In 2020 I was hospitalized with news that I could not believe was real. As a student athlete, you worry about physical injuries, but the kind of injury I acquired was quite rare in teens. It was just a sore arm, then it was a swollen arm, and finally, it was rhabdomyolysis. This injury comes from torn muscle tissue that releases creatine kinase (CK) enzymes into your body. Everyone's body does this, but when you have rhabdomyolysis, the CK enzymes are at extremely high levels. A normal level amount would be from 96-200, and mine at the time were around 28,000! This becomes harmful since creatine kinase enzymes at these high amounts cause great harm to kidneys, and eventually could lead to kidney failure. After three days of being in the hospital getting treated and tested, the doctors and genetic professionals informed me that one of my X chromosomes was recessive. When my body is in use of this gene, it becomes more prone to injuries, such as rhabdomyolysis. Although I did not enjoy being injured, I did enjoy talking with my medical professionals about genetics and learning all about new terminology and new technology coming out for genetics. After being sent home, the world went into Covid-19 lockdown, and I went into more of a deep dive into the genetics world and did more research on CRISPR technology. This really inspired me and gave me great hope that we were in the right direction of making the world into a better place. The thought of editing genes however we want to using technology can be a intimidating and scary thought, but I genuinely think that in the right hands it can really change the world and navigate us in the right direction. My goal in the future is to help anyone that I can and make advancements in science to improve our world. Using CRISPR, I believe I can achieve something like that. CRISPR can rid humans and animals of diseases and devastating genetic defects, such as malaria and even blindness. Not only can humans be helped by this technology, but it will also change the earth's health as well. With today's global temperatures changing fast, and our environment on the decline, using CRISPR may help us genetically modify plants and animals to be able to protect our environment in certain conditions. The future is now, and it's exciting.

From a young age, I was taught the importance of education by my parents. From reading and writing with my mom during the day to practicing math problems before bed with my dad, my parents loved to keep my mind sharp and busy. I also spent quite a lot of time outside no matter the weather. My curiosity for the world and how everything works has always been present, but it wasn't until I was in middle school that my love for science grew super strong. My first science class that I took was geology and space. I found a love for this type of science right away and my teacher's passion rubbed off on me which really enhanced my experience into the world of science. Once I reached high school, I got a taste of my first biology class. I found this branch of science a tad more confusing and challenging. Then my class got to the genetics section and I fell in love. It felt like we were working with pieces of a human puzzle and it was so fascinating to me. At the end of my high school career, was when I took chemistry. This was my absolute favorite and I knew my junior year I wanted to mix my biology knowledge with my chemistry knowledge, and make a difference in this world. Education has always made me more confident in myself, and I love how powerful it can be in any aspect of life. College was never not an option for me since I knew I wanted to continue to learn more past high school to pursue a career. What really motivated me though to move towards a science degree was in 2020 when I was injured with rhabdomyolysis and was diagnosed with a genetic defect in my X chromosomes. The doctors said that it was a rare condition and that it was easier for me to damage my muscle tissue when it came to working out and competing in sports. Since then, it has been quite hard to navigate being a student athlete, especially now in college. I take nothing for granted, and that trip to the hospital motivated me to work with genetics in the future to help improve human health, and the earth's health in general. I decided to pursue a double major at West Chester University of Pennsylvania in Biochemistry and Chemistry with a minor certificate in Genetics. I have never been more excited about education in my life, and college so far has been an amazing experience and opportunity for me. I hope to continue grad school to gain a PhD after my undergrad, and do research in the genetic and biochemistry world. This scholarship would mean so much to me since I am paying for my own school with very minimal help from my parents. I am a student athlete on the track team, and this does come with its challenges, but it is also beyond rewarding. I do not have very much free time to work since I dedicate my time to school, practice, and meets, so any help I receive I take great gratitude in. I take great pride in what I achieve to accomplish and cannot wait to put my contribution in helping the world become a better place.

If I had $1,000 right now, I would start of by saving $500 for some of my tuition costs. I was fortunate enough to already get some of my costs lowered for tuition from the school of my choice, but I still have to pay a lot out of pocket. I think with the other $500, I would save to help with books and other expenses that may come up. I will be a full time student 2 1/2 hours away from home, and be a student athlete competing for my school's track and field team. With school and athletics consuming all of my time whilst at college, I will not be able to squeeze in a job. Therefore, I will be saving anything I am blessed to receive or make during these next few months.

Growing up as an athlete, it is very common to have a role model and someone to look up to as you train each and every day of your life to become better. In a way, looking up to a pro is motivation for most people which helps to reach their goals in life. I have played just about every sport there is, minus a few, growing up and by far my favorite is track and field. Not only are you competing for yourself, but it is also shared with teammates that you train with during the season. I am a huge adrenaline junkie as well, so going into track and field I decided to try pole vault. I instantly fell in love with the sport and soon became obsessed. Trying to better myself all the time and every new clearance of a bar was my drug. One person who I started to look up to as I fell more in love with this sport is Katie Nageotte. Not only did she have a dream when she was a high-schooler to become an Olympian, but she decided to work so hard that just in the Summer 2021 Olympics she was able to bring home a gold medal in the Women's Olympic Pole vault competition. Seeing the way she was able to reach her goals with a lot of hard work and dedication, is beyond inspiring. Another thing about her that I aspire about Katie is that she is so humble in her journey as a pole vaulter. While most big athletes make their big break as D1 college competitors, Katie decided to pursue her college athletic life at Ashland University in Ohio, a D2 school for Track and Field. She went on to prove to herself and the world that all it took was hard work and lots of dedication to get to the top. Watching her reach her goals and reach new heights also inspired me to do the same. I ended up putting so much more time into lifting, eating better, and doing the small things to achieve the bigger ones. Although failure does scare me, as an athlete I have to understand that not everyday is going to be a successful day and I have to take my failures and build off of them. Watching her and following her progress and trials has also helped me see this and accept my off days, although they may be discouraging. Not only is she inspirational all around, she is a good person through and through, which allows me to respect her even more. One last thing that aspires me about Katie is the fact that even though she lost her dad at age 16, she continued to work hard through the physical loss of her father. She is a strong, determined and talented woman and I see a lot of her in me, which allows me to work hard and look up to her. By looking up to her, I am able to continue to work hard and break records while also bettering myself all the time.

When life seems to become overwhelming and stressful, and all I want to do is unwind, I start out by thinking of what brings me the most joy. One thing that brings me the most joy are naps. No matter how old I get, a 20-40 minute nap will always be refreshing and peaceful. Although some days it does leave me more tired than before, it is still a way to quickly recharge my mind and allow myself to relax. Another thing I love to do to take care of my mental health is journal. I have around 5 notebooks filled with my thoughts and expressions on how I may feel in the moment. Being able to write down how I feel is so calming for me, and it allows me to actually get my feelings out without it making complete sense. Along with journaling, I love to read. I enjoy any genre, but my favorite would probably have to be thrillers. Especially in the summer, I love to bring my book to the beach and read on the sand, or sit in a hammock and read for hours upon hours. It allows me to check into another reality besides mine which somehow decompresses my stress. Finally, one last thing I do to help my mental health out is to meditate and do yoga. Doing these two calming exercises allows my body to stretch while also taking my mind and putting it in a place of relaxation. In a busy life like mine, doing these small things allows my mental health to recharge and puts me in a state of happiness.

If you asked myself, or any of my closest friends, "What is Emma Bronowicz like?" I think the most frequent answer you may receive is "bold" and or "loud." My boldness allows me to conquer great tasks head on and solve problems without hesitation. My loudness, well you can hear me from anywhere and I like to make a statement. But with these two dominant traits, comes strength both mentally and physically, a strong caring heart, a funny charismatic sense of humor, a great athlete, a creative thinker, and a compassionate family member and friend.