According to the World Health Organization, about half the world still lives without adequate healthcare access. Coming from a first-generation, low-income background, I did not have access to the best education. I needed to find a better education, as I felt like I was not challenged enough. My teacher announced that three top students from our school who showed perseverance, scholarship, and more than anything, willingness to work, would get offered a spot at a local private school. I was not going to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I applied, got accepted, received a scholarship, and gave it my all there. From there, I applied to Laguna Blanca and earned a scholarship. At Laguna, I used all of the resources available. Because of a teacher recommendation, I applied to Mission Scholars, a college prep program, which has helped me understand the college process as a first-generation student, which has made me sure of what I want to study. These experiences have shaped my work ethic, my drive to succeed, and my commitment to improving access to education and healthcare for others. COVID-19 changed my life forever. First, my father fell ill. My mother stayed up all night with my dad. My dad was in the ICU for four weeks, unable to breathe. After my dad returned home, my uncle fell ill and later passed away in the hospital. Experiencing these events showed me the devastating consequences of inadequate healthcare and motivated me to pursue a career where I can make a tangible difference in people’s lives. I am passionate about improving people’s lives and hope to improve the healthcare industry. The communities that suffer the most are the underresourced communities of low socioeconomic status. I want to help change that by giving these communities greater access to healthcare. During the summer, I had the opportunity to conduct college-level research on the effectiveness of aptamers as a replacement for antibodies for flu detection. I developed an aptamer that can be used to detect influenza in saliva. Flu detection with these aptamers can be cheaper, helping people get a proper diagnosis. I want to make medicine and illness detection more affordable so that more people get the medical attention they need. As a college student at Harvey Mudd, and someone who has witnessed the consequences of diseases firsthand, I want to conduct research to make healthcare more affordable. I want to work at the Department of Natural Sciences Summer Research Program to create and synthesize new pharmaceuticals that are less expensive to produce in hopes that, because of the less expensive production process, medicine will be more readily available and accessible to most people. I hope to share these discoveries with others within the Harvey Mudd community openly and also listen to other people’s perspectives on the problem. After receiving support and different perspectives within the Harvey Mudd community, I want to share these findings with the rest of the world, especially with governments, in an attempt to not only have more pharmaceuticals be cheaper to manufacture, but also more affordable to those purchasing, and also the rest of the healthcare industry. It needs to happen for my uncle, it needs to happen for my dad, but most importantly, it needs to happen for all of the families that are suffering due to lack of resources. My current joint major of Chemistry and Biology, specifically at Harvey Mudd, which also focuses on the humanities, social sciences, and the arts, will help me achieve this goal.

Coming from a first-generation, low-income background, I did not have access to the best education. I needed to find a better education, as I felt like I was not challenged enough. My teacher announced that three top students from our school who showed perseverance, scholarship, and more than anything, willingness to work, would get offered a spot at a local private school. I was not going to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I applied, got accepted, received a scholarship, and gave it my all there. COVID-19 changed my life forever. First, my father fell ill. My mother stayed up all night with my dad. My dad was in the ICU for four weeks. After my dad returned home, my uncle fell ill and later passed away in the hospital. I am passionate about improving people’s lives, and hope to improve the healthcare industry. The communities that suffer the most are the underresourced communities of low socioeconomic status. I want to help change that by giving these communities greater access to healthcare. During the summer, I had the opportunity to conduct college-level research on the effectiveness of aptamers as a replacement for antibodies for flu detection. I developed an aptamer that can be used to detect influenza in saliva. Flu detection with these aptamers can be cheaper, helping people get a proper diagnosis. I want to make medicine and illness detection more affordable for more people.

According to the World Health Organization, about half the world still lives without adequate healthcare access. Growing up in a first-generation, low-income family, I experienced firsthand how lack of resources can limit opportunities, including access to education. I did not have access to the best education. I went to an elementary school that was ranked one of the lowest-performing schools in my area. While I heard that others were writing essays in 2nd grade, we were only starting to write paragraphs in 4th. I needed to find a better education, as I felt like I was not challenged enough. It wasn’t until I graduated from elementary school that I finally had an opportunity to break the mold and make a positive change for my future. My teacher announced that three top students from our school who showed perseverance, scholarship, and more than anything, willingness to work, would get offered a spot at a local private school. I was not going to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I applied, got accepted, received a scholarship, and gave it my all there. From there, I applied to one of the best private schools in my area, Laguna Blanca, and earned a scholarship. At Laguna, I used all of the resources available. For example, because of a teacher recommendation, I applied to Mission Scholars, a college prep program, which has helped me understand the college process as a first-generation student, which has made me sure of what I want to study. COVID-19 changed my life forever. First, my father fell ill. My mother stayed up all night to make sure my dad was breathing. My dad was in the ICU for four weeks, unable to breathe. After my dad returned home, my uncle fell ill and later passed away in the hospital. I am passionate about improving people’s lives, and hope to improve the healthcare industry. I believe that everyone should have access to adequate healthcare. The communities that suffer the most are the underresourced communities of low socioeconomic status. I want to help change that by giving these communities greater access to healthcare. During the summer, I had the opportunity to conduct college-level research on the effectiveness of aptamers as a replacement for antibodies for flu detection. I developed an aptamer that can be used to detect influenza in saliva. Flu detection with these aptamers can be cheaper, helping people get a proper diagnosis. I want to make medicine and illness detection more affordable so that more people get the medical attention they need, specifically in the under-resourced communities like those where I live with my father, and where my uncle lived. I want to be involved in conversations like these at Harvey Mudd because, together, change can happen. This scholarship will help me achieve my dreams, ease my family’s financial burden, and let me focus on my academic and research goals, paving the way to create meaningful change as a first-generation student.

According to the World Health Organization, about half the world still lives without adequate healthcare access. As a result, 100 million people are going into poverty because of high health expenses. This should not be the case. Everyone should have access to adequate healthcare. The communities that suffer the most are the underresourced communities of low socioeconomic status. COVID-19 changed my life forever. First, my father fell ill. My mother would stay up all night to make sure my dad was breathing. None of us were in a great mental or physical state. The next part left me completely traumatized to the point where I don’t remember anything, except being outside and seeing the ambulance leave. My dad was in the ICU for four weeks, unable to breathe. Even though my mom didn’t have to take care of my dad anymore, her anxiety wouldn’t let her sleep. As soon as our family started to come back to normal with my dad’s arrival, my uncle from Mexico fell ill and later found eternal rest while in the hospital. I want to give communities of low socioeconomic status greater access to healthcare to honor my uncle and what could have been if it were not for our economic status. Four years after these traumatic experiences, I had the opportunity to conduct college-level research on the effectiveness of aptamers as a replacement for antibodies for flu detection. I developed an aptamer that can be used to detect influenza in saliva. Flu detection can be much cheaper using aptamers, so this would help people get a proper diagnosis. I want to make medicine and illness detection more affordable so that more people get the medical attention that they deserve. As a college student at Harvey Mudd, and someone who has witnessed the consequences of diseases firsthand, I want to conduct research to make healthcare more affordable. I want to work at the Department of Natural Sciences Summer Research Program to create and synthesize new pharmaceuticals that are less expensive to produce in hopes that because of the less expensive production process, medicine will be more readily available and accessible to most people. I hope to share these discoveries with others within the Harvey Mudd community openly and also listen to other peoples’ perspectives on the problem. I want to be involved in conversations like these at Harvey Mudd because, together, change can happen. After receiving support and different perspectives within the Harvey Mudd community, I want to share these findings with the rest of the world, especially with governments, in an attempt to not only have more pharmaceuticals be cheaper to manufacture, but also more affordable to those purchasing, and also the rest of the healthcare industry. Change needs to happen. It needs to happen for my uncle, it needs to happen for my dad, but most importantly, it needs to happen for all of the families that are suffering due to lack of resources. But change can’t happen without determination, community, and outreach. My current joint major of Chemistry and Biology, specifically at Harvey Mudd, which also focuses on the humanities social sciences and the arts will help me achieve this goal.

COVID-19 changed my life forever. First, my father fell ill. My mother would stay up all night to make sure my dad was breathing. None of us were in a great mental or physical state. The next part left me completely traumatized to the point where I don’t remember anything, except being outside and seeing the ambulance leave. My dad was in the ICU for four weeks, unable to breathe. Even though my mom didn’t have to take care of my dad anymore, her anxiety wouldn’t let her sleep. As soon as our family started to come back to normal with my dad’s arrival, my uncle from Mexico fell ill and later found eternal rest while in the hospital. I want to give communities of low socioeconomic status greater access to healthcare to honor my uncle and what could have been if it were not for our economic status. Four years after these traumatic experiences, I had the opportunity to conduct college-level research on the effectiveness of aptamers as a replacement for antibodies for flu detection. I developed an aptamer that can be used to detect influenza in saliva. Flu detection can be much cheaper using aptamers, so this would help people get a proper diagnosis. I want to make medicine and illness detection more affordable so that more people get the medical attention that they deserve. As a college student at Harvey Mudd, and someone who has witnessed the consequences of diseases firsthand, I want to conduct research to make healthcare more affordable. I want to work at the Department of Natural Sciences Summer Research Program to create and synthesize new pharmaceuticals that are less expensive to produce in hopes that because of the less expensive production process, medicine will be more readily available and accessible to most people. I hope to share these discoveries with others within the Harvey Mudd community openly and also listen to other peoples’ perspectives on the problem. I want to be involved in conversations like these at Harvey Mudd because, together, change can happen. After receiving support and different perspectives within the Harvey Mudd community, I want to share these findings with the rest of the world, especially with governments, in an attempt to not only have more pharmaceuticals be cheaper to manufacture, but also more affordable to those purchasing, and also the rest of the healthcare industry. Change needs to happen. It needs to happen for my uncle, it needs to happen for my dad, but most importantly, it needs to happen for all of the families that are suffering due to lack of resources. But change can’t happen without determination, community, and outreach. My current joint major of Chemistry and Biology, specifically at Harvey Mudd, which also focuses on the humanities social sciences and the arts will help me achieve this goal.

Coming from a first-generation, low-income background, I did not have access to the best education. I went to an elementary school that was ranked one of the lowest-performing schools in my area. While I heard that others were writing essays in 2nd grade, we were only starting to write paragraphs in 4th. I needed to find a better education, as I felt like I was not challenged enough. It wasn’t until I graduated from elementary school that I finally had an opportunity to break the mold and make a positive change for my future. My teacher announced that three top students from our school who showed perseverance, scholarship, and more than anything, willingness to work, would get offered a spot at a local private school. I was not going to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I applied, got accepted, received a scholarship, and gave it my all there. I didn’t want people to think that because of my background, I was lazy and not willing to work. I wanted to prove the opposite, which is exactly what I did. I graduated middle school having successfully demonstrated my skills. From there, I applied to one of the best private schools in my area, Laguna Blanca, and earned a scholarship. Here, I was able to unleash my full potential and grow substantially. I explored my interests and found a community of people as passionate as me. At Laguna, I used all of the resources available. For example, because of a teacher recommendation, I applied to Mission Scholars, a college prep program, which has helped me understand the college process as a first-generation student, which has made me sure of my what I want to study. I am passionate about improving people’s lives, and hope to improve the healthcare industry. This passion came from having experienced the consequences of disease. My family suffered when my grandpa had emergency heart surgery, when my dad fell ill in the hospital due to COVID-19, and when my uncle died from COVID-19. I believe that everyone should have access to adequate healthcare. The communities that suffer the most are the underresourced communities of low socioeconomic status. I want to help change that by giving these communities greater access to healthcare. During the summer, I had the opportunity to conduct college-level research on the effectiveness of aptamers as a replacement for antibodies for flu detection. I was able to develop an aptamer that can be used to detect influenza in saliva. Flu detection can be much cheaper using these aptamers which in turn would help communities not have to pay as much to get a proper diagnosis. Developments like these are crucial in helping these communities. I want to make medicine and illness detection more affordable so that more people get the medical attention they need, specifically in the under-resourced communities like those where I live with my father, and where my uncle lived in.

Coming from a first-generation, low-income, immigrant background, I did not have access to the best education. In fact, I went to an elementary school that was ranked one of the lowest-performing schools in my area. While I heard that others were writing essays in 2nd grade, we were only starting to write paragraphs in 4th. I needed to find a better education, as I felt like I was not challenged enough. It wasn’t until I graduated from elementary school that I finally had an opportunity to break the mold and make a positive change for my future. My teacher announced that three top students from our school who showed perseverance, scholarship, and more than anything, willingness to work, would get offered a spot at a local private school. I was not going to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I applied, got accepted, received a scholarship, and gave it my all there. I didn’t want people to stereotype me, and I wanted to prove them wrong, which is exactly what I did. I graduated middle school having successfully demonstrated my skills. Throughout this journey, my parents could not help me as much as they wanted to. Coming from Mexico, they knew nothing about the US education system. They tried their best, attending conferences on how to help educate children in elementary school. After this, I was essentially alone in this journey, my parents only being able to provide their love and support. They could not help me with my homework, because of the lack of education they received in Mexico. My mom was forced to drop out after middle school, and my dad dropped out in the middle of high school. Even though both of them completed middle school, the education they received was nowhere near the level of education I was getting at the time From there, I applied to one of the best private schools in my area, Laguna Blanca, and earned a scholarship. Here, I was able to unleash my full potential and grow substantially. I explored my interests and found a community of people as passionate as me. At Laguna, I used all of the resources available. For example, because of a teacher recommendation, I applied to Mission Scholars, a college prep program, which has helped me understand the college process as a first-generation student. Because of my hard work and dedication, I found schools where I belonged and could thrive. Now I have the opportunity to list build thanks to Mission Scholars and I am looking for a school where I can thrive and see myself in. Because of this same opportunity, I was able to conduct research on how to make illness detection more affordable, through the Summer Research Academies at UCSB. I am someone who takes advantage of every educational opportunity introduced to me because of my under-resourced education. I didn’t look like the others, but I owned my journey and gave it everything I had.