I am a Syrian refugee who came to the United States in 2014, fleeing the devastating war in my homeland. This journey marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life, where I could pursue my dreams and rebuild my future. One of my greatest passions has always been science, particularly in the field of healthcare. From a young age, I was fascinated by the way medicine could help people, and I dreamed of becoming a pharmacist. When I arrived in the United States, I knew I had a long road ahead to achieve this dream, but I was determined to take the necessary steps. I started by taking English classes, recognizing that proficiency in the language was crucial to my academic success and integration into American society. Learning English was difficult at first, but it became a vital tool that opened doors to new opportunities. With a solid foundation in the language, I enrolled in an Associate of Arts (AA) degree program at Seminole State College. This was my first major step towards building a career in healthcare, and I worked hard to excel in my studies. After completing my AA degree, I continued my education and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science. Throughout this time, I balanced the demands of school with the responsibilities of motherhood. During this time, I was blessed with the arrival of two children, and managing my time became a constant challenge. As a mother, I juggled caring for my children with my academic responsibilities, often staying up late into the night to finish assignments and study for exams. Despite these challenges, I remained focused on my goals and never lost sight of my dream. In 2024, I took another significant step toward my dream when I applied to the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Florida. To my joy, I was accepted, and I am now a first-year pharmacy student. The path to get here has not been easy, but every challenge I faced along the way has made me more resilient and determined to succeed. Being a refugee and a mother while pursuing a demanding career has taught me the value of perseverance and hard work. I am excited for the future and the opportunity to contribute to the healthcare field, helping others as a pharmacist. My journey is far from over, and I am eager to continue working toward my goals, knowing that with dedication and passion, anything is possible. However, because of my immigration status I’m not eligible to receive FASFA. Scholarship have supported me a lot through my education. This scholarship will help me continue my journey and complete my education.

I am a Syrian refugee who came to the United States in 2014, fleeing the devastating war in my homeland. This journey marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life, where I could pursue my dreams and rebuild my future. One of my greatest passions has always been science, particularly in the field of healthcare. From a young age, I was fascinated by the way medicine could help people, and I dreamed of becoming a pharmacist. When I arrived in the United States, I knew I had a long road ahead to achieve this dream, but I was determined to take the necessary steps. I started by taking English classes, recognizing that proficiency in the language was crucial to my academic success and integration into American society. Learning English was difficult at first, but it became a vital tool that opened doors to new opportunities. With a solid foundation in the language, I enrolled in an Associate of Arts (AA) degree program at Seminole State College. This was my first major step towards building a career in healthcare, and I worked hard to excel in my studies. After completing my AA degree, I continued my education and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science. Throughout this time, I balanced the demands of school with the responsibilities of motherhood. During this time, I was blessed with the arrival of two children, and managing my time became a constant challenge. As a mother, I juggled caring for my children with my academic responsibilities, often staying up late into the night to finish assignments and study for exams. Despite these challenges, I remained focused on my goals and never lost sight of my dream. In 2024, I took another significant step toward my dream when I applied to the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Florida. To my joy, I was accepted, and I am now a first-year pharmacy student. The path to get here has not been easy, but every challenge I faced along the way has made me more resilient and determined to succeed. Being a refugee and a mother while pursuing a demanding career has taught me the value of perseverance and hard work. I am excited for the future and the opportunity to contribute to the healthcare field, helping others as a pharmacist. My journey is far from over, and I am eager to continue working toward my goals, knowing that with dedication and passion, anything is possible.

I am a Syrian refugee who came to the United States in 2014, fleeing the devastating war in my homeland. This journey marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life, where I could pursue my dreams and rebuild my future. One of my greatest passions has always been science, particularly in the field of healthcare. From a young age, I was fascinated by the way medicine could help people, and I dreamed of becoming a pharmacist. When I arrived in the United States, I knew I had a long road ahead to achieve this dream, but I was determined to take the necessary steps. I started by taking English classes, recognizing that proficiency in the language was crucial to my academic success and integration into American society. Learning English was difficult at first, but it became a vital tool that opened doors to new opportunities. With a solid foundation in the language, I enrolled in an Associate of Arts (AA) degree program at Seminole State College. This was my first major step towards building a career in healthcare, and I worked hard to excel in my studies. After completing my AA degree, I continued my education and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science. Throughout this time, I balanced the demands of school with the responsibilities of motherhood. During this time, I was blessed with the arrival of two children, and managing my time became a constant challenge. As a mother, I juggled caring for my children with my academic responsibilities, often staying up late into the night to finish assignments and study for exams. Despite these challenges, I remained focused on my goals and never lost sight of my dream. In 2024, I took another significant step toward my dream when I applied to the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Florida. To my joy, I was accepted, and I am now a first-year pharmacy student. The path to get here has not been easy, but every challenge I faced along the way has made me more resilient and determined to succeed. Being a refugee and a mother while pursuing a demanding career has taught me the value of perseverance and hard work. I am excited for the future and the opportunity to contribute to the healthcare field, helping others as a pharmacist. My journey is far from over, and I am eager to continue working toward my goals, knowing that with dedication and passion, anything is possible.

I am a Syrian refugee who came to the United States in 2014, fleeing the devastating war in my homeland. This journey marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life, where I could pursue my dreams and rebuild my future. One of my greatest passions has always been science, particularly in the field of healthcare. From a young age, I was fascinated by the way medicine could help people, and I dreamed of becoming a pharmacist. When I arrived in the United States, I knew I had a long road ahead to achieve this dream, but I was determined to take the necessary steps. I started by taking English classes, recognizing that proficiency in the language was crucial to my academic success and integration into American society. Learning English was difficult at first, but it became a vital tool that opened doors to new opportunities. With a solid foundation in the language, I enrolled in an Associate of Arts (AA) degree program at Seminole State College. This was my first major step towards building a career in healthcare, and I worked hard to excel in my studies. After completing my AA degree, I continued my education and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science. Throughout this time, I balanced the demands of school with the responsibilities of motherhood. During this time, I was blessed with the arrival of two children, and managing my time became a constant challenge. As a mother, I juggled caring for my children with my academic responsibilities, often staying up late into the night to finish assignments and study for exams. Despite these challenges, I remained focused on my goals and never lost sight of my dream. In 2024, I took another significant step toward my dream when I applied to the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Florida. To my joy, I was accepted, and I am now a first-year pharmacy student. The path to get here has not been easy, but every challenge I faced along the way has made me more resilient and determined to succeed. Being a refugee and a mother while pursuing a demanding career has taught me the value of perseverance and hard work. I am excited for the future and the opportunity to contribute to the healthcare field, helping others as a pharmacist. My journey is far from over, and I am eager to continue working toward my goals, knowing that with dedication and passion, anything is possible.

Becoming a pharmacist is my dream. When I was a child my mother dream was to continue her education, but she couldn’t because she had to take care of us. Therefore, I always dreamed to continue my education. I’m originally from Syria. I came to the United States because of war in my country. When I first arrived to USA I started taking small steps towards my dream. I started taking English classes. Then, I started taking classes at Seminole State College to get my AA Degree, and then my B.S. degree. At the same time, I was pleased to become a mother of two amazing children. Becoming a mother has inspired me more to complete my education, so I can support my family and also be a good example for my kids. Therefore, I tried to mange taking care of my kids while completing my AA and my bachelors degrees through taking online courses, and being half-time student instead of full-time student. It’s true that it took me long time to complete my degrees, but I’m still grateful because I was able to take care of my kids at the same time of continuing my education. After I completed my bachelor degree in Health Science, both of my kids became an elementary school student, so I had more free time. Therefore, I applied to the pharmacy program at the University of Florida college of pharmacy, and I got accepted. Currently, I’m able to manage my both roles as a mother and student by managing my time. I complete most of my study while they are at school or at night after they sleep. Another factor helped me is that most of my pharmacy program lectures are online. This gave me more flexibility to manage my time and be at home more. However, being a student and a mother at the time won’t give me a chance to get a job. Therefore being able to afford my education is one of the major obstacles I face, especially because I’m not eligible to receive FAFSA because of my immigration status. During my undergrad my college had a foundation scholarship program. This program helped me fund most of my classes expenses. Without the help of scholarships I would not be able to complete my degree or to apply for the pharmacy school. Currently, I’m still financially struggling. I’m on private loan which has very high interest rate. Therefore my funds is very limited. Also, as a mother financial obstacle becomes more difficult, as my kids have a lot of needs. Therefore, besides managing my roles as a mother and student, I also need to manage my finances between my education and my kids needs. Therefore, this scholarship provides a great support for my education.

I’m an immigrant who came to US because of the war in my country. Because of my immigration status, I’m not eligible to get FAFSA, therefore I know how challenging it’s to try covering high education expenses. After, 8 years of studying and working hard, I was finally accepted into the pharmacy program, but I’m still struggling to cover the tuition expenses. Therefore, as a future pharmacist, I’m planning to provide help to future pharmacy through donations to scholarships programs, help them with recommendations and learning.