Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. This is where STEM comes in. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my field of STEM, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. This scholarship will impact my life because it will allow me to achieve my dreams of helping kids. Not only that, but it will give recognition to the work I have put in to overcome not just others, but my body.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. This is where STEM comes in. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my field of STEM, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. This scholarship will impact my life because it will allow me to achieve my dreams of helping kids. Not only that, but it will give recognition to the work I have put in to overcome not just others, but my body.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. This is where STEM comes in. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my field of STEM, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. This scholarship will impact my life because it will allow me to achieve my dreams of helping kids. Not only that, but it will give recognition to the work I have put in to overcome not just others, but my body.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. This is where STEM comes in. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my field of STEM, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. This scholarship will impact my life because it will allow me to achieve my dreams of helping kids. Not only that, but it will give recognition to the work I have put in to overcome not just others, but my body.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. This is where STEM comes in. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my field of STEM, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. This scholarship will impact my life because it will allow me to achieve my dreams of helping kids. Not only that, but it will give recognition to the work I have put in to overcome not just others, but my body.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. This is where STEM comes in. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my field of STEM, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. This scholarship will impact my life because it will allow me to achieve my dreams of helping kids. Not only that, but it will give recognition to the work I have put in to overcome not just others, but my body.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. This is where STEM comes in. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my field of STEM, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. This scholarship will impact my life because it will allow me to achieve my dreams of helping kids. Not only that, but it will give recognition to the work I have put in to overcome not just others, but my body.

Legacy means making a mark or leaving behind an impact. The impact does not have to be fame, riches, or popularity, but it just has to positively affect any person you interacted with during your time on earth. The word legacy reminds me of the people in my family that I was only able to know very briefly. People like my great-grandfather and my great-grandmother left behind legacies that not many people know about, but they are legacies that are very important to some. My great-grandfather was a quiet man that had a lot of charm and a lot to learn about him. My great-grandmother was the second child of twelve, and was forced to drop out of school in fourth grade to raise her other siblings. My great-grandparents eventually raised my grandmother and my great uncle, who sadly passed from muscular dystrophy at the age of twelve. When I think of my great-grandparents, I remember their legacy of being selfless people who cared. That is the type of legacy I want to leave behind. My upbringing has strongly affected my path of life to show how easy it is for a family to put on a mask. My family has gone through unspeakable struggles and my siblings and I were always forced to struggle in the background. We always had the things we needed, and even more, but everyone knows that money cannot buy happiness, even though it bought our silence for the longest time. I want to leave the legacy that I broke this cycle. This cycle of pain that has made it generation through generation on my father's side of my family needs to end with me. I do not want my future family to seem happy; I want them to be happy. I do not want them to cry holding their sister or try to hide their brother; I want them to feel safe, welcome, and valued. While I know my cycle of abuse and pain is not as bad as others, I know that no future child, spouse, or relative should endure what my siblings and I have. I hope that with time, society begins to shine a light on families that seem okay from the outside, but truly have great dysfunction on the inside. While I cannot save every child from the pain, I can only save the children I will raise in the future. Maybe my legacy will not be riches, fame, or popularity, but I do hope that my legacy will be how I worked so hard to stop the cycle of abuse in my family.

STEM has shaped my career aspirations because quite simply, my career would not exist without it. First, STEM encompasses anesthesiology through the science, technology, and mathematics branches. Anesthesiology requires science because anesthetists use biology and anatomy every day at work. Technology is essential to technology due to the complex equipment in every operating room. Not only the equipment in surgery, but also most charts in hospitals are digitized now. Anesthesiologists use mathematics every minute in an operating room to determine the dosage amounts and potencies of each medication depending on the patient's weight, sex, and medication usage. I have overcome basic sexist ideals in the STEM field. Every adult, counselor, and anesthesiologist I have worked with to plan my future has always started out the conversation with, "By anesthesiologist, do you mean nurse anesthetist?" I believe that the idea that I can only be capable of being a nurse anesthetist, someone who has 2 less years of schooling, is disgusting. I am capable of more, regardless of what other people think of me. I do not think that my gender should determine what I am capable of, but instead my work ethic, academics, and extracurriculars. My passion for STEM is driven by my want to make the world a better place. STEM helps me make the world a better place by helping others and solving problems. With mathematics, basic issues like bills, payments, and budgeting are made easy. With science and technology, I am able to reach all corners of the world and help others. Without STEM, the world would not be as functional and efficient as it is right now. My involvement in extracurricular STEM activities has provided me leadership roles. With the roles, such as FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) President, I have been able to educate others using technology, mathematics, and science. For example, sophomore year of high school, I was able to educate teenagers on healthy alternatives to food by using mathematics, technology, and science to explore the caloric and metabolic sciences behind food we commonly eat. I plan on applying the skills of critical thinking, interpersonal communication, and emotional intelligence in my career. With critical thinking, I am able to act on the spot with given information. This is important to an anesthesiologist, as they need to read the rates of a patient on a monitor, and then decide if they need more medication or not. The skill of interpersonal communication is important for things like conflict resolutions. Conflict resolution is important to an anesthesiologist because sometimes they need to argue for the best interest of a patient. Finally, emotional intelligence is extremely important for an anesthesiologist. It is of the upmost important for an anesthesiologist to be friendly, confident, and capable when around a patient, or the patient could because distressed and anxious. With emotional intelligence, an anesthesiologist is able to present themself, read a patient, and address the patient's needs that they might not be saying, but reflecting through their body language. In total, STEM has greatly affected me and my life, and will continue to affect me in the future.

STEM has shaped my career aspirations because quite simply, my career would not exist without it. First, STEM encompasses anesthesiology through the science, technology, and mathematics branches. Anesthesiology requires science because anesthetists use biology and anatomy every day at work. Technology is essential to technology due to the complex equipment in every operating room. Not only the equipment in surgery, but also most charts in hospitals are digitized now. Anesthesiologists use mathematics every minute in an operating room to determine the dosage amounts and potencies of each medication depending on the patient's weight, sex, and medication usage. I have overcome basic sexist ideals in the STEM field. Every adult, counselor, and anesthesiologist I have worked with to plan my future has always started out the conversation with, "By anesthesiologist, do you mean nurse anesthetist?" I believe that the idea that I can only be capable of being a nurse anesthetist, someone who has 2 less years of schooling, is disgusting. I am capable of more, regardless of what other people think of me. I do not think that my gender should determine what I am capable of, but instead my work ethic, academics, and extracurriculars. My passion for STEM is driven by my want to make the world a better place. STEM helps me make the world a better place by helping others and solving problems. With mathematics, basic issues like bills, payments, and budgeting are made easy. With science and technology, I am able to reach all corners of the world and help others. Without STEM, the world would not be as functional and efficient as it is right now. My involvement in extracurricular STEM activities has provided me leadership roles. With the roles, such as FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) President, I have been able to educate others using technology, mathematics, and science. For example, sophomore year of high school, I was able to educate teenagers on healthy alternatives to food by using mathematics, technology, and science to explore the caloric and metabolic sciences behind food we commonly eat. I plan on applying the skills of critical thinking, interpersonal communication, and emotional intelligence in my career. With critical thinking, I am able to act on the spot with given information. This is important to an anesthesiologist, as they need to read the rates of a patient on a monitor, and then decide if they need more medication or not. The skill of interpersonal communication is important for things like conflict resolutions. Conflict resolution is important to an anesthesiologist because sometimes they need to argue for the best interest of a patient. Finally, emotional intelligence is extremely important for an anesthesiologist. It is of the upmost important for an anesthesiologist to be friendly, confident, and capable when around a patient, or the patient could because distressed and anxious. With emotional intelligence, an anesthesiologist is able to present themself, read a patient, and address the patient's needs that they might not be saying, but reflecting through their body language. In total, STEM has greatly affected me and my life, and will continue to affect me in the future.

Throughout my life, mental health was not something that was discussed in my household. Rather, mental health was something you were expect to suffer in silence with. That type of environment combined with self-image issues and bullying at school led ten year old me to her breaking point. In fifth grade I admitted to the two friends I had that I wanted to kill myself, which led to my school having a meeting with my parents. From this meeting, my parents came home and I was threatened, kicked, and punished for how I felt. From this point on, I knew speaking out in my situation was more dangerous than suffering alone. Through middle school and into high school I was miserable. I knew that no matter what I did, no one would listen to me. Instead of reaching out to anyone, I became my only friend. Walking into freshman year of high school, in an entire new school district, I was scared for my life. Little did I know that high school would be the most up and down experience of my life. Freshman year band camp, I cried after. I did not cry because people were mean, I was confused, or because I felt left out. Instead, I cried because people were nice. I never realized until I was fourteen years old that people were supposed to be nice to me. This completely wrecked my mental health, as I realized I had never deserved to be bullied the way I was. Additionally, in high school, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. I was finally able to receive the medication and the help I needed to thrive. This made my journey with managing my mental health finally alright for the first time. My mental health has taught me that it his hard for me to treat people and myself well when I am struggling with my mental health. I have had to learn to manage medications and my mental wellbeing more than I ever had to before. When my bipolar disorder was at its worst before I was medicated, I lost so many friends because I was hard to be around. Now that I'm medicated, I find that I have to go back and apologize so many people that I hurt and never realized or remembered. The hardest part about being diagnosed with my mental illnesses was that I have held a large grudge against my parents for not believing me and not getting me help earlier. These mental illnesses run in both sides of the family, and now there is a massive strain in the relationship between my parents and I. It is hard to travel the journey of life when my parents are not very close to me, but I manage. My mental health has taught me to treasure the small goals in life. Things such as getting out of bed, brushing my teeth, and doing my makeup have become small goals that can be very hard to achieve every day. However, by celebrating these small victories, it makes it a little easier every day to do them. By breaking my life up everyday into such small goals, it has made huge achievements, such as graduating valedictorian or receiving my state degree seem a lot more achievable. I know that I have to jump through more hoops than other people to do the same things, but I know I can be capable of anything I put my mind to, mental illnesses or not. My mental health and mental illnesses have greatly changed my understanding of the world. I had that 'invincible' mindset that most children and young adults had until I realized that the world, other people, or even my own body and brain can try and hold me back. It has made me a lot more hardworking and grateful for the things I have. I know without my mental health struggles and mental illnesses I would not be the same person I am today. In a sense, I am grateful for my mental illnesses and struggles because they have taught me how much power can be in the individual.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. My illnesses have tied me into the Disabled Community, where I have struggled to fit into normal society. I found that systemically, society has made laws and structures against disabled individuals. Anesthesiologist’s strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. Their education has allowed them to help people who are in need, just like I was. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. I am so excited to begin my next chapter of education! However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. My education past high school will be long and hard, but it will be worth it. In my future career, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if they are disabled, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my future career, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. I have a goal to help children who are sick like me. To be apart of the life changing surgeries they need is inspiring to me. However, I also have a goal to show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. Their education has allowed them to help people who are in need, just like I was. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. I am so excited to begin my next chapter of education! However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. My education past high school will be long and hard, but it will be worth it. In my future career, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. My education past high school will be long and hard, but it will be worth it.

In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18. My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist. Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl. In my future career, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. I am driven by how society and my body has failed me, and I want to use my career to help those have been failed as well.

Since I was seven, I have had problems with my body. I have had issues with pains that no doctor could diagnose for the longest time. Countless pain medications and hours curled up in bed finally equated to something freshman year. In November of 2021, during my freshman year of high school, I began having to use the bathroom at least 30 times a day. My parents quickly took me to the doctor, who scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those scopes revealed that I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Since my diagnosis, I have been battling my body so I can feel better every day. Countless medications have all been failures; I have gone three years without feeling healthy. My diseases have now caused me to be determined to be a medical failure, in which none of the medications available to me have worked. I am 17 years old, and I will need three major surgeries before I turn 18.  My illnesses have inspired me to push myself harder than I did before. I have no control over my sickness at this point, which causes me to make sure I can complete everything else to the best of my ability. I cannot feel healthy, but I can arrive at school every day, get straight A's, take the hardest classes possible, and excel to the best of my abilities. This is where STEM comes in. I was inspired during one of my procedures when I met multiple extremely kind anesthetists. They explained how my procedure would work and how they would keep me under. Then, after I had them explain how they got into their career, I realized I was capable of what they were. Their strengths, like patient communication, mathematics, and critical thinking, are all skills that I have too. My once indecisiveness toward a career was dead set; I wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist.  Ever since then, I have openly talked about my plans. I got accepted into The Ohio State University Main Campus, and I have plans for medical school in Cleveland. However, whenever I mention how I want to be an anesthesiologist, I get the same question, "Why not a nurse anesthetist?" I am more than capable of completing two extra years of medical school to become an anesthesiologist, and I think that it is a shame that people automatically assume that a nurse would be a better fit. However, nothing I do would lead someone to believe I am not as qualified as an anesthesiologist. I have a 3.99 GPA, am first in my class, have plenty of leadership roles, and have many awards from my extracurriculars. There is one card in my pocket, though, one stamp on my hand, one pin on my jacket, that makes them think I am not qualified—I am a girl.  In my field of STEM, I will not only have the privilege of changing sick children's lives, but I will have the privilege to inspire. To show kids that just because they are sick, their illnesses do not have a cure, they are girls, they come from a small town, or if everyone tries to overshadow them, they are capable of whatever they put their mind to. This scholarship will impact my life because it will allow me to achieve my dreams of helping kids. Not only that, but it will give recognition to the work I have put in to overcome not just others, but my body.

Hello, my name is Maisyn Groves, and I am a bright, talented, capable, pansexual woman. My biggest hobbies are playing the flute, talking with my friends, and exploring the world. I grew up in a small town in Ohio, secluded from any big cities. In this small town is a major conservative demographic, which made it hard for me to embrace who I am. Not only was the location difficult, but also the school I received. From kindergarten to eighth grade, I went to a Catholic school. At this school, the student body was not accepting of who I was. This caused little ten year old me to become isolated and alienated, just because of who I loved. My biggest passion, since I was 9 years old, was to help people. Though time I have discovered that I want to impact the world as an anesthesiologist. Anesthesiology is an important part of medicine, as surgery would be cruel and inhumane without it. With this money, I want to use it to fund my collegiate education. With college, I will be taking every step that I can to be the best person I can be. Not only will I use the college experience to improve my academics, but I will also use it to begin my footing in the world. I have realized that in these last couple years, I do not just need to be a doctor to heal people, I can be a good person. The LGBTQIA+ community has affected me by giving me a family. My birth family does not fully accept me, but the LGBTQIA+ community does. I know that my community that has seen me grown does not fully understand and appreciate the person I am, but the LGBTQIA+ community, who has not even see me fully grow, loves me regardless. I know that whenever I am feeling lonely, I have a community of people who understand me behind me. Ultimately, the LGBTQIA+ community has impacted me in so many positive ways. They have given me a place to call home, even if my home is not always there for me. The community has given me love, support, understanding, and kindness; all traits that are needed to help a kid grow into a functional, successful, and happy adult. I know that with the backing of the LGBTQIA+ community, I have all the support I need to achieve my dreams.

STEM has shaped my career aspirations because quite simply, my career would not exist without it. First, STEM encompasses anesthesiology through the science, technology, and mathematics branches. Anesthesiology requires science because anesthetists use biology and anatomy every day at work. Technology is essential to technology due to the complex equipment in every operating room. Not only the equipment in surgery, but also most charts in hospitals are digitized now. Anesthesiologists use mathematics every minute in an operating room to determine the dosage amounts and potencies of each medication depending on the patient's weight, sex, and medication usage. I have overcome basic sexist ideals in the STEM field. Every adult, counselor, and anesthesiologist I have worked with to plan my future has always started out the conversation with, "By anesthesiologist, do you mean nurse anesthetist?" I believe that the idea that I can only be capable of being a nurse anesthetist, someone who has 2 less years of schooling, is disgusting. I am capable of more, regardless of what other people think of me. I do not think that my gender should determine what I am capable of, but instead my work ethic, academics, and extracurriculars. My passion for STEM is driven by my want to make the world a better place. STEM helps me make the world a better place by helping others and solving problems. With mathematics, basic issues like bills, payments, and budgeting are made easy. With science and technology, I am able to reach all corners of the world and help others. Without STEM, the world would not be as functional and efficient as it is right now. My involvement in extracurricular STEM activities has provided me leadership roles. With the roles, such as FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) President, I have been able to educate others using technology, mathematics, and science. For example, sophomore year of high school, I was able to educate teenagers on healthy alternatives to food by using mathematics, technology, and science to explore the caloric and metabolic sciences behind food we commonly eat. I plan on applying the skills of critical thinking, interpersonal communication, and emotional intelligence in my career. With critical thinking, I am able to act on the spot with given information. This is important to an anesthesiologist, as they need to read the rates of a patient on a monitor, and then decide if they need more medication or not. The skill of interpersonal communication is important for things like conflict resolutions. Conflict resolution is important to an anesthesiologist because sometimes they need to argue for the best interest of a patient. Finally, emotional intelligence is extremely important for an anesthesiologist. It is of the upmost important for an anesthesiologist to be friendly, confident, and capable when around a patient, or the patient could because distressed and anxious. With emotional intelligence, an anesthesiologist is able to present themself, read a patient, and address the patient's needs that they might not be saying, but reflecting through their body language. In total, STEM has greatly affected me and my life, and will continue to affect me in the future.

I am an honors student at Bellevue High School. I have had an extremely busy high school career, ranging from involvement in activities like FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), Band (Jazz, District Honors, Marching, Pep, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic), and National Honors Society to tennis. I have provided over 200 hours to my community through volunteering at Pep Bands, school events, and the Attica Hub. I plan to pursue a career as a pediatric anesthesiologist, which involves 12 additional years of schooling. I want to give back as a thank you to the many pediatric anesthesiologists who took care of me whenever I had procedures or surgeries. If I could start my charity, I would make a charity to support individuals with Crohn's Disease and/or Ulcerative Colitis, like myself. I was diagnosed at 14 years old, and have yet to find a medicine that helps me. I am close to being deemed a medical failure after now 3 full years of effort. This medical journey has been exhausting. I would serve individuals of all ages with Crohn's Disease and/or Ulcerative Colitis. I have personally gone through exhausting surgery preps, diets, and medications. I have had to miss out on school opportunities and school trips. I had to stop doing the things I loved, like playing tennis, due to my deteriorating health. Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease do not just affect you physically, they affect you mentally as well. I know from personal experience that individuals with these diseases need more support than what they receive. Volunteers would provide emotional support and friendship to those suffering. Some could provide visitation to those who are out of surgery. Volunteers could also make gifts for those who struggle. The biggest way volunteers would help is not going to be similar to other charities. A lot of what people need is emotional support, which they can get from volunteers being there, willing to talk. There are cases where people with Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease are not able to work, and government disabilities do not give enough support. Volunteers could also acquire things like foods that are healthy and don't cause flare-ups, as well as essential needs. Ultimately, the charity would be very widespread. Every person with these diseases experiences them differently. Not only that but sometimes these diseases can cause a predisposition to other ones, like stomach or colon cancer. It would be very important for the charity to provide resources like monetary donations for those who need to get scopes, new medications, or go to oncologists. I would love to make a charity that helps individuals who suffer like I have but are not as fortunate as I happen to be.