Mothers are great and beautiful spirits that captivate the meaning of comfortable love with their children. My mother has been the biggest supporter in my educational journey. In my life, I have grown up in a neighborhood that was not the safest area. My mother went to meetings with administrators and school officials to have waivers for my siblings and I to attend nicer schools. In her efforts to make a safer environment for my learning, she would drive me to and from school every day which was thirty minutes away from home. It was not until middle school that I understood her reasoning for her efforts to make me attend a school far from home. Her resilience motivated me to join sports and many school activities to make it easier for her to get me from school while working full time. As a Black student, I attended predominantly White schools and faced a lot of turmoil from other students. However, my mother instilled in me to be confident, outspoken, intelligent, beautiful, and to select my battles. She would give me affirmations to say, and they made my school day a lot better. In high school, I was a member of the track team, multiple honor societies, president of a Black organization at my school, and became the first Black homecoming queen. She was my biggest supporter throughout the whole journey of my educational career. Currently, I am a first-year student at Spelman College. Financial aid for schooling at the institution has been a process, however, my mother has made great sacrifices for me to be able to attend my dream college. She is a warrior and a rose at the same time. She is the epitome of a strong, beautiful, and powerful woman. My mother is my best friend. She has instilled in me to not worry and that things will come to me with prayers and hope. I am so proud to be able to have a mom that believes in my dreams and goals. My mother has never doubted my ability to become and doctor and successful business owner. She tells me that she is proud of me and will always be by my side. As I draft this essay, I am emotional at the amazing woman I have been raised by and blessed in my lifetime. She has taught me so many things and ways to get through this life. I will achieve all my goals and make her proud. I want to be able to make her proud, as much as she makes me proud.

Healthcare, is the field of prioritizing the well-being of others through physical and mental assistance. Health professionals are an important part of having a successful system to guide others into a healthy lifestyle. Doctors, nurses, and many specialists are people that need to be praised for their constant drive to help others become better. Health is my niche and surrounding myself with health-related things is important. I aspire to be a pediatrician and a role model for the youth. Children’s health is extremely important and working with young people can mold them into healthy adults. My pediatrician is a significant role model, even while I continue my studies in undergraduate studies at Spelman College. He has cared for my health and was an adult that I could be comfortable talking with about my lifestyle. He gives me words of encouragement, and wisdom, and made his practice a comfortable environment for me and other children for over twenty years. A Black and female pediatrician will break barriers. I am a woman and will be a role model for younger girls to view the importance of education and setting goals for themselves. I am a Black individual and will be able to show minorities that there can be a minority in a place of power. My goal is to show others that there is always room for them at any table they may want to sit at. Sometimes, they may need to pull up their own chair at the table and make their presence known in their environment. I want to be able to do research that prioritizes the health of Black people. My interest in medicine is combined with an interest in entrepreneurial work of business culture to create products in cosmetics specialized for Black people. Being an unstoppable Black woman in power in the healthcare field has been a dream that I aspire to achieve. It is especially important to have racial diversity in the healthcare field. Unfortunately, all healthcare workers do not know the proper way to communicate with all people types of people. There should be professionals that range from different genders to different races. Patients should be comfortable in a place where they need assistance from a professional. There should be others in the environment that people should see that resemble their features. My interest in pediatrics shows that diversity is significant for the future of children. I want to be able to be that diverse person that children and others see in a healthcare setting and feel comfortable in my hand of treatment and proper care.

My goal of being a healthcare professional has been a part of my identity since I was a young girl. I have taken steps of going to labs with my father, graduating from a health science academy, and surrounding myself with extracurriculars involving health. Good health is important for the growth of society and making a positive environment for everyone. I aspire to be a professional that will be able to make a big and beneficial impact on the healthcare field. My major, a health science major at Spelman College, will benefit my education by building my knowledge to become a doctor. The classes associated with health science involve many core sciences and will prepare me the best for medical school. Fortunately, I am taking the opportunity of being a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) major at a HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and learn about perspectives of healthcare by minorities. Discussion of health disparities, unfair treatment due to race, and individual experiences can be a conversation respected by Spelman’s science department. The health science major benefits my networking with professionals in the healthcare field. In September, I attended the National Association of Medical Minority Educators provided by the health science department. I was able to network with other students and listen to memorable speeches by professionals. I am blessed to be able to work and succeed in a major that pleases my interests and makes education more than a grade. Health science is a part of me that I love to talk about and increase my experience and knowledge about the field. I plan to become a pediatrician and leave a major impact on my patients. Growing up as a young African American girl in Virginia, I did not have many role models that looked like me. There were few doctors' appointments that had a professional with the same dark skin or curly hair. At an early age, I was very aware of the limited Black doctors in my area. I want to impact young children that are minorities that have a role model of a successful Black doctor that is a woman. I will create a positive space for children to be able to express themselves and be someone that they can communicate with about anything. I believe in children's health being one of the most important. Good health starts at an early age, and I want to be able to hold their hand to make the right steps toward a great life. The She Rose Scholarship will help me complete my academics as a health science major at Spelman College. The money will go towards my tuition and be a tremendous help to continue my passion. I am blessed to be able to come across a scholarship that aligns with my goals and the help of this scholarship will put another amount of hope in me. The hope to finish strong and continue my passion in the healthcare field!