My name is Haley Ramunni. Although the way my life started was not ideal, I feel so much gratitude for the opportunity to receive an education. I had a very happy childhood with a loving family. I spent my high school years as a dancer in a pre-professional ballet company. Through those good times, I had some challenges I had to overcome. I am adopted. My birth mother has a history of mental illness, drug abuse, and prison. This cycle has continued with my birth siblings, and I hope to be the one to break that cycle. I feel so fortunate to have that opportunity. I had a liver transplant at two years old. I continue to deal with tests, procedures, and a lifelong need for immunosuppressants, but I've had no complications and a healthy liver for almost 20 years. I feel very grateful to have had such a successful surgery. I have severe endometriosis, chronic pain, and other medical issues that I do my best to work through and manage. I try to live every day with an attitude of positivity and gratitude. Despite all of my challenges, I have continued to push through. My life experiences have inspired me to pursue a career in the medical field. There continues to be so much racism and sexism in medicine, and I want to help correct that. As a black woman, I have had many negative experiences with racism while being treated in hospitals. These experiences have fueled and ever-growing passion for equality and antiracism in the medical field. I was so tired of not being believed by doctors when I said I was in pain or when something was wrong, so instead of being angry, I decided to be the change I wanted to see. I am passionate about helping other women, especially BIPOC women with this condition to receive adequate treatment and diagnosis. I am currently studying medical sonography and want to focus on transvaginal ultrasound. Transvaginal ultrasound is the most effective method of diagnosis for endometriosis. Endometriosis typically takes 8 to 10 years to diagnose, but transvaginal ultrasound can improve treatment for women suffering from this disease. It took eight years of chronic pain before I received a diagnosis and proper treatment. No one should have to endure years of severe chronic pain without relief, so I am grateful that I get to pursue a career that will help that situation. Unfortunately, it is not used often in the United States, but the Cleveland Clinic has started to use this type of ultrasound. I plan to study with the Cleveland Clinic and hope to work for their Women's Health Department. I want to pay forward the generosity and kindness my past doctors and nurses lent me during my endometriosis treatment. I am very determined and focused on my education, and I feel hopeful about my future. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship.