To me, being empowered by knowledge means using what I learn not just to earn a degree, but to solve practical problems and make a meaningful difference in people's lives. Throughout my education, I have learned that true understanding comes from looking beyond textbooks and asking the right questions. STEM is a field that thrives on curiosity. It requires us to constantly ask why things are the way they are and how they can be improved. My passion lies at the intersection of health sciences and data, where asking those deeper questions directly impacts community well-being. Curiosity has always been the driving force behind my academic journey. Whether analyzing complex health information, tracking outcomes, or understanding how systems operate behind the scenes, I am motivated by a desire to figure out how things work and fix where they fall short. In the health field, data isn't just numbers on a screen; it represents real people, families, and communities. Driven by that curiosity, I am always seeking to understand the root causes of health disparities and how efficient management and clear data can make care more accessible and effective for everyone. As a woman pursuing a path in STEM, I recognize both the challenges and the responsibility that come with it. STEM fields have historically lacked diverse perspectives, yet diversity is exactly what drives innovation and leads to better solutions for diverse populations. Contributing to STEM, for me, means bringing a focused, detail-oriented perspective to health operations and public health data. It means ensuring that systems run smoothly so that care is delivered fairly and efficiently to those who need it most. Beyond my own career goals, I am committed to helping build the community this scholarship stands for. Representation matters, and as I advance in my studies and career, I want to be a source of encouragement for other young women considering paths in science, technology, and health. Women bring unique insights, critical thinking, and empathy to STEM, and creating a supportive space where we share knowledge and lift each other is essential for long-term progress. Ultimately, contributing to STEM is about using knowledge as a tool for action. By continuing to feed my curiosity, mastering the skills needed to improve health systems, and supporting other women along the way, I hope to make a lasting impact in my field and help open doors for the women who come after me.

Managing student loan debt isn't something I can just leave for after graduation. Taking out loans is an investment in my future, but I know how quickly debt can add up if you don’t have a real plan. My focus is simple: keep my borrowing to an absolute minimum, stick to the safest loan options available, and stay strictly disciplined with my personal spending. My primary goal is to avoid unnecessary debt in the first place. I actively apply for scholarships, grants, and work-study positions to cover as much of my tuition and basic living costs upfront as possible. When borrowing is necessary, I stick strictly to federal student loans rather than high-risk private loans. Federal loans come with fixed interest rates and far better consumer protections if financial setbacks happen. While I am still in school, I also make a deliberate effort to pay off interest on any unsubsidized loans as it accumulates. Even small, regular payments toward interest while I’m enrolled keep it from capitalizing and compounding into a much larger balance after graduation. Once I graduate, my main focus will be managing my monthly payments safely without putting myself in a tight financial position. I plan to rely on federal Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) options to ensure my monthly payments stay completely proportional to my actual starting income during the early stages of my career. Working in sectors like public health, healthcare, or non-profits also opens up reliable options for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which can help clear remaining balances safely after making consistent, qualified payments over time. Whenever I have extra room in my budget, I will prioritize paying down the loans with the highest interest rates first to reduce the total amount I owe over the long run. However, building a stable emergency fund comes first. Setting aside a few months of basic living expenses in a savings account gives me a reliable safety net so that an unexpected medical bill or emergency won't cause me to miss a loan payment. Down the road, any additional income I earn through career advancement, promotions, or extra work will go straight toward paying down the principal balance as fast as possible. Dealing with student loans takes consistency and keeping realistic expectations about what I can afford. By keeping my borrowing low from day one, relying strictly on safe federal loan programs, and managing interest early, I know I can earn my degree without taking on unnecessary financial risk or putting my future stability on hold.

Living with hypermobility and symptoms consistent with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) has shaped my educational journey in ways that many people do not immediately see. Chronic pain, joint instability, and persistent fatigue have often made everyday tasks more difficult than they appeared from the outside. There were times when sitting through long lectures, studying for hours, or even completing assignments felt physically exhausting. Because EDS is largely an invisible illness, it also felt isolating when others did not fully understand the extent of what I was managing behind the scenes. One of the biggest challenges was learning how to balance my academic goals with my physical limitations. I have always been ambitious and determined to pursue a career in medicine, but there were moments when my health made that path feel overwhelming. Preparing for exams while dealing with chronic fatigue and pain required me to become disciplined with my time and intentional about self-care. I had to learn how to pace myself, adapt my study habits, and keep going even when progress felt slower than I wanted. I’ve had to manage constant symptoms like bilateral hand and wrist pain, which make even the physical act of writing a challenge. Although there were moments of frustration, I refused to let my condition define what I was capable of accomplishing. My resilience has also been influenced by my background and life experiences. I immigrated to the United States from Cameroon with my family when I was nine years old, and as the oldest of five children, I have always carried a strong sense of responsibility. Watching my parents work tirelessly to provide opportunities for our family motivated me to continue pushing forward despite obstacles. During my time at The Ohio State University, I balanced my psychology studies with working in home healthcare, where I gained firsthand experience caring for patients while managing my own health challenges, including taking daily medication to keep my inflammation under control. Those experiences strengthened my perseverance, empathy, and ability to adapt under pressure. Living with a chronic illness has also influenced the kind of physician I hope to become. I understand firsthand how discouraging it can feel when symptoms are misunderstood or minimized simply because they are not visible. My experiences have taught me the importance of listening carefully to patients and approaching them with compassion and patience. This is why I want to become a physician who advocates for patients and ensures they feel heard, respected, and cared for. I was accepted into medical school and will begin this fall, an accomplishment that represents years of persistence despite the challenges of living with chronic illness. Receiving this scholarship would help ease the financial burden of medical education and allow me to focus more fully on succeeding in this next chapter. Medical school is demanding both academically and physically, and financial support would reduce stress while helping me access the resources I need, from physical therapy to specialized care, to continue managing my health effectively. Finally, this scholarship would symbolize encouragement and belief in students who live with chronic illnesses. My journey with EDS has taught me resilience, adaptability, and determination. While chronic illness has created obstacles in my education, it has also shaped me into someone who understands empathy, perseverance, and the importance of compassionate healthcare. Those lessons will stay with me throughout my career as a future physician.

Building, to me, isn’t about blueprints or technology; it is about building trust. As I head toward medical school, I see my future as a project to repair the disconnect between clinicians and the people they treat. That distance feels wide right now, and I want to be the person who bridges it. The foundation of my work begins with truly listening. In many communities, people don't avoid the doctor just because of money; they avoid it because they don’t feel respected. I want to build a practice that feels like a safe space, a shelter rather than a cold office. My background in psychology has taught me a vital truth: you cannot treat the body without also caring for the mind. When a patient feels seen and heard by their provider, they are more likely to make better choices for their health, creating a ripple effect that makes entire families and neighborhoods stronger. I know the road to medicine will be incredibly tough, but I accept that struggle as a necessary part of the build. It is how I will develop the strength to act fast in a crisis, yet still have the heart to slow down for a patient who is scared. For my community, the impact is about presence and representation. When people see a doctor who understands their life, those walls of fear start to come down. My goal is to move care out of the hospital and directly into local spaces, meeting people exactly where they are. At the end of the day, I’m not looking for a prestigious title. I’m looking to build a career that proves medicine works best when it is rooted in genuine human connection. It’s a long-term vision, but it is the only way to create a future where everyone has a fair shot at being healthy.

I want to build a career in public health where I can help bridge the gap between communities and the care they need. My desire to pursue this path grew from witnessing how challenging it can be for people to access quality healthcare and from my own experience working in home healthcare. I've seen firsthand how compassionate, accessible care can make a significant difference in people’s lives, but I've also observed the barriers that prevent many from receiving the support they need. These experiences have motivated me to be part of creating more equitable healthcare solutions. One of my key goals is to develop health programs that focus on prevention and education. Too often, healthcare is reactive rather than proactive. I believe that by equipping individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to care for themselves, we can reduce the prevalence of chronic illnesses and improve long-term health outcomes. Mental health is also an area of concern for me, as it is often stigmatized or overlooked in healthcare settings. I want to build systems that offer holistic care, including emotional and psychological support. My work in home health care has shown me the value of personalized, compassionate care. I've learned how critical it is to meet individuals where they are and tailor care to their unique needs. That experience has shaped my approach to healthcare—one that emphasizes empathy, cultural sensitivity, and patient empowerment. Collaboration is also essential. I hope to build strong partnerships with community organizations, health advocates, and local leaders. By listening to and understanding the unique needs of different populations, I can help develop tailored, culturally appropriate healthcare solutions. This approach fosters trust and ensures that interventions are both impactful and sustainable. This isn't just a career aspiration—it's a personal mission. Health impacts every aspect of life, and I want to contribute to a future where access to care is not a privilege but a right. Through compassion, advocacy, and dedicated service, I am committed to building healthier communities and empowering individuals to lead better lives.

With a background in psychology and a growing interest in sciences, I came to realize that calculus was something more than just a branch of mathematics; it connects most aspects of STEM. While I have spent much time trying to understand human behavior, the roles of calculus in forming the very base for any analysis of complex systems and accordingly changing biology, physics, and engineering have become clearer. It's a way to break down patterns and growth, which is at the core of so much of what we do in science and problem-solving. Even in psychology, where calculus isn’t used as much as in other fields, it still plays a part in advanced statistical modeling and research. Concepts like neural networks or predicting behavior often involve changes over time, and that’s where calculus comes in. The statistical methods I’ve come across, like regression or curve fitting, rely on these principles. It explained everything from the growth of populations to the distribution of diseases to the chemical reactions in your body. Epidemiologists, for example, use differential equations, as I now understand the greater constituent of calculus, to find out how diseases travel through populations and what we can do to slow them down. This kind of modeling is critical for public health decisions, especially given all that we have seen these last years. Engineering and technology take it to an even higher level. Engineers use it to design systems, whether a bridge is to be built, a piece of software designed, or an electrical circuit devised. It is all about comprehension-that is, understanding how things move, change, or respond to forces. Plus, when it comes to optimizing systems it's making something more efficient or cost-effective-calculus is the tool that makes that possible. It is clear that finding the best solution to a problem through optimization is, the maximization or minimization of functions something engineers deal with constantly, and it all goes back to calculus. Even economics and computer science rely so much on calculus. Economists will use this subject to study changes in markets, and in computer science, this is where algorithms involving machine learning come from. And that, of course, the more I learn about calculus, the more I can see how it connects with everything else in STEM, theoretical or applied. The understanding of calculus is slowly becoming more important to me. It helps to break down complex problems and gives a better insight into how things work. The deeper I dive into the world of science, the clearer it becomes that calculus will be important in helping me approach a lot of problems analytically.

My dream life would be a doctor. I am not entirely sure which specialty I want to practice in. I don't want to worry financially about whether or not I can finish school. I want to have a successful career in the field that I choose to go in. My dream life would include some of my heart's desires such as traveling the world. I want to be a mentor to others and help empower others that dreams are achievable. My dream life also includes my friends and family by my side because they have always been my biggest supporters and always motivate me to be the best me possible. I would also like to be married or be with someone that loves me.