My two brothers were born with a congenital heart condition called Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), which significantly impacted each of my family members; we did not know what was wrong with their hearts throughout our childhood because of the poor/lack of healthcare in Bolivia. Growing up in a secluded town in Bolivia, almost every single aspect of our lives presented a challenge, and the healthcare of my two brothers took precedence over all. The healthcare my brothers received in Bolivia was suboptimal and, on occasion, made their condition worse rather than better. Also, there was a sense of contempt for my family when we would go to the hospital because of our low social status, ranking in the bottom 10% of all earners within the country, which made me feel sorrowful about my socioeconomic status and the conditions my mother was put under. I saw my mother work extremely hard to support us after my father deserted us, often working three jobs at a time to pay for my brothers' medical bills on top of all other living expenses. My mother was looked down upon in the jobs that she worked because they were viewed as a man's job. She was frequently harassed by her male coworkers and paid at a rate that was less than that of the men. Through it all, she remained optimistic and tried her best regardless of the circumstances. In Bolivia, nursing is an unskilled profession, so they do not need any specialized degree to be in charge of patients' healthcare. Because of this, I always thought that nurses were a non-essential part of the healthcare industry and that their job consisted of many repetitive and mundane tasks. Therefore, I never felt that I would be drawn to such a degree/career path so strongly when I moved to America. After moving to the United States when I was 19 with my brothers, we saw just how technologically advanced the medical equipment was. I noticed how vastly different a nurse's scope of responsibility was and how well trained the nursing staff in America was through the administration of my brothers' healthcare. After that turning point, I discovered a new passion. A passion for a profession that now has a new meaning to me; an opportunity to positively impact the healthcare and lives of people from all walks of life and backgrounds. Now that I am two years into my nursing degree, I have found pride in being part of a profession predominantly made up of women because it is one of the most necessary jobs in the world. Nurses have a wide array of responsibilities for their patients, and being a minority can assist me in creating a better patient-nurse relationship with patients that have gone through hardship, whether personal or related to their health. Having this in mind, minorities in the workplace, more specifically in healthcare, can provide comfort for minorities, so they seek out preventive care rather than diagnostic care.

Two years ago, I had to leave Bolivia because of the Civil War's political tensions and threats. I moved to America in order to pursue a better life when I was 19 years old. Before I mover, I did not know the language, so I had to study harder and practice every day to learn it and be successful in school. Music has impacted my life in many different ways, but by far the most important one is that it helped me connect and make the transition of living in a country with a foreign language than the one I grew up with. Music has been my way of learning English. I started by translating songs to Spanish and learning word by word what the song was saying. It has also helped me practice my pronunciation and better understand the language (at the beginning, it was hard to understand what people were saying because they talk too fast). Music is still helping me every day. When I hear a new song, I look for words that I do not know and try to understand their meaning/how to use them because of the song's context. My ultimate career goal is to become a neurosurgeon. I know it is a long way, but it will pay off when I accomplished my dreams. A big part of why I want to be part of the medical field is to help people with low income that need medical attention. When my little brother was 12 years old, he had second heart surgery, and I saw how much it affected my family because my single mom did not have the resources to afford it. After my brother recovered from his surgery, I promised myself that one day I was going to help people going through what my family went through. Another way to bring people together is by creating a community center where kids learn about nutrition and exercise in order to prevent future medical problems, which is precisely what I plan to do. I want to make it accessible for many children, even those who do not have English as their first language. I would also love to volunteer to help kids with English as their second language (Spanish as their first), so they do not have to struggle as I did.