Since childhood, I have always been a question-asker and a problem-solver. Once I grew old enough to understand my body and the biological systems keeping me alive, my questions became infinite. When I saw all the many ways those systems could malfunction, I began to look for infinite solutions. Biomedical engineering became the answer to every medical affliction. Conditions that once seemed insurmountable like cancer or rare genetic mutations now have hope on the horizon, and I am determined to be a part of that future where these conditions have cures. Through volunteer opportunities like the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame’s Camp Invention and the ERHS Science & Technology Summer Bridge Program, I began to teach younger students about the possibilities of engineering in the summer following my freshman year. Now approaching the summer following my high school graduation, I am eager to explore these possibilities myself through my post-secondary education. Biomedical engineering is a window to improve my parents’ home, Cameroon, so that people with unique medical cases–like my father’s congenital heart condition–won’t have to go abroad for life-saving treatment, but rather receive adequate care and a platform to cultivate their skills and make a mark on the world, right from Cameroon. My passion is rooted in the inadequate medical care that my people are forced to put up with. The same systems that gave my dad a lifelong disability in his childhood continue to exist today, causing me to lose my grandfather in 2023 due to complications. Despite that, my heritage will never be a source of sorrow or mourning, but rather joy and inspiration to be resilient. Many ailments disproportionately impact African American communities, and inadequate healthcare puts us at an even greater disadvantage; I plan to be the loudest voice in the room for the many members of my community who do not get the chance to speak. Due to the young nature of the field, biomedical engineering is saturated with millions of innovators working for change. To take charge of this change, I will earn my bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Eventually, I will have a doctorate degree in my field with a focus on genetic editing or tissue engineering, my two areas of interest where I see the most opportunities for advancing treatment of painful conditions and making a better quality of life more accessible to the average person. As a high school student in the Eleanor Roosevelt High School Science & Technology Program, I’ve begun to immerse myself in the field through research on the effects of sound exposure on S. epidermidis bacterial growth. I combined biology and engineering by building my own sound generation device and soundproof chamber, and cultivating S. epidermidis bacteria for the experiment; this experience fueled the flame of my passion for research, which I will continue to pursue. Within this field, engineering organs in a lab opens up the possibility for great strides in research on biological processes that have proven difficult to accurately capture in humans. Tissue engineering could cultivate tissue to form smaller scale organoids, allowing the study of challenging diseases and disorders in-vitro, rather than through simulations or animal testing. As a biomedical engineer, my goal would be to build upon discoveries in tissue engineering and genetic editing, combining technologies to research cancer in neural and cardiac organoids. I aspire to make healthcare more accessible to all, which can be accomplished through researching conditions that take millions of lives annually. My biomedical engineering degree could make medicine accessible to those in need through creative, cost-effective solutions.