1. I have chosen nursing as my major in college because helping people and taking care of others is what I am best at. I have been entrusted with people's children for certain amounts of time, leading me to become a caretaker for them. Any bumps, scratches, or booboos, I attend to them. My grandfather recently passed away, and even though he placed in a full-time nursing facility, I went there every day to tend to his needs. I fed him, got his medicine in order, helped him to drink, and lifted him by myself even though he was about 6 feet tall and over 150 pounds. I am only 5'1 and very tiny weight wise, but I exercise regularly in case something happens where someone is needed to lift someone. I have always been willing to help those in need, no matter if it is financially or physically. I want to be able to step-up the level of care I am able to provide to individuals who need it, and becoming a nurse is the only way I can do that. My ultimate dream is to be able to take care of my parents once they get into failing and declining health stages. As for my career goals, I wish to be able to become an ER nurse or practice in a nursing home facility (or something of similar stature). I do not want to be a nurse who is only in this field for the money. I will be the nurse who families and patients count on because I do my job well with dignity, genuine care, and respect for those entrusted in my care. Too many times, my family has been in and out of hospitals and facilities where the nurses and other staff do not care about the patients and let call bells ring and ring until other visitors get them out of their desk area. I refuse to sit back and let anyone be in distress. I do not care if someone rings a call bell just because they cannot find the remote for the tv or need help adjusting their bed. That is part of my job as a nurse; to be there at patient's beck and call to the best of my ability. No matter how frivolous, needy, or annoying things get, I will keep a smile on my face and take care of them, because that is what a nurse does. I intend to stand by my beliefs and morals regarding this job, as it is not just a job, but a commitment to those who need me most. 2. To me, the phrase "human touch" means not only physically touching a person but also touching their soul via actions and genuine care for them. I believe "human touch" can impact patient care in many ways, such as, improving recovery time, increased mood levels, greater willingness to listen to doctors and nurses, and showing them that people care about them as well as their needs. Often times, individuals nowadays in health care do not care about the patients or the job itself for that matter and just want to collect a paycheck. "Human touch" changes that when you genuinely care about your role in this field. This shows that a person is not doing their job robotically and as if the person they are caring for means nothing to them. "Human touch" creates a bond between caregiver and patient, as well as with their families. "Human touch" is about having feeling, emotion, and passion for what you do, not just because it looks good on paper.

My name is Katarina Martin. I am currently 17 years old and a high school senior at Notre Dame High School in Elmira, New York. Currently, I am taking numerous college courses through my high school and a few advanced placement courses. I was offered a spot to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum of Health and Medicine at Yale University; however, I was sadly unable to attend. In the future, I hope to become a mother of three children, have a husband who is a loving father, a family pet, and a beautiful home somewhere relaxed and quiet, but has enough opportunities for activities. I plan to learn about and invest in the stock exchange so that I am able to build my wealth comfortably while busy with my studies and endeavors. I enjoy fitness, nutrition, cooking, baking, shopping, and especially holiday activities. I currently have worked at Ulta Beauty for over a year and a half, where I use my expertise in makeup and skincare to help guests better their techniques, application methods, and create new routines. Personal hygiene is something I care strongly about as I have a fear of smelling bad. My top choice for college is Rochester Institute of Technology where I plan to pursue a master's degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. I would like to specialize in the Maternal-Fetal-Medicine area of this field to deal with high-risk pregnancies. I hope to get my doctorate after my master's in this field. This is my chosen field of study because my parents were given incredibly wrong information while my mother was carrying me. The doctors told my parents that I would be born with down syndrome and would also be born early around 28 to 30 weeks. None of these things happened and I was born perfectly healthy; however, my mother has severe anxiety which was affected greatly due to this false information. Not only did it cause issues to hear health, but anxiety is not good for a developing baby as it could lead to serious health issues during the pregnancy that can put both mother and baby in extreme danger. I want to be able to prevent these mis happenings as best as I possibly can and I want to be the comforting face a mother with a high-risk pregnancy gets to see. My backup career path is nutritional and dietetic studies to become a certified nutritionist and dietician. I struggled for a few years with an eating disorder, leading me to extremely unhealthy and irregular eating and activity habits. I wish to study this field to help prevent this from happening to more individuals of various ages and genders, as eating disorders can affect anyone. I would also like to aid individuals in developing meal plans for various life situations. These situations include but are not limited to busy lifestyles, low-income, fixed budget, mood disorders affecting eating patterns, etc. This profession would allow me to not only become more knowledgeable myself on eating habits and current trends with fast food chains but also help others become more knowledgeable as well so that they do not fall for the same tricks and tactics.