If selected, I would use my scholarship funds to pay my tuition so I could have more time to dedicate to volunteering. This upcoming semester I am very excited to be volunteering at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. As a volunteer, my duty will be to aid patients and their families to feel more comfortable in the waiting room. Being in the hospital and anticipating results can understandably make people anxious. I hope that I will be able to relieve some of their worries so that they can focus on getting better. This is the same reason my dream is to be a radiologic technologist. By providing the images, radiologic technologists are providing insight into what might be wrong. I believe that they are the first step to helping patients that relieves some of their anxiety because they will finally be aware of their condition. Winning this scholarship would mean the world to me because if I am not able to pay my tuition, I will have to get a second job. I am currently going to be working as a Teacher’s Assistant for a biology lab. I am excited for this job because I hope to continue to inspire students to pursue a career in healthcare. I also want more time so that I could join clubs such as the Health Link Society, ASL Club, and Women in Medicine. I want to dedicate most of my time to volunteering and this scholarship would help me towards that goal.

My favorite song on Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ album is New Romantics. I grew up with '1989' since it was released during an imperative part of my life. I have vivid memories of coming home from school and watching Taylor Swift music videos on repeat. My favorite one to rewatch was New Romantics because it was a collection of videos from her tour. I looked up to Taylor for having the courage to stand in front of an arena full of people and perform with such confidence. She looked so big on that stage, the opposite of how I felt at the age of 10. I would look around at a crowd of people and feel small, almost invisible. I compared every aspect of myself to the people around me. I was ashamed because I thought my friends were smarter, prettier, and better than me. I sought solace in music that I could relate to. This may be why the lyrics in New Romantics spoke to me. My favorite line has always been, “‘Cause baby I could build a castle out of all the bricks you threw at me”. To me, this line is about resilience and determination even in the face of hardships. Being insecure, I felt broken because I felt like I wasn’t doing something right and I was constantly tearing myself apart. When I listened to this line, I felt empowered because it showed me that these obstacles will only make me a stronger person. Another line that spoke to me is, “We are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet”. This lyric taught me that having confidence will help me find a place in this world. I realized that if I didn’t care what others said about me, it wouldn’t affect me. On the whole, New Romantics gave me a whole new perspective in life that I held on to. As a kid, this song helped me get through fifth grade and start new at middle school. Now, this song will guide me as I start college and pursue my bachelor's in Health Science. I know that I can’t give up on my goals because I want to make 10-year-old me proud of how far I’ve come. I hope that in four years I will be singing the words “And every day is like a battle, but every night with us is like a dream” as I walk on stage to receive my degree. When I look towards that crowd and don’t feel like that small girl anymore, I will know that I have made it.