One of the national and global health issues I feel most passionate about is access to preventive healthcare. Around the world, millions of people live with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, many of which can be prevented, or even managed, more effectively through early intervention, routine screenings, and patient education; yet financial barriers, employer shortages, transportation issues, and other social determinants of health continue to prevent many people from receiving care until their health conditions have progressed. To me, one of the greatest injustices in healthcare is that a person's opportunity to stay healthy is often influenced by factors beyond their control. I care deeply about this issue because I have seen how much of a difference compassionate care can make. At seventeen, I had the opportunity to travel to Nairobi, Kenya on a medical mission trip where our team provided free vision care and resources. What stayed with me most was not the procedures we were able get access for, but the gratitude people expressed for receiving care that many had gone years without. It reminded me that healthcare is never just about treating a condition. It is about restoring independence, dignity, and quality of life. That experience sparked a question that has stayed with me ever since: How many illnesses could be prevented if everyone had access to care before a problem became a crisis? That question has continued to shape me throughout medical school. While volunteering at Rose Haven Medicinary, I worked with individuals experiencing homelessness and other underserved populations. I met people who wanted to prioritize their health but were navigating challenges such as housing insecurity, financial hardship, and limited access to healthcare. Those experiences reinforced that health is about much more than memorizing chemical structure. It is influenced by the environments people live in and the opportunities they have to receive care. These experiences have shaped the kind of doctor I hope to become. I chose naturopathic medicine because I believe prevention is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve health. I want to help patients understand their bodies, reduce their risk of chronic disease, and feel empowered to make informed decisions about their health. Just as importantly, I want to create a space where patients feel respected, heard, and cared for. Access to preventive healthcare is about more than preventing disease. It is about giving people the opportunity to live healthier, fuller lives regardless of their background or circumstances. As a future naturopathic doctor, I hope to be part of that change by expanding access to preventive care, advocating for underserved communities, and providing compassionate care that helps people stay healthy.

My path toward naturopathic medicine feels like a natural extension of my passion for nutrition. Before entering naturopathic medical school, I earned my B.S. in Nutrition at Texas State University, and that academic background confirmed something I had already felt for years: nutrition is one of the most powerful foundations of health. Long before nutrition became my field of study, it was something I cared about in everyday life, and much of that came from my relationship with my mom. She earned her M.S. in Nutrition, and growing up, it became something we naturally bonded over. We would discuss food choices, read ingredient labels together, and explore how certain foods can impact our bodies. Because of that relationship, nutrition never felt separate from daily life; rather, it felt very practical and personal to me. As I continued my education in undergrad, I was increasingly drawn to naturopathic medicine because it aligned with the way I already viewed health and nutrition. I was drawn to looking at the whole-person, understanding the root causes of one's health, and recognizing that the body has an innate ability to heal when given the right support. What stood out to me the most about naturopathic medicine is that it does not focus only on symptoms, but instead encourages asking why the dysfunction is happening and what underlying factors may be contributing to the equation. That approach made sense to me because nutrition works in much the same way. Nutrition affects every system in the body and often influences long-term health in ways that can easily be overlooked. To me, food is never just calories. It is one of the most consistent ways we support the body every day, influencing or defluencing inflammation, hormone balance, digestion, skin health, immune function, energy levels, and more! As a future naturopathic doctor, I plan to make nutrition a central part of my practice. While nutrition alone is not always the full answer, I believe it is often the best starting point because it creates the foundation that allows other therapies to work more effectively. Whether a patient is dealing with chronic diseases, fatigue, hormonal concerns, skin conditions, or digestive issues, there is almost always an opportunity to improve outcomes through nutritional support. I also see nutrition as one of the most important ways to educate patients and their families in a practical and long-lasting way. Many people understand that nutrition matters, but they often feel overwhelmed by conflicting information on social media or even unsure how to apply it in their daily life. In practice, I would focus on helping patients make realistic changes that fit their lifestyle, resources, and health goals so that my recommendations feel achievable rather than restrictive. One idea I hope to incorporate into my future practice is offering monthly cooking classes for patients and families who want to learn how to prepare healthier, nutrient-dense meals. I think creating a space where people can learn practical cooking skills, understand their ingredient choices, and see that healthy meals can be achievable would make nutrition feel more fun and less of a chore. It would also allow families to participate in an activity together, which can strengthen long-term habits at home. Small, sustainable changes often have the greatest impact on both the quality and quantity of one's life because they support prevention while also improving how one may feel on a day-to-day basis. As I continue my training, nutrition will remain central to how I practice because it is one of the most meaningful ways I hope to help patients build lasting health.

As a future naturopathic doctor, I’m passionate about expanding mental health care in ways that are both accessible and culturally inclusive. I believe healing doesn’t look the same for everyone, so my unique contribution would be to integrate mental health support into holistic primary care settings for underserved communities who may not have access to traditional therapy. Many people turn to primary care providers first, and I want to be the kind of doctor who creates a safe space to talk about mental and emotional health without stigma. By combining counseling techniques, trauma-informed care, mind-body practices, and herbal or nutritional support, I aim to offer more options for accessibility that meet patients where they are. I also want to help reduce barriers to care through mobile clinics, sliding-scale services, and community education. I envision creating wellness workshops in schools, shelters, and community clinics so that the community can learn mental health tools in a safe, empowering environment. Ultimately, I hope to change the narrative around mental health by helping people feel seen, supported, and understood. Making care more accessible starts with making it more human.

My name is Marisa, and my purpose is to help people reclaim their health, dignity, and beauty as a naturopathic doctor. I especially want to help those who have been overlooked or underserved. I am currently pursuing my doctorate in naturopathic medicine, with a long-term goal of practicing integrative dermatology and aesthetic medicine. I care deeply about making people feel seen, safe, and empowered in their own skin. My passion is driven by a belief that healing is not just the absence of disease, but a return to homeostasis. One real-world issue I feel deeply connected to is health equity, specifically, the lack of access to holistic care for marginalized communities. I’ve seen how disparities in healthcare disproportionately affect women, BIPOC groups, and those experiencing homelessness or survived trauma. I witnessed this firsthand while volunteering in Kenya with my church in 2017. I witnessed individuals being turned away for necessary medical procedures due to not having enough money or insurance to support the cost. Many of these individuals were women and mothers. The mission of this trip with my church was to collaborate with doctors in the community to get the health care they needed and we successfully did so by getting 500 people a day the health care they needed. I’ve also personally experienced health inequity as I've had doctors minimize my symptoms, misdiagnose due to my ethnicity, or treat me like a chart instead of a whole person. These moments left me both frustrated and fiercely motivated to be the kind of provider who listens, includes, supports, and advocates for their patients. If I had the power to make change in this area, I would invest in community-rooted wellness centers that blend primary care with culturally tailored healing modalities like, nutrition, herbs, trauma-informed therapy, and many safe spaces for rest and health education. I envision mobile clinics, community partnerships, and healthcare services that honor the diverse identities and embodies within the community. I’d also work to shift the culture of medicine by mentoring future providers from underrepresented backgrounds and pushing for reforms in medical curricula to include more knowledge of diverse skin tones for representation and equity-based care for all. Healing should not be a luxury, but it should be a human right for all. I chose naturopathic medicine because it aligns with everything I believe about healing. I didn’t grow up imagining myself in a white coat, but I always had the heart of one. I’ve worked as a babysitter, tutor, waitress while studying nutrition in undergrad which led me to explore holistic health on my own years before school made it official. Naturopathic medicine offered me a bridge between science and root cause medicine as it’s where evidence-based care meets reason. My studies have included all the basic science classes (biochemistry, pharmacology, etc.) but also counseling, botanical medicine, and cultural humility. This well-rounded education is preparing me to offer care that is both precise and personal for patients. In the next five years, I’ve set a goal to open a community-based clinic that focuses on integrative skin health and aesthetic care, especially for BIPOC women and survivors of trauma. I want to create a space that is welcoming, healing, and affirming for all. A space where beauty and health are not separated, and where care is proactive, not just reactive. To get there, I’m building clinical experience, networking with mentors in integrative dermatology, and continuing my research on the intersections of trauma, skin health, and self-esteem. I’m also volunteering at places like Rose Haven Medicinary, which serves unhoused women and children. These experiences not only deepen my understanding of community needs but also keep me grounded in service. Education has helped me find both my voice and my purpose. It’s given me the language to describe what I’ve always known intuitively which is that health is layered, and that healing takes place in both the body and the community. School has been a space where I’ve discovered my capacity to lead, to advocate, and to learn deeply. It hasn’t always been easy balancing full-time studies, 2 part-time jobs, and the financial strain of tuition and cost of living, but it’s taught me resilience. As a woman, I’ve had to learn how to take up space without apology. In medicine, I’ve often been the one of the few woman of color in the room, and I’ve seen how that affects who gets heard, trusted, and supported. But I’ve also seen how my presence matters. I get to see how patients feel safer when they seen by someone who looks like them. My identity has made me more compassionate, more aware, and more determined to change the system from within. To me, leadership means creating opportunities for others to rise. It means modeling integrity, and showing up consistently. I’ve been the leader of club groups in undergrad, trained new staff members, and volunteered at community wellness events, but some of the leadership moments I’m most proud of are quiet ones. Like the moment of staying late to help a classmate study, or holding space for a patient who just needed someone to really listen. Leadership, for me, is showing up for others. One of the most defining experiences of my life was spending a year of medical school in a new city without a car, relying entirely on public transportation while juggling school and work. It taught me humility, patience, and the kind of resourcefulness that you can’t learn in a classroom. I learned to plan, to adapt, and to persevere in tough times. I also gained a deeper appreciation for the daily barriers that so many people face just to access basic care. That year shifted how I see healthcare by making me more committed to meeting people where they are, literally and figuratively. Receiving this scholarship would be a profound relief and a powerful affirmation that I am where I am meant to be. The financial stress is one of the biggest challenges I face in school, and this support would allow me to focus more fully on my studies, my patients at the clinic, and my community work. More than that, it would be an investment in my dream of healing that is inclusive, holistic, and rooted in justice. With your help, I can bring that dream to life. Thank you!

"Let food by thy medicine and medicine by thy food"- Hippocrates. My degree in nutrition is what sparked my desire to study naturopathic medicine because I have been taught that food is medicine. After accompanying my mentor, Dr. Amy Nelson, ND, in her practice, I have picked up on specific technical aspects in medical and research settings, such as the influence of patient-centered services as a physician, treating through supplementation, and the skill of learning how to read lab work. With this opportunity alongside Dr. Nelson, ND, she showed me how naturopathic medicine and nutrition intertwined by introducing the importance of a nourishing, nutrient-dense diet to all of her patients. I pioneered the idea of making individual meal plans for her patients to cater to their diagnosis in her practice, and that sparked a light in my desire to learn more and do more in the field of naturopathy. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a doctor. Being a naturopathic doctor is a great honor because of the training to treat people by taking genetic, physical, mental, emotional, environmental, and social factors into account. It is a noble career that can range from helping people to advancing mankind with science. I firmly believe naturopathic medicine is a growing field that will be in high demand in the future because more people are recognizing the importance of finding the root cause of illness rather than masking their symptoms. Although I have a passion for helping heal others, I struggle with the financial aspect of medical school. Being in this financially dependent situation can be a blessing in disguise. The process of going on government assistance can be very challenging, but it allows me to understand the process that some of my patients might experience thus helping me relate to them better. Food expenses, tuition, living expenses, medical supplies, etc. all add up and become overwhelming to me, distracting me from my studies. The biggest struggle I deal with in medical school is the lack of continuous income. Almost 30 credit hours a term make it impossible to have a part-time job to pay back the loans I am taking out. Not only does this financial burden affect me but also my family who are trying to keep up with the demand and help support me. With this scholarship, I will be able to focus more on school and less on my financial struggles.

"Let food by thy medicine and medicine by thy food"- Hippocrates. My degree in nutrition is what sparked my desire to study naturopathic medicine because I have been taught that food is medicine. After accompanying my mentor, Dr. Amy Nelson, ND, in her practice, I have picked up on specific technical aspects in medical and research settings, such as the influence of patient-centered services as a physician, treating through supplementation, and the skill of learning how to read lab work. With this opportunity alongside Dr. Nelson, ND, she showed me how naturopathic medicine and nutrition intertwined by introducing the importance of a nourishing, nutrient-dense diet to all of her patients. I pioneered the idea of making individual meal plans for her patients to cater to their diagnosis in her practice, and that sparked a light in my desire to learn more and do more in the field of naturopathy. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a doctor. Being a naturopathic doctor is a great honor because of the training to treat people by taking genetic, physical, mental, emotional, environmental, and social factors into account. It is a noble career that can range from helping people to advancing mankind with science. I firmly believe naturopathic medicine is a growing field that will be in high demand in the future because more people are recognizing the importance of finding the root cause of illness rather than masking their symptoms. Although I have a passion for helping heal others, I struggle with the financial aspect of medical school. Being in this financially dependent situation can be a blessing in disguise. The process of going on government assistance can be very challenging, but it allows me to understand the process that some of my patients might experience thus helping me relate to them better. Food expenses, tuition, living expenses, medical supplies, etc. all add up and become overwhelming to me, distracting me from my studies. The biggest struggle I deal with in medical school is the lack of continuous income. Almost 30 credit hours a term make it impossible to have a part-time job to pay back the loans I am taking out. Not only does this financial burden affect me but also my family who are trying to keep up with the demand and help support me. With this scholarship, I will be able to focus more on school and less on my financial struggles.