Recently I decided to switch from perusing medicine to pursing a PhD in Biomedical Science. I hope to get into Oncology/Hematology research and be connected to the development of clinical trials to patients across the country. After being in the patient side of oncology, I witnessed what happens when there is a cancer that is not yet treatable. A five year old close to my family recently died of DIPG, he was given a 2% chance of survival for the next two years of his life and he passed 6 months following his diagnosis. I realized I could not be the person to tell a parent that there is nothing I can do to help their child. I want to be the person who comes to them with a trial, with hope for a cure. I am excited to be on the side of innovation. I sat beside with a little girl named Cassidy, holding her as the chemotherapy worked to save her life, cleaning her up when it made her sick. Now I get to see her running, talking and playing with her sisters. As beautiful and rewarding it has been to work with pediatric patients who are now in recovery from their cancers, I know how lucky they are. I know how lucky my mom was to get her breast cancer discovered at her first routine mammogram. Luck, early detection, and good health insurance determines the majority of outcomes in these cases. I want to be there for the people who are more advanced, who didn't catch it immediately, or have something harder to beat. I want to work with their doctors, connecting my research to their needs. Cures don't happen overnight. Patience and resilience is needed of every researcher to make it after experiments go wrong again and again. Recently, a wonderful new drug for pancreatic cancer was approved and ready for patients, decreasing the mortality by 50%. The research that went into that drug didn't start a year before, or even 5. It takes time, I can't save people right now, but one day I might. I am excited to be on a team working towards the next miracle. Researchers before me made it possible for my family members who beat cancer to be at my side today, I am forever grateful for the science we have today, and so excited for the medicine of tomorrow.

My mom was a single mom, it was just her and I living in a small flat with just enough money for my health insurance and to put food on the table. When she met my step-dad, life changed for us. We had the stability we needed, but we were alone a lot. He was on one of the longest deployments since World War II right before COVID hit, I got to be apart of the Tiger Cruise and be on the aircraft carrier on its final stretch home. Seeing the everyday life of the people on this ship was eye opening for me. It wasn't just mechanics like him, there were doctors, scientists, divers, pilots. Everyone around me was risking it all for the people they loved at home, pictures of their wives and kids on their locker, sleeping in the bunks with next person only a few inches from your nose. The experience of missing a parent on deployment changed from curiosity and sadness to inspiration. My mom had stage 2 breast cancer when I was in high school and it felt like my world was ending. The only reason we were able to get her the treatment and surgeries she needed was due to the healthcare we had through the military. Her journey pushed me towards oncology, and I now hope to get my PhD and work towards the much needed medical advancements for people battling cancer. The only reason I was able to get my education is due to the education benefits from my step-dad. It never felt worth it to be gone from family so long, but now that I was able to follow my dreams in college I understand what the sacrifices were for. This story could have ended much differently, we could have gone into debt getting my mom cancer free, without the GI Bill I wouldn't have been able to pursue this field. I don't know where I would be today, but I know it wouldn't be here, about to apply for a PhD in Biomedical Science with my mom at my side. The benefits my step-dad was afforded allows kids that grew up with nothing become something great. Due to his sacrifices, I don't need to risk my life oversees to put food on the table for my future family. Even though I will not be in the military myself, I owe everything to his sacrifices for our family and the assistance from military benefits.

My mom, maternal grandmother, and maternal great grandmother are all survivors of breast cancer. I was a Junior in high school during my mom’s treatment and I replaced the fear with anger. When she beat cancer, the anger morphed into something else, curiosity, drive, and determination. Cancer breaks a family down, leaving survivors in debt and a life filled with discomfort and too many prescriptions to keep track of. I chose to major in Physiological Sciences at UCLA to understand how our bodies failed to protect my loved ones from the enemy inside their chests. All of my sophomore year I was an intern at a cancer biology lab at Cedars-Sinai, I learned how to take control back from cancer, watching brilliant researchers kill it in front of my eyes. Now I am an undergraduate researcher at the Gonen Lab at UCLA. I will use our imaging systems to better understand the structures of cancer cells to give the science community a better understanding of how to stop them in their tracks. I hope to become a Pediatric Oncologist and do research simultaneously. My love for the pediatric branch of Oncology comes from my connection to the B+ Foundation on campus, where we financially and emotionally support pediatric patients and their families through their cancer battle. We have two “heroes” Cassidy and Oliver, both under the age of five. When Cassidy was in the hospital my first year, I often took the bus an hour from campus to sit and read with her, learn more about her case and give her family much needed support. These experiences showed me the impact I can have in this field. I hope to not only support kids like her, but to research to help the kids who lost their lives to cancer. A family friend’s five year old son just died of an extreme brain cancer after 6 months of fighting for his life. He was on clinical trials, but nothing shrunk his tumor. I carry that loss deep in my heart, one day I hope to be able to see kids with these “untreatable” cancers make it out of the hospital. Every day I look for more ways to get involved in the fight against cancer, from research techniques, fundraising, pushing legislation to protect research funding, and supporting people actively in their fight. With the proposed caps for medical school loans, I will be unable to follow my passion without help from scholarships like this and my own personal savings. Thank you for your consideration.

My mom, maternal grandmother, and maternal great grandmother are all survivors of breast cancer. I was a Junior in high school during my mom’s treatment and I replaced the fear with anger. When she beat cancer, the anger morphed into something else, curiosity, drive, and determination. I chose to major in Physiological Sciences at UCLA to understand how our bodies failed to protect my loved ones from the enemy inside their chests. I hope to become a Pediatric Oncologist and do research simultaneously. My love for the pediatric branch of Oncology comes from my connection to the B+ Foundation on campus, where we financially and emotionally support pediatric patients and their families through their cancer battle. We have two “heroes” Cassidy and Oliver, both under the age of five. When Cassidy was in the hospital my first year, I often took the bus an hour from campus to sit and read with her, learn more about her case and give her family much needed support. These experiences showed me the impact I can have in this field. I hope to not only support kids like her, but to research to help the kids who lost their lives to cancer. A family friend’s five year old son just died of an extreme brain cancer after 6 months of fighting for his life. He was on clinical trials, but nothing shrunk his tumor. I carry that loss deep in my heart, one day I hope to be able to see kids with these “untreatable” cancers make it out of the hospital. I do not get financial support from my family for school, I have worked all through college to be able to afford my expenses and campus housing. The workload of a job and classes is difficult at times, it is hard to not compare myself to students who get to spend all day studying and don't have to pick up every shift possible to make ends meet. I often go home to support my mom through her ongoing divorce, she only works part time since she is just getting back to working after her cancer battle, so I do financially help her from time to time. I am making minimum wage and rely on SNAP for groceries during the school year, this past month I had to use savings to make it through the month during the government shut down. Additionally, in October I was in a car accident and had to use a lot of my savings to get back on my feet. I am the most worried for paying for medical school, especially with the proposed caps on loans. If loans get capped at the desired range, I will not be able to finish medical school. Scholarships like this one are what will keep me afloat and allow me to fight cancer alongside my patients. While life would be easier if money grew on trees or I had people in my family that were doctors- I am a better person and will be a better physician than I would have been if I had not faced struggles. I understand that medical care is financially draining. I won't just fight for my patients to survive, but to thrive and receive any assistance possible. I come from a place of humble understanding and know that the biggest gaps in health care come from not being able to afford visits or prescriptions. I hope that my patients will see me as the person to come to for help, medically and beyond.

My greatest achievement to date is being the first in my family and extended family to go to college. I come from a Mexican-American family, and I am the oldest of my generation. I was the example that my younger cousins and siblings could look up to. In high school, I knew I had to set the example, and now that I am a pre-med student at UCLA, my whole family turns to me when it comes time to talk about college. Even though my little sister is only eight, I can see the determination that she has to go to college and do one of the 100 amazing jobs she debates being every day. My family represents UCLA everywhere and tells everyone that I am going to be a doctor. Going off to college a few hours from home was hard, leaving my family and having to battle life on my own, but I can see that I showed everyone younger than me that it is possible, that we have a place in higher education. The fear I faced only made me stronger. Growing up, I knew I wanted more than what my family had, and they helped me reach that goal. When I was in high school, my mom had breast cancer, so did my maternal grandmother. In all honesty, I turned my fear of my own medical future into a passion for a cure. After my undergraduate education, I hope to go into medical school and become a pediatric oncologist. At school, I work with the American Cancer Society and the Be Positive Foundation for Pediatric Cancer to further my experience in the field. Through Be Positive, I have been able to work with these two amazing kids who are battling cancer, a two-year-old triplet and a three-year-old. I would take the bus for almost two hours to go see them in the hospital to make sure they don't feel alone. Watching these kids beat cancer is the most rewarding thing I have ever been involved in. This experience shows me that I do have what it takes to work with these kids. This year I began an internship at a cancer research lab at Cedars Sinai, and now I can say I finally feel like I belong in STEM. I have learned so much and grown an interest in the research side of cancer on top of my passion for the clinical side. I am so proud to be the "first to go" in my family.

When I was young, I watched my grandmother go through breast cancer. When I was 16, I watched my mom go through breast cancer as well. I have always wanted to go into pediatric oncology, but my family ties to cancer have only strengthened this goal. At UCLA, I am the logistics chair for the American Cancer Society and the Be Positive Family Hero Coordinator for the Be Positive Foundation for Pediatric Cancer. Through Be Positive, I connected with a family whose one-year-old, Cassidy, had liver and lung cancer. I sat with her for hours in the hospital after taking an hour-long bus ride to get there multiple times a week. I met her oncologist and learned more about her case, discussing with him whether this path was right for me. He agreed that it was. I fell completely in love with Cassidy, and she is now done with chemo and is awaiting surgery. I want to help kids like her every day. This year will be increasingly hard financially since my mom and stepdad are getting a divorce. They are trying to find out how to afford a lawyer on top of already struggling with money. I pay for school on my own with a work-study job, and this year will be more expensive for me because of increased housing costs. I am a first-generation college student from a Hispanic family, and I understand the pressure of finances on medical care. I know how sensitive and hard going through cancer with a loved one can be, and I feel like I can bring so much to the table. My experiences with my family and my work with the American Cancer Society and Be Positive Foundation have shown me the importance of compassion and resilience in medicine. I have seen firsthand how financial struggles can impact medical care, and I want to be a doctor who understands these challenges. I hope to use my experiences to provide empathetic and comprehensive care to my patients and their families. Receiving the Manny and Sylvia Weiner Medical Scholarship would help alleviate some of the financial burdens I face, allowing me to focus more on my studies and my goal of becoming a pediatric oncologist. I am committed to making a difference in the lives of children with cancer and their families, and I believe that my background and experiences have prepared me well for this path. Thank you for considering my application.

When I was in my Sophomore year of high school, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was so scared of losing my mom, but I wouldn't let her see me cry. She was diagnosed at her first routine mammogram at the age of forty. My maternal grandma had breast cancer a few years prior at age fifty-three. I often wonder why she was not seen earlier despite her mom's history, and if that would have caught it before there were already four tumors. She needed a double mastectomy, and has to be on tamoxifen for a very long time. She hates the medication, how it makes her feel, how she can't have more kids, and deals with self-image issues now that her body is not the way it used to be. Earlier detection and she would have only needed a lumpectomy, and been able to keep her breasts. I know she is not the only one that struggles even after beating cancer. She is two years cancer free now, and I had a scare of my own this year. I woke up one night and felt a lump in my armpit. I immediately panicked, and went to urgent care. I went from urgent care to clinics to even the emergency room. It took me over a month to be seen by radiology. I was dismissed and told to not worry about it. Nobody took me seriously except for my primary care doctor, but I was away at school and had to wait for the quarter to be over. Eventually I was able to get ultrasounds and a mammogram, at only eighteen. Although I was told it was a swollen lymph node that will go down over time, I was scared. I was frustrated that it was taking so long for someone with such a strong history of breast cancer to be seen. My mom received genetic testing after her diagnosis, and it was determined that she has a BRCA1 mutation of unknown significance. Meaning it's not THE mutation they look for, but it is a mutation and we don't know what it means for us. I requested to receive genetic testing to see if I have a mutation and my insurance denied it. I would have to come out of pocket an insane amount of money to be seen. I am scheduled to start receiving mammograms at age 35, but I will live in fear until then, checking myself daily. Not enough people recognize the dangers of not taking breast health seriously. Through American Cancer Society at UCLA, we held a pop up stand in a busy part of campus, teaching people how to give themselves breast exams, and had other educational content. This upcoming school year, as the Logistics chair for ACS, I will be traveling to meet with senators to urge to pushing forward of two bills, one for prostate cancer, and one that would increase insurance coverage for early detection for breast cancer. Education about breast health is a great way to be able to earlier detect cancer, get yourself screened earlier, and learn to tune into your body.

Working with Cassidy, "the PICU Princess" throughout her chemotherapy and long stints in the hospital has been the most rewarding thing I have been a part of. Through the B+ Foundation at UCLA, we "adopted" Cassidy to help her family emotionally and financially while she battled her cancer. She is a triplet, who was born very premature and miraculously made it. She was diagnosed with liver cancer around age one, which is when we stepped in. I visited Cassidy at the PICU weekly, even though it was an hour by bus. She smiled, laughed and played like she wasn't sick at all. I held her, read to her, and even cleaned up her throw up on one of her worse days. I completely admire her. I made jewelry and crochet stuffed animals to raise money for her family and helped acquire sponsors for an event that raised several thousand for the family. She just finished her last round of chemo and is now a good candidate for a liver transplant, when I received that news I cried tears of joy. This year, I am the B+ Hero Family Coordinator for the executive board of B+ on campus. Sophomore year of high school, my mom had breast cancer, I remember the fear of losing my mom but what I felt most was a pull to oncology. After Cassidy this only intensified. I got to speak to her oncologist, and discussed the field of pediatric oncology and he encouraged me that this is the right place for me to be. I want this world to be a place where no parents hear the words, "your child has cancer". I want to be able to contribute to making that diagnosis less scary for families, comforting them along the way. In American Cancer Society this last academic year, our group raised more than any other campus in the nation, upwards of $190,000. All of this goes towards cancer research, local hospitals, and our education efforts. This year I will be the logistics chair organizing Relay for Life on campus, where we invite survivors, those who are currently fighting, and their loved ones to the largest campus event year after year. We mourn those we have lost, and celebrate those we still have. The work I do in both of these groups is something I am truly proud of. I plan to attend medical school and become a pediatric oncologist. Not everyone can handle the tears, the throw up and heaviness that comes with working with sick kids every day. But I can, and I know that is a gift. I am a first generation college student, and my family is going through a lot emotionally and financially. This help towards my college expenses will help me immensely. Thank you for your time and consideration.

When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of my Junior year of high school, we didn't know what to do. Luckily, she had an amazing team of healthcare workers that forever changed her life. They gave her hope, and fight. After two surgeries and a double mastectomy, she was cancer-free. Once she left the hospital's doors for the last time, we said goodbye to her team, but we will never forget them. My end goal is to be that oncologist in someone's life. I want to be the physician that can tell the family that their loved one will be okay, and make them as comfortable as possible along the way. My name is Emma and I'm a rising freshman at UCLA on the pre-medicine track. I want to go into pediatric oncology, thanks to the people who made sure that my sister and I will have our mom for many years to come. As someone who is very engaged in helping those in my community, I've wanted to go into medicine even before my mom's battle. I started my community service the summer going into my freshman year of high school, and since then, I have collected over 400 hours. I've volunteered at the Santee Food Bank, Noah Homes for the Developmentally Disabled, East County Transitional Living Center, Sonrise Community Church, Santee YMCA, and beach clean-up clubs. As the president and co-founder of the Medical Pathway at my school, I even helped coordinate CPR classes, medical terminology courses, internships, study groups, and even a blood drive that was held on campus. Any volunteering opportunity that has been available to me, I have taken. Giving to others is endlessly rewarding to me. Getting to a medical career is no easy task. There's college, then medical school, residency, specialty training, and more than enough sleepless nights. I know just how hard I have to work to achieve my dream. Which is why I started working on my experience so early on in my undergraduate years. I got my BLS certification, took two additional high school courses on medical terminology, and worked an internship at Sharp Grossmont Hospital. The internship was through the program HESI (Health Exploration Summer Internship), put on by Grossmont Healthcare District. For three weeks, I was permitted to shadow in different areas of the hospital daily. I was able to explore different areas of medicine I hadn't previously given any thought. I got to shadow a surgery, a c-section, two vaginal births, and a huge variety of procedures. I was even drawn to the ER side of the hospital, where I saw a man have a stroke, and another have his life saved by the administration of Narcan. I was in awe, no matter what area of the hospital I was in, I knew I was in a place where I would happily work for the better portion of my life. Throughout my four years at UCLA, I plan to volunteer in local hospitals, gain clinical experience, and work in a medical research lab. I want to get involved to the best of my ability at my campus to ensure that I am the best possible candidate for medical school that I can be. Once I am in a medical career, I don't plan on putting an end to what I love. I still want to volunteer and advocate for change within our deeply flawed healthcare system. I know that I can make a difference in the lives of my patients and their families, and I will do anything I can to make it happen.

Since the seventh grade, I have known I wanted to pursue a career in the Healthcare field. Everyone around me either didn’t really know what they wanted to do, or it changed frequently. But that was never the case with me, I set my eyes on my goal and began working towards it as soon as I possibly could. I am the first in my family to go to college, as a second-generation American. My love for helping those around me started at a very young age, bringing food to the homeless downtown and helping at animal shelters. I thrived in the spirit of giving. Throughout my high school years, this inspired me to build my community service experience. I helped raise money for renovations at East County Transitional Living Center through many bake sales, volunteered at Noah Homes for the Developmentally Disabled, and worked many weekends at the Santee Food Bank. During my junior year, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I was inspired to look into becoming an oncology surgeon. Watching my mom, grandma, and great-grandma battle breast cancer was difficult, but I knew I was drawn to it. The care team that worked with my mom forever changed her life, to this day she remembers them by name. We were so grateful to have such a wonderful team working with her, and I strive to be that physician in a patient's life. Up until my senior year, I didn’t get much opportunity for clinical experience due to the pandemic. In my senior year, I became the co-founder and president of the Medical Pathway club at my school and helped organize many events on campus. I helped to coordinate guest speakers, bring online medical terminology classes, CPR classes, and even a blood drive on campus through the San Diego Blood Bank. This role only made me more confident in my decision. Toward the end of the year, I got an interview for an internship at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in the HESI Program. The HESI program was the Health Exploration Summer Internship, and participants would spend three weeks shadowing in the hospital in all different areas. I got a place in the internship, and the experience I had will forever stay with me. I was the only intern granted permission to watch a surgery. I shadowed a Laparoscopic appendectomy and cholecystectomy. I was surrounded by brilliant women in the OR who didn't doubt for a second that I would one day be in their shoes. The very next day, I got to be in the OR again, to witness a c-section. The moment the baby cried, I immediately joined her. The moment was beyond beautiful, and I was lucky enough to see three vaginal births after scrubbing out. Every day I learned more and more, I learned to take vitals, run an EKG, and was lucky enough to see behind the scenes in the lab and the supply distribution. I had patients that I will never forget, and I made lasting connections with all the workers. For every procedure I witnessed, the nurses were the first ones in and the last ones out, they made sure that everything was perfect, sterile, and ready for the lead. Each moment I have spent learning about medicine, and the healthcare environment, has inspired me to keep pushing for my goal no matter what is thrown my way. I will continue to volunteer and advocate for change in our healthcare system throughout my education.

I have already been sorted into the Slytherin house, and up until the re-popularization of the Harry Potter world, I was told that wasn't a good thing. I was told that I was part of the mean group who were relentless bullies. But if we look past the main characters in Slytherin, like death eaters and the Malfoys, there is a strong community that can prevail. The sorting hat claims that the Slytherin house is for the ambitious, cunning, loyal, strong leaders, and achievement-oriented. I believe that is a great match for me, bad apples can fall from any tree, but looking into the core values illuminate that no house is inherently bad. I have known that I have wanted to become a surgeon since the seventh grade, I have known I have a passion for helping my community. Once I decided on that future for myself, I never stopped pursuing it. Over my high school career, I collected over 400 community service hours. I volunteered for the Santee Food Bank, the San Diego Blood Bank, East County Transitional Living Center, Noah Homes for the Developmentally Disabled, Sonrise Community Church, Santee YMCA Gymnastics, El Capitan High School, C.A.T Adoption Center, a beach clean-up club, and local clean-ups. I was an Intern at Sharp Grossmont Hospital where I got to make connections in the hospital with the nurses, physicians, and scientists, and I learned more than I could have ever imagined. I learned how to take vitals, to run an EKG, and how to scrub into an operating room. I was the only Intern who was granted permission to shadow a surgery, which was a laparoscopic appendectomy and cholecystectomy. The experience will stick with me for the rest of my life. Another unforgettable experience was witnessing and C-section and three vaginal births. Everything I saw in the hospital solidified my pursuit of the medical field as a pediatric oncologist to help those in need as a lifelong career. Additionally, I took two online credit or no credit courses on top of my high school workload on Medical Terminology and got my CPR+AED certification. I was the president of my high school's medical pathway club, and the captain of the varsity gymnastics team at my school, I have been a leader for my community and my family. I worked incredibly hard to be where I am today as a rising freshman at the University of California, Los Angeles. I know that my hard work will continue as I follow the pre-med track. My ambition and dedication to my future make me the perfect fit for the Slytherin house.

I would recommend every read "On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong. This is a short novel written in the format of a letter from a son to a deceased mother reflecting on their lives. His family were Vietnamese immigrants who had PTSD from the Vietnam War. It shows the hardships his family faced in the aftermath of the war that affected all of their lives, giving insight into foreign affairs from a perspective not often thought about; the innocent civilians. The main character grew up in America but knew of the lives his mother and grandmother had to endure. His childhood was complicated due to both his mom's and grandma's PTSD and declining mental health, but in the end, they fought for each other and loved each other. As an immigrant child, his family told him not to express himself or stand out due to fear of bullying, because he was "already Vietnamese". As he grew older and was working hard at a farm, he fell in love with his male coworker. They both grew to realize that they were gay, in the 1990's. Their love had to be a secret, and both characters fought poverty, discrimination, complicated home lives, and addiction. This story shines the light on changes that still need to be made to accommodate the lives of immigrants in our country, and the changes that need to be made in our foreign affairs. It was a beautiful coming-of-age story that showed a raw, real, devastating life story.

My favorite song within Taylor Swift's '1989' album is Blank Space. During the time that Taylor wrote this song, she was facing constant backlash from the media for dating around, and only writing about her ex-boyfriends. This stigma is never placed against male artists, who all do the same things. Her rise to fame was scrutinized by people who hold these sexist ideals, even if they didn't realize that the root of their disapproval lies in sexism. She received the most backlash from her songs about Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer. This song is a more satirical response to the negativity being thrown her way. If the media was going to portray her as a "man-eater", why not indulge? In the first few lines of the song, she sings, "You look like my next mistake, love's a game, wanna play". This opened the scene up to her assuming the role that her haters attempted to push on her. She follows this by talking about how rumors fly, and how he must have heard them. Instead of talking about how the rumors really weren't true, she took on the role and made an extremely successful song doing so. Much of the backlash came from the ex's writing about her, or talking about her to the media in a negative light post-breakup. This is where she comes in to say "I've got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane. She even feeds more into being the "crazy girlfriend" talking about how she warned them. Which she did, during the release of her Fearless album where she stated on live TV, "if guys don't want me to write bad songs about them, they shouldn't do bad things." So really, she did leave a warning. This is her trying to show her side of the story, and how her anger was justified. Once she realized she couldn't be that "sweet next-door girl" that she once portrayed, she showed her listeners that she was a strong independent woman, while jokingly playing into what society had decided she was. The men she dated didn't receive this kind of backlash in their music careers, which is exactly why she chose to fight back. Since then, Blank Space has reached over 1 billion streams on Spotify, giving all her listeners the same confidence she had to grow into to face the negativity being thrown at her still to this day.

My greatest achievement to date was my internship at Sharp Grossmont Hospital this summer. There was a program, called HESI- the Health Exploration Summer Internship, held at Sharp Grossmont Hospital. After an interview with the director of the Health Pathway, I was granted a spot in the internship. I was one of only fifteen students offered this position. They sized me for scrubs, I got my vaccines, tests, and a background check. Then it was finally our first day in the hospital. Our role was to shadow in different areas of the hospital each day, build connections, and advocate for learning opportunities within the hospital. On my first day, I was in the Oncology nursing unit, I was in awe of how everyone worked together. I practiced doctor’s notes, helped with basic care, and interacted with nurses, doctors, and their patients. On my second day, I was in the Pre-Operative and Post-Operative Care Unit. I had low hopes of being able to shadow surgery since the student who asked yesterday got a hard no. But despite my anxieties, I spoke up for myself. I spoke directly to the surgeon of a patient I had helped care for in Pre-Op and was granted permission to shadow her, and was directed to the manager of surgery to get a consent form for the patient. I was taught to scrub in for a Laparoscopic Appendectomy and Cholecystectomy. I was in an all-woman operating room, and the feeling I felt was indescribable. I got to follow the patient to post-op and was there to help feed her ice chips when she woke up. The very next day, I was in Labor and Delivery, as I often babysit through the summer, I was very excited to be in this rotation. Right off the bat, I met a wonderful couple who was having a baby girl through c-section. I got their permission to be in the OR, and I will never forget those 43 minutes. Her baby girl came out beautiful and healthy, and as soon as she cried for the first time, I did too. Following this, I got to see two live births. Through the rest of the days, I got to witness incredible procedures, learn to do vitals and EKGs, and was able to meet amazing healthcare workers and patients who will stay in my heart forever. Those few weeks solidified my passion for the healthcare field and made me confident in my path as a pre-med student. If you are a woman in medicine, or if you know one. You are familiar with the negativity constantly being thrown in your direction. People doubt you and underestimate you. All of that had built up over the years, sometimes I even began to think they were right. But what I learned is the people who are saying those things are people who aren't in healthcare. The people inside the hospital are the exact opposite. Not one person within that building made me feel like my love for the medical field made me less of a woman, and less fit to one day, be a mother or wife. Not one person looked at me and asked what my backup plan was. Everyone I worked with told me that I can and will accomplish it. All that built-up weight is off my shoulders now. One day I hope to be working by the side of the physicians who taught me that I can and will achieve my dream.

My health journey wasn't as simple as workout programs and multivitamin ads make it seem. My health journey was a fight for my life. I was a gymnast for the majority of my life, but in my sophomore year, after being freed from an abusive relationship, my physical and mental health took a nosedive. I developed severe anorexia and depression while trying to stay afloat amidst an ongoing court case against my abuser. Due to my health, I dropped charges to focus on recovery. I underwent weekly hospital check-ins to get my vitals done and blood drawn for months. About a year in, I began to recover. My sister, who was four at the time, was the reason I made it to where I am today. She was losing her older sister, and I couldn't leave her. I fought to recover and found my love for gymnastics and working out again, but to do that I had to recognize that food is fuel. This was not easy for me, it had become ingrained in my mind that I had to starve myself, a meal I didn't skip was a failure in my mind. That voice in my head was the hardest to get rid of. My mom cried at the dinner table begging me to eat, and I could only respond with cries of my own. But I made it out. I went through heavy therapy and had to move out of my biological father's home, I would have never recovered in such a negative environment. Two years later, I still am not allowed to know what I weigh and am discouraged from looking at the nutrition label on the back of my snacks, but that voice that once controlled my mind is only a faint whisper now. I am stronger, physically and mentally now. Food is fuel for my mind, body, and soul. I am confident in the body I have now, even though I wear the scars of my past, I wear them proudly because they show my ability to overcome. I am now an advocate for recovery on social media and have helped many people whom I now consider friends. I came back to life when I fought for my health. Even though my journey is on the extreme side, I know that it applies to even the smallest of scenarios. Your physical health is key to your mental health.

As an upcoming freshman at the University of California, Los Angeles, one thing I am excited the most about is the environment. Everyone around me worked just as hard as I did to get to this university, and the majority of them are so kind, brilliant, and driven. It is a truly incredible feeling to be surrounded by people who lift me up because they are just as passionate about their higher education as I am. My college is the number 1 university of campus food choices, so I know that I will be able to fuel my body with nutritious choices every day. The gym on campus is free for all students, and it is huge. As a gymnast for the majority of my life, I have been working out and weightlifting. Having access to this daily will keep my mind and body healthy and stable. I am incredibly excited to learn in the college environment, as a pre-med student I know that my studies are tailored to my passions. Maintaining a healthy mind, body, and soul requires a routine. I have no Friday classes, and no classes in the mornings or evenings. Which gives me the time I need to come down to see my family on the weekends, work out in the mornings, and study through the day. The schedule I have sets me up for success because once I am into my weekly routine, I will be able to have time for my studies, and my health. I will continue video therapy appointments even when I am not struggling throughout college because I know that it is beneficial to have a professional to talk to. I will use my resources on campus for counseling and peer support to the best of my abilities. When I struggled in high school, I learned to advocate for myself when I was battling a severe eating disorder. Ever since then, I have been on a strong route to staying in recovery, and I know the resources I have around me to make sure that I am prioritizing myself. I know that I am equipped to face anything that is thrown my way in college, and even when I find myself struggling, I know I am strong enough to reach out for help. The biggest challenge I will be facing is the financial aspect of paying for college, and as soon as I start on campus I will find a flexible work-study job to help me stay out of as much debt as possible. My family cannot help much with finances, but I know that my hard work will pay off. But anything helps, thank you for your time and consideration.

It is particularly important to me to keep healthy eating habits, but not for the reason most teens my age do. I was a gymnast for the majority of my life, and my mom is a personal trainer. So fitness has always been ingrained in my daily routines. I work out a lot and eat enough protein to build my muscles. At 17, I joined an adult fitness competition for fun and did honestly really well compared to trained adults twice my size. I've learned that food is fuel, but I came to this conclusion the hard way. After getting out of an incredibly toxic relationship that went on from my eighth grade to almost my junior year in high school, my mental health took a nosedive. I was battling an ongoing court case with my ex-boyfriend, which I eventually dropped to try and save myself from further mental health issues. During this time, I developed a severe eating disorder from the aftermath of the relationship. After over a year of fighting anorexia, and severe depression, I made it. I started to recover. I had to get labs weekly to make sure that my body was seeing the effects of the improvement and began to enjoy the life I had again. Depriving myself of food made my mental health even worse than it was in the beginning, I hated every inch of myself, and couldn't look at my body in the mirror without crying. As I recovered, my depression began to improve. I was happy again. I fought the lingering "ana voice" (internal anorexia thoughts) for two years, and now I am confident and comfortable in my body. I work out, I eat things that make me feel strong, and I see the effects. My family began to see the effects too. My younger sister Avery is six years old, and she is the reason I fought so hard to recover. She worried about her big sister, who had to be at the doctor's office all the time, who had no energy to play with her- barely enough to stand on her own two feet. I have become the sister I was once again. I take her to the park all the time, taught her how to swim at the pool, and I have the energy to be the big sister she deserves. Nutrition goes further than the well-being of your body, it reaches your mind. Living a healthy lifestyle helps you achieve a healthy mind. As a Pre-med student, I plan to advocate for this throughout my career.

I am a rising freshman at the University of California, Los Angeles. I am a pre-med student as a major in Physiological Science, and I am an aspiring Oncology surgeon. I am incredibly passionate about the field of healthcare, especially in Oncology. I just completed an internship at Sharp Grossmont Hospital where I got to shadow surgeries, births, lab testing, and a multitude of procedures. I was the Medical Pathway president and co-founder, and I have gathered over three hundred hours of volunteer work. How did I get to be so passionate about the medical field? My great-grandmother and my grandma are both survivors of breast cancer. So when my mom was diagnosed with stage one ductal carcinoma in December of 2021, she had support from her loved ones. But her path to recovery was emotionally and financially difficult. I feared I was losing the one parent in my life who had stuck with me through it all. I cried alone, asking a god I wasn't sure I even thought was real why he would do this to our family. She had a double mastectomy, and after two surgeries she was cancer free. I helped drain her tubes and watched her recovery closely. Two months after her surgery, my stepmother went in for a mammogram. The doctors told her she was extremely high risk, and if she were to begin developing a tumor, it would be hard to detect. So she also got a double mastectomy. I think it is selfish to fear for my own future while there are people who are currently suffering from breast cancer, but it is a lingering thought. Through my mother's care, the physicians and nurses working with her truly made a lifelong impact, and I am inspired to do the same. Oncology surgery seems to be extremely rewarding to me. To be the person who actually removes the tumor plaguing their patient's body is a healthcare position like no other. It is one thing to treat a patient with a medication, or therapy, but when you are actually the one removing what is causing the problems- you are the medicine, you are the treatment. With such an alarming amount of relatives who have fought cancer, I am not just worried for my future, but the future of everyone who may face breast cancer in the future. I strive to be the one to help them, and further the medical understanding of cancer- how we can fight it- and ultimately how to beat it for good.

In December 2021, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was hard on our family, emotionally and financially. She didn't have to fight alone though, her mother and grandmother were proof that she would be okay. Both of them have survived breast cancer, and a few brushes with skin cancer. I had to take on a very active role in the house and the caretaking of my younger sister while my mom was recovering. She is currently cancer-free after two surgeries, including a double mastectomy. I remember the night she told me. We cried together, me in her arms even though I should have been the one able to cradle her. I didn't think we would reach recovery, I was scared that I was losing the only parent who had ever fully stuck by my side. During her treatment, I learned everything there was to know about her cancer. Ductal carcinoma- stage 1 grade A. Not very progressed, but possibly aggressive. After her surgeries, I helped tend to her drainage tubes and watched her recovery carefully. My mom had a mass of poison in her body one day, and the next day it was gone thanks to her care team. Two months after my mother's final surgery, my stepmother went in for a mammogram. They told her that she was high risk and it would be difficult to even detect cancer in her early on. So she also got a double mastectomy. My mother's close friend was fighting stage four breast cancer at this time. She needed chemo, radiation, and surgery. But now, two years later- she won. My best friend's mother is currently battling stage two breast cancer, but it is not easy. I have seen the strongest women in my life get knocked down by breast cancer. The women who I saw as invincible. With the rather alarming amount of women in my life who have had breast cancer, not only am I concerned for my own health, but the health of all women. I am a rising freshman at UCLA as a pre-med student, majoring in Physiological Science. I am passionate about healthcare, but mostly, the field of oncology. My mother's oncology team changed her life. She remembers each of them by name and even started a friendship with one of her nurses. I want to become that person in my patients' lives. But truthfully, I am scared for myself. Will I get to have children? Will I live? All the what if's go through my head, but I know that with the progression of science and knowledge on breast cancer, I will be okay no matter what gets thrown my way. I strive to be a part of bettering the medical understanding and research on breast cancer. As of now, I want to become an Oncology surgeon. I want to see the change I am making in the lives of patients. Being hands-on in the OR, removing the tumor feels like the most rewarding position I could ever put myself in. During my internship at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, I got to be in the pathology lab and witness a breast tumor being dissected. Something so small had caused so much trouble, but it was fascinating. Even though there is not an end-all-be-all "cure" to cancer yet, I want to be a part of getting as close to it as possible. Thank you for your time and consideration to help fund my pre-medical education.

My name is Emma Ashworth, I just graduated from El Capitan high school as an honors graduate and a gold completer of our school's medical pathway. I am an incoming freshman at UCLA, majoring in Physiological Science on the Pre-Med track. I am very passionate about healthcare and the betterment of our world. I frequently volunteer wherever I can. I have volunteered with Noah Homes for the developmentally disabled, Santee food bank, East County Transitional Living Center, and the San Diego blood bank. Directly following graduation, I started an internship at Sharp Grossmont Hospital through the Health Exploration Summer Internship program. This program is funded by the Grossmont Healthcare District and put on with the help of the Grossmont Union High School District. The internship at the hospital was a life-changing experience, and although I have always wanted to go into medicine, this confirmed it. One of the things I am most grateful to have seen was what goes on behind the scenes. I got to be in the laboratory, taking samples around and observing the meticulous work that they do. It made me wonder how many people on the floors above them know just how much work goes on to get their results back to their screens. For every procedure I witnessed, the nurses were the first ones in and the last ones out, they made sure that everything was perfect, sterile, and ready for the lead. Seeing all of this gave me a deep appreciation for every role in the hospital. Everyone is equally important to patient care, but it can be hard to fully appreciate things you have never seen. I know that those moments will make me a better physician in the future- and I think everyone in healthcare could benefit from seeing this. I am deeply grateful for every moment I spent in the hospital, but some days will stick with me forever. I was lucky enough to help care for a patient in Pre-Op, scrub in to observe their laparoscopic appendectomy and cholecystectomy, and be at their side with a cup full of ice chips when the anesthesia wore off in the recovery room. As someone who has been an aspiring surgeon since the seventh grade, I was in awe. Being surrounded by incredibly smart women in the OR was a feeling I cannot begin to describe. Every encounter in the hospital made me confident in my decision to pursue this field. I aspire to be like the physicians that I worked alongside. Last December, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and for a while life was scary. But she recovered, following a double mastectomy. Every physician on her care team made an unforgettable impact on her life, and mine. So as of now, I am hoping to become an oncology surgeon. I want to be able to be that life-changing person in the lives of my patients, and I will do anything to get there. I want to be able to bring my love for volunteering into my love for the medical field as well. Once I am established in a career, I want to join or start a non-profit organization to help with the medical bills for pediatric cancer patients in need. Until then, I plan to continue to volunteer in the medical field to help in any way I can. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Hi, my name is Emma Ashworth, and after graduation I will further my education at the University of California, Los Angeles. I am majoring in Physiological Science on the Pre-Med track, hoping to attend their Medical School for Pediatric Oncology Surgery. I am the Medical Pathway club co-founder and president, I have gotten CPR certification and will be graduating as a gold-level completer of the pathway. I make it a goal to be an active participant in my community. Before I even started high school, I was a frequent volunteer at Sonrise Community Church in Santee. In the past four years, I have done over two hundred community service hours. With other high school students at Sonrise, I have volunteered frequently at the Santee Food Bank. We would bag and distribute non-perishables and essentials like toilet paper, toothbrushes, etc., to families who need them, no questions asked. We have held bake sales to raise money for the East County Transitional Living Center for their renovations and the improvement of the quality of life for residents. After only two bake sales I helped with, we had raised over two thousand dollars for the organization. On my own, I have volunteered at Noah Homes for the Developmentally disabled during their annual Christmas celebrations. My uncle has Down syndrome and is a resident at the home, so anytime I get the chance I’m glad to help. During their Christmas events, there is a walkthrough of lights, a Santa, crafts, games, food, and drinks for everyone attending. I have helped make treats and run games for the kids. The event raises money to keep the cost of living there as low as possible. I also often go to Ocean Beach with a few trash bags and look for as much trash along the shore and tide pools as possible. As a gymnast since the age of seven at the Santee YMCA, once I got older, I was a volunteer whenever needed at competitions for other levels. I would "judge" the younger gymnasts, assist judges at their tables, or work the snack bar to help fund the competitions gymnasts need to travel for. Wherever I go throughout life, my goal is to help the community around me as much as I can. Volunteer work has changed my life for the better, and made me grateful for what I do have. Serving those around me also solidified my decision to follow a career in Healthcare. My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother have all had breast cancer at one point in their life. Unfortunately for my mom, that was last December. On December 24th, her results came back and she was told she had breast cancer. Specifically, Ductal Carcinoma, stage one, grade three. It wasn't very progressed, but it was aggressive so we acted fast. She began treatment and had a double mastectomy on March 25th and another in May to ensure it was gone. She is currently cancer free, and we are grateful for every minute we have had together since. I have always been drawn to the medical field, but this pushed my interest forward, and I plan on becoming a Pediatric Oncology surgeon. I want to be able to leave an impact on my patients like the doctors that worked with my family did. I will continue to volunteer throughout college until I can be hands-on saving lives in the world of healthcare.

I will be furthering my education at the University of California, Los Angeles this fall. I am majoring in Physiological Science on the Pre-Med track, hoping to attend their Medical School for Pediatric Oncology Surgery. I have always loved the medical field, and am a frequent volunteer wherever I am needed. Before I even started high school, I was a frequent volunteer at Sonrise Community Church in Santee. In the past four years, I have done over two hundred community service hours. With other high school students at Sonrise, I have volunteered frequently at the Santee Food Bank. We would bag and distribute non-perishables and essentials like toilet paper, toothbrushes, etc., to families who need them, no questions asked. We have held bake sales to raise money for the East County Transitional Living Center for their renovations and the improvement of the quality of life for residents. After only two bake sales I helped with, we had raised over two thousand dollars for the organization. On my own, I have volunteered at Noah Homes for the Developmentally disabled during their annual Christmas celebrations. My uncle has Down syndrome and is a resident at the home, so anytime I get the chance I’m glad to help. During their Christmas events, there is a walkthrough of lights, a Santa, crafts, games, food, and drinks for everyone attending. I have helped make treats and run games for the kids. The event raises money to keep the cost of living there as low as possible. I also often go to Ocean Beach with a few trash bags and look for as much trash along the shore and tide pools as possible. As a gymnast since the age of seven at the Santee YMCA, once I got older, I was a volunteer whenever needed at competitions for other levels. I would "judge" the younger gymnasts, assist judges at their tables, or work the snack bar to help fund the competitions gymnasts need to travel for. Wherever I go throughout life, my goal is to help the community around me as much as I can. Volunteer work has changed my life for the better, and made me grateful for what I do have. Serving those around me has solidified my decision to follow a career in Healthcare. As much as I volunteered and worked with my community, I am needed at home more than the average seventeen-year-old. Unfortunately, the December of last year, my mom went in for her first routine mammogram. On December 24th, her results came back and she was told she had breast cancer. Specifically, Ductal Carcinoma, stage one, grade three. It wasn't very progressed, but it was aggressive so we acted fast. She began treatment and had a double mastectomy on March 25th and another in May to ensure it was gone. She is currently cancer free, and we are grateful for every minute we have had together since. I have always been drawn to the medical field, but this pushed my interest forward, and I plan on becoming a Pediatric Oncology surgeon. I want to be able to leave an impact on my patients like the doctors that worked with my mom did. I was told I had a role. I had to fit the mold of a wife, mother, and homemaker. That life can be fulfilling to some, but I know I am meant to do more. I am meant to be in healthcare.

This fall I will be attending the University of California, Los Angeles. I am majoring in Physiological Science on the Pre-Med track, hoping to attend their Medical School for Pediatric Oncology Surgery. My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother have all at one point been diagnosed with breast cancer. The team that worked with them forever changed their lives, and my goal is to be that person for my patient. My goal is to get as many medical volunteer hours, and internships to prepare me for medical school. This summer I will be an intern at Sharp Grossmont Hospital. I will be shadowing doctors in a different area of the hospital for a span of three weeks. I volunteer heavily in my community and I hope to continue this through college. As a first-generation college student, I have all the emotional support I could ask for, but financial support is where we struggle. I plan on working as a full-time college student to take as much of the costs off of them as possible. We live paycheck to paycheck most months, and I know it will be even worse if they have to take out loans for my college. I grew up in an unstable and financially struggling home for most of my life, I don’t want to be the reason my six-year-old sister does too. Housing in Los Angeles is the expense I worry about the most. I will be paying around twenty thousand a year to live in a three-person dorm on campus. I want to take out as few loans as possible since Medical school will also be expensive. This scholarship would help not only my life but the life of my family as well. I am the first-born granddaughter to my immigrant Mexican family, meaning I have a neverending crowd of younger family members looking up to me as their role model. For much of my life, I was told I had a role. I had to fit the mold of a wife, mother, and homemaker. That life can be fulfilling to some, but I know I am meant to do more. Only two percent of surgeons are Hispanic women, and I will achieve that goal no matter the obstacles that come my way. Being able to afford college will help me prove that they can accomplish just as much and get to save lives while doing it. I am immensely grateful for any help I can get. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Outside of school, I make it a goal to be an active participant in my community. Before I even started high school, I was a frequent volunteer at Sonrise Community Church in Santee. In the past four years, I have done over two hundred community service hours. The majority of these hours were done during the summer VBS program. This program is a daytime summer camp for local children from 8-12 a.m. for five days. There is food, live music, games, and water slides for the kids to enjoy for a small cost to make the fun available for as many kids as possible. On average, around one thousand kids from preschool to eighth grade attend each year. My role is as a lead volunteer outside at the water games and slides to ensure the safety of all the kids and make sure they have fun. The other hours were collected working childcare during various events, as a server for dinners held at the church, and even as a performer for live music. With other high school students at Sonrise, I have volunteered frequently at the Santee Food Bank. We would bag and distribute non-perishables and essentials like toilet paper, toothbrushes, etc., to families who need them, no questions asked. We have held bake sales to raise money for the East County Transitional Living Center for their renovations and the improvement of the quality of life for residents. After only two bake sales I helped with, we had raised over two thousand dollars for the organization. On my own, I have volunteered at Noah Homes for the Developmentally disabled during their annual Christmas celebrations. My uncle has Down syndrome and is a resident at the home, so anytime I get the chance I’m glad to help. During their Christmas events, there is a walkthrough of lights, a Santa, crafts, games, food, and drinks for everyone attending. I have helped make treats and run games for the kids. The event raises money to keep the cost of living there as low as possible. I also often go to Ocean Beach with a few trash bags and look for as much trash along the shore and tide pools as possible. As a gymnast since the age of seven at the Santee YMCA, once I got older, I was a volunteer whenever needed at competitions for other levels. I would "judge" the younger gymnasts, assist judges at their tables, or work the snack bar to help fund the competitions gymnasts need to travel for. Along with all of this, I am needed at home more than the average high school student. I have a six-year-old sister, and last year my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her treatment, I had to step up in my home with my sister and household tasks. She is now cancer free, but it was a long road to get to this point. Wherever I go throughout life, my goal is to help the community around me as much as I can. Volunteer work has changed my life for the better, and made me grateful for what I do have. Serving those around me also solidified my decision to follow a career in Healthcare.

I have always been an empathetic person. I was (and still am) the kid that scooped bees out of the pool with their bare hands and tread lightly in the grass, being careful not to disturb any families living between the blades. As I grew, my love for all living things amplified. I volunteered at animal shelters, local food banks, and with beach clean-up crews. I was a problematic child when it came to my health. I had pretty severe asthma and was frequently in and out of urgent care for breathing treatments. I was not the type of patient to resist the doctors or the type to be uninterested in my care. I was always extremely curious, talking to the team caring for me about their job, where they went to medical school, and what they did to get there. I would ask questions incessantly until they left the room. I began to love the environment around me throughout my care. My compassion, paired with my growing love for science led me to the medical pathway offered at my high school. Caring for people seemed to be what I was destined to do with my life. I have known that I wanted to go into oncology since the seventh grade, my grandma had battled it when I was younger, and I felt drawn to it. This interest in the field only grew when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer just a year and two months ago. I learned everything there was to learn about her diagnosis and even helped drain her surgical tubes after her double mastectomy in April of last year. She won her battle with cancer and is now cancer free, but this experience solidified what I wanted to do in the medical field. I have worked in childcare for years at my church, and I work very well with children, which led me to want to work in pediatric oncology. In the field of oncology, I want to be a person of comfort in my patient's care. I want to be there for them like my doctors were for me, and like the doctors my mother and grandmother had. A doctor that takes the time to sit with their patient and answer any questions, to help ease any fears, is a doctor that a patient will remember for the rest of their life. I want to be that person in each one of my young patients' lives.

My uncle is one of three brothers. My father, my other uncle, and him. He is the only one of the three who does not own or use firearms. He attended Santana High School in Santee, CA. On March 5, 2001, a fifteen-year-old gunman opened fire on the campus. Resulting in 13 injuries, and two dead. My uncle's best friend, Randy Gordon, was killed in this shooting. My childhood best friend, Nevin, and I met in kindergarten. Her father was never around, and it greatly affected her life. Her father was in prison for accidentally firing a fatal shot at his best friend. He was in jail for fifteen years. In 2017, my aunt attended the Harvest music festival and Las Vegas Nevada. There, a gunman fired more than one thousand bullets, killing fifty-nine people and injuring more than five hundred of them. She will likely suffer from PTSD symptoms for the rest of her life. I am an American High School student, those three stories will not be the end of my personal connections to gun violence if we as a country do not make changes. I have had nightmares of being stuck in a school shooting, and I've sat against a wall in a dark room with other students- away from all windows to practice for worst-case scenarios. I have been told that my three best options are to run, hide, and fight. These three options have been drilled into my head since elementary school. If the shooter is far away, run, run as fast as you can. If he's close, hide, because your life depends on it. If you're found, fight, fight with all the power you can muster. These should not be a students only three options, there are further preventative things we can do as a country to make sure each child makes it to lunch alive. Knowing that mental health and treatment by peers, unfortunately, plays a role in school shootings/gun violence. I am part of a club on my campus, El Capitan 4 Change. This club's main goal is to make school a more positive environment and make sure that students are treated with the same respect, regardless of race, gender identity, sexuality, or religion. I am currently an open advocate for gun regulations to be increased nation wide. In the future I plan on advocating for change in many ways. As a doctor in the future, I want to donate to organizations pushing for change, I will attend protests, and speak openly about the changes that need to happen. I will be in the field of pediatrics in one way or the other, and I will advocate that no child should come to my hospital needing treatment from a bullet wound.

I am a senior in high school, and I am interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. I have always loved helping others, and have been a very active volunteer. I have volunteered with my local food bank, a beach clean-up club, the San Diego Blood Bank, Noah Homes for the developmentally disabled, and Sonrise Santee Church, and helped raise money for East Country Transitional Living Center. Over the past four years, I have collected 90+ volunteer hours. I am the co-founder and president of the Medical Pathway Club at my school. Through this, I played a role in bringing to campus: guest speakers, a blood drive, and a CPR certification class. I was a volunteer at the blood drive, and I also became CPR certified. The club's goal is to prepare students for college and medical school and find the area of medicine they are most interested in. We learned basic medical skills like blood pressure readings and suturing as well. I have been a competitive gymnast since the age of seven, and competed for all four years of high school, receiving the recognition for "Academic Athlete", and receiving Honor Roll grades during my sports season. I have taken ten AP courses, and currently have a weighted GPA of 4.2. I took two additional online courses on Medical Terminology and received credits for both. I took a college-level dual enrollment course for English in the fall semester of this year and passed, so I already have some college credits. I am the yearbook senior editor and am a teacher's assistant in Medical Biology at the freshman level. This scholarship would help me tremendously. I live with my mother, stepfather, and six-year-old sister. My mother had breast cancer last year, and she is now cancer free but is unable to work and has not been able to for over a year now. This makes us a single-income household, my stepfather is in the Navy, and even with that, he has to work side jobs frequently to keep food on the table. Unfortunately, my family will not be able to help me with much of my costs for college and medical school. I will be attending UCLA at the College of Letters and Science, and housing is the expense I am most worried about. LA is a very expensive place to live, and I will be paying for it on my own for the most part- trying my best to touch federal loans as little as possible in order to stay out of too much debt. This scholarship could help me stay afloat in college in order to reach medical school. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

I have volunteered with many organizations. From the SD Blood Bank, Santee Food Bank, Noah Homes for the developmentally disabled, East County Transitional Living Center, Sonrise Community Church in Santee, Cat Adoption center, and beach or community clean-up clubs. The volunteering experience that has stuck with me the most was with Santee Food Bank. At this food bank, I would arrive early in the mornings on Saturdays and organize essentials like toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. into bags with nonperishables and easily cooked meals. We would have cars coming through for hours, sometimes there would be just one person in the car, and we would load them up with bags according to how many people live in their homes. When mothers came through with their kids in the back, they would be buckled up in the back seats, and thank us with the purest smiles I've ever seen. Car after car, I realized just how many people in my town needed help with such essential items. This experience really accelerated my love for volunteering and giving back to my community whenever possible. It really opens your eyes up to the change that needs to happen in our country to assure that no home goes without food to put on their dinner table. I knew that I could be in their position in a heartbeat, and it made me insanely grateful for what I do have. We are not the most well-off family, but we are financially stable enough to be on the volunteer side of these events. My father grew up homeless for a good portion of his life, so I have been raised to never take what I have for granted. I am pursuing a career in the medical field to continue my love for giving back to my community. Unfortunately, that education route is extremely expensive. I live with my mother, stepfather, and my six-year-old sister. My mother had breast cancer last year, and she is now cancer free but is still on the path to recovery. Due to this, my stepfather, who is in the Navy, is our home's sole source of income. Military salary isn't necessarily extravagant, so in order to keep a roof over our head and everyone fed, he has to work side jobs often. I will be attending UCLA under the College of Letters and Science and will be majorly responsible for paying all the expenses while living on campus as a full-time student. I know that I will need to work while at college no matter how much I gain from scholarships, but any help is tremendously appreciated.

Throughout my life, I have learned that small actions can have an impact on much more than you may think. I was raised in the type of family that valued volunteering and giving to those who need it, and caring for the environment was a top priority, even though we didn't have much ourselves. I am mainly inspired by my inclination to help people, leading me to want a career in the medical field, bt it extends much past just medicine. At a young age, I was handmaking tortillas by the hundreds to make food for the homeless in downtown San Diego, helping foster cats and kittens out for adoption, and participating in beach clean-ups. As I grew older I started participating in my church volunteering, and now have been a volunteer for four consecutive years in their summer day camp program, being a lead volunteer for outside games making sure the hundreds of children are safe and having fun. This program is week-long, and it provides summer fun for local kids who may not have the money to participate in bigger summer programs like the YMCA or play in the water at SeaWorld, we provide just as much fun, at a much cheaper cost. Through the church, I have also helped raise money for East County Transitional Living Center for the homeless or people seeking long-term shelter from domestic violence. We have raised a few thousand dollars to help with their renovations, and I have been an active participant in these fundraisers. I have frequently volunteered with Santee Food Bank, helping to ease the struggles of low-income families in the area. I am in the beach clean-up club and often go on my own to pick up trash at San Diego's most popular beaches. I am an advocate for living a greener life and watching our impact on the environment, my friend and I will also collect plastics and cans from family members to take to recycling centers. I am co-founder and president of the medical pathway club at my school, and with this position, I am a big voice to the students in the club, and on campus. Our club held a blood drive on campus, where I was a volunteer, and encouraged students of age to donate, and other students to help volunteer. I went in front of multiple classes at church to announce the blood drive, had it mass-shared on social media, and made posters to post about campus. Our class had a guest speaker on organ donation, that day I registered myself as an organ donor and talked with my peers, convincing others to do so by presenting information I had learned. I am in the club El Cap For Change, a club at my school that is focused on making our campus a more positive place for people of all races, gender, sexualities, and religions. I have attended many peaceful protests for causes I believe in, and I will continue to try and reach my community no matter where I am at in life.

I think an attribute that makes me unique is my empathy, not just to humans, but for every living thing. I was raised to respect all creatures on earth, from my peers to the smallest of bugs. In elementary school, I was the kid to stand on the grass field and make sure no kids came by and trampled over the small flowers that the bees were most drawn to. Anytime I was at the pool I would keep an eye out for bees who were deceived by the water, picking them up with my bare hands and letting them sit on me until they have finished their lengthy process of drying off and preparing for flight. I have always had a love for the creatures that are less loved in this world. Bees, spiders, sharks, moths, ants, etc. I swam far out in the ocean, never fearing "shark-infested waters", knowing I was an invader in their home, and as a guest, I must respect their space. I would gather shells admire their beauty by taking a picture, and scatter them back where I found them, knowing they might be a future home for some small sea critter. I still am just as gentle with the life around me today, picking up bees that have gone flightless in the rain, treading lightly in the grass being careful not to disturb a potential home. I've started to do this on a larger scale now that I have the opportunity. I have helped foster cats, volunteered with shelters, joined a beach clean-up club, and been watchful of my impact on the environment. I have volunteered with a group home for the developmentally disabled, volunteered with the Santee Food Bank and the Ec Center for Transitional Living, become CPR certified, volunteered at a blood drive, and become co-founder and president of the medical pathway club at my school. I started my path toward the medical field to continue caring for this world. I'm incredibly passionate about going into the medical field and have been since the fifth grade. I remember my spring break in elementary school, it was a Saturday morning and I had stayed up relatively late researching colleges and medical programs. At an age when many students had no realistic idea of where they wanted to go with their future, I already had the desire to help people pulling on my heart relentlessly. I have known for a long time that I was deeply empathetic and my life would be wasted if I did not follow my passions. I plan to continue volunteering throughout my life, but my main goal is to go into pediatric oncology. Oncology can be a very heavy field, especially when working with children, but I think that the reward of saving a life far outweighs the drawbacks of the career. I cannot wait to give back to the earth that has given me everything I have ever needed, I am forever in the debt to this world, but I can chip it away little by little by pursuing a career in the medical field.

I am not sure what first drew me to the idea of following a career in the medical field, because I was sure of it so early on- I had begun researching medical schools by the third grade. But, there were definitely things that pushed my curiosity further. My grandma has breast cancer when I was eight years old, and I remember sitting with her during her chemo treatments, I always looked up to the staff that worked with her. I had extreme asthma growing up, and I was constantly in and out of the hospital for breathing treatments and chest x-rays. I was the kind of patient that interrogated the doctors and nurses working with me about what their title was, where they went to school, what they love, etc, doing anything but keeping the thermometer in my mouth. On December 25, 2021, my mother received the call that she had breast cancer. During her treatment I would take notes, learning everything there was to know about her tumors. After her double mastectomy, I even learned how to empty her surgical drains. This all came easy to me, and with an intense passion to keep learning more about the field. Her cancer has now gone away, but my love for medicine has not. Coming from a family that immigrated from Mexico, each achievement I have made so far has shocked my family, especially since I am a first-generation college student. My younger cousins, siblings, nieces, and nephews have been watching me on my journey, looking up to me as proof that Latinx students can get just as far. I plan on staying active in social justice throughout college, and fighting for Latinx students, especially Latin women, to one day have equity amongst white peers. Once I have my white coat and have finished medical school, I want to make sure that Hispanic patients receive the same treatment as all others, and make it easy for them to find staff that speaks Spanish, like myself, if they do not speak English. Language barriers can be tough in the medical field, and I want patients to be able to receive the best quality care possible. I plan on donating to communities, and possibly doing work in Mexico if I get the opportunity to practice abroad in my career. Once I am stable, I also want to be able to help my younger family members navigate their way through college, or whatever life path they chose for themselves, being able to offer both financial and emotional support.

I want to go into the medical field as either a pediatric oncologist or pulmonologist. As someone who grew up with asthma, I am drawn to pulmonology, and as the daughter of a breast cancer survivor, I am drawn to oncology. I love working with kids, I frequently do so at Sonrise Church in Santee CA, as a childcare worker for events, and although I have always wanted to go into the medical field, this job pulled my heart towards pediatrics. I know that my calling is in the medical field, and I want to be hands-on in saving the lives of our youth. I want to allow children to live the rest of their lives as happily and healthily as possible. I plan to continue volunteering and doing community service work and use my education to promote it as much as possible. I have previously volunteered for Noah Homes Living Center for the Developmentally Disabled in San Diego, working with residents with special needs, since my uncle, who has down syndrome, is a resident. I plan to continue working with them by donating, and advertising their events whenever possible. I have worked with Santee Food Bank as a volunteer and intend to continue to do that at local Food Banks throughout college and medical school. I want to help in any way I can, anywhere I am.