When I first arrived at Rice University, I expected being admitted to a highly selective institution to make me feel confident that I belonged there. Instead, I often questioned whether I was as capable as the students around me. Surrounded by people who seemed accomplished, confident, and certain of their paths, I struggled with imposter syndrome and the fear that I had somehow made it farther than I deserved. Those feelings became even more complicated as I learned more about how underrepresented people from backgrounds like mine remain in medicine, science, and research. I was pursuing neuroscience and beginning to imagine a future as a physician, yet I was also becoming increasingly aware of how few people who looked like me occupied many of the spaces I hoped to enter. At times, that awareness created an additional pressure to prove that I belonged. A difficult class, disappointing grade, or moment of uncertainty could feel like more than a normal setback; it could feel like evidence that my doubts about myself were correct. Over time, I began to understand that mental health is deeply connected to a student's ability to learn, persist, and believe in their own potential. I also realized that imposter syndrome was not motivating me to become better. Instead, it often caused me to overlook everything I had already accomplished. Learning to separate my self-worth from academic performance and to recognize when I needed support changed the way I viewed both myself and the people around me. My experiences have also shaped how I advocate for mental health within my communities. I try to be honest about the fact that success does not always look effortless. When friends or peers are struggling, I make an effort to listen without judgment, encourage them to seek support, and remind them that asking for help is not a sign that they are incapable. I believe one of the most meaningful ways we can reduce stigma is by creating spaces where people do not feel obligated to hide their struggles to appear successful. That perspective has carried into my work with patients and underserved communities as well. Through patient navigation and community health experiences, I have learned that health is rarely limited to a single diagnosis. Financial stress, family responsibilities, access to resources, language barriers, and emotional well-being can all shape a person's ability to care for themselves. These experiences have taught me to approach people with empathy, listen carefully, and recognize the circumstances that may exist beyond what is immediately visible. As I continue toward a career in medicine, I want to carry that understanding with me. I hope to become a physician who not only treats disease but also recognizes the importance of mental and emotional well-being in every patient's life. I also want students from underrepresented backgrounds entering science and medicine to understand something I had to learn myself: struggling does not mean you do not belong. Sometimes, believing that you deserve to remain in the room is part of the work of getting there.

My decision to pursue STEM began with my desire to understand the science behind illness and use that knowledge to improve care for underserved communities. As a premature child with severe asthma and frequent hospital visits, I learned early how deeply healthcare can shape a person’s life. Later, after helping care for my grandfather during his battle with cancer and witnessing my great-grandfather’s dementia, I became more aware of how illness affects not only patients but entire families. These experiences sparked my interest in neuroscience because I wanted to better understand the brain, neurological disease, and the scientific questions that could lead to better care. Illness has also been one of the greatest adversities shaping my life. Some of my earliest memories involve hospitals, treatments, and the uncertainty that can come with being sick. As I grew older, I experienced healthcare from another perspective by watching people I loved face illnesses I could not fix for them. Those experiences were difficult, but they taught me how to keep moving forward while situations around me were outside of my control. They also changed the way I approach science. I do not see disease only as something to study in a textbook because I understand what it can mean for the person experiencing it and for the family standing beside them. At Rice University, my neuroscience major allowed me to explore the connection between science, research, and human impact. Through Alzheimer’s research, I studied how neurological disease affects behavior, cognition, and quality of life. Volunteering with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s patients kept the human side of neuroscience at the center of what I was learning. I hope to become a neurologist and physician-scientist focused on neurodegenerative disease, using research to better understand conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS while addressing disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and access to care. My commitment to STEM is also rooted in service. Through Rice University’s Community Bridges Program, I was matched with Legacy Community Health, where I served as a Health Advocate Student Intern. I screened patients for Social Determinants of Health, connected them with resources, and completed a research project examining how language barriers affect Social Determinants of Health screening. I continued this work as a Senior Patient Navigator, helping patients enroll in programs such as WIC, SNAP, and Lifeline. These experiences showed me that discovering better treatments is only part of improving healthcare. Patients also have to be able to access them. Representation is another part of the impact I hope to make. As a Black student in STEM, I understand what it means to enter spaces where people who look like me remain underrepresented. As president of the Rice Chapter of the National Society of Black Women in Medicine, I worked to support Black students pursuing healthcare careers through mentorship, programming, and community engagement. I hope to continue mentoring students of color and showing them that they belong in research, medicine, and leadership. Neuroscience has shown me that scientific discovery has its greatest impact when it connects to the people it is meant to serve. As a future neurologist and physician-scientist, I hope to contribute to research that improves our understanding of neurological disease while ensuring that advances in medicine reach the communities that need them. The experiences that first exposed me to illness were difficult, but they ultimately gave direction to the kind of scientist and physician I hope to become.

Small ‌gaps ‌in ‌memory were the first sign. My great-grandfather would forget parts of his daily routine, the names of familiar people, or places he had visited many times. As his dementia progressed, those lapses became more severe. He struggled to understand the changing seasons, could not retain new information, and sometimes no longer recognized members of his own family. His confusion worsened as the day continued. Eventually, he could no longer dress himself, take his medication, or complete the ordinary tasks that had once allowed him to live independently. Dementia did not simply affect what he remembered. It changed how he moved through the world and gradually made him dependent on others for nearly every part of his care. Long before things got that hard, he’d made it clear he didn’t want outside caregivers. So my grandmother and her siblings split the work among themselves. I watched my grandmother try to hold onto her father’s dignity while carrying the fatigue and the constant vigilance that came with caring for him. Once, a mix-up in their rotating schedule meant he was left alone. He fell, and no one was there to help right away. That single moment made the point with painful clarity: even a devoted family can get stretched past its limits, and dementia doesn’t stay contained within one person’s diagnosis. It rearranges everyone’s role, interrupts the rhythm of a household, and presses on the emotional and practical lives of the people providing care. College put miles between me and what was happening, and distance came with its own kind of frustration. I could call, check in, and try to steady my family emotionally, but I couldn’t undo the decline or lift the weight from my grandmother’s shoulders. I kept thinking about my great-grandfather himself, how much he understood, and what those years felt like from the inside. Was he scared? Did he feel alone? Did he feel cared for? At the same time, I found myself thinking about my grandmother, too, watching her parent become more dependent while still trying to manage the rest of her responsibilities. Dementia in my own family is what first pulled me toward neuroscience. Before I even chose a major, I started reading on my own to make sense of what my relatives were living through. How could an illness so completely change memory, behavior, personality, and independence? As I learned more about the brain, my curiosity deepened. The biology behind cognition and neurological disease started to feel less like a distant academic topic and more like the key to understanding something personal. What began as an attempt to grasp my family’s experience turned into a genuine interest in neuroscience, and that path led me to major in it at Rice University. During college, classes kept feeding that interest, especially when we discussed neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. I became drawn to the idea that changes in the brain can start years before a family realizes what’s happening. Neuroscience gave me language for parts of what I’d witnessed, but it also made it clear how much is still unknown. That uncertainty didn’t push me away. It pushed me toward research and service work aimed at understanding neurodegeneration while also helping the people affected by it. Because my interest began with dementia, I looked for ways to study Alzheimer’s beyond a lecture hall. As an Alzheimer’s research fellow, I worked with questions tied directly to the disease and saw how research can clarify the mechanisms behind cognitive and behavioral decline. What stayed with me most was how rarely there’s a single simple cause. Neurodegeneration shows up as layered change, unfolding across cells, networks, behavior, and time. Research helped me link the questions raised by my great-grandfather’s illness to the slow, careful work of building answers, and it kept reminding me how much remains to be done in early detection, treatment, and prevention. Service shaped my perspective differently. With Rice Alzheimer’s Buddies, I joined seasonal events and was paired with a community member living with Alzheimer’s disease. Time spent with people affected by the disease made one thing unmistakable: connection can still be real and meaningful even when memory isn’t. Yes, conversations sometimes had to circle back. Plans required patience and flexibility. But each person still deserved to be met with warmth, respect, and true curiosity. Volunteering also pulled me back to my great-grandfather, and I found myself wondering, again, whether he felt that same sense of being seen and supported near the end. At an Alzheimer’s walk, I saw the wider circle, not only patients and families, but caregivers, volunteers, researchers, and community members who understood the same strain. In a home, the experience can feel isolating, like something you’re trying to manage behind closed doors. At the walk, it was clear how many lives it touches. That visibility sharpened the need for research funding, public awareness, caregiver resources, and real community support. It also taught me that dementia work can’t be only scientific. Compassion matters, patience matters, and being present matters, even when there is no cure to offer. I saw that same mix of science and humanity again while shadowing at the UTHealth Neurocognitive Disorders Clinic. I watched cognitive testing and evaluations for patients with Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions. I paid attention to how physicians adjusted their communication when patients were confused, couldn’t hold onto details, or struggled to answer questions. Caregivers were included in the discussion, but patients were still treated as participants in their own care. I also saw how heavy the caregiver role can become, especially as families described changes at home and tried to keep up with appointments and decisions. It brought my grandmother to mind immediately, and the responsibility she took on while caring for her father. Across my family’s experience, research, volunteering, and clinical exposure, one lesson has stayed consistent: science and compassion can’t be pulled apart. Research is needed to understand disease mechanisms and to build better diagnostic tools. At the same time, patients and caregivers need dignity, clear communication, and practical help. Families shouldn’t be left to absorb the full load of dementia care by themselves. And a person’s worth does not shrink because they can’t remember or function independently. Abilities change, but the person, their history, and their humanity remain. I hope to become a neurologist and physician-scientist focused on neurodegenerative disease. Over time, I hope to build my own lab studying early detection in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. I want to help identify neurological changes before severe memory loss and functional decline take hold, when families might have more time to prepare and when interventions might do more good. I also want to expand access to neurological care in underserved communities and help ensure caregivers have the guidance and support they need. My great-grandfather’s illness did more than introduce me to dementia. It pulled me toward neuroscience, strengthened my commitment to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research, and shaped the kind of physician I want to become. His story still reminds me that every diagnosis belongs to a person whose dignity is still there, and to a family absorbing the impact alongside them. I hope to carry that lesson forward by advancing research, caring for patients with steady compassion, and working toward a future where neurodegenerative disease is recognized earlier and treated more effectively.