My name is Naia Ping. I am a dual-enrollment student at Legion Collegiate Academy in South Carolina pursuing my Associate of Science degree, which I am on track to complete before graduation. Having skipped a grade, I rank tenth in my class and am also involved in several high school organizations such as the National Honor Society and the National Society of High School Scholars. In addition, I volunteer multiple hours a week at my church and at a local equestrian barn. After graduation, I plan to attend Berry College to pursue a solid foundation in pre-veterinary academics, and then transfer to the Veterinary Medicine program opening at Clemson University. Once I earn my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) degree there, I want to return to my hometown and work as a large-animal veterinarian. This is my dream career field because I want to give animals the best possible care while also serving the people who love and rely on them. My love for animals and desire to care for them stems primarily from a long history with pets. My family has always had a lot of pets, and we were taught that taking care of them was our responsibility, even when we were young. From an early age, I have been riding horses, helping stray cats, and giving medicine to dogs. I was present for almost all of the veterinary visits, even euthanasias. Each time, I thought to myself that veterinarians were living a dream, dedicating all their time to helping animals and their owners. By watching them work and caring for my own pets, I have developed a deep love and respect for animals and those who work with them, especially large animals, as I own several horses myself. Becoming a large-animal veterinarian is my dream not only because I love animals but because I want to be able to serve others. I personally have felt the fear and helplessness that comes when animals are ill and I don't have the means to help them, and no veterinarians are responding. When someone finally answers and sends help, it feels like a miracle. Because of experiences like these, my commitment to the role strengthened because I know without veterinarians, a lot of the animals I have today wouldn't be here, especially large ones, because they require much more time, strength, and effort to treat than smaller animals. The veterinarians who helped my family inspired me with their endless perseverance and hope. As a veterinarian, I not only want to treat sick animals, but to carry over those same feelings of support, reassurance, and comfort to their owners in those difficult moments.

Three years ago, I was gifted a horse from a pair of senior citizens who were retiring from the business of showing. It was a majestic gray gelding, who in his time had been a prized and valuable animal. However, his time in the ring had left him with deep behavioral and physical challenges. Unfortunately, I did not know he was so vulnerable until I made the mistake of giving him the wrong feed. Afraid of the cost, we delayed contacting the vet, who came late and told us he wouldn't make it, then cost us around five hundred dollars. My horse did not survive. Though this is morbid, it is important in my purpose for pursuing a career in the veterinary field. I want to be the veterinarian that people like me can rely on to charge fairly, respond quickly, and never quit. My first point on charging fairly is, to me, one of the things I look forward to the most when I am a vet. Too many people are afraid to call the vet because they're imagining the bill that will come of it, and too often the animal ends up paying the price, just as my horse did. I completely understand people who cannot afford everything and must cut funds somewhere, but veterinary care is too important for the animal. I want people to rest easy knowing that I will offer the best I can for the lowest price possible. Secondly, I want to be a vet so I can be an active and prompt help in emergency situations. Too often, pet owners catch themselves watching their pets suffer whilst they wait anxiously for a vet who is delayed in coming. Once, one of my dogs was bitten by a snake and could not even stand upright with the pain. The vet texted she would arrive at 7, only to pull in at 10:30! I don't want people to only watch and wait while their pet suffers, so I will be as prompt and honest as I can. Lastly, one of the best reasons I have for wanting to be a vet is that animals do not deserve to be given up on. Oftentimes, pet owners convince themselves that their animal has no hope, and call the vet only to put them down. I will say that sometimes there really is no other choice, but I believe that veterinarians should not serve only as an administrator of a killing drug; we should never, ever give up on the animals. As of now, I work for a horsewoman who owned a mare that contracted a disease only about 20% of horses survive. She never wanted to give up, and neither did the vets. After much arduous and expensive treatment, that mare recovered and lived another healthy 10 years as a lesson horse. As a vet, I want to offer the animals that second chance, and their owners that hope. So, in summary, being an equine veterinarian has become my goal in education because, at the end of the line, I want to help people. I have experienced and seen firsthand the impact that veterinarians have on animals and their owners: the good and the bad. I know how it feels to be on the receiving line of an unreliable vet and of a wonderful one. I want to help those people who only want to care for their animals. They have the right to expect their vet's best effort. To me, there is nothing more noble than offering the best care possible to God's glorious Creation.

Up until about two years ago, math was my least favorite subject. It was hard, had too many steps, and oftentimes the teacher taught it in an overly complex, complicated manner. I often struggled in math, and worry over math assignments consumed my thoughts. I remember thinking if I had a choice between being trapped in a history class or a math class for eternity, I’d have chosen a history class. Then in my sophomore year of high school I took geometry, and it completely reversed my view on math. The teacher was fantastic and taught every single unit in an easy-to-understand, practical, and black-and-white way. Because of that experience, I realized that math was not as much an art of educated guessing as I thought; there were patterns, solid information, solutions to the puzzle. If there was a formula, it applied to all things in the correct form. I came to realize that that is what I liked most about math; where classes like English had questions that could be correct depending on the reader's interpretation, mathematics was completely singular in its answers. No matter who you were, the factors applied, and the answer was the same. Math had not been the problem; the way it was presented was. After that principle was established in my mind, everything became so much easier. I grew far more confident in math classes afterwards and my grades went higher. Math became a delight instead of a burden. In short, I love math because it is applicable to everyone; just because you prefer reading doesn't mean you can't also be great at math. Math is a principle of truth; answers are true or false, and no one can be uncertain or insecure in their answers if they apply themselves and learn.

Before I played flag football, I was a soccer player. It was never really a choice I made, as all my siblings play soccer at varying levels, so I just went along with it. I won't say it wasn't fun, but among girls my age who wanted to be professionals, I felt very small and unhelpful. I was very sad when I left the team, and I felt I had failed. But some weeks later, a flyer for flag football caught my attention; I figured it was worth trying, just for the exercise. In short, after that first practice, I never wanted to touch a soccer ball again. I realized what a sport could truly mean to someone, and that I loved flag football. Once I started, playing flag football became such a meaningful activity to me. It was fun, and I realized I enjoyed doing something I'd never done before. Playing flag football helped me get over a sort of fear over trying anything new, and over my disappointment at not playing soccer anymore. Because of flag football, I've become a more outgoing person; I'm not afraid to speak up because I've learned it helps win games, and I'm not afraid to be blunt because in football, you need to be tough and ambitious to get touchdowns. Playing the sport helped me improve my self-esteem, work ethic, and overall health. I'll never forget my first year playing flag football; it was really the most fun and exciting year of my high school career. Flag football also inspired me to be a better student; teaching me to get after my goals, to not stop for anyone else. Because I was pushed into a 'football' environment, where it's loud and fast-paced and intense, I've become a braver, more ambitious person. I don't flinch at giving presentations in class because football made me realize I need to take matters into my own hands if I want to win. Thanks to football, I've become a member of the National Honors Society, and won multiple awards for being an athlete and a high-ranking student simultaneously. Football impacted my character by also helping me maintain my mental and physical health. Because I was so excited to get out to the field, to keep learning this sport I'd never even heard of till two years ago, it helped me balance between what I want to do and school. The PSAT, for example, wasn't as daunting as it has once seemed my sophomore year, because I knew I could succeed if I pushed hard enough, just as I'd done with football. In short, because of flag football, not only did I become an avid fan of the sport. It helped me get over my fear of not being enough, of being judged for my skills, and over failure. I learned that if I pushed myself I could get touchdowns; if I had a question, there was no need to be afraid of not knowing the answer, because no one is perfect. Because of my mentally challenging transition from soccer to football, I learned that failure is never the end, it's the beginning of something better. I owe a lot of my positive traits as a student and athlete to the sport, and it is without a doubt the most meaningful sport to me.

My family has always had a lot of pets. Dogs, cats, horses, chickens, even a rabbit. I pretty much grew up playing with dogs, cuddling with cats, and riding horses and ponies. I have always appreciated animals and the veterinarians I met who helped us take care of them. When they would stop by for some routine checkup, I was always fascinated by how they lived and worked. All the veterinarians and horse owners I've ever known were hands-on, tough, and professional; all traits I hoped to acquire in my adult life. Not to mention, they got to spend their days helping people take care of their pets. Every one of those experiences helped foster an interest in animal healthcare. This eventually grew into a fiery ambition to be a veterinarian. In the future, I hope to be an equine veterinarian who specializes in sports medicine and rehabilitation. This is because so many, really almost all of the horses I worked with had some imperfection, either behavioral or physical, which prevented them from being used to their full potential. I want to be able to help people who were so much like myself; who want to give their animals the best life possible but don't know how to help them recover from their past. I also want to be an equine veterinarian because I work in horse barns, and a lot, daresay most, of the horses had problems from previous owners and/or situations, which sometimes the owners could fix, and sometimes they couldn't. Some of the horses couldn't even be caught because they had become so afraid of people, and more than a few had sustained injuries from another life which prevented them from being ridden. I myself had a horse, pictured below, who sustained nervous, anxious behaviors from his past as a show horse. I always felt like because those animals were dealt horrible cards in life, they didn't have a future. So many people are forced to get rid of their horses because they have problems that they don't know how to deal with; or they and their horse don't work together because their owner doesn't know what's wrong with them. That's where I hope to step in; I want to be able to take scarred, damaged horses that people want to throw away, and help make them into healthy animals that people can enjoy. For example, a racehorses' career typically spans from when their 2 to about 4, then their owners either sell them to a meat industry or give them away. A lot of the time, those horses have deep mental scars from being bred and trained to do nothing but run until they drop. So many good people have dedicated themselves to rescuing and rehabilitating those poor young horses, and I want to be able to help. If I were a veterinarian that deals with these kinds of situations, I would be able to treat those horses and help people who want to do the same.

My whole life, our family has had a number of pets, including chickens, cats, dogs, and horses. I always loved spending time with them, and, as I got older, I enjoyed the responsibility of attending them and training them. Some of my best childhood memories revolve around animals. Some of the best are going for a walk with our dogs, taking one of our horses for a long trail ride, watching a rodeo, or snuggling with my cat. All this led to a deep and emotional passion for all animals, especially horses. I plan to make a positive impact on the animal world by becoming a licensed equine veterinarian. I wish to become a veterinarian because I want to help people when they are worried and upset over their animals, because I myself know exactly how it feels when one of your pets comes down with something, and you're anxiously waiting for a vet and feel terribly helpless and inadequate. I want to help people get through times like that by being the best veterinarian I can be for them. I would always be on time, because I know how it feels when your animal is suffering and your vet doesn't get there when he or she said they would. I would always give one hundred percent to every patient, no matter how minor the problem is, and I would never be dismissive when the owner is worried. I would always answer the phone when someone calls, no matter what time or day of the week it is, and I'll never be upset with the owner for it. If I do all this, as I would like to, I will be giving an excellent impact on the animal world, by providing health and healing to as many of them as I can, and teaching their owners how best to take care of them. As a high school junior, I currently have no major, but I intend to major in biology or animal science. Currently, I am on a pre-medical pathway at my school. This involves animals since veterinarians must be experts in such areas in order to understand and account for potential causes and effects for different illnesses. The world is full of science; the world functions on science as well as God's will. People who want to do good in the world as best they can must learn to understand at least a part of that science. So, my intended major, animal science, involves animals partly because that's what it entails, and also because I will use it to influence the animal world with good and health.

My family has always had a number of animals, including dogs, cats, chickens, and horses. Whenever one of them would get wounded or sick, it was always a massive headache to contact a veterinarian, schedule an appointment, and tend our pet until the veterinarian arrived. Every time, those long hours spent waiting for a vet were full of anxiety and uncertainty for me, and terrible pain when I realized they came too late. I always felt that I should be able to help my pets in some way instead of sitting and waiting for a professional. I can also remember thinking that those worrying moments are awful, and wishing that no one ever had to go through this. This is why I have chosen to pursue a degree in healthcare; I believe that is where I will do the most good in the world, partly because I understand what people are going through and because I'm passionate about animals and serving God. I want to be able to help people who are worried and lose sleep over their animals, especially because it's something I have gone through and wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I myself know how frustrating it is to have a vet who is not on time, unspecific with diagnosis, and altogether disinterested in treating and preventing the problem efficiently. Since I myself have experienced these things, I will have the proper knowledge and disciple so that when I am a vet, and all those heavy responsibilities fall on me, I will never make them wait, I will always give a clear and detailed diagnosis, and I will show proper care and respect for the animal and its owner. I want to make a difference in the world of animal medicine by helping people give their pets the best lives possible while also teaching them how to be responsible pet owners. That, and knowing that I'm doing God's will by taking care of His Creation, will be satisfying work to me. I know if I could manage those three things, I would be putting much health, healing and wisdom into the world. As a woman in the healthcare field, I hope to make a positive impact by demonstrating to people my age that it's important to be reliable and honest in their careers. Already, I'm making faster progress in life than my peers just by being disciplined and organized. I want to serve as an example to other girls aspiring to become vets; I want to inspire them to be the greatest they can be by working on themselves first. When other women think of me as a woman in healthcare, I want them to be proud and impressed and grateful for me, and the only way to achieve that is to be honest and timely. In short, I hope to make a positive impact as a woman in the healthcare field by inspiring others to follow my example.