an evidence-based answer. On the rare occasion that I did not already know the answer to a health-related question, I could not rest until I had researched it and educated myself on the topic. A big influence on me has certainly been my mother, who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon to become a physician and has been practicing medicine in the Phoenix area since 1991. Upon graduating from ASU with a B.S. in Public Health, I thoroughly considered all career options in the health industry. During this time, it became increasingly clear that being a clinician has always been my ideal career path. Although medical research will remain a topic of interest of mine, I decided that being in a 1-on-1 patient setting has always been where I belong. Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be a desire I inherited from my mother. I have always been a clinician at heart, and after eliminating all other potential career paths, I resolutely decided that I would pursue a career in nursing. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field that I believe is still in its infancy, and is still in dire need of capable clinicians. On my transcript, there is a noticeable gap between the time I completed high school until the time I returned to university, including two semesters in which enrolled at ASU, only to later withdraw from all classes on medical grounds. I was struggling with a crippling opioid dependency during this period and was unable to recover until being treated with medication-assisted therapy. Around 2018, there is a visible change in my academic performance, which reflects a period in which I began receiving long-term treatment, which saved my life. Being adequately treated for opioid use disorder allowed me to become a functional person again and to excel as a student during the last two years as an undergraduate student at ASU; I was even honored by being named on the Dean’s List in my junior and senior years. As a nursing student in recovery, I hope that as a nurse practitioner, I will one day be able to pass on the gift I was given by providing effective treatment to those still suffering.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. A big influence has certainly been my mother who immigrated from Lebanon to become a physician and has been practicing medicine in the Phoenix area since 1991. After graduating from ASU with a B.S. in Public Health and thoroughly considering career options in the public health industry, it became increasingly clear that being a clinician has always been my ideal career path. Although medical research will remain a topic of interest of mine, I decided that being in a 1-on-1 patient setting has always been where I belong. Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be something I inherited from my mother. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending plenty of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research for leisure. Since I was a teenager, friends and acquaintances have always come to me with their health concerns or to ask random questions about medications and potential side effects, and I almost always would know how to provide them with evidence-based information. On the rare occasion that I did not already know the answer to a health-related question, I could not rest until I had researched it and understood the topic thoroughly. I have always been a clinician at heart, and after eliminating all other potential career paths, I resolutely decided that I would pursue a career in nursing. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field that I believe is still in its infancy, and is still in dire need of capable clinicians. There is a gap of several years between the time I completed high school and the time that I returned to university, with semesters in between in which I had to medically withdraw from ASU. There were several years in the early 2010s when I was facing a crippling opioid dependency and yet to find effective treatment. Starting in 2018, there is a visible change in my academic performance, which correlates with when I began receiving long-term medication-assisted treatment, which saved my life. This allowed me to become a functional student again and excel in my grades during the last couple of years at ASU before graduating, even making the Dean’s List in my junior and senior years. I’ve been in recovery for years now with the help of adequate treatment, and I hope as a nurse practitioner, I can provide effective treatment to those still suffering.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. A big influence has certainly been my mother who immigrated from Lebanon to become a physician and has been practicing medicine in the Phoenix area since 1991. After graduating from ASU with a B.S. in Public Health and thoroughly considering career options in the public health industry, it became increasingly clear that being a clinician has always been my ideal career path. Although medical research will remain a topic of interest, I decided that being in a 1-on-1 patient setting has always been where I belong. Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be something I inherited from my mother. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending plenty of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research for leisure. Since I was a teenager, friends and acquaintances have always come to me with their health concerns or to ask random questions about medications and potential side effects, and I almost always would know how to provide them with evidence-based information. On the rare occasion that I did not already know the answer to a health-related question, I could not rest until I had researched it and understood the topic thoroughly. I have always been a clinician at heart, and after eliminating all other potential career paths, I resolutely decided that I would pursue a career in nursing. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field that I believe is still in its infancy and is still in dire need of capable clinicians. Even before the pandemic, addiction rates had been skyrocketing, largely due to the introduction of fentanyl into the US black market-a problem that was then further exacerbated by the damage Covid-19 wreaked on our society. As a former opioid addict who has recovered from addiction with the help of medication-assisted treatment, I have personally experienced many of the struggles that other clinicians may not be able to fully relate to when treating drug-addicted patients. My educational background in public health, alongside my personal experiences trying so many of the treatment modalities being currently used to treat addiction, puts me in a unique position to treat opioid-dependent patients. After hearing the news that the regulations on prescribing medication-assisted treatment were loosened in the US in 2021 (finally granting access to nurse practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine), it was precisely at that moment that I knew I needed to pursue a degree in nursing.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. A big influence has certainly been my mother who immigrated from Lebanon to become a physician and has been practicing medicine in the Phoenix area since 1991. After graduating from ASU with a B.S. in Public Health and thoroughly considering career options in the public health industry, it became increasingly clear that being a clinician has always been my ideal career path. Although medical research will remain a topic of interest, I decided that being in a 1-on-1 patient setting has always been where I belong. Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be something I inherited from my mother. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending plenty of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research for leisure. Since I was a teenager, friends and acquaintances have always come to me with their health concerns or to ask random questions about medications and potential side effects, and I almost always would know how to provide them with evidence-based information. On the rare occasion that I did not already know the answer to a health-related question, I could not rest until I had researched it and understood the topic thoroughly. I have always been a clinician at heart, and after eliminating all other potential career paths, I resolutely decided that I would pursue a career in nursing. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field that I believe is still in its infancy and is still in dire need of capable clinicians. Even before the pandemic, addiction rates had been skyrocketing, largely due to the introduction of fentanyl into the US black market-a problem that was then further exacerbated by the damage Covid-19 wreaked on our society. As a former opioid addict who has recovered from addiction with the help of medication-assisted treatment, I have personally experienced many of the struggles that other clinicians may not be able to fully relate to when treating drug-addicted patients. My educational background in public health, alongside my personal experiences trying so many of the treatment modalities being currently used to treat addiction, puts me in a unique position to treat opioid-dependent patients. After hearing the news that the regulations on prescribing medication-assisted treatment were loosened in the US in 2021 (finally granting access to nurse practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine), it was precisely at that moment that I knew I needed to pursue a degree in nursing.

I lost my girlfriend to suicide when I was 17 years old and even at the age of 32, not a single day has passed without me thinking about it. Not only thoughts of grief, but serious guilt and intense shame as I learned to live with the fact that the last words she ever heard me say were some of the most hurtful I've ever said to anyone. Of course, I had no idea when I yelled at her that I'd never speak to her again or have a chance to apologize. The truth of it is that we were teenagers and heavily addicted to drugs getting by together in a toxic relationship that was bound to end horribly in some manner. She lied to me about trading sex for heroin from her lowlife dealer. When I found out, I blacked out with rage and said anything I could think of that would hurt her, having no idea how close she was to the edge. After getting pushed into treatment, I found out that she intentionally overdosed after writing her goodbye notes, and died alone in her apartment. It took many years of therapy and self-love and self-forgiveness to move past the whole situation, but the lesson that has stuck with me forever is one we all know, but often forget: "you never know if the next time you see or talk to someone will be the last time forever". Whether it be a heart attack, car accident, injury, or even suicide, no one knows when our time is up. So when my mother calls me today, I answer the phone instead of ignoring it as I did as a selfish teenager. When I see my girlfriend off to work, I tell her I love her. When I hug my dad good night, I hope I'll see him in the morning but if I don't I made good use of the time. Life is stressful and it's so easy to get caught up in little arguments that we forget this simple truth that any second could be our last. And I learned from Christy's death that life becomes more valuable when I take time to count my blessings and appreciate all the characters in my life that give my days meaning. My girlfriend and I butt heads a lot and it's a work in progress, but every time I find myself getting ready to escalate the argument, I remind myself "what if this is the last conversation that we ever have?". And the fight suddenly seems so trivial and silly. Why not just choose love?

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. A big influence has certainly been my mother who immigrated from Lebanon to become a physician and has been practicing medicine in the Phoenix area since 1991. After graduating from ASU with a B.S. in Public Health and thoroughly considering career options in the public health industry, it became increasingly clear that being a clinician has always been my ideal career path. Although medical research will remain a topic of interest, I decided that being in a 1-on-1 patient setting has always been where I belong. Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be something I inherited from my mother. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending plenty of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research for leisure. Since I was a teenager, friends and acquaintances have always come to me with their health concerns or to ask random questions about medications and potential side effects, and I almost always would know how to provide them with evidence-based information. On the rare occasion that I did not already know the answer to a health-related question, I could not rest until I had researched it and understood the topic thoroughly. I have always been a clinician at heart, and after eliminating all other potential career paths, I resolutely decided that I would pursue a career in nursing. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field that I believe is still in its infancy and is still in dire need of capable clinicians. Even before the pandemic, addiction rates had been skyrocketing, largely due to the introduction of fentanyl into the US black market-a problem that was then further exacerbated by the damage Covid-19 wreaked on our society. As a former opioid addict who has recovered from addiction with the help of medication-assisted treatment, I have personally experienced many of the struggles that other clinicians may not be able to fully relate to when treating drug-addicted patients. My educational background in public health, alongside my personal experiences trying so many of the treatment modalities being currently used to treat addiction, puts me in a unique position to treat opioid-dependent patients. After hearing the news that the regulations on prescribing medication-assisted treatment were loosened in the US in 2021 (finally granting access to nurse practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine), it was precisely at that moment that I knew I needed to pursue a degree in nursing.

To keep my mind clear and improve my mindset, I set aside 20 minutes every morning [shortly after awakening] and every night [just before bed] meditating. The first 10 of my bidaily meditation session are dedicated on turning off negative thinking and getting myself centered on the present moment; the goal is to make a conscious effort to let every thought that enters my mind go as quickly as possible. Now that I've been practicing this exercise where I distance myself from my chaotic thoughts and retake control over my mind, I've been able to achieve periods of time during my meditation session where my mind is completely quiet. The latter half of each of these sessions is spent reminding myself of all the things I have that make my life amazing and worth living. Taking a few minutes to be thankful for the big things [ex. having the support of two loving parents] and the little things [being thankful for the delicious eggs benedict I'm having for breakfast], I remain a more grateful and humble person throughout the rest of the day in addition to starting and ending each day on a positive thought. I'm not perfect, and occasionally I get wrapped up in all my little problems [that seem so major in the moment] and I skip a meditation session, but I've improved greatly the last couple years since I incorporated this exercise into my daily routine, and the results have been 10 times better than I'd expected. I go to the gym almost every day which makes such a significant difference in my physical and emotional health. Although lifting weights has tremendous health benefits, I admit that the main reason I go to the gym is to let out some anxiety and anger that I would otherwise be holding on to for the rest of the day. A good lifting session (45 minutes - 1 hour) brings my blood pressure down, makes me calm and even makes me a better problem solver for the rest of the day. I've packed on some serious muscle since I started lifting about 10 years ago, which is a great way to burn extra calories (which are needed to repair muscle and recover from exercise), which allows me to eat a few extra junk calories without it being converted into body fat. Among the many health benefits of exercise (extended life span, reduces blood pressure endorphin release, reduces chances of cardiovascular disease such as stroke or heart attack, reduced chances of developing diabetes and even cancer), research has also found how working out promotes an increase in BDNF - a molecule involved in learning and memory. BDNF has a protective effect on existing neurons while encouraging the growth and differentiation of new neural pathways; in other words, exercise makes you smarter. Lastly, I take care of my nutritional health in several ways, such as being mindful of nutrition labels and taking certain supplements that have been shown in clinical research to improve certain health markers. I take a turmeric + ginger supplement every morning for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and I avoid excessive amounts of sodium and saturated fats in my diet. I will also take a vitamin D supplement if my diet has been deficient; in addition to being vital for a functional immune system (very handy since we've been living through a pandemic), vitamin D is the only vitamin that also behaves like a hormone by crossing the cell membrane and having transcriptional effects on DNA.

Lateralus by Tool is a profound track that infuses the mathematics of the Fibonacci sequence into its time signatures (7/8, 8/8, 9/8) into the lyrics, which urge to listener to progress in their life by undergoing spiritual growth. By stepping out of ourselves and our constant need to overthink, we can take the sum of our parts to synchronize add up to something more. Lateralus tells us to experience each moment of life to its fullest by being connected to our true selves and the world around us; and so we can progress, and go further than anyone has ever gone before. During the bridge, the song peaks and then goes silent for a few seconds, until each musician slowly enters one by one, each playing a separate time signature until the song climaxes and converges into an insane high note and outro. It's an amazing song, a genius track, and a spiritual experience all in one.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. A big influence has certainly been my mother who immigrated from Lebanon to become a physician and has been practicing medicine in the Phoenix area since 1991. After graduating from ASU with a B.S. in Public Health and thoroughly considering career options in the public health industry, it became increasingly clear that being a clinician has always been my ideal career path. Although medical research will remain as a topic of interest of mine, I decided that being in a 1-on-1 patient setting has always been where I belong. Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be something I inherited from my mother. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending plenty of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research for leisure. Since I was a teenager, friends and acquaintances have always come to me with their health concerns or to ask random questions about medications and potential side effects, and I almost always would know how to provide them with evidence-based information. On the rare occasion that I did not already know the answer to a health-related question, I could not rest until I had researched it and understood the topic thoroughly. I have always been a clinician at heart, and after eliminating all other potential career paths, I resolutely decided that I would pursue a career in nursing. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field which I believe is still in its infancy, and is still in dire need of capable clinicians. There is a gap of several years between the time I completed high school until I returned to university, with semesters in between in which I had to medically withdraw from ASU. There were several years in the early 2010’s where I was facing a crippling opioid dependency and yet to find effective treatment. Started in 2018, there is a visible change in my academic performance, which correlates with when I began receiving long-term medication assisted treatment which saved my life. This allowed me to become a functional student again and excel in my grades during the last couple years at ASU prior to graduating, even making the Dean’s List for a couple semesters. I’ve been in recovery for years now with proper treatment and I hope as a nurse practitioner, I can provide effective treatment to those still suffering.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been naturally drawn to health and science. A big influence has certainly been my mother who immigrated from Lebanon to become a physician and has been practicing medicine in the Phoenix area since 1991. After graduating from ASU with a B.S. in Public Health and thoroughly considering career options in the public health industry, it became increasingly clear that being a clinician has always been my ideal career path. Although medical research will remain as a topic of interest of mine, I decided that being in a 1-on-1 patient setting has always been where I belong. Having a personal experience with a patient that I can examine, diagnose, and treat, to the best of my ability must be something I inherited from my mother. I first noticed my passion for pharmacology and medicine in high school, where I found myself spending plenty of my free time researching the latest peer-reviewed medical research for leisure. Since I was a teenager, friends and acquaintances have always come to me with their health concerns or to ask random questions about medications and potential side effects, and I almost always would know how to provide them with evidence-based information. On the rare occasion that I did not already know the answer to a health-related question, I could not rest until I had researched it and understood the topic thoroughly. I have always been a clinician at heart, and after eliminating all other potential career paths, I resolutely decided that I would pursue a career in nursing. My ideal career path is to gain licensure as a nurse practitioner and open an outpatient practice in Arizona specializing in psychiatry and addiction medicine – a field which I believe is still in its infancy, and is still in dire need of capable clinicians.