Growing up you're often asked what you want to be when you're older. When you're younger you gave any answer that comes to mind, the president, an astronaut, or even a professional trampoline jumper. But as you get older you realize that the question has more weight and meaning than it leads on, you realize the question really means what do you want to dedicate the rest of your life to? What do you have a passion for most in life? Growing up I couldn't answer the question with a definite answer for a long time, every time I was asked the question, I would give different and inconsistent answers and it wasn't until my junior year in high school that I finalized my future career goals. When figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life I always knew that I wanted it to be something in which I was helping others, something in which I can see immediate change in, something for the better good. But I never knew how I would achieve this goal, there are many occupations in which this can be done and they're in many different fields. I couldn't pinpoint the way in which I wanted to serve others until I joined the AP Capstone Program at my school. This was a two-year program in which the first year you complete two research projects, and the second year you complete a yearlong individual research project. For my individual project in both junior and senior year I explored the topic of medical discrepancies in patient care based on race. I always knew there were discrepancies in medical care due to a number of aspects such as race, gender, sexuality, age, etc., but it wasn't until I completed these projects that I truly realized the extent of the matter. Through this research experience and first hand experience by volunteering at a local nonprofit organization in my hometown, I realized that many marginalized groups of people receive completely different levels of care compared to their counterparts. This research evoked a passion in me to help change the way our current healthcare system is ran, I want to help rework from the inside out, and I feel the best way for me to achieve this is by becoming a practicing doctor who not only listens to her patients but also fights and advocates constantly for patient rights and serves those of all backgrounds. After further research and self-reflection, I realized that I'd prefer to work with children as they are often some of the most overlooked in many aspects of their healthcare, especially those in underserved and underprivileged areas. Through scholarships like yours I will be able to complete my undergraduate education which brings me one step closer to achieving my goals as a doctor. I want to go into healthcare not with the mindset of serving myself but instead with serving others, I want to make sure that all of those people who have been overlooked in the past will no longer be looked over but instead treated with a level of respect that everyone deserves, whether that be through traditional medical care or nonprofit/pro bono work. After all these years and many career revisions, I am finally able to accurately answer the age-old question: What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a doctor who serves her community and treats them with the dignity they deserve and delivers the absolute best care that I can give despite who they are or where they come from.

Describing myself to other people has often been one of the hardest things for me to do, because for a large portion of my life I’ve never been particularly fond of myself. Growing up I’d often pick apart and shame myself about the smallest things, from how my hair looked to the freckles on my body. I was never sure why I disliked myself so much, was it just a part of growing up, was it the societal expectations placed upon me, or was it my mom's words to me?Towards the end of my freshman year of high school I tried to kill myself. In my mind the only way for me to be happier was if I died. And after this failed attempt, I tried again two or three more times, these times taking full bottles to ensure these attempts wouldn't fail. The following months of these attempts were some of the roughest as I had to come to terms with the fact that even after I tried to end my life, I wouldn't be able to try again, and I had to come to terms with my feelings in hopes of resolving them. Depression is something that runs in my family, I'm genetically predisposed, which means no matter what I do I’ll always be prone to my negative thoughts. At first, it was harder for me to overcome these thoughts despite being prescribed medicine. But even with this barrier blocking me from fully getting better, I eventually got better, and I think that I truly got better after finding a good support system. This system stemmed from advice I received from therapy, so I decided that it was finally time for me to go back out and become social again. Looking back this was the best decision I could have made, because through this I found some of my most important and valued friends. My friends encouraged me to be more sociable and introduced me to not only new people but new experiences as well. This allowed me to do better in school and discover who i wanted to be and what i wanted to do with my life. One of my friends who played a key role in me getting better introduced me to an organization in which I volunteered at for an entire summer, and through this experience i realized what I wanted to pursue in college because for a long time I had aspirations but never a specific goal in mind. Through my volunteering experiences I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine, specifically non-profit medicine that serves underprivileged and underserved communities. After figuring this out, I applied and got into a medical program at Florida State University. Through this program I will pursue a degree in Biomedical Sciences and have an academic focus on community patient care and advocacy. Through these failed attempts and dark times, I gained important and life shaping experiences that allowed me to discover who i am and who i want to be. Through these failed attempts I've gained lasting and pivotal friendships. Through these failed attempts I gained a newfound appreciation for my life. Through scholarships like yours I will be able to pursue my career goals and continue on my track towards building a better me. Mental health is often an overlooked and disapproved topic, but I believe that the more awareness that is brought to the topic and the more help offered to those struggling with health issues the better our future will be as a whole society.

Growing up you're often asked what you want to be when you're older. When you're younger you gave any answer that comes to mind, the president, an astronaut, or even a professional trampoline jumper. But as you get older you realize that the question has more weight and meaning than it leads on, you realize the question really means what do you want to dedicate the rest of your life to? What do you have a passion for most in life? Growing up I couldn't answer the question with a definite answer for a long time, every time I was asked the question, I would give different and inconsistent answers and it wasn't until my junior year in high school that I finalized my future career goals. When figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life I always knew that I wanted it to be something in which I was helping others, something in which I can see immediate change in, something for the better good. But I never knew how I would achieve this goal, there are many occupations in which this can be done and they're in many different fields. I couldn't pinpoint the way in which I wanted to serve others until I joined the AP Capstone Program at my school. This was a two-year program in which the first year you complete two research projects, and the second year you complete a yearlong individual research project. For my individual project in both junior and senior year I explored the topic of medical discrepancies in patient care based on race. I always knew there were discrepancies in medical care due to a number of aspects such as race, gender, sexuality, age, etc., but it wasn't until I completed these projects that I truly realized the extent of the matter. Through this research experience and first hand experience by volunteering at a local nonprofit organization in my hometown, I realized that many marginalized groups of people receive completely different levels of care compared to their counterparts. This research evoked a passion in me to help change the way our current healthcare system is ran, I want to help rework from the inside out, and I feel the best way for me to achieve this is by becoming a practicing doctor who not only listens to her patients but also fights and advocates constantly for patient rights and serves those of all backgrounds. After further research and self-reflection, I realized that I'd prefer to work with children as they are often some of the most overlooked in many aspects of their healthcare, especially those in underserved and underprivileged areas. Through scholarships like yours I will be able to complete my undergraduate education which brings me one step closer to achieving my goals as a doctor. I want to go into healthcare not with the mindset of serving myself but instead with serving others, I want to make sure that all of those people who have been overlooked in the past will no longer be looked over but instead treated with a level of respect that everyone deserves, whether that be through traditional medical care or nonprofit/pro bono work. After all these years and many career revisions, I am finally able to accurately answer the age-old question: What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a doctor who serves her community and treats them with the dignity they deserve and delivers the absolute best care that I can give despite who they are or where they come from.

Growing up I often would hear about my friends' families from the activities they did together over the weekend to the lasting memories they shared over school breaks. I knew from a young age that my opportunities and experiences would not be the same as those around me. From these experiences I inherently became more independent in school and social situations. I made sure all my work was done on time and my grades were straight A’s, so she had one less thing to worry about. Through this I developed a work ethic that I carried through high school which helped me balance a job, a social life, extracurriculars, AP level classes, and helped me navigate the college admissions process alone. Even though we’ve never been close she's inspired me in many ways, she’s shown me the importance of being an independent woman and even helped me realize my future career goals. In my life she's given me so much with not much return given to her and I'm forever grateful. So, I decided to try and repay her the best way I know how to, with my academic success. I plan to study Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences with a focus on community patient care and advocacy in order to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences in hopes of attending medical school. One of our biggest obstacles in sending me to school is the sheer cost of sending me to a good university. Through this scholarship I will be able to pay for my tuition and attend school in order to make my mom the proudest of me she can be and repay her for the years of hard work that she's put into raising me into the young woman I am today.