Have you ever been so excited to receive a special gift? Have you ever experienced happiness and pure joy like getting an email update that Amazon arrived earlier than expected with your package? The kind of thrill like looking just over the edge of a roller coaster and waiting amid the skyline to be catapulted at more than 100 miles an hour towards the ground with your best friend by your side? That's what I experienced when my mother and father shared with my brother and me that they were expecting another child. I was literally over the moon about the new baby to come. Until one day, he was to come no more. My mother went from having a baby to sending an angel to Heaven all in the same day. The baby passed away in utero at 27 weeks. My heart was ripped out of my chest. A piece of me died with my brother Landon, as he would never get to see the world. I watched as my mother cried for what seemed like 15 hours a day. This event challenged my thought process about life. No one thinks that babies do not make it out of their mother's womb. No one wants to see their mother experience deep bouts of depression and feel helpless and hopeless to change the situation at hand. This event seemed so final to me at the tender age of 11 years old. My brother Landon's passing caused me to develop coping skills that I did not have prior. I had to learn how to accept the things I could not change. I learned the serenity prayer and said it at least three times per week. I journaled sometimes to get the deep thoughts out of my head and on paper to create mental space to think more clearly. I went to therapeutic groups within my community for families that experienced similar situations. I was learning how to flex my emotional muscles to help me navigate my thoughts, feelings, and actions concerning this event. Grief is such a hard thing to deal with when you are not ready to do so. As I grew stronger each day, I made myself one promise at the tender age of 11, that when I got the chance to go off to college, I would pursue a career in the medical field so that I could conduct more research in the area of my brother's early demise. I owe that to Landon. I owe that to myself. I owe that to my family. As I reflect on where I currently am in life, I am now grateful for how this experience shaped me to be more present in the moment with family and friends. The way the air hits my face when I step outside, or the excitement I receive when I earn a good grade after putting in hard work and effort, or simply enjoying a great basketball game with my dad on the couch as we laugh and joke about who's team should have made that last basket. I am forever changed by this event. It impacted me deeply and motivated me to become a better person. Because of this event, I want to help others so that my life becomes more meaningful. In closing, In the words of one of my favorite basketball players, Lebron James, “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” This is the way I see myself pursuing each day in my future and beyond while remembering to stay present in the here and now. Art and stem give each of us interested in these fields a platform or arena to share our creativity. Why does music feel so good to one's soul? Is it because of the connection that the music notes make with one another that creates a lasting impression on us? Or maybe it is the vocals that tend to resonate in our hearts long after the song has ended. For myself, playing in the Matoaca High School Guitar Ensemble was an extremely important and rewarding extracurricular activity in which I have participated for three years. The guitar is not an instrument that I just automatically knew how to play. First I had to learn the guitar strings, hand placements, and chords. Although this was an extremely challenging process, it taught me that I am capable of achieving whatever task I set before me if I put my mind into it. Overtime, I learned how to play songs and even that the guitar had so much versatility to the sounds it can create. The body of the guitar, if struck just right, can even play the sound of the drum, anchoring the song in rhythm and helping the audience connect to it at the same time. This is what I enjoyed the most. A guitar could act as a catalyst for connection between two or more people at any one given time regardless of race or religion. I am very passionate about making connections with others and helping others to achieve greatness. Guitarists can play as a soloist or with others. Blending sounds makes for a much richer experience. Why is medicine so intriguing? Maybe it is because there are so many diseases and illnesses that remain unsolved which require additional research to enrich the lives of the underserved. Or is it the opportunity to help others solve an issue or area of concern for a lifetime that interests future doctors like myself to gain access to the quality of education college provides? For myself, it's the latter. I feel compelled to give back to my community, once I achieve my ultimate dream of becoming a medical professional should I be so fortunate to be admitted to college. African Americans , at large, have a huge mistrust surrounding healthcare that is rooted in previous botched studies such as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment conducted between 1932 and 1972. I plan to change this.

Have you ever been so excited to receive a special gift? Have you ever experienced happiness and pure joy like getting an email update that Amazon arrived earlier than expected with your package? The kind of thrill like looking just over the edge of a roller coaster and waiting amid the skyline to be catapulted at more than 100 miles an hour towards the ground with your best friend by your side? That's what I experienced when my mother and father shared with my brother and me that they were expecting another child. I was literally over the moon about the new baby to come. Until one day, he was to come no more. My mother went from having a baby to sending an angel to Heaven all in the same day. The baby passed away in utero at 27 weeks. My heart was ripped out of my chest. A piece of me died with my brother Landon, as he would never get to see the world. I watched as my mother cried for what seemed like 15 hours a day. This event challenged my thought process about life. No one thinks that babies do not make it out of their mother's womb. No one wants to see their mother experience deep bouts of depression and feel helpless and hopeless to change the situation at hand. This event seemed so final to me at the tender age of 11 years old. My brother Landon's passing caused me to develop coping skills that I did not have prior. I had to learn how to accept the things I could not change. I learned the serenity prayer and said it at least three times per week. I journaled sometimes to get the deep thoughts out of my head and on paper to create mental space to think more clearly. I went to therapeutic groups within my community for families that experienced similar situations. I was learning how to flex my emotional muscles to help me navigate my thoughts, feelings, and actions concerning this event. Grief is such a hard thing to deal with when you are not ready to do so. As I grew stronger each day, I made myself one promise at the tender age of 11, that when I got the chance to go off to college, I would pursue a career in the medical field so that I could conduct more research in the area of my brother's early demise. I owe that to Landon. I owe that to myself. I owe that to my family. As I reflect on where I currently am in life, I am now grateful for how this experience shaped me to be more present in the moment with family and friends. The way the air hits my face when I step outside, or the excitement I receive when I earn a good grade after putting in hard work and effort, or simply enjoying a great basketball game with my dad on the couch as we laugh and joke about who's team should have made that last basket. I am forever changed by this event. It impacted me deeply and motivated me to become a better person. Because of this event, I want to help others so that my life becomes more meaningful. In closing, In the words of one of my favorite basketball players, Lebron James, “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” This is the way I see myself pursuing each day in my future and beyond while remembering to stay present in the here and now.

Why is medicine so intriguing? Maybe it is because there are so many diseases and illnesses that remain unsolved which require additional research to enrich the lives of the underserved. Or is it the opportunity to help others solve an issue or area of concern for a lifetime that interests future doctors like myself to gain access to the quality of education college provides? For myself, it's the latter. When I was eleven years old, my family experienced a tremendous loss of my younger brother while my mother was still pregnant at 27 weeks. He had a prolapsed cord that wrapped around itself forming multiple knots which ultimately caused my brother's demise. I was so devastated. It still hurts. This traumatic event is what I believe allowed me to recognize my calling into the medical profession. Being an African American young male, I now recognize that this tragedy could have possibly been prevented if my mother had equal access to healthcare by providers that looked like her and understood her culturally. I feel compelled to give back to my community, once I achieve my ultimate dream of becoming a medical professional should I be so fortunate to be admitted to college. African Americans , at large, have a huge mistrust surrounding healthcare that is rooted in previous botched studies such as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment conducted between 1932 and 1972. In my opinion, that mistrust has led to modern day suspicions of the COVID-19 vaccine although African Americans are dying at faster rates and have more adverse outcomes than our white counterparts. Within the next 10 years, I want to use my influence in the "projects" or communities that have historically less privileged persons residing there to build trust in the medicine profession. I want to promote preventative care as an alternative to treating illnesses that appear to be in advanced stages. I want to encourage the less privileged populations despite race, religion or creed, to access equal healthcare options. I want to advise the less privileged that poverty is the true pandemic that leads to additional bad outcomes or places other opportunities out of reach for the best healthcare access. I want to promote healthy nutritional choices as a means to prevent illness such as diabetes. I have to change this. I want to change this. I will change this. Once I obtain my professional degrees in medicine, I plan to always give back annually and as needed to causes that promote the wellness of the less privileged. I am the eldest of five siblings within my immediate family. We have sold our home and moved into an apartment within the last 18 months due to covid and so that my parents could save for my college pursuit. This scholarship would mean so much to me. It would help me to ease the financial burden that I have placed on my family so that I can pursue my dream of becoming the first melanated physician. When I am able to wrap that white coat around me, I know that my parents will be so proud. This scholarship is not just financial assistance for myself, it's social justice assistance for my community. And simply put, that means so much more to me.

Why is medicine so intriguing? Maybe it is because there are so many diseases and illnesses that remain unsolved which require additional research to enrich the lives of the underserved. Or is it the opportunity to help others solve an issue or area of concern for a lifetime that interests future doctors like myself to gain access to the quality of education college provides? For myself, it's the latter. When I was eleven years old, my family experienced a tremendous loss of my younger brother while my mother was still pregnant at 27 weeks. He had a prolapsed cord that wrapped around itself forming multiple knots which ultimately caused my brother's demise. I was so devastated. It still hurts. This traumatic event is what I believe allowed me to recognize my calling into the medical profession. Being an African American young male, I now recognize that this tragedy could have possibly been prevented if my mother had equal access to healthcare by providers that looked like her and understood her culturally. I feel compelled to give back to my community, once I achieve my ultimate dream of becoming a medical professional should I be so fortunate to be admitted to college. African Americans , at large, have a huge mistrust surrounding healthcare that is rooted in previous botched studies such as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment conducted between 1932 and 1972. In my opinion, that mistrust has led to modern day suspicions of the COVID-19 vaccine although African Americans are dying at faster rates and have more adverse outcomes than our white counterparts. I want to use my influence in the "projects" or communities that have historically less privileged persons residing there to build trust in the medicine profession. I want to promote preventative care as an alternative to treating illnesses that appear to be in advanced stages. I want to encourage the less privileged populations despite race, religion or creed, to access equal healthcare options. I want to advise the less privileged that poverty is the true pandemic that leads to additional bad outcomes or places other opportunities out of reach for the best healthcare access. I want to promote healthy nutritional choices as a means to prevent illness such as diabetes. I have to change this. I want to change this. I will change this. Once I obtain my professional degrees in medicine, I plan to always give back annually and as needed to causes that promote the wellness of the less privileged.

Why is medicine so intriguing? Maybe it is because there are so many diseases and illnesses that remain unsolved which require additional research to enrich the lives of the underserved. Or is it the opportunity to help others solve an issue or area of concern for a lifetime that interests future doctors like myself to gain access to the quality of education that a Historically Black College and University provides? For myself, it's the latter. When I was eleven years old, my family experienced a tremendous loss of my younger brother while my mother was still pregnant at 27 weeks. He had a prolapsed cord that wrapped around itself forming multiple knots which ultimately caused my brother's demise. I was so devastated. It still hurts. This traumatic event is what I believe allowed me to recognize my calling into the medical profession. Being an African American young male, I now recognize that this tragedy could have possibly been prevented if my mother had equal access to healthcare by providers that looked like her and understood her culturally. Thus, my interest in a STEM degree was written in my heart and within my mind. I feel compelled to give back to my community, once I achieve my ultimate dream of becoming a medical professional should I be so fortunate to be admitted to the Howard University. African Americans , at large, have a huge mistrust surrounding healthcare that is rooted in previous botched studies such as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment conducted between 1932 and 1972. In my opinion, that mistrust has led to modern day suspicions of the COVID-19 vaccine although African Americans are dying at faster rates and have more adverse outcomes than our white counterparts. I want to use my influence in the "projects" or communities that have historically less privileged persons residing there to build trust in the medicine profession. I want to promote preventative care as an alternative to treating illnesses that appear to be in advanced stages. I want to encourage the less privileged populations despite race, religion or creed, to access equal healthcare options. I want to advise the lesser privileged that poverty is the true pandemic that leads to additional bad outcomes or places other opportunities out of reach for the best healthcare access. I want to promote healthy nutritional choices as a means to prevent illness such as diabetes. I have to change this. I want to change this. I will change this. Once I obtain my professional degrees in medicine, I plan to always give back annually and as needed to causes that promote the wellness of the less privileged.