I hope to have a future career in medicine and therefore achieving a healthy life for myself and others is my goal. I know that to best help others, I need to make sure that I am functioning to the best of my abilities. My favorite ways to keep myself healthy are to cook and exercise because they keep both my brain and body functioning at the best of their abilities. I want to do everything I can to avoid preventable health issues so that I can live up to my potential. Therefore maintaining my health is crucial so that I can live a good life and help others live a healthy life. Ever since I was a kid I have helped cook meals. My mom is a very health-conscious person because she has a chronic lung condition that greatly impacts her immune health. As a result of this, I have been constantly exposed to natural ingredients and home-cooked meals rather than fast food. As a college student, it is difficult to cook my meals because I am living in a dorm. However, I love going to the grocery store to get healthy snacks and I always keep dried fruit in my room because I know eating healthy now is going to help ensure my future health. When I move into an apartment with a kitchen, I am very excited to begin cooking for myself again. I know that there are so many different preparations of healthy ingredients that even if I can’t afford a lot of variety I will still be able to make delicious meals. Ever since I entered high school I have been looking for healthy cheap recipes so that when I can finally cook for myself I will have a lot of recipe options. Eating healthy is important to me because it allows me to keep my brain and body healthy so that I can continue to do the activities that I want to do. I also know that a healthy diet is very good for brain function, and if there’s anything I can do to make college academics a little easier I am going to do it. I also know that by correctly nourishing myself, my mood and mental health are going to be improved. Living on a college campus, I walk around 2 miles every day. Although walking has health benefits, I find that it helps me clear my head. After secluding myself in the library for a couple of hours, I love to walk even to a different building on campus to experience a new mindset. Clearing my mind allows me to be more productive while I study and it helps improve my posture because it forces me to get away from my computer. I also practice yoga to improve my mental health and I do pilates to help keep my cardiovascular system strong. I also know that some days my body isn't up to a rigorous workout, so I make sure to listen to my body. These activities all help keep me healthy so that I can go on to make the most impact on the world.

As a student, I have learned how important it is to prioritize my mental health because if it is suffering then everything else in my life seems to suffer as well. When I am feeling stressed it is typically because I am trying to handle too many things at once or I am trying to control things that are out of my control. For example, it is very easy for me to get overwhelmed when I think about all of the material I have to learn before I can even be a doctor. When I start thinking about the MCAT, the exams in medical school, the exams to get into residency, and the many more exams that follow, I can feel the panic rising in my chest. However, I know that if I start to think about all of these things now, I won’t be able to truly focus on what I need to learn to get to those things. Therefore, to truly relax I need to organize myself, which is why my tip to clear your mind is to put your thoughts down on paper and even better, make lists. When I say lists, I don’t necessarily mean numbered documents that have everything I have to do for the rest of my life. I do whatever I need to do to make myself feel like I am doing the best I can in the present. For example, when I start getting stressed about whether or not I’ll get into medical school, I write down all of the things I can think of that I am currently doing or that I have done in the past that I think will help me get into medical school. This list helps ease my anxiety because it is physical evidence that I am making progress. It also helps me identify if I should be doing another activity. If I decide I should be doing something else, I can make a separate list of opportunities and how I can begin experiencing them. If I’m still stressed and I feel like I’m missing something, I simply make a list of things that are making me anxious, and then I go through the list and decide if there is anything I can do in the present moment to decrease my anxiety. For me, getting my anxious thoughts out of my head makes me feel like it is ok to focus on something else because if I decide I can do something to lessen my anxiety, the list is right there. Sometimes, this organization process takes a while, but I always feel productive after. This feeling of productivity is very important when I first feel overwhelmed because if I feel like I have done something productive, it lessens my anxiety. With my anxiety decreased, I can take a break and have a clear mind. My favorite resource to continue to clear my mind are yoga videos. My favorite channel is Boho Beautiful and I always turn my lights off, start my essential oil diffuser, and focus on the video. After a yoga practice, I always feel ready to tackle the day and I am normally in a better mood because I took care of myself.

I believe that the best way to make education better for future generations is by switching from memorization-based learning to mastery-based learning. Memorization learning is what occurs when people cram for tests, yet remember none of the material the next week. In my experience, this is what most school experiences involve and the only thing you need to succeed is a good short-term memory. This phenomenon explains why some people have great grades, but struggle immensely with standardized tests such as the ACT or SAT that cover long-term learning. Other than the lack of true learning, this learning environment is extremely stressful. It allows for most students to go days without truly learning the material and then cramming the day before. This leads to decreased sleep which oftentimes results in weaker grades. Both of these factors dramatically impact the mental health of many people because there is a huge problem with students associating their worth based on their grades. Mastery-learning involves mastery assignments that you have the opportunity to retry if you didn't feel you learned what you wanted to in order to succeed on the exam. An important distinction is that this is not re-using the same problems over again because this allows students to simply memorize answers. Typical exams are given but there are opportunities to improve your grade by showing that you have learned from your mistakes. Having exams still forces students to learn the material, yet it is less anxiety-inducing and students are more likely to learn and remember the material. For most students, knowing that an exam grade can be improved will lessen test anxiety and lead to overall better performance. Also, with grades being a result of hard work, students will likely feel less powerlessness over their education. I know that oftentimes when students have had bad performances in the past, they feel like their future grades will continue to be bad because they are behind. However, providing extra help so that students can master the topics if they put in the time shows that even if they didn't get it the first time they can still learn the material. This is a very necessary change because depression and anxiety rates of young people are rising and their mental health needs to be prioritized.

I live boldly by being a woman in STEM and I practice bravery through leadership. I am most proud of the leadership skills I demonstrated during my junior year of high school when I ran a fundraising campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and their Student of the Year Campaign. I worked on my campaign from September 2019 until March 2020 with the goal of raising $30,000. Everyone I talked to said this goal was too large. However, I decided to be bold and to use the doubt to motivate myself and my teammates to work for something that we all believed was making a difference. While learning how to successfully fundraise, I learned how to communicate with corporations by creating a fundraising pitch to secure donations and how to persuade people to donate auction items. It took a lot of bravery for me to go in front of business CEOs and ask them for donations as it was something I had never done before; however, I am truly grateful for the growth I experienced while I was out of my comfort zone in situations such as this. Also, I acted boldly when I filmed a news segment and spoke on a radio station, which was a first for me. During these media appearances, I spoke about LLS’s mission as well as how people could help by donating or attending my events. After hours of work, hundreds of emails and letters, and countless meetings, I ended up more than doubling my original goal by raising $63,926.77. I am proud that I acted boldly and didn't believe others when they told me my goal was too large. Knowing that I am capable of accomplishing this has given me more bravery to do something similar in the future.

Helping someone with their mental health is a very multi-faceted process. However, one practical solution for helping more people who are struggling with mental health is advocacy. This is a practical solution because anyone with a passion for helping others can do it. If even one person finds help after realizing that it's ok to need help, it's worth it. I've been actively advocating for mental health for years. In high school, I did a research project about eating disorders in athletes and found out that swimming, dancing, and gymnastics (all sports that I did) all had disproportionately high rates of eating disorders. Since then, I have done more research and begun talking to many people about the importance of forming and maintaining a healthy relationship with food. I found that this was an area that I am very passionate about and I am currently at the University of Notre Dame studying neuroscience. I recently wrote a paper about the importance of representation in movies and I am planning to submit it to my local newspaper and theaters near me. I hope to go to medical school and become a psychiatrist because I believe that there is so much work to be done relating to the treatment of those with mental illnesses. Furthermore, I am currently making an active effort to destigmatize mental health through my internship at Great Lakes Integrative Medicine, a small functional and integrative medicine practice that focuses on improving overall well-being through an individualized approach to medicine. As an intern, I am choosing to focus my research and advocacy on mental health and chronic illnesses. I am a firm believer that mental health impacts every aspect of life and therefore it needs to be improved in order for the individual to truly heal.

I am a devoted advocate for all people with mental illnesses, but eating disorders, anxiety, and depression are especially close to my heart. During my childhood, I was a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. Eventually, I became most passionate about swimming and I worked as hard as I possibly could to cut time off in my races. When I was in 7th grade, I took this dedication to a whole new level and completely changed my diet. I completely cut out sugar, butter, and almost all grains. I also began obsessively exercising and weighing myself every day. As time went on, I went from doing strength training to just cardio: jumping jacks straight for one hour was my usual. I was obsessed with my health, yet I was becoming increasingly sad. During swim practice, I would cry while swimming because I was so unhappy, yet I told myself I couldn't miss a practice or else I'd get fat. I constantly checked my BMI and it told me that I was at a healthy weight or even overweight. This would ruin my entire week and I would skip meals. One night, my dad pointed out that I wasn't eating at dinner and I had a complete mental breakdown; that was the point when my parents realized I had a problem. Eventually, I realized that I needed to start eating more so that I could exercise in the way I wanted. I would eat a normal dinner – although I still adhered to heavy restrictions and refused to eat sugar, even if it was in ketchup – and then workout. After my workout, I would wait until my parents went to bed and then eat copious amounts of the "healthy" snacks that I was obsessed with baking. I started gaining weight again and I became so anxious that I quit swimming because I was having panic attacks every night before meets. Although quitting swimming caused me lots of anxiety, it was overall beneficial because I began to loosen my restrictions as I couldn't rationalize my decisions to my parents anymore without them being suspicious. After years of trying to recover, I got to my sophomore year and relapsed. The driving cause was a doctor who told me that I should "eat less fast food". Her words made me believe I was fat again so I began restricting and exercising very frequently. After having many mental breakdowns with my family, especially my mom, I entered into therapy. After the first session, the therapist diagnosed me with severe anxiety and depression as well as body dysmorphia. She also confirmed that I most definitely had an eating disorder, likely anorexia, in the past. This was based on my behaviors and the fact that I stopped growing and got my period for the first time very late compared to what my body was suggesting. She referred me to a psychiatrist and I started Lexapro, and then when that didn't work I switched to Prozac. I am still on Prozac, just a much higher dose, and I think that my younger self would be very proud of the person I am today. Other than my own mental health, I have had loved ones suffer as well. Among others, my best friend developed a severe eating disorder sophomore year and was hospitalized because she was starving herself to death. She was also consistently self-harming and tried to commit suicide multiple times. Since then, she has been to 2 inpatient treatment programs, tried a plethora of medications, and gone through many therapists. She still tries to commit suicide and self-harms, yet her parents can't force her into treatment since she is an adult. I know that for people to heal they have to know that they have a problem. The best way for people to become aware that they have a problem is to educate them on the signs of disorders and know that people that seem perfectly put together can suffer. This is important to me because on the outside I know I appear to have everything put together, yet it is often those people that need help, and for someone to acknowledge that they're not less for struggling. With these 2 experiences close to my heart, I have been actively advocating for mental health for years. In my freshman year of high school, I did a research project about eating disorders in athletes and found out that swimming, dancing, and gymnastics (all sports that I did) all had disproportionately high rates of eating disorders. Since then, I have done more research and begun talking to many people about the importance of forming and maintaining a healthy relationship with food. I found that this was an area that I am very passionate about and I am currently at the University of Notre Dame studying neuroscience. I recently wrote a paper about the importance of representation in movies and I am planning to submit it to my local newspaper and theaters near me. I hope to go to medical school and become a psychiatrist because I believe that there is so much work to be done relating to the treatment of those with mental illnesses. Furthermore, I am currently making an active effort to destigmatize mental health through my internship at Great Lakes Integrative Medicine, a small functional and integrative medicine practice that focuses on improving overall well-being through an individualized approach to medicine. As an intern, I am choosing to focus my research and advocacy on mental health and chronic illnesses. I am a firm believer that mental health impacts every aspect of life and therefore it needs to be improved in order for the individual to truly heal.

So far, my time in college has been a true test of my perseverance. During my time at Notre Dame as a pre-med student, I have been in a very competitive environment surrounded by people that were at the top of their class in high school. Initially, I tried to fit into this environment and I didn’t even let myself adjust to college life before joining multiple different clubs and starting to get physician shadowing experience. To make matters worse, I was unprepared for the level of academic rigor that Notre Dame had to offer. In high school, I was a fantastic student and I was always told that I had exceptional time management and study methods. My struggles weren’t due to the fact that the work was too much. Rather, it was that the tests were completely different than they were in high school and my study methods weren’t giving me the same results. I had a really hard time accepting this because I was in such a competitive environment that I thought admitting that I wasn’t doing well was going to put me behind my peers. Although I did experience some judgment, I changed my studying strategies and now I'm doing much better. I learned that changing the way you do something isn't admitting that you're wrong, it's admitting that you can always improve. Through perseverance, I have created a mindset where I can better accept criticism and be less harsh on myself. College life has been a constant journey of self-kindness for me because I have struggled in ways that I never had before. Even though the first semester of my freshman year at Notre Dame was extremely challenging, it taught me life lessons about perseverance that will help preserve my happiness in the future.

So far, my time in college has been filled with life lessons; in fact, I talk to my Notre Dame friends about this all the time. Looking back at myself during dorm move-in in August, I had no idea all of the challenges and successes that the year was going to bring. During my time at Notre Dame as a pre-med student, I have been in a very competitive environment surrounded by people that were at the top of their class in high school. Also, being pre-med meant that in a way, all of us were competing against each other for a spot in medical school. Initially, I tried to fit into this environment and I didn’t even let myself adjust to college life before joining multiple different clubs and starting to get physician shadowing experience. I was constantly stressed about my future even though I was only in my first couple of weeks of college. To make matters worse, I was unprepared for the level of academic rigor that Notre Dame had to offer. In high school, I was a fantastic student and I was always told that I had exceptional time management and study methods. My struggles weren’t due to the fact that the work was too much. Rather, it was that the tests were completely different than they were in high school and my study methods weren’t giving me the same results. I was used to studying and memorizing concepts rather than applying the concepts to integrated situations and while this might sound like a huge difference, it meant that I had to have a much greater understanding of the material than I had to in high school. I had a really hard time accepting this because I truly thought that my study habits were already college-ready and I was in such a competitive environment that I thought admitting that I wasn’t doing well was going to put me behind my peers. Luckily, I changed my studying strategies and now I am doing much better. However, I definitely did feel like I was getting judged by some people. This leads to my important life lesson: changing the way you do something isn't admitting that you're wrong, it's admitting that you can always improve. Through this life lesson I have created a mindset where I can better accept criticism and be less harsh on myself. College has been a constant journey of self-kindness for me because I have struggled in ways that I never had before. Even though the first semester of my freshman year at Notre Dame was extremely challenging, it taught me a life lesson that will help preserve my happiness in the future.

Although some people say that there is such a thing as caring too much, I believe that taking a deep personal investment in the well-being of others is my best quality. I am proud to say that I have always been known as a friend that is always there when you need help or just someone to check in on you. I think about helping people not as a chore but as a way to show people that I love them because the happiness of my friends and family is of the utmost importance to me. I realize that every person that I meet has people that care about them in the same way. This is why whenever I am accompanying someone through their hardships I try to treat them the way I would want someone to treat me. I hope that this will allow me to give back to my community in a similar way that Sloane has. I have adopted this mindset due to my struggles and those of the people I love. For example, my mom has a chronic lung condition called bronchiectasis that impacts every single day of her life. Her condition forces her to do what she calls "lung exercises" multiple times every day. She uses a nebulizer, an inhaler, an AffloVest, and takes a myriad of pills for both immune support and for some of the conditions that have been caused by her lobectomies. During these surgeries, I have seen her and my dad get frustrated due to the lack of attentiveness with which doctors or medical professionals are treating her. Now that I have experienced being the loved one of a patient, I firmly believe that there needs to be a change in the bedside manner of doctors. I know that every patient has someone who loves them and even giving them an extra minute of my attention could maintain their faith in the medical field. I know that if I have a future career in the medical field I will be constantly seeing people suffering, which I know is mentally exhausting. However, by listening to conversations between medical professionals, I know that showing compassion and attentiveness also leads to better patient outcomes. Keeping in mind that a patient is a person who is loved –and much more than a collection of symptoms as doctors sometimes see them – will allow me to always treat those who come to me for help with respect. I believe that this quality will be crucial in my journey to becoming a healthcare provider and eventually in my journey to becoming the best physician I can be. Also, I know that as a woman in STEM I will be in the position to inspire people and that I should use my influence to help people the way Sloane has.

If I had $1,000 right now I would buy preparation materials for the MCAT. I hope to work in the field of healthcare and I know that a good MCAT score is important for getting into medical school. However, these materials are extremely expensive. If I am not lucky enough to win any scholarships, I will likely study for this by myself rather than getting help from someone else. However, as I am the first person in my family hoping to attend medical school, professional advice would be very useful. I know that I will not be able to afford a tutor, but I believe that even a 10-hour program, which is typically about $1,000, could be extremely beneficial. I hope that through hard work, I will be accepted into medical school so that I can begin helping others in an area I have a deep passion for. I know that I can make a difference through any profession in the medical field, but I am extremely passionate about pursuing a career as a physician or a physician assistant. This is because my mom has a chronic lung condition called bronchiectasis that impacts every single day of her life and I have talked with her about the importance of a good doctor. I believe that I will be a good doctor because I know the importance of entering into medicine with the goal of helping others, not of making money or having a title

Although I have continued with my leadership experiences in college, I am most proud of the leadership skills I demonstrated during my junior year of high school when I ran a fundraising campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and their Student of the Year Campaign. I ran in honor of an eight-year-old boy who was battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Learning about his struggle and raising money to help other people fighting blood cancer was an amazing opportunity for me to grow as a leader. I truly lost myself in my fundraising because I cared about it so deeply. I worked on my campaign from September 2019 until March 2020 with the goal of raising $30,000. Everyone I talked to said this goal was too large. However, I used the doubt to motivate myself and my teammates to work for something that we all believed was really making a difference. While learning how to successfully fundraise, I learned about 501(c)(3) organizations, how to communicate with corporations by creating a fundraising pitch to secure donations, and how to persuade people to donate auction items. It took a lot of courage for me to go in front of business CEOs and ask them for donations as it was something I had never done before; however, I am truly grateful for the growth I experienced while I was out of my comfort zone in situations such as this. Also, I filmed a news segment on a local news channel and spoke on a radio station, which was a first for me. During these segments, I spoke about LLS’s mission as well as how people could help by donating or attending my events. After hours of work, hundreds of emails and letters, and countless meetings, I ended up more than doubling my original goal by raising $63,926.77 and being inducted into the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Hall of Fame. I was mentioned in the newspaper and on my school district's website and was inducted into LLS's hall of fame. However, these recognitions, which I didn’t even know would be awarded to me while I was fundraising, were not why I raised money: I did it for those fighting cancer and their families. While I was reaching out to donors, every single person knew someone affected by a type of cancer. Hearing their painful stories and realizing that one of my loved ones could be diagnosed any day was what pushed me to go above and beyond. I showed people that almost everything is attainable with hard work by being a strong and courageous leader. While this fundraiser allowed me to grow as a leader, it also funded life-saving cancer research and spread hope to everyone around me. I hope that the strength and courage I showed during this campaign will help my generation be the one that finds a cure for cancer.

Although all technology amazes me, medical technology has always captured my interest. As a child, I had tympanostomy tubes inserted into my ears. I look back and think how amazing it is that people created something that small that drastically increased my ear infections and potentially saved my hearing. Also, my mom has had various procedures done because she has a chronic condition called bronchiectasis. This condition forces her to do what she calls "lung exercises" multiple times every day. Among other devices, she uses a nebulizer, an inhaler, and an AffloVest. It is truly amazing to me that these devices are keeping her healthy, yet they are relatively new: in fact, the AffloVest was first released in 2013. I am also especially interested in surgical technology that reduces the invasiveness of procedures. My mom had a lobectomy in order to remove one of the lobes of her lung that was dead and they didn't have to do open surgery. Instead, they made a few smaller incisions, which made both her and my family less stressed about the surgery even though it was still a major surgery. Also, a lot of my older relatives have had heart-related procedures performed on them. The surgeons haven't had to do open heart surgery on any of them and have instead used laparoscopic or robotic methods. All of these medical advancements are saving lives every day. Although I'm not planning on working in the field of biomedical engineering, I know that as a physician I will be utilizing a variety of these materials. As a physician, I hope that I will be able to discern areas that could be improved and then help others to create new life-saving technology.

Those who can endure extreme suffering and still maintain a positive attitude are my biggest motivation in life. Therefore, my mom is my biggest influence both personally and professionally. This is because she has a chronic lung condition called bronchiectasis that impacts every single day of her life. Yet, she has still truly been the best mom. Now that I am older, I can truly appreciate how hard her life has been. Her condition forces her to do what she calls "lung exercises" multiple times every day. She uses a nebulizer and an inhaler and takes a myriad of pills for both immune support and for some of the conditions that have been caused by her lobectomies. During these surgeries, I have seen her and my dad get frustrated due to the lack of attentiveness doctors or medical professionals are treating her with. Now that I have experienced being the loved one of a patient, I know that there needs to be a change in the bedside manner of doctors. I know that every patient has someone who loves them and even giving them an extra minute of my attention could maintain their faith in the medical field. My mom's health has shaped my career aspirations. Even though I can’t begin making such a large medical advancement yet, I am studying in hopes of making the medical field more accessible. My motivation for this again comes from my mom. My mom's doctors had been telling her for years that she should get an AffloVest to dislodge the mucus in her lungs, yet they are so expensive. She finally got this device a year ago because that was when our insurance covered enough of it so that she could afford it. If she could've gotten it earlier, she likely would've had better health in the past. Although I am not sure of the specific mechanism yet, I hope to help create a device similar to the AffloVest, but more affordable. Making this device more affordable would not only help people like my mom who suffer from bronchiectasis but also those suffering from diseases such as cystic fibrosis. One way I am actively trying to make a difference is using my knowledge and experience to tell people about the dangers of vaping and using cigarettes. I always tell people how much it broke my heart going to the hospital with my mom for her procedures because the doctors always worried her lungs wouldn’t function well under the anesthesia. Also, she hasn’t been able to have a full-time job in about 20 years because her lung exercises require so much time. I know that no one thinks that they’ll be the one to experience one of these conditions, but sicknesses don’t pick and chose: my mom is the most amazing person ever and she is a victim of this chronic disease. Although she got unlucky (to say the least) to be born with this condition, she is always looking for new advancements and never gives up on her health. I know that this is as much for her as it is for my family. She has always told me that it is because I am a woman that I can do anything, and not in spite of the fact. Because I know that every aspiration in my life is personally motivated, I truly believe that I will be successful in a career that will help others.

Seeing the suffering in the world inspires me to be a better person. Although I am not especially gifted in working with computers like Anthony, I am working to make the world a better place by working in healthcare. I want to work in healthcare so that I can make a discovery that will truly help people. There are so many different careers in this field and I know that with a passion I could greatly improve a specific area – or hopefully multiple areas – during my lifetime. I am especially hopeful that improvements will be made due to the rapid advancement of technology. The specific area I am hoping to make more accessible and affordable is healthcare for those with respiratory conditions and the treatment of the mentally ill. I am very passionate about these specific areas because of my personal experiences and because these are both areas that are unfortunately rising in cases. The rising numbers in these areas relate to many different factors, but I am especially dedicated to them due to the numbers of youth and young adults being unexpectedly high. Maybe these areas will already be improved by the time I graduate college and enter the workforce, but I know that there will always be a way to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for all. My mom has a chronic lung condition called bronchiectasis that forces her to do what she calls "lung exercises" multiple times every day. She uses a nebulizer and an inhaler and takes a myriad of pills for both immune support and for some of the conditions that have been caused by her lobectomies. Among other devices, these involve her using an AffloVest to dislodge the mucus in her lungs. However, she only got this device a year ago because that was when our insurance covered enough of it so that she could afford it. If she could've gotten it earlier, she likely would've had better health in the past. Although I am not sure of the specific mechanism yet, I hope to help create a device similar to the AffloVest, but more affordable. Making this device more affordable would not only help people like my mom who suffer from bronchiectasis but also those suffering from diseases such as cystic fibrosis. This issue leads to the overall price of many pharmaceutical and medical products. Many life-saving products are very overpriced, which is partially due to a lack of competition. If I decide that I don't want to have direct involvement with the production of medical devices, I hope that I could work towards political change in the medical field. I know that if the price of my mom's medications was lowered, she would've felt like much less of a burden to our family. Seeing her feel this way hurts me immensely because she didn't do anything to cause her disease, yet she still feels like she doesn't deserve help. Studying STEM in college will allow me to gain a great base of knowledge to address the many areas such as these that need improvement in the medical field. I have an immense passion and I know that a healthcare career will allow me to make life better for others, both in my life and throughout the world. This is my overall goal in life and although the medical field is constantly changing, I don’t think that this goal will change.

I am passionate about my education because I know it will give me the knowledge I need to make a difference in the world. I am most passionate about making advancements in the medical field by making it more affordable and accessible. Also, I want to work in healthcare so that I can make a discovery that will truly help people. There are so many different careers in this field and I know that with a passion I could greatly improve a specific area – or hopefully multiple areas – during my lifetime. With my education, I am hoping to improve treatment options for those with respiratory conditions and the overall treatment of the mentally ill. Continuing to destigmatize mental health is especially important because I hope that with enough advocacy, my future children will live in a world where they aren’t afraid to admit that they’re struggling and ask for help. I am very passionate about these specific areas because of my personal experiences and because these are both areas that are unfortunately rising in cases. The rising numbers in these areas relate to many different factors, but I am especially dedicated to them due to the numbers of youth and young adults being unexpectedly high. My mom has a chronic lung condition called bronchiectasis that forces her to do what she calls "lung exercises'' multiple times every day. She uses a nebulizer and an inhaler and takes a myriad of pills for both immune support and for some of the conditions that have been caused by her lobectomies. Among other devices, these involve her using an AffloVest to dislodge the mucus in her lungs. However, she only got this device a year ago because that was when our insurance covered enough of it so that she could afford it. If she could've gotten it earlier, she likely would've had better health in the past. Although I am not sure of the specific mechanism yet, I hope to help create a device similar to the AffloVest, but more affordable. Making this device more affordable would not only help people like my mom who suffer from bronchiectasis but also those suffering from diseases such as cystic fibrosis. This issue leads to the overall price of many pharmaceutical and medical products. Many life-saving products are very overpriced, which is partially due to a lack of competition. If I decide that I don't want to have direct involvement with the production of medical devices, I hope that I could work towards political change in the medical field. I know that if the price of my mom's medications was lowered, she would've felt like much less of a burden to our family. Seeing her feel this way hurts me immensely because she didn't do anything to cause her disease, yet she still feels like she doesn't deserve help. Studying STEM in college will allow me to gain a great base of knowledge in order to address the many areas such as these that need improvement in the medical field. I have an immense passion and I know that a career in healthcare will allow me to make life better for others, both in my life and throughout the world. This is my overall goal in life and although the medical field is constantly changing, I don’t think that this goal will change.

I am a devoted advocate for all people with mental illnesses, but eating disorders, anxiety, and depression are especially close to my heart. During my childhood, I was a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. Eventually, I became most passionate about swimming and I worked as hard as I possibly could to cut time off in my races. When I was in 7th grade, I took this dedication to a whole new level and completely changed my diet. I completely cut out sugar, butter, and almost all grains. I also began obsessively exercising and weighing myself every day. As time went on, I went from doing strength training to just cardio: jumping jacks straight for one hour was my usual. I was obsessed with my health, yet I was becoming increasingly sad. During swim practice, I would cry while swimming because I was so unhappy, yet I told myself I couldn't miss a practice or else I'd get fat. I constantly checked my BMI and it told me that I was at a healthy weight or even overweight. This would ruin my entire week and I would skip meals. One night, my dad pointed out that I wasn't eating at dinner and I had a complete mental breakdown; that was the point when my parents realized I had a problem. Eventually, I realized that I needed to start eating more so that I could exercise in the way I wanted. I would eat a normal dinner – although I still adhered to heavy restrictions and refused to eat sugar, even if it was in ketchup – and then workout. After my workout, I would wait until my parents went to bed and then eat copious amounts of the "healthy" snacks that I was obsessed with baking. I started gaining weight again and I became so anxious that I quit swimming because I was having panic attacks every night before meets. Although quitting swimming caused me lots of anxiety, it was overall beneficial because I began to loosen my restrictions as I couldn't rationalize my decisions to my parents anymore without them being suspicious. After years of trying to recover, I got to my sophomore year and relapsed. The driving cause was a doctor who told me that I should "eat less fast food". Her words made me believe I was fat again so I began restricting and exercising very frequently. After having many mental breakdowns with my family, especially my mom, I entered into therapy. After the first session, the therapist diagnosed me with severe anxiety and depression as well as body dysmorphia. She also confirmed that I most definitely had an eating disorder, likely anorexia, in the past. This was based on my behaviors and the fact that I stopped growing and got my period for the first time very late compared to what my body was suggesting. She referred me to a psychiatrist and I started Lexapro, and then when that didn't work I switched to Prozac. I am still on Prozac, just a much higher dose, and I think that my younger self would be very proud of the person I am today. Other than my own mental health, I have had loved ones suffer as well. Among others, my best friend developed a severe eating disorder sophomore year and was hospitalized because she was starving herself to death. She was also consistently self-harming and tried to commit suicide multiple times. Since then, she has been to 2 inpatient treatment programs, tried a plethora of medications, and gone through many therapists. She still tries to commit suicide and self-harms, yet her parents can't force her into treatment since she is an adult. I know that for people to heal they have to know that they have a problem. The best way for people to become aware that they have a problem is to educate them on the signs of disorders and know that people that seem perfectly put together can suffer. This is important to me because on the outside I know I appear to have everything put together, yet it is often those people that need help, and for someone to acknowledge that they're not less for struggling. With these 2 experiences close to my heart, I have been actively advocating for mental health for years. In my freshman year of high school, I did a research project about eating disorders in athletes and found out that swimming, dancing, and gymnastics (all sports that I did) all had disproportionately high rates of eating disorders. Since then, I have done more research and begun talking to many people about the importance of forming and maintaining a healthy relationship with food. I found that this was an area that I am very passionate about and I am currently at the University of Notre Dame studying neuroscience. I recently wrote a paper about the importance of representation in movies and I am planning to submit it to my local newspaper and theaters near me. I hope to go to medical school and become a psychiatrist because I believe that there is so much work to be done relating to the treatment of those with mental illnesses. Furthermore, I am currently making an active effort to destigmatize mental health through my internship at Great Lakes Integrative Medicine, a small functional and integrative medicine practice that focuses on improving overall well-being through an individualized approach to medicine. As an intern, I am choosing to focus my research and advocacy on mental health and chronic illnesses. I am a firm believer that mental health impacts every aspect of life and therefore it needs to be improved in order for the individual to truly heal.

I want to work in STEM so that I can make a discovery that will truly help people. There are so many different careers in STEM and I know that with a passion I could greatly improve a specific area during my lifetime. The specific area I am hoping to improve is healthcare for those with respiratory conditions and the treatment of the mentally ill. Although I am very passionate about the destigmatization of mental illnesses, I will describe my hopes relating to respiratory care more in-depth because there are specific technological advancements I have ideas for. My mom has a chronic lung condition called bronchiectasis that forces her to do what she calls "lung exercises" multiple times every day. She used a nebulizer and an inhaler and takes a myriad of pills for both immune support and for some of the conditions that have been caused by her lobectomies. Among other devices, these involve her using an AfloVest to dislodge the mucus in her lungs. However, she only got this device a year ago because that was when our insurance covered enough of it so that she could afford it. If she could've gotten it earlier, she likely would've had better health in the past. Although I am not sure of the specific mechanism yet, I hope to help create a device similar to the AfloVest, but more affordable. Making this device more affordable would not only help people like my mom who suffer from bronchiectasis but also those suffering from diseases such as cystic fibrosis. This issue leads to the overall price of many pharmaceutical and medical products. Many life-saving products are very overpriced, which is partially due to a lack of competition. If I decide that I don't want to have direct involvement with the production of medical devices, I hope that I could work towards political change in the medical field. I know that if the price of my mom's medications was lowered, she would've felt like much less of a burden to our family. Seeing her feel this way hurts me immensely because she didn't do anything to cause her disease, yet she still feels like she doesn't deserve help. Studying a STEM field will allow me to gain a great base knowledge for either of these future endeavors. I know that by increasing my knowledge I will also learn of many other areas that need improvement. I have an immense passion and I know that a career in STEM will allow me to make life better for others, which is my overall goal in life.