I'm Neha Neelankavil, a first-year California State University of Long Beach student. My major is molecular biology and would like to do my Masters in Physician Associate (PA). Even though there is only one relative who just finished her doctoral degree, there are no close relatives who are in the medical field. Due to this, I think it’s a need for me to be in the medical field and make my parents proud. Through middle school and early high school, I was set on being a pediatrician. In the middle of high school, I came to know about being a Radiologist, and was interested in it, but my parents were scared of the radio waves, and didn’t want me there, so I kind of put being a radiologist to the side. My dream job was to teach, and teaching in a medical school seemed the best job for me, but I would have to have the experience to become a top candidate for that, so I also put that aside. However, through the end of high school, I learned that PA is a profession that includes the skills and career life I would love to work in. It encompasses being a pediatrician, which was my first career option. I also chose PA not only for the reason of helping but also because it saves time and money since it’s a 2-3 year program after college and less tuition cost. It has more flexible schedules than a beginner doctor. Regularly, PAs will perform patient exams, diagnose illnesses, interpret X-rays, and even assist in surgeries. The schooling requirements for PA is Masters Program for PA, which is 2-3 years, after graduating with a bachelor’s. I’m not currently sure where I want to take my Master's Program, because either they are private (increased tuition), or they are far away, and I’m not the person to be dorming, since I get homesick. Throughout my Master’s program, I will be preparing for the PANCE exam, which will get me my license to become a PA. After I get my license, I would like to work at Kaiser Permanente, but I have been hearing things like they are toxic and people who work there don't like it. So I’m not completely sure where I want to work. My objective is to become a PA and serve others in need. I was introduced to the PA by my dance teacher, who told me that PA was a perfect career choice for me, since the skills matched my personality. I researched further and found that the skills required and recommended are skills that I have. Being the oldest child, second oldest grandchild, and first female grandchild, has helped me to be disciplined and guide the younger ones, giving me the skill of leadership. In high school, for any projects I've done, I was tasked as the leader. I was also the Vice President of my Environmental Club. Whenever I feel like someone needs help, whether in academics or house chores, I step up and guide them through. Being helpful is a key skill for a PA. In high school, I took a Pharmacy class, helping me familiarize myself with medical skills. I finished my Pharmacy Technician internship and getting licensing soon. In this setting, I learned types of medical and their use, taking phone calls, and using computers. Being a PA means you need communication skills, patience, and competence. I truly believe that I have these skills and more. With the help of your scholarships and gratitude, I can help people, and be the better of myself.

Golf has been one of my comfort zones. Golf as mentioned in the synopsis of this scholarship, has seemed to be more of a "male-dominated sport", which leads female golfers to have less support. Yes, my parents were always like that too; they asked me, "Are you sure you want to do this as a sport for P.E?" Initially, I had just wanted to get out of P.E., but golf has taught me so much more than just knowing how to hit the ball into the hole. Golf is not just a sport for me, but an emotion. Throughout high school, golf has become a part of me with strong connections. It is one of the sports that gives deep emotion, with happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, and pride. After joining golf as a freshman in high school, I realized that golf is not as easy as everyone may think. At first. I would be so angry at myself become my shots were going to left when I aimed right, and right when I aimed left. But my coach, Coach Munsell, taught me that golf is a sport where you are competing against yourself and not others. He told me that to be better, I should practice more and be a little bit more confident, even if I failed multiple times. This was not easy for me because I am the person who would be so frustrated for not getting something right. However, my coach and friends were there to help me out during practice. He also told us that while playing golf, we should always try to be happy and play it for fun. Because, when you play for fun, your mindset is better, and will automatically start getting better scores. When I started to have fun while playing, I started gaining better scores, and I was proud that my score was part of what counted towards getting into the CIF games. After many years of practicing and going to many matches, I became much better than I was when I first started as a freshman in high school. I can say that golf was most likely the thing that changed my mindset in many ways. For example, I was able to have fun while playing, and that led to better scores. Golf helped me to be patient, and understand and try the different techniques that were taught to us. Therefore, golf would be something that made me who I am today, as well as my skills and qualities. When people say never give up, I usually don't take much heed to it, but golf has made me understand that the moment you give up, that's the moment you lose yourself. Just like my coach said, golf is about competing against yourself and beating your score, making it better each time. Also just because you don't get it the first time doesn't mean that you won't get it the next time. Learning different techniques practicing them, and never giving up is what makes someone successful, and this I will implement in my life. With new valuable skills learned from golf, I truly believe that I can achieve my goal of serving others by becoming a PA (Physician Assistant). Being a PA means you need communication skills, patience, and competence. These skills are some of which I gained when playing golf. With the help of your scholarships and gratitude, I can help people, and be the better of myself.

I'm Neha Neelankavil, a first-year California State University of Long Beach student. I am currently majoring in biology and would like to do my Masters in Physician Associate (PA). Even though there is only one relative who just finished her doctoral degree, there are no close relatives who are in the medical field. Due to this, I think it’s a need for me to be in the medical field and make my parents proud. Through middle school and early high school, I was set on being a pediatrician. In the middle of high school, I came to know about being a Radiologist, and was interested in it, but my parents were scared of the radio waves, and didn’t want me there, so I kind of put being a radiologist to the side. My dream job was to teach, and teaching in a medical school seemed the best job for me, but I would have to have the experience to become a top candidate for that, so I also put that aside. However, through the end of high school, I learned that PA is a profession that includes the skills and career life I would love to work in. It encompasses being a pediatrician, which was my first career option. I also chose PA not only for the reason of helping but also because it saves time and money since it’s a 2-3 year program after college and less tuition cost. It has more flexible schedules than a beginner doctor. Regularly, PAs will perform patient exams, diagnose illnesses, interpret X-rays, and even assist in surgeries. The schooling requirements for PA is Masters Program for PA, which is 2-3 years, after graduating with a bachelor’s. I’m not currently sure where I want to take my Master's Program, because either they are private (increased tuition), or they are far away, and I’m not the person to be dorming, since I get homesick. Throughout my Master’s program, I will be preparing for the PANCE exam, which will get me my license to become a PA. After I get my license, I would like to work at Kaiser Permanente, since that's the hospital I always go to, and the staff a nice. My objective is to become a PA and serve others in need. Being a person of color, I always felt left out, seeing my friends and classmates. But I grew to love myself and help people like me, but also others, and give them the best and proper healthcare. My dance teacher told me that PA was a perfect career for me, since the skills matched my personality. I researched further and found that the skills required are skills that I have. Being the oldest child, second oldest grandchild, and first female grandchild, has helped me to be disciplined and guide the younger ones, giving me the skill of leadership. Being brought up in a joint family household in California, I know different types of relationships, and their weaknesses and strengths. I believe that if we stand together, then we will be stronger together. In high school, I took a Pharmacy class, which helped us to be aware of Pharmacy Technician duties. Now, I have just finished my internship as a Pharmacy Technician trainee, and I'm planning to get my Pharmacy Technician licensing soon. Being in the pharmacy helps me to know the different types of medications and their uses. I have also learned how to take phone calls and use the computer. These skills will help me to become a PA in the future.

I'm Neha Neelankavil, a first-year California State University of Long Beach student. I am currently majoring in biology and would like to do my Masters in Physician Associate (PA). Even though there is only one relative who just finished her doctoral degree, there are no close relatives who are in the medical field. Due to this, I think it’s a need for me to be in the medical field and make my parents proud. Through middle school and early high school, I was set on being a pediatrician. In the middle of high school, I came to know about being a Radiologist, and was interested in it, but my parents were scared of the radio waves, and didn’t want me there, so I kind of put being a radiologist to the side. My dream job was to teach, and teaching in a medical school seemed the best job for me, but I would have to have the experience to become a top candidate for that, so I also put that aside. However, through the end of high school, I learned that PA is a profession that includes the skills and career life I would love to work in. It encompasses being a pediatrician, which was my first career option. I also chose PA not only for the reason of helping but also because it saves time and money since it’s a 2-3 year program after college and less tuition cost. It has more flexible schedules than a beginner doctor. Regularly, PAs will perform patient exams, diagnose illnesses, interpret X-rays, and even assist in surgeries. The schooling requirements for PA is Masters Program for PA, which is 2-3 years, after graduating with a bachelor’s. I’m not currently sure where I want to take my Master's Program, because either they are private (increased tuition), or they are far away, and I’m not the person to be dorming, since I get homesick. Throughout my Master’s program, I will be preparing for the PANCE exam, which will get me my license to become a PA. After I get my license, I would like to work at Kaiser Permanente, but I have been hearing things like they are toxic and people who work there don't like it. So I’m not completely sure where I want to work. My objective is to become a PA and serve others in need. Being a person of color, I know how hard it is for people to welcome you. I always felt left out, seeing my friends and classmates. But I soon grew to love myself and help people like me, but also others, and give them the best and proper healthcare. My dance teacher told me that PA was a perfect career choice for me, since the skills matched my personality. I researched further and found that the skills required and recommended are skills that I have. Being brought up in a joint family household in California, I know different types of relationships, and their weaknesses and strengths. I believe that if we stand together, then we will be stronger together. In high school, I took a Pharmacy class, which helped us to be aware of Pharmacy Technician duties. Now, I have just finished my internship as a Pharmacy Technician trainee, and I'm planning to get my Pharmacy Technician licensing soon. Being in the pharmacy helps me to know the different types of medications and their uses. I have also learned how to take phone calls and use the computer. These skills will help me to become a PA in the future.

I'm Neha Neelankavil, a first-year California State University of Long Beach student. I am currently majoring in biology and would like to do my Masters in Physician Associate (PA). Even though there is only one relative who just finished her doctoral degree, there are no close relatives who are in the medical field. Due to this, I think it’s a need for me to be in the medical field and make my parents proud. Through middle school and early high school, I was set on being a pediatrician. In the middle of high school, I came to know about being a Radiologist, and was interested in it, but my parents were scared of the radio waves, and didn’t want me there, so I kind of put being a radiologist to the side. My dream job was to teach, and teaching in a medical school seemed the best job for me, but I would have to have the experience to become a top candidate for that, so I also put that aside. However, through the end of high school, I learned that PA is a profession that includes the skills and career life I would love to work in. It encompasses being a pediatrician, which was my first career option. I also chose PA not only for the reason of helping but also because it saves time and money since it’s a 2-3 year program after college and less tuition cost. It has more flexible schedules than a beginner doctor. Regularly, PAs will perform patient exams, diagnose illnesses, interpret X-rays, and even assist in surgeries. The schooling requirements for PA is Masters Program for PA, which is 2-3 years, after graduating with a bachelor’s. I’m not currently sure where I want to take my Master's Program, because either they are private (increased tuition), or they are far away, and I’m not the person to be dorming, since I get homesick. Throughout my Master’s program, I will be preparing for the PANCE exam, which will get me my license to become a PA. After I get my license, I would like to work at Kaiser Permanente, but I have been hearing things like they are toxic and people who work there don't like it. So I’m not completely sure where I want to work. My objective is to become a PA and serve others in need. Being a person of color, I know how hard it is for people to welcome you. I always felt left out, seeing my friends and classmates. But I soon grew to love myself and help people like me, but also others, and give them the best and proper healthcare. My dance teacher told me that PA was a perfect career choice for me, since the skills matched my personality. I researched further and found that the skills required and recommended are skills that I have. Being brought up in a joint family household in California, I know different types of relationships, and their weaknesses and strengths. I believe that if we stand together, then we will be stronger together. In high school, I took a Pharmacy class, which helped us to be aware of Pharmacy Technician duties. Now, I have just finished my internship as a Pharmacy Technician trainee, and I'm planning to get my Pharmacy Technician licensing soon. Being in the pharmacy helps me to know the different types of medications and their uses. I have also learned how to take phone calls and use the computer. These skills will help me to become a PA in the future.

I'm Neha Neelankavil, a first-year California State University of Long Beach student. I am currently majoring in biology and would like to do my Masters in Physician Associate (PA). Even though there is only one relative who just finished her doctoral degree, there are no close relatives who are in the medical field. Due to this, I think it’s a need for me to be in the medical field and make my parents proud. Through middle school and early high school, I was set on being a pediatrician. In the middle of high school, I came to know about being a Radiologist, and was interested in it, but my parents were scared of the radio waves, and didn’t want me there, so I kind of put being a radiologist to the side. My dream job was to teach, and teaching in a medical school seemed the best job for me, but I would have to have the experience to become a top candidate for that, so I also put that aside. However, through the end of high school, I learned that PA is a profession that includes the skills and career life I would love to work in. It encompasses being a pediatrician, which was my first career option. I also chose PA not only for the reason of helping but also because it saves time and money since it’s a 2-3 year program after college and less tuition cost. It has more flexible schedules than a beginner doctor. Regularly, PAs will perform patient exams, diagnose illnesses, interpret X-rays, and even assist in surgeries. The schooling requirements for PA is Masters Program for PA, which is 2-3 years, after graduating with a bachelor’s. I’m not currently sure where I want to take my Master's Program, because either they are private (increased tuition), or they are far away, and I’m not the person to be dorming, since I get homesick. Throughout my Master’s program, I will be preparing for the PANCE exam, which will get me my license to become a PA. After I get my license, I would like to work at Kaiser Permanente, but I have been hearing things like they are toxic and people who work there don't like it. So I’m not completely sure where I want to work. My objective is to become a PA and serve others in need. I was introduced to the PA by my dance teacher, who told me that PA was a perfect career choice for me, since the skills matched my personality. I researched further and found that the skills required and recommended are skills that I have. Being the oldest child, second oldest grandchild, and first female grandchild, has helped me to be disciplined and guide the younger ones, giving me the skill of leadership. In high school, any projects I've done, I was tasked as the leader. I was also the Vice President of my Environmental Club. Whenever I feel like someone needs help, whether in academics or house chores, I step up and guide them through. Being helpful is a key skill for a PA. In high school, I took a Pharmacy class, which helped us to be aware of Pharmacy Technician duties. Now, I have just finished my internship as a Pharmacy Technician trainee, and I'm planning to get my Pharmacy Technician licensing soon. Being in the pharmacy helps me to know the different types of medications and their uses. I have also learned how to take phone calls and use the computer. These skills will help me to become a PA in the future.

Golf has been one of my comfort zones. Golf as mentioned in the synopsis of this scholarship, has seemed to be more of a "male-dominated sport", which leads female golfers to have less support. Yes, my parents were always like that too; they asked me, "Are you sure you want to do this as a sport for P.E?" Initially, I had just wanted to get out of P.E., but golf has taught me so much more than just knowing how to hit the ball into the hole. Golf is not just a sport for me, but an emotion. Throughout high school, golf has become a part of me with strong connections. It is one of the sports that gives deep emotion, with happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, and pride. After joining golf as a freshman in high school, I realized that golf is not as easy as everyone may think. At first. I would be so angry at myself become my shots were going to left when I aimed right, and right when I aimed left. But my coach, Coach Munsell, taught me that golf is a sport where you are competing against yourself and not others. He told me that to be better, I should practice more and be a little bit more confident, even if I failed multiple times. This was not easy for me because I am the person who would be so frustrated for not getting something right. However, my coach and friends were there to help me out during practice. He also told us that while playing golf, we should always try to be happy and play it for fun. Because, when you play for fun, your mindset is better, and will automatically start getting better scores. When I started to have fun while playing, I started gaining better scores, and I was proud that my score was part of what counted towards getting into the CIF games. After many years of practicing and going to many matches, I became much better than I was when I first started as a freshman in high school. I can say that golf was most likely the thing that changed my mindset in many ways. For example, I was able to have fun while playing, and that led to better scores. Golf helped me to be patient, and understand and try the different techniques that were taught to us. Therefore, golf would be something that made me who I am today, as well as my skills and qualities. When people say never give up, I usually don't take much heed to it, but golf has made me understand that the moment you give up, that's the moment you lose yourself. Just like my coach said, golf is about competing against yourself and beating your own score, making it better each time. Also just because you don't get it the first time doesn't mean that you won't get it the next time. Learning different techniques practicing them, and never giving up is what makes someone successful, and this I will implement in my life.

Dance was something, an art form, that I used to enjoyed since I was a little kid. But I never knew how much I adored dancing until I got to high school. All through my life, I’ve been that one child who always participates in most competitions, anywhere and everywhere. In my case, at my Church, through dancing, singing, and elocution. Since fourth grade, I’ve been learning an Indian classical dance, known as Bharatanatyam. I’m currently in my last year of learning it as a senior. I plan to “graduate”, or do my arangetram, during the summer after I graduate from high school. I know that dancing is my way of calming myself down when an incident happened recently. For the past year, my stomach has been randomly hurting and doctors say that it’s most likely from drinking less water. One day, while I was trying to learn a dance for a performance, my stomach was hurting so bad. But I had to learn the dance, so I can perform nicely. So I got up from my chair, put the song on, and looked at the video. Then slowly I started dancing, and I immediately realized that my stomach pain went away. “Oh wow! My pain actually went away,” I said to my mom. I was really surprised when my stomach went away, right when I started dancing. From then on, I just start dancing to decrease any pain I have. I also noticed that dancing has a great effect on me when I have so much on my mind. I was stressing about the surprise dance I had to teach my cousins, and also submitting college applications. I knew I had so many things going on in my head, that I started dancing, became less stressed, and even had a schedule ready in my head, so I can be stress-free. I just get up from my chair and dance. If I’m at school, I think of choreographs I can try, and just move my hands around, to avoid any distraction and attention on me. Not only does dancing help, but with a lot of effort in finding a routine that would help me get on track for school as well, and create fewer stomach issues, I created a new hydration plan and physical therapy that assisted this experience. Since my stomach pain, I have tried many ways to overcome it, but only three things helped me out: dance, a hydration plan, and physical exercise. With this help of these, I was able to overcome my stomach issues and continue to do my favorite hobbies, one of them being dance.

Golf itself is an extracurricular activity that one needs to take time and practice. But I also participate in other extracurricular activities including dance, piano, and even activities at my Church. I practice all of these on a daily basis, and it can get overwhelming sometimes because of the school assignments that I have to finish. But when doing these fun activities, helps me to relax my mind and body and just have a fun time. I also do community service and help out anyone who is in need. I think that along with extracurricular activities and school assignments, one needs to help out their community in one way or another. Community service is a way to get started in helping others in one's own community, and my plan to become a doctor will help me broaden it and help as many people as I can. As for me, I tend to help others even when they might not need it because that is the type of mindset I have, to help others. After graduating from college, I plan to contribute to the community by becoming a doctor and giving the right treatment and companionship to anyone who is in need, with my unending helping mentalities. I have experienced what it is like to go through a lot of pain both physically and mentally, and I know that my experiences have led me to dream and pursue becoming a doctor. In college, I will make most of the time, and take classes earlier so I can begin making a bigger change in my community earlier, by graduating from medical school and becoming a doctor at a young age. I plan to take more than the required number of units in college, but not as much that will affect my mental health, and also take classes that are purely for fun, so I can have a break between my academic classes. Even after becoming a doctor, I would advise people to do things that will make them happy and enjoy themself. Because being a happy patient is 50 percent of what treats you, including doing favorite hobbies, and being with the closest and loved ones, and the other 50 percent is the medications that the patients receive. Medication itself won't help the patient, but being happy is what a patient needs the most. So after fulfilling my dream of becoming a doctor, I want to make people happy and let them enjoy their lives as much as they can, because we live only once, and we have to make the most of it. With the Hulede Collegiate Golf Scholarship, I plan to use that to pay for my higher education to become a doctor and treat those who are in need, making the world a better place. Higher education is quite expensive, and to make sure that my parents are not in burden with that amount, I will use this scholarship wisely to meet the cost of higher education including college and medical school.

Working or volunteering in a community is one of the most challenging, yet it gives very fun and inspiring experiences. I was at the Palms Park Recreation Center and was volunteering for their Halloween Party Night. My role was to hand the bean sacks to the children for the game and allow them to throw them into the bean sac game hole. Then one girl came and utilized all her three tries, but could not make it in. Sadly, she took the candy and was about to leave. "Hey would you like to try again?", I asked her. She looked at her mom with deep sadness on her face, and her mom nodded yes in reply. She came back to play the game again, and she made the bean sacs into the hole for all of her three tries. She was really happy and took the candy, and told me, "Thank you!!". Her mom came up to me and told me that the little girl believed that if she won her first game, then she would win all the others. But unfortunately, she did not win it the first time, that is why she was sad. "But thanks to you, I think she will win all her games today!!", the woman said happily. Seeing this, made a smile appear on my face and it made me happy, especially knowing that I had made people smile, including myself. Seeing the smile on other people's faces is what inspires me to be involved in my community and serve others when I can. I have seen many classrooms with a poster that says 'Make at least one person smile a day.' I remembered this and immediately realized that this should be my everyday motto. From then on, I try to make a smile on at least one person's face a day. I have heard that changes occur in small steps, rather than taking large steps. Just doing simple things like making the girl smile, will go a long way. As mentioned at the beginning of this essay, volunteering or working in a community can be exciting and difficult. The difficult part of this is to find a true place that works for the public. The exciting part is the actual work you do. I have also volunteered at many other places, and they are all very exciting, but the one at Palms Park is special because it was a moment of realization for me. My educational goal is to become a Physician Associate and to meet this goal I would need to pursue higher education. For higher education, money is needed, and this scholarship will help me. By becoming a PA, I intend to help others who are in need, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. I will also help others to improve the world in tiny ways and change the world for the better. I need this scholarship financially, so I can pursue higher education in the field of medicine. This world needs more doctors, and by winning this scholarship I will use it to pay for my college.

Hi, I am Neha Neelankavil, a senior at Artesia High School. I have had many thoughts on my career paths and especially thought on how language sometimes may become a barrier for many. My dad always reminds me that language is a weapon that I have because I was born and raised here in California, and being able to speak English fluently is something that one should be proud of. After I graduate from high school, I plan to go to college and get a Bachelor's Degree in Biology - Microbiology, at the California State University of Dominguez Hills. Then I will apply and go to a PA, Physician Associate, school. After becoming a Physician Associate, my dream job is to teach in the medical field, as a professor. Teaching is a career path that I've always been interested in, but I'm not sure how it would be in my family's eyes. They all want me to become a doctor or engineer, or a job that is high paying, and that is, I guess, all my family's expectations. So I've decided to teach in the medical field, after becoming a PA. I know that, especially in the medical field, teaching is something important because future doctors are in your hands. If I don’t teach them properly, then many lives are at stake. Therefore, I want to make sure that every future doctor will be taught right. Not only do I want to teach in the medical field, but I want to make sure that the students can learn in their mother tongue and also learn English because being bilingual is an advantage. Bilingual education is needed in our school system, not only for Spanish but also for other languages. Many Asian languages are not being recommended for bilingual education, and many Asian students forget their mother tongue and their culture. I would support the special populations as a medical professor by showing them how to locate and use different resources that are available in today's technological world. It’s important to be able to speak more than one language because it helps one to become more independent, and communicative, and learn social networking skills. Through this scholarship, I wish to become a PA, then become a medical professor. As mentioned earlier, I wish to become a medical professor so I can encourage young doctors to work in the right way, and make sure they focus on helping everyone and as many people as they can, rather than focusing on the salary they will be receiving.

Dance was something, an art form, that I used to enjoy since I was a little kid. But I never knew how much I adored dancing until I got to high school. All through my life, I’ve been that one child who always participates in most competitions, anywhere and everywhere. In my case, at my Church, through dancing, singing, and elocution. Since fourth grade, I’ve been learning an Indian classical dance, known as Bharatanatyam. I’m currently in my last year of learning it as a senior. I plan to “graduate”, or do my arangetram, during the summer after I graduate from high school. I know that dancing is my way of calming myself down when an incident happened recently. For the past year, my stomach has been randomly hurting and doctors say that it’s most likely from drinking less water. One day, while I was trying to learn a dance for a performance, my stomach was hurting so bad. But I had to learn the dance, so I can perform nicely. So I got up from my chair, put the song on, and looked at the video. Then slowly I started dancing and immediately realized that my stomach pain disappeared. “Oh wow! My pain went away,” I said to my mom. I was really surprised when my stomach went away, right when I started dancing. From then on, I just start dancing to decrease any pain I have. I also noticed that dancing has a great effect on me when I have so much on my mind. I was stressing about the surprise dance I had to teach my cousins, and also submitting college applications. I knew I had so many things going on in my head, that I started dancing, became less stressed, and even had a schedule ready in my head, so I can be stress-free. Now, I just get up from my chair and dance. If I’m at school, I think of choreographs I can try, and just move my hands around, to avoid any distraction and attention on me. Now getting back to my arangetram. When my dance teacher told me that she would like me to do my arangetram, I was so excited. But when I talked to my mom about this, she said that they didn't send me to do my arangetram, but rather just for an extracurricular activity and exercise. But I insisted that I do my arangetram. After so many obstacles of trying to convince my parents that I wanted to do this, they have finally agreed that I can do my arangetram, which is this coming summer.

Golf. Not just a sport, but an emotion. A very deep emotion, with happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, and pride. All of these emotions into one: golf. "I think I am going to just do golf, so I do not have to run a mile and do stuff for P.E.," my friend told me. "Yeah that is also what I was thinking too," I said. As a freshman in high school, and especially someone who hates exercising, I was focused on getting my P.E. credits the easy way. But only after joining golf, did I understand that it was not as easy as you think. Initially, when we started, I would hate doing all the practices because my shots weren't good, and practicing was never my thing, especially when it comes to staying after school. But as time went on, I began to get used to the practice, and eventually better at my shots. When we went to matches, I would be too exhausted after walking for hours. But the walking gave me stronger shoulders because we held the golf bags on our shoulders. But during the pandemic, we weren't able to practice at all, and that resulted in our scores dropping. But during my junior year, we picked up the scores and went to group CIF. During my junior year, we started learning new techniques, and that helped us to get into CIF. Then, finally, our senior year came, and we became tied with the top best in our division. Even though the scores matter, like beating the other team, or going to the CIF, our coach, Coach Munsell, always told us that we are competing against ourselves, and other people shouldn't determine your score. He also told us that while playing golf, we should always try to be happy when playing, and play it for fun. Because, when you play for fun, your mindset is better, and will automatically start getting better scores. When I started to have fun while playing, I started gaining better scores, and I was proud that my score was part of what counted towards getting into the CIF games. After many years of practicing and going to many matches, I became much better than what I was when I first started as a freshman in high school. I can say that golf was most likely the thing that changed my mindset in many ways. For example, I was able to have fun while playing, and that led to better scores. Golf helped me to be patient, and understand and try the different techniques that were taught to us. Therefore, golf would be something that made me who I am today, as well as my skills and qualities. When people say never give up, I usually don't take much heed to it, but golf has made me understand that the moment you give up, that's the moment you lose yourself. Just like my coach said, golf is about competing against yourself and beating your score. Also just because you don't get it the first time doesn't mean that you won't get it the next time. Learning different techniques and practicing them, and never giving up is what makes someone successful, and this I will implement in my life.

Working or volunteering in a community is one of the most challenging, yet it gives very fun and inspiring experiences. I was at the Palms Park Recreation Center and was volunteering for their Halloween Party Night. My role was to hand the bean sacks to the children for the game and allow them to throw them into the bean sac game hole. Then one girl came and utilized all her three tries, but could not make it in. Sadly, she took the candy and was about to leave. "Hey would you like to try again?", I asked her. She looked at her mom with deep sadness on her face, and her mom nodded yes in reply. She came back to play the game again, and she made the bean sacs into the hole for all of her three tries. She was really happy and took the candy, and told me, "Thank you!!". Her mom came up to me and told me that the little girl believed that if she won her first game, then she would win all the others. But unfortunately, she did not win it the first time, that is why she was sad. "But thanks to you, I think she will win all her games today!!", the woman said happily. Seeing this, made a smile appear on my face and it made me happy, especially knowing that I had made people smile, including myself. Seeing the smile on other people's faces is what inspires me to be involved in my community and serve others when I can. I have seen many classrooms with a poster that says 'Make at least one person smile a day.' I remembered this and immediately realized that this should be my everyday motto. From then on, I try to make a smile on at least one person's face a day. I have heard that changes occur in small steps, rather than taking large steps. Just doing simple things like making the girl smile, will go a long way. As mentioned at the beginning of this essay, volunteering or working in a community can be exciting and difficult. The difficult part of this is to find a true place that works for the public. The exciting part is the actual work you do. I have also volunteered at many other places, and they are all very exciting, but the one at Palms Park is special because it was a moment of realization for me. My educational goal is to become a Physician Associate and to meet this goal I would need to pursue higher education. For higher education, money is needed, and this scholarship will help me. By becoming a PA, I intend to help others who are in need, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. I will also help others to improve the world in tiny ways and change the world for the better. I need this scholarship financially, so I can pursue higher education in the field of medicine. This world needs more doctors, and by winning this scholarship I will use it to pay for my college.

Working or volunteering in a community is one of the most challenging, yet it gives very fun and inspiring experiences. I was at the Palms Park Recreation Center and was volunteering for their Halloween Party Night. My role was to hand the bean sacks to the children for the game and allow them to throw them into the bean sac game hole. Then one girl came and utilized all her three tries, but could not make it in. Sadly, she took the candy and was about to leave. "Hey would you like to try again?", I asked her. She looked at her mom with deep sadness on her face, and her mom nodded yes in reply. She came back to play the game again, and she made the bean sacs into the hole for all of her three tries. She was really happy and took the candy, and told me, "Thank you!!". Her mom came up to me and told me that the little girl believed that if she won her first game, then she would win all the others. But unfortunately, she did not win it the first time, that is why she was sad. "But thanks to you, I think she will win all her games today!!", the woman said happily. Seeing this, made a smile appear on my face and it made me happy, especially knowing that I had made people smile, including myself. Seeing the smile on other people's faces is what inspires me to be involved in my community and serve others when I can. I have seen many classrooms with a poster that says 'Make at least one person smile a day.' I remembered this and immediately realized that this should be my everyday motto. From then on, I try to make a smile on at least one person's face a day. I have heard that changes occur in small steps, rather than taking large steps. Just doing simple things like making the girl smile, will go a long way. As mentioned at the beginning of this essay, volunteering or working in a community can be exciting and difficult. The difficult part of this is to find a true place that works for the public. The exciting part is the actual work you do. I have also volunteered at many other places, and they are all very exciting, but the one at Palms Park is special because it was a moment of realization for me. I need this scholarship financially, so I can pursue higher education in the field of medicine. This world needs more doctors, and by winning this scholarship I will use it to pay for my college.

Working or volunteering in a community is one of the most challenging, yet it gives very fun and inspiring experiences. I was at the Palms Park Recreation Center and was volunteering for their Halloween Party Night. My role was to hand the bean sacks to the children for the game and allow them to throw them into the bean sac game hole. Then one girl came and utilized all her three tries, but could not make it in. Sadly, she took the candy and was about to leave. "Hey would you like to try again?", I asked her. She looked at her mom with deep sadness on her face, and her mom nodded yes in reply. She came back to play the game again, and she made the bean sacs into the hole for all of her three tries. She was really happy and took the candy, and told me, "Thank you!!". Her mom came up to me and told me that the little girl believed that if she won her first game, then she would win all the others. But unfortunately, she did not win it the first time, that is why she was sad. "But thanks to you, I think she will win all her games today!!", the woman said happily. Seeing this, made a smile appear on my face and it made me happy, especially knowing that I had made people smile, including myself. Seeing the smile on other people's faces is what inspires me to be involved in my community and serve others when I can. I have seen many classrooms with a poster that says 'Make at least one person smile a day.' I remembered this and immediately realized that this should be my everyday motto. From then on, I try to make a smile on at least one person's face a day. I have heard that changes occur in small steps, rather than taking large steps. Just doing simple things like making the girl smile, will go a long way. As mentioned at the beginning of this essay, volunteering or working in a community can be exciting and difficult. The difficult part of this is to find a true place that works for the public. The exciting part is the actual work you do. I have also volunteered at many other places, and they are all very exciting, but the one at Palms Park is special because it was a moment of realization for me.

I have a big issue with time management; it’s not about submitting assignments, but rather spending time on personal things and studying, etc. For example, I struggle to find time to do extracurriculars, homework, and sports. Apart from school activities, it’s hard sometimes to spend time with my family, because I'd be studying. I have overcome this by keeping a schedule, where I estimate the time it takes for each activity, and write a schedule accordingly. Not only does keeping a schedule help, but also not procrastinating. Procrastination is an issue for many teens, and I am glad I don’t procrastinate. My policy is to finish everything that I need to do before the weekend, so I can enjoy my weekend, but if I have anything to do, I will surely give up my free time. Since fourth grade, I have been learning Indian classical dance, known as Bharatanatyam; I have also been learning piano since sixth grade. Not only that, I have started music class this past year. Even though my friends say that I have a very busy schedule, I have not ever considered myself to be busy. I am encouraging my friends to turn in their college applications before our Thanksgiving break, and we work hard to finish them. So finding time to do things like this is important for me, and I try to encourage others around me. Not just having these extracurriculars make time management a big challenge, but finding time to spend with family and friends, comes along with the issues of time management. My friend group is not big, but when you have their parents and siblings it becomes big, and it means there are more birthday parties. But birthday parties mean cleaning the house, and/or finishing all my work, so I can either help clean or go to the birthday party. So this is when my policy came in handy: Finish all my work before the weekend, and do non-academic work on the weekend. This policy has come a long way, and it helps me a lot, especially through procrastination. Another hardship in my life was getting random stomach pain, which occurred in different parts of my stomach. One day, while I was trying to learn a dance for a performance, my stomach was hurting so bad. But I had to learn the dance, so I can perform nicely. So I got up from my chair, put the song on, and looked at the video. Then slowly I started dancing, and I immediately realized that my stomach pain went away. “Oh wow! My pain went away,” I said to my mom. I was really surprised when my stomach went away, right when I started dancing. From then on, I just start dancing to decrease any pain I have. I also noticed that dancing has a great effect on me when I have so much on my mind. I was stressing about the surprise dance I had to teach my cousins, and also submitting college applications. I knew I had so many things going on in my head, that I started dancing, became less stressed and even had a schedule ready in my head, so I can be stress-free. Now, I just get up from my chair and dance. If I’m at school, I think of choreographs I can try, and just move my hands around, to avoid any distraction and attention on me.

“Hi, how are you doing? Would you like to contribute to a great cause in our community? Even if you only contribute a dollar, it would mean a lot to the children at CASA Youth Shelter,” I said enthusiastically. My group and I were doing a service learning project, a bake sale, for AVID 11. Initially, I was doing the project only to finish the assignment itself and get a good score; I never really thought about the significance of doing a project like this. Our project was a 3-day sale, and on the first day, we didn’t get much contributions. But we hoped that at least on the second day, we would have more contrbution, but that didn't come as expected. My group mates and I felt a little down, thinking about how we will continue this project. But I felt the urge to not let my group members down and encouraged them to be more enthusiastic about this bake sale. I believe that going out of my comfort zone is one skill I learned as I became a leader. Soon enough, when we were more enthusiastic, more people started coming and asking us about this. I explained to them that every contribution given will help children and youth at CASA Youth Shelter. Right after I said this, more students came and started contributing. It was the last day, and when teachers came out of the meeting, we waved to them and called them over. “Oh wow! Hi! What’s going on?” they asked at once. We explained to them what our bake sale’s aim was and why we were doing it. When they heard this, they started giving us money without even buying anything. They said that as long as my money helps the young children in some way, they’re happy with it. This literally made me in tears, and I was speechless as to what they said. That’s when I realized that my initial thought of completing the assignment was wrong, and each time I encouraged my group members, the more I was aware of the children’s problems and thought of a way to help them out. Now, I’ve taken the opportunities that come to me and tried to be involved in activities, that especially involve being a leader. In the past week or so, I was ready to be a leader for the Day of the Seniors at my high school.

I come from a family who doesn't have any occupations related in the healthcare field. So growing up like that, I've only heard that I need to become a doctor. I was more intrigued by teaching than becoming a doctor, but then as I aged, I was interested in being a doctor. Through my starting years of high school, I decided to become a pediatrician, but that had changed directions from becoming a nurse to a pharmacist. Now, I want to become a physician associate, who helps doctors diagnose patients, and also gets to work with patients. I heard about the PA profession from my dance teacher. "I think you should research on becoming a PA. I feel like it really suits you, especially since you were interested in becoming a pediatrician, nurse, and pharmacist," said my dance teach thoughtfully. I took this into consideration, and deeply researched on how to become a PA, and all the requirements for it. I plan to make a positive impact on the world through becoming a physician associate by helping patients through my clinics, and even helping others in my community. Also, anywhere that I go, I wish to help everyone that needs help, but also finding time for myself, and maintaining my mental wellness.

Mental health has been one of the many topics that's been not really addressed in many of the schools. I believe that mental health is important in each and every single person's life, no matter the age. It's important for everyone, even if they are feeling good enough. In case, they think they don't need mental health, they should still go. I believe mental health is important for everyone, so they are able to lead a life that is healthy and, people who take care of their mental health will have more increased living time than others. I maintain my mental wellness through spending time with my close ones, such as my friends and family. I often see many people not laughing at all any day. So I make sure that I laugh and smile; but I also make sure that I can make at least one person smile or laugh. This enhances my mental health and others, as well. In recent months, I have been having sever stomach pains, and really it just bothers me to the extent where I'm unable to do any work for school. To make sure that I felt better, I took medications, but I didn't like that so many chemicals and toxic was going into my body. I decided to take rest, but it didn't really help either. Then one day, I thought about the dance performance I had to do, and was determined to practice it. I got up from sofa, and put on the song. For a while, I was hunched down and looking at my phone. Then I started dancing through the music. Instantly I realized the effect of dance on me. Not only does dance help me get rid of stomach pain, but also helps my body and mind calm down.

"Hey you know what? You should become a PA," my dance teacher said. I asked what a PA was and she explained to me that it was a physician assistant, and now they have changed the name from physician assistant to physician associate. I asked her why that would be a great field for me to work in, and she said that it was because of my previous fields of interest in the medical field. Through my high school years, I've been changing my focus of studies in the hospital and healthcare field. These studies included pediatrics, nursing, and pharmacy. This is when I looked more into the physician associate field. I realized that this filed was the field that has been waiting for me to find. I researched some things, and found out that it was literally the perfect field of match for me. From then onwards, I've been looking at things to do as a physician associate, and many physician associate's degrees and majors of study. Something I had a question was that one particular website, dedicated to physician associates, talks about how most physician associates have two bachelor's degree. I wanted to know what they took and how they got into their physician associate college.

I've been the type of person who hates exercising and working out. But if you look at me now, you might still say I'm skinny, but the new me, is the one who works out more. During my junior year of high school, everyone told me how skinny I was and that I needed to eat more. Then, I agree with them, I would definitely say I was skinny then, and I didn't eat much either. But when senior year came, I thought it might be better to start early than later. So now I've been eating more, even though it doesn't really show on my body. I think it doesn't show because of my high metabolism rate. Or at least that's what my science part of my brain said. Not only do I eat more, I've been also exercising by doing two sports, well if you consider dance as a sport. I've been dancing for a while now, but don't really practice. But this year, I've tried my best to practice at least 4 times per week. The other way I exercise is by playing golf. Many people don't consider golf as a sport, and I don't know why. I believe it's a sport because you have to walk for more than 4 hours. For me, I play twice a week, and plus the extra practice in and out of school. This adds to the exercising time and you get your walking steps in too.

Health has been one of the biggest concerns of each and everyone's life after the pandemic. COVID-19 has been one of the factors that helped realized many students, including me, that there are many health concerns. I've seen the amount of stress on people who work in the healthcare field and those who are trying to save people's lives. I plan to solve these health issues through becoming a physician assistant, and helping doctors diagnose patients. As career wise, I would definitely help those who are in need of medical assistance. More than medical assistance, I believe that patients need encouragement and motivation to recover much faster. I plan to encourage them and remind them that only your body is weak, but if you know in your heart that you will be healthier fast, then your body will listen to it. To uplift the patients mentality, I would try to become their friend. Being a friend to a patient is one of the biggest and kindest thing you could ever do. If you look from the patients perspective, you can see that the patient has no where to go and nothing to do. So apart from medical assistance, uplifting mentality, they would need a friend. A friend they can talk to, share their experiences and moments, and most importantly, someone to laugh with and share each and every emotion. As a doctor (or physician assistant), I want my patients to know that there will always be someone for them to share their stories with and have fun and someone to talk to about anything and everything they want. To help solve and control emerging health issues in an effort to prevent a future pandemic, I would become a physician assistant in the medical field, which would be my career pathway. I would also be someone that would encourage and motivate the patients, and uplift their spirits to help them feel better and recover faster. But more than that, I would become a friend. I believe that becoming a friend would solve half the problems of each and every patient. The reason why I plan to be in the medical field is because I've seen some of the pains that patients have had to suffer. For me personally, it was my knee pain, in which I struggled so much. I always wondered that if I am in so much pain just for growth pain on my knee, then how much pain would someone else feel, if they were conditioned under, for example, cancer or surgery. This thought drove me to the idea that the world needs more doctors and more people in the medical field than in any other field. One reasons behind this thought is because if there are no more humans on this planet, then why would the other jobs matter as much. So choosing my career in the medical field would be my best choice to prevent and solve emerging health issues in the future.

My goal for my life is to help others and make everyone smile at least once a day. I plan to do this by working in the healthcare field, specifically by being a physician assistant.

Being friends and connecting with them is a plus point of being a nurse. A nurse is not just someone who helps others, but they also create a great friendship with many of the patients they have come across. Many nurses connect with patients and is like a great friend, and vice versa. Although I'm not currently focused on nursing, I would still love to contribute some ideas and thoughts, when I was still thinking about my nursing career. It has been only a few weeks, since I switched from nursing to being a physician assistant, but I certainly do know that if I ever come back into nursing, that I would definitely enjoy it. As mentioned earlier, I'm not currently interested in nursing, but it will always be on my mind, for sure. One reasons why I wanted to pursue a career in nursing is because of my personality. I have always been the person to help others, even when they don't ask for it. I felt that being a nurse, would one push me to meet knew people and get rid of my shyness, but also be friends with them. I recently took a personality test, and it said that I was more extroverted, but I never really thought of myself as an extrovert. But when my friend told me that I was doing so many extracurricular activities, such as dance and singing, I began to realize that I am an extrovert more than an introvert. Through this, I've also came to a realization that healthcare is one of the best careers fields for my personality, whether it's talking to other patients, or even medical staff, or creating relationships with others, including patients. Personally for me, I have been lucky to have many friends and families with a great relationship with each of them. Connecting with the patients is something that inspired when thinking about becoming a nurse. I have learned in my psychology class that relationships is something big that many people are not lucky enough to get it. Through being a nurse, you get to create many relationships that you may not have felt like you would when you first entered the field. I feel like nurses have a special connection with each and every one of their patients. It may be not so great at times, but at least nurses will know how to deal with many of the situations, that even other healthcare field professions do not.

Choosing my goals have been one of the hardest to decide. When teachers say only choose 3 goals, to complete the assignment, I always get stuck because I have so many. My goals for the future include graduating high school with a GPA above 4.0, getting accepted into a university with full scholarship, and to be accepted as a high school student intern. These goals definitely requires studying and making sure that I maintain and improve my GPA. Other goals include receiving a high score for my SAT, and take the ACT, and receive a high score.

Being happy is a unique feeling, and not everyone is able to be happy. Being with my family and friends make me happy the most. My family has been very supportive with what I have done and do. They make me bring out the best in me, and makes me laugh more than anyone else. My friends also make me happy. Friends are the best buddies you make other than family. I have been given the greatest assets of my life, my family and friends.