Since I was in ninth grade I have loved life. Specifically how life forms and what makes an organism alive or dead. Throughout high school, I gained an appreciation for the hard sciences. My natural curiosity nurtured an unwavering desire to understand various phenomena, hence sparking my interest in majoring in Biochemistry. I have consistently sought to enrich my understanding of biological and chemical concepts. These questions have pushed me out of my comfort zone. I wish to be a Biochemistry major. Not because I believe I am the next prodigy of medicine or I will be the best Surgeon. I want to study biochemistry and study medicine because my mom has a rare respiratory disease. Her disease causes her immune system to be weaker than normal. My mother is my rock the one person in life I cannot live without. I am willing to spend my life going into mountains of debt to study her disease and find a way to bring her release. As an African American woman seeking a degree in STEM disciplines, specifically Biochemistry I have always felt unwanted or undesirable. Since I was in elementary school people have not failed to try and put me into a box and treat me as if I could never be smart enough for any STEM field. I used to give up on my coursework because I felt like there was no reason to try since so many people had told me I was "not good enough". I am so grateful for opportunities like submitting my application to the Jerzee Foundation because it gives me hope that my dreams and passions are not just a part of my imagination. I could get a chance to go to University and achieve everything I could ever want. My father is an alumnus of North Carolina A&T University, my dad always talked about how much support and connections he had while in school and still to this day. I wish to follow in his footsteps of learning at one of these institutions because, with a focus on Biochemistry, I aspire to positively shift paradigms and contribute innovative solutions to pressing challenges in our society through infectious disease research to help better the healthcare system. And provide hope for my future but also for my mom and everything she has done for me. With the help of the Jerzee Foundation scholarship, I hope I get the opportunity to learn with students who look like me and have similar passions.

Since I was young my mom has always been there for me. When I fell on the concrete sidewalk and scraped my knee my mom was always there to help clean up my wound. My mom stayed up late with me to help me finish projects that I had waited till the last second to do. I cannot remember a time when I wasn't there for me. However, I feel that I have not been there enough for her. My mom has gone through a lot medically and I wish I could support her in the same ways she has supported me. My passion for disease research comes from watching my mom struggle with her respiratory disease. My mom has sarcoidosis a respiratory disease that makes her immune system weak and causes sores all around her body. My mom has been to doctor after doctor to find relief, and nothing has helped her. It pains me just to write about how much my mom has struggled to simply feel comfortable in her skin. I have watched my mom return to shorts because she felt too self-conscious of the sores on her legs that come from her disease. I wish to study biology or molecular biology in hopes of finding a career in disease research. I want to study molecular biology to understand the very existence of viruses and other diseases, in hopes I can prevent anyone else to have to experience a life where they cannot have fun or go out in fear of getting sick. I also have a passion for studying Pharmacology mainly because I am interested in redeveloping medicine and the relationship between living organisms and pharmaceutical drugs that affect biochemical functions. Overall I am so excited to start my life outside of high school I know that I will get a chance to be a part of something much bigger than myself. I hope I can grow my career in Medicine and develop or at least come close to developing a cure for sarcoidosis.