At least, that's what it felt like, an orchestrated gamble, but when I reached adulthood that's when I made sense of this ‘play’. I was a science-y child growing up: loved Biology, Geography and Chemistry, and conducted reconstructive surgeries on my barbies in expert 6 year-old fashion. My fourteen-year old self often wondered what it felt like to take away the pain of others, without having to experience it myself, all while being indecisive about my career goals. Sure, I told everyone, "medicine" when asked what path I would pursue, and "General Surgeon" if they got specific, just to receive the impressive smiles and the nods of approval from the scrutinizers of my future which happened to be my parents. So like any other 'go with the flow' type of kid, I studied Biology and Chemistry in Highschool and pursued a Biology degree, Pre-med in my first 2 years at Southern Adventist University. Sure, it was fun learning about the Krebs Cycle and memorizing all the Taxonomic classifications, but this type of biology didn't hit the 'nail on the head' for me. Then on a random Thursday afternoon in the summer, my friend Shanelle who was a graduating senior asked me about my life plans. I sang the same song to her, "I'm a Biology Pre-med Major... no I haven't started looking at Medical Schools as yet... no I'm thinking of taking a gap year...". Basically the song of someone who appeared to have their life together right? "Why don't you pursue MLS?" "What is that?" I asked her. "Medical Laboratory Sciences". Then she began to tell me about it in full detail. Of course, I still didn't understand everything about that major, but I was convinced enough to switch my major that fall- a huge gamble (or so I thought)- while still remaining pre-med. Now that I am fully immersed in the MLS program, entering my senior year, I see the tremendous joy I have compared to being a Biology major two years ago. Yes it's even more difficult, but I eagerly learn Immunohematology and Clinical Microbiology, courses that have opened my eyes to the true love of life-saving science. When I graduate as a Medical Laboratory Scientist, I will have the privilege of conducting laboratory tests on patient samples to determine the cause of their affliction, and even participate in life-saving activities such as determining blood compatibility between donor and patients! So yes, switching to MLS felt like a gamble then, but now I now see that it was a well needed redirection to a field that awoken my childhood passion: to help others without seeing them directly in affliction. This scholarship, if awarded to me, will help in doing so, and will also fill the gap of high demand of Medical Laboratory Scientists nationwide.