There’s a saying that it takes a village to raise a child, and I believe that the same is true for bringing a child into the world. I have been fascinated by the process of childbirth from a young age, and have watched many videos of the birthing process in a medical setting. In each video, I have seen and every experience I listened to, a team of medical professionals works like a well-oiled machine to deliver the baby and ensure the well-being of the mother. Each individual serves a specific set of roles, and this machine would not be able to easily adapt to complications under just one individual. The oil that greases this machine is communication, the vessel for collaboration. When issues arise during any process, the initial plan may have to change, and the members of the team must work together to figure out which course of action would be best for the situation. It is only through collaboration that medicine has made great advances in the last century. For example, the Covid-19 vaccine would not have been created if it weren’t for several teams of researchers working with one another. An essential component of working in a team is having a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives among its members. No two individuals have the same experiences, and it is our experiences that make us wise and capable of being problem solvers. A team, especially within medicine, is at its strongest when it includes distinct members that can put their unique backgrounds together to create something brand new or look at a problem from different angles. The way that I view working in a team is similar to the time I tried to solve a large jigsaw puzzle on my own. Sometimes when solving a puzzle alone, you can meet a roadblock and be stumped on what your next move is. This is exactly what happened to me, for no matter how many ways I tried a new tactic to put the pieces together, nothing seemed to work and I made little progress. However, when my sister with a set of fresh eyes came along, picked up on an aspect of the puzzle I didn't notice before, and suddenly the project started to come together. We finished the puzzle with renewed energy, and much faster than I would have accomplished it alone. Our different perspectives were more valuable together than alone, a concept that is just as applicable to a life-saving medical procedure, or research for a cure. In the future in a clinical setting, I aim to apply this principle to working with a medical team and learning from the points of view of those around me. Whether it's navigating a complicated birthing procedure or providing emotional support for a patient, discovering new ways to view the world and the issues we face is an aspect of working in medicine I am thrilled to take part in.

Ever since I was little, I have dreamed of becoming an OBGYN. Growing up going to my mother's medical appointments when she was pregnant with my younger siblings, I was amazed by the progression of gestation and the wonders of the human body. The more I researched this field of work and the impact that it has on the lives of women, the more I fell in love with it. Throughout high school I have taken various health science classes, starting my pathway in the field of medicine. In my junior year of high school, I obtained my EKG technician certification, and I am currently in the process of obtaining my Certified Clinical Medical Assistant certification as well. Upon graduation from high school in May, I plan to use these certifications to gain real work experience in the medical field in a local family medicine practice. I will begin my undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall, where I plan to major in Biology at the College of Natural Sciences. My sights are also set on joining the Texas Delta Epsilon Mu Co-Ed fraternity at UT for pre-health students, to engage in health-based community service and fellowship. All of these stepping stones in my career pathway, and many more, I plan to prepare myself in my pursuit of attending Medical School in the United States after graduating from UT. Eventually, when my education comes to a close and upon completion of my medical residency, I hope to gain enough expertise to open a practice in Austin with other women in the field of female healthcare.

For as long as I can remember, my dream has been to become an OB/GYN. When I was little, I accompanied my mom to her medical appointments while pregnant with my siblings. My earliest memory of this was when I was six and saw my first live ultrasound. When the image of her womb appeared on a screen, I heard my unborn brother’s heartbeat and was entranced. While my mother’s physician described her pregnancy and the changes she experienced, I grew enamored with the miracles of the body. Independently, I researched pregnancy, delivery, gestation, and the human body. This newfound interest flourished into a passion for Biology and medicine, leading me to take classes diving deeper into the subject throughout high school. In my pathway of learning, I was able to experience a real-world lesson: the Covid-19 pandemic. As the globe fell into lockdown, I had the opportunity to have a firsthand experience with two aspects of medicine, epidemiology and mental health. Words such as 'quarantine' and 'incubation period' flooded my vocabulary. While the lockdown lengthened from days into months, I began to experience a second coming of anxiety and depression. Throughout my elementary school years, I struggled with panic attacks and depressive episodes until the 7th grade. When these mental health issues had subsided, for the most part, I believed that I had conquered the battle with my inner demons for good. As the world around me quickly fell into a dystopian setting, the fears that once haunted me crept back into my mind. In the beginning, I could not believe that I was returning to a state of fear and isolation, and I sought to hide these feelings from my loved ones. Eventually, I reached a breaking point with my mental health and came to my mom for help. Together, we concluded to reach out to my doctor and create a plan to get through that difficult time. Even in the most challenging moments during my mental well-being journey, I was kept afloat by my hopes for the future before me. The idea of one day being able to do what I loved enabled me to push through that dark patch in my life and look toward the opportunities I had yet to experience. As I am nearing college, I am more excited than ever about the prospects for my future and know that this dream of mine will continue to carry me through the obstacles that lie ahead. My journey with mental health and exploring the world of health care has forced me to confront a few difficult realities. First, I was incredibly fortunate to have had a support system in my family and medication to aid me in treating my anxiety and depression. Second, not everyone has access to that kind of health care or support. Without the love and care that I had around me in my darkest time, I would have had a much harder time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The root goal of my aspiration to become a physician is to help people, especially in their most difficult moments. I aim to create ways to bridge the gap between socioeconomic and racial barriers to healthcare in underserved communities. I plan to begin with activism and campaigns in the medical sphere, while continuing volunteer work in the Austin community with a focus on providing greater access to healthcare. Eventually, I desire to start my own practice as an OB/GYN. Through this, I aim to provide greater opportunities for women who have previously been failed by the healthcare system.

The simple pleasures of my life have always revolved around my love for reading. When I first learned how to read on my own I was 5 years old, and my very first book was Goodnight Moon. Upon realizing that I could read the book without my Mom or my Dad's help, I took the book and read to myself constantly. Since that epiphany occurred, I have instinctively been drawn to books. My amorous entanglement with reading was furthered by the Covid-19 pandemic. With each day of the pandemic, my anxiety deepened, concerning the state of affairs swirling around me. As a lockdown was enforced in my hometown, I resorted to spending every waking minute on my backyard porch, delving into every book in my home. I read the classics, sci-fi, and even the new controversial novels Amazon had to offer. Every morning that I stepped outside with my book, I was transported into another world. I inserted myself into the lives of the characters on the pages and imagined worlds where the pandemic did not exist, where I could travel in space to other galaxies, where I could travel in time to eras like 18th century Russia. Reading allowed me to leave behind the life I knew for a moment and transform the world around me. This routine of my daily porch reads has become an integral part of my happiness and creativity. Reading has allowed me to live different lives, explore new parts of myself, and escape the monotony of the regular school day. I will be forever grateful for Goodnight Moon, as it opened up the door to my not so simple, simple pleasure.

It is a natural human instinct for many to help others in times of need. For myself, this feeling is woven throughout my daily life. As the oldest child of 5 kids, I have learned from an early age the importance of serving and helping out others. The beginning of my service journey started with taking on more than my fair share of chores to aid my parents in stressful times. This trait seeped into my school life as well, whether it was helping out a classmate on their math homework or a confusing lesson, or helping my teachers organize their classrooms and run errands. A specific example that stands out to me was during the Texas snowstorm of February 2021. This storm ravaged my neighborhood, for we were all without electricity, water, and some without heat, for several days. One of the days that my family was snowed in, I went on a walk towards our community park not far away, when I noticed a neighbor of mine, about 6 years old, walking towards the frozen pond by the park. My neighbor has Down Syndrome and was unaccompanied on this walk, so I ran to catch up to her and check up on her. As she walked towards the icy pond, I talked with her, trying to persuade her to let me walk her back home, and eventually, she was convinced, and we headed to her house together in the snow. This neighbor of mine made it safely back home, as she escaped her house earlier without her parent's knowledge, and they had been worried sick looking for her. Though walking around in my icy, snowed-over neighborhood for hours was not ideal, nothing could compare to the feeling of knowing a new friend of mine was safe.