Why I would be back in school if I already have a degree in Spanish with minors in Jazz Studies and Anthropology? The answer is complicated, but one traumatic experience forced me to rethink everything in life: my mom's death from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. I was twenty-five, gigging and touring on the double bass and settling into my new home-city of Nashville when she was diagnosed, and then she died three and a half weeks later in the same house I grew up in in the village of Clinton, NY. Still shaken five years later, I have worked through some of the pain and I am driven and inspired to help others. Life is full of chaos but there are always people lending a helping hand. My mom was an Oncology nurse for her entire career and loved the work she did, helping others through the most difficult times in their lives. This is why I am studying Pre-Clinical Lab Sciences and have a strong interest in Pharmacy, but I am researching other careers in medicine as well. I am inspired by those who turn their pain into something positive, fulfilling and helpful and strive to be that person.