During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, my grandmother tested positive for the virus and had to be admitted in the ICU. Throughout the course of her stay, the nurses who cared for her took time out of their busy schedules to call and update my family on her condition. Their thoughtful gesture allowed me to see healthcare workers through a new perspective and inspired me to want to become a nurse. I chose to purse nursing because I want to work in a field that has a meaningful purpose. I also have a passion for caring for people, and becoming a nurse gives me the privilege of helping people during critical times, just like my grandmother’s nurses helped my family. After I graduated from college, I plan to help make a difference in the underrepresentation of African Americans in the healthcare system, particularly in labor and delivery. The rate of pregnancy-mortality deaths among black women is significantly disproportionate compared to those of women of other races. I believe that having more black physicians and nurses working in this field can help curve this issue. It is too often that black women and their health concerns are overlooked in this specialty. I intend to not only give the best care to my patients but to also make an impact in their lives. Through my skills and education, I hope to create a safe space where people in my community can receive good care while feeling like they’re heard. I aspire to be one of the faces women can relate to and trust to help them safely deliver their babies when they come into the hospital. Receiving this award would be a tremendous help in assisting me to reach my goal of graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and becoming a Registered Nurse. With it, I will be able to put it toward my college expenses such as my transportation to and from school and my books and supplies. This will help take some of the burdens of paying for my education off myself and my family. It will also minimize the amount of debt I would collect by having to take out student loans. Nevertheless, winning this scholarship will help set me up financially to continue my education. Most importantly, this opportunity will allow me to eventually reach my goal of becoming a Labor and Delivery Nurse. I am grateful to be considered for this scholarship, and if I should be selected, I will use it to build my future career.

I want to become a nurse because of my passion for science and helping people. Furthermore, I want to make a difference in the medical field. As a child, I spent a lot of time at the hospital. Whether it was for me or another family member, I have a lot of memories there. One of the things that always stood out in my memories was that I never encountered a black physician. As a kid I didn’t pay it any mind, but as I got older, I started to think more deeply about it. It was shocking to me that in the twenty first century I could go into a workplace and couldn’t identify someone of color there. Although a family member or I were never mistreated by the healthcare providers at the hospital, I understood that many other black people did not receive the same treatment. Once I entered high school and began to seriously think about what career I wanted to pursue, I immediately thought about the lack of diversity I had seen at the hospital. The fact that I remember not seeing any black doctors or nurses made me determined to become a nurse. Throughout high school I challenged myself by taking classes that would bring me closer to this dream. The insight I gained from my own personal helped further confirm why I desire to become a nurse. It is important to me that there is a space where people of my community can receive good care while feeling like they’re heard. It is too often that African Americans and their health concerns are overlooked in the healthcare system. This must be changed. I plan to be one of the many black men and women that will curve the issue of lack of representation in the healthcare system. I aspire to be one of the faces that a little black girl can relate to or the person a black pregnant woman can trust to help safely deliver her baby when they come into the hospital. My goal is to not only take care of people, but also be able to impact the lives of my patients. Hopefully I be able to be one of the changing forces within the healthcare industry to ensure that black people receive the best care and are no longer neglected within the industry.