“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. My mother’s cancer diagnosis massively influenced my goals and dreams. I have seen how health disparities have negatively impacted the health and well-being of my own family. Thus, my vision for a just future is one in which everyone has equal access to high-quality healthcare regardless of their background. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing this vision by making it my goal to provide high-quality care to underserved communities as a healthcare provider. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing medicine, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in medicine for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. My mother inspired me to work hard and pursue an education that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on others. For example, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. I have also developed an extensive history of community service involvement to continue my passion for supporting disadvantaged patients. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make on those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me honor my mother’s wishes and accomplish my dream of assisting underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic healthcare provider.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. I once read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I aim to inspire positive change in underserved communities and support disadvantaged patients by providing high-quality care as a future dentist. I am a proud Ecuadorian-American who deeply loves and appreciates her Hispanic roots. I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I combatted health disparities as a volunteer at the UF Health Shands Hospital to help disadvantaged patients. The hospital environment can be incredibly lonely and stressful, thus I provided comfort and support to patients who are isolated or disconnected from the rest of society. I continued to support underprivileged communities by volunteering at the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. One fateful clinic night, a patient completely changed me. I was assigned a Hispanic patient who spoke very little English. After introducing myself as his translator, he looks at me with relief. He told me in Spanish about how he immigrated to America alone in hopes of finding work. He then tells me about how he has been struggling to find a healthcare provider to help him with his chronic migraines. This patient has been suffering simply because he cannot find a physician who understands him. After hearing this, I immediately gave him a list of healthcare resources available to fit his needs with words of comfort and support in Spanish. He looked at me with tears in his eyes as he told me how grateful he was that there was someone like me who was willing to help him. Initially, I could tell that this patient felt very anxious and stressed. However, after his appointment, I recognized the relief and happiness radiating from him. Seeing this transformation made me realize the impact that I could make on others. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that members of the underserved community face can provide comfort and support to those in need. I knew that pursuing dentistry would not only yield immense fulfillment but also great pride in being able to help those within and outside of my own culture. As such, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. My mother’s cancer diagnosis massively influenced my goals and dreams. I have seen how health disparities have negatively impacted the health and well-being of my own family. Thus, my vision for a just future is one in which everyone has equal access to high-quality healthcare regardless of their background. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing this vision by making it my goal to provide high-quality healthcare to underserved communities as a healthcare provider. Born to Hispanic immigrant parents, I was made well aware at a young age of the financial hardships that my family had to face and that this situation would only become exponentially more stressful for us once my brother and I both started attending college. Furthermore, my mother has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer, and the treatment for her rare cancer consists of monthly hormonal injections. These injections are considerably costly to our family, even with health insurance. One injection alone costs thousands of dollars, not including the additional fees for scheduling and having monthly medical appointments with healthcare providers. Her numerous medical exams also cost thousands of dollars that our family struggles to pay for. My parents earn just enough to cover the major expenses, such as the house mortgage and to put food on the table. Oftentimes, my parents work overtime and take extra shifts every week just to make ends meet. Consequently, my parents and I have always known that we could not pay for my college tuition on our own. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make on those in need. Because my parents and I cannot afford to pay for my college education on our own, it is evident that I cannot achieve my career goals unless I have help from scholarships such as this one. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me honor my mother's wishes and accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic healthcare provider.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Career-wise, I plan to provide high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. Having an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers as white and only English-speaking is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to combat this issue as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. This experience taught me that I want to dedicate my future to serving disadvantaged patients to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that disadvantaged communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. I once read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Holding myself accountable to my goals and passions has allowed me to grow professionally and academically. For example, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. My mother’s cancer diagnosis massively influenced my goals and dreams. I have seen how health disparities have negatively impacted the health and well-being of my own family. Thus, my vision for a just future is one in which everyone has equal access to high-quality healthcare regardless of their background. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing this vision by making it my goal to provide high-quality healthcare to underserved communities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. My mother inspired me to work hard and pursue an education that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on others. For example, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. I have also developed an extensive history of community service involvement to continue my passion for supporting disadvantaged patients. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make on those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me honor my mother’s wishes and accomplish my dream of assisting underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation female Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a future healthcare provider. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing medicine, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a female Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in the field of healthcare for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more healthcare professionals like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic healthcare provider.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Career-wise, I plan to provide high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. Having an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers as white and only English-speaking is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to combat this issue as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. This experience taught me that I want to dedicate my future to serving disadvantaged patients to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that disadvantaged communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. Thus, I made it my goal to pursue a STEM-related career to ameliorate this disparity in representation and support underserved minorities as a dentist. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. Thus, I made it my goal to pursue a STEM-related career to ameliorate this disparity in representation and support underserved minorities as a dentist. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a future healthcare provider. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing medicine, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in the field of healthcare for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to patients coping with the unexpected diagnosis of breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more healthcare professionals like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic healthcare provider.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Career-wise, I plan to provide high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. Having an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers as white and only English-speaking is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to combat this issue as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. This experience taught me that I want to dedicate my future to serving disadvantaged patients to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that disadvantaged communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. Although initially confusing, this quote finally makes sense after realizing what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Previously, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. Throughout my educational career, I have worked diligently to accomplish my goals by being awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as a Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. Therefore, I want to be in college to become a Hispanic healthcare provider who can diminish this disparity. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. My mother’s cancer diagnosis massively influenced my goals and dreams. I have seen how health disparities have negatively impacted the health and well-being of my own family. Thus, my vision for a just future is one in which everyone has equal access to high-quality healthcare regardless of their background. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing this vision by making it my goal to provide high-quality healthcare to underserved communities as a dentist. My parents inspired me to work hard and pursue an education that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on others. For example, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. I have also developed an extensive history of community service involvement to continue my passion for supporting disadvantaged patients. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping underprivileged individuals. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make on those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me honor my mother’s wishes and accomplish my dream of assisting underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate career goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. I strive to apply the knowledge gained from my education to excel in my career and secure a lifelong foundation of optimal health for those in need. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I provided care to our local underserved community by taking vitals, performing data entry, presenting to medical students and physicians, and completing other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. Realizing that I played a part in improving the health and well-being of those in the local Hispanic community fills me with elation, satisfaction, and pride. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and improving the Hispanic community and patients of all backgrounds in the hopes of making a positive, meaningful difference. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems that my parents faced when they immigrated to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. This inspires me to pursue dentistry because having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that members of the underserved Hispanic community face can provide comfort and support to those in need. I knew that pursuing dentistry would not only yield immense fulfillment but also great pride in being able to help those within and outside of my own culture. I continued to support underprivileged communities by volunteering at the UF Health Shands Hospital to help disadvantaged patients. The hospital environment can be incredibly lonely and stressful, thus I volunteered to provide compassion, comfort, and support as a companion to patients who are isolated or disconnected from the rest of society. I also offered patients personal care and leisure items, including hairbrushes, puzzles, and more. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries across the globe. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to patients coping with the unexpected diagnosis of breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. While I recognize that becoming a healthcare provider is no simple task, I believe that this goal is critical in ameliorating the lack of representation and overall issue of health disparities in America. Therefore, I have worked diligently to accomplish this goal throughout my educational career. To elaborate, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. I am proud of these accomplishments because they highlight my hard work and dedication to my education, as well as my devotion to my dream by taking my rigorous STEM courses seriously. From my various leadership experiences in community service, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. These invaluable experiences and accomplishments allowed me to realize the immense impact of hard work and dedication on changing lives. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a dentist and supporting others without the help of scholarships. Therefore, this scholarship will help make my dream a reality by providing less financial stress, allowing me to focus more on performing well in my education and serving others. As such, this scholarship delivers a remarkably meaningful opportunity that will tremendously help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. My mother’s cancer diagnosis massively influenced my goals and dreams. I have seen how health disparities have negatively impacted the health and well-being of my own family. Thus, my vision for a just future is one in which everyone has equal access to high-quality healthcare regardless of their background. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing this vision by making it my goal to provide high-quality healthcare to underserved communities as a dentist. My parents inspired me to work hard and pursue an education that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on others. For example, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. I have also developed an extensive history of community service involvement to continue my passion for supporting disadvantaged patients. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping underprivileged individuals. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underserved communities is incredibly significant to me. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my family. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make on those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me honor my mother’s wishes and accomplish my dream of assisting underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. My parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Previously, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. Consequently, I decided to pursue the rigorous and demanding path of studying medicine. Even though the odds are stacked against me as a First-Generation minority student who comes from a low-income household, I nonetheless see it as my responsibility to remedy this lack of representation by striving to become a dentist. Throughout my educational career, I have worked diligently to ameliorate this health disparities issue and accomplish my goals. To elaborate, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. Born in New Jersey and raised in Florida, I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include bridging the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. My mother’s cancer diagnosis massively influenced my goals and dreams. I have seen how health disparities have negatively impacted the health and well-being of my own family. Thus, my vision for a just future is one in which everyone has equal access to high-quality healthcare regardless of their background. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated my life to accomplishing this vision by making it my goal to provide high-quality healthcare to underserved communities as a dentist. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to combat this issue as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. This experience taught me that I want to dedicate my future to serving disadvantaged patients to make a positive, meaningful difference. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic immigrant family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems that my parents faced when they immigrated to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. This inspires me to pursue dentistry because having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that members of the underserved community face can provide comfort and support to those in need. I knew that pursuing dentistry would not only yield immense fulfillment but also great pride in being able to help those within and outside of my own culture. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping underprivileged individuals. These invaluable experiences and accomplishments allowed me to realize the immense impact of hard work and dedication on changing lives. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make on others. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me honor my mother’s wishes and accomplish my dream of assisting underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Career-wise, I plan to provide high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. Having an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers as white and only English-speaking is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to combat this issue as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. This experience taught me that I want to dedicate my future to serving disadvantaged patients to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that disadvantaged communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate career goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. I strive to apply the knowledge gained from my education to excel in my career and secure a lifelong foundation of optimal health for those in need. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I provided care to our local underserved community by taking vitals, performing data entry, presenting to medical students and physicians, and completing other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. Realizing that I played a part in improving the health and well-being of those in the local Hispanic community fills me with elation, satisfaction, and pride. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and improving the Hispanic community and patients of all backgrounds in the hopes of making a positive, meaningful difference. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems that my parents faced when they immigrated to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. This inspires me to pursue dentistry because having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that members of the underserved Hispanic community face can provide comfort and support to those in need. I knew that pursuing dentistry would not only yield immense fulfillment but also great pride in being able to help those within and outside of my own culture. I continued to support underprivileged communities by volunteering at the UF Health Shands Hospital to help disadvantaged patients. The hospital environment can be incredibly lonely and stressful, thus I volunteered to provide compassion, comfort, and support as a companion to patients who are isolated or disconnected from the rest of society. I also offered patients personal care and leisure items, including hairbrushes, puzzles, and more. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries across the globe. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to patients coping with the unexpected diagnosis of breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. While I recognize that becoming a healthcare provider is no simple task, I believe that this goal is critical in ameliorating the lack of representation and overall issue of health disparities in America. Therefore, I have worked diligently to accomplish this goal throughout my educational career. To elaborate, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. I am proud of these accomplishments because they highlight my hard work and dedication to my education, as well as my devotion to my dream by taking my rigorous STEM courses seriously. From my various leadership experiences in community service, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. These invaluable experiences and accomplishments allowed me to realize the immense impact of hard work and dedication on changing lives. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a dentist and supporting others without the help of scholarships. Therefore, this scholarship will help make my dream a reality by providing less financial stress, allowing me to focus more on performing well in my education and serving others. As such, this scholarship delivers a remarkably meaningful opportunity that will tremendously help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a future healthcare provider. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing medicine, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in the field of healthcare for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries across the globe. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more healthcare professionals like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic healthcare provider.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Nutrition plays a crucial role in one's overall health, and numerous individuals are unaware of how greatly nutrition can influence their quality of life. From my time at the University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, I was made aware of how several factors such as lack of education, food insecurity, poor nutrition, health disparities, etc can detrimentally impact the health and well-being of our local communities in Florida. Therefore, I made it my dream and mission to help these communities by serving as an advocate and someone who can help tackle these serious issues. For this reason, my goals consist of earning my Bachelor's Degree in Nutritional Sciences and expanding my knowledge of nutrition and food science in relation to health in everyday life. I believe that it is my responsibility as a future agricultural scientist to educate and inform myself about vital nutrition and food science concepts to help treat or prevent health concerns for the well-being of those suffering from these conditions. Whether it be as a food scientist, dietician, nutritionist, healthcare provider, etc, I plan to make it my long-term goal to work and study hard to reduce the suffering born from poor nutrition, food insecurity, and health disparities, etc that may inhibit an individual from having optimal overall health. As evident from my extensive history in my academics, awards, community service, and extracurricular activities, I have made several accomplishments that have led me closer to achieving my goals. Examples of such accomplishments include my volunteer experience at the Equal Access Clinic and Shands Hospital where I served underrepresented patients. Another example is being awarded the Institute of Food Technologists' Feeding Tomorrow Fund Scholarship, which proves that I have a passion for the agricultural science of food and nutrition. Furthermore, I was awarded the Will Courtney Foundation Agriculture Scholarship, which is awarded to students based on academic success in the agricultural field and who demonstrate significant positive impact through success in scholarship and community involvement. Another example is being awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. This demonstrates that I am dedicated to my education and that I take all of my nutrition and food science courses seriously because I know how fundamental they are in providing the foundation needed for me to truly make a positive impact in my community. From my various leadership experiences in community service, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. These invaluable experiences and accomplishments allowed me to realize the immense impact of hard work and dedication on changing lives. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to pursue my lifelong dream of supporting others without the help of scholarships. Therefore, this scholarship will help make my dream a reality by providing less financial stress, allowing me to focus more on performing well in my education and serving others. As such, this scholarship delivers a remarkably meaningful opportunity that will tremendously help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. My mother’s cancer diagnosis massively influenced my goals and dreams. I have seen how health disparities have negatively impacted the health and well-being of my own family. Thus, my vision for a just future is one in which everyone has equal access to high-quality healthcare regardless of their background. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing this vision by making it my goal to provide high-quality healthcare to underserved communities as a dentist. My parents inspired me to work hard and pursue an education that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on others. For example, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. I have also developed an extensive history of community service involvement to continue my passion for supporting disadvantaged patients. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make on those in need. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a Hispanic dentist and supporting others without the help of scholarships. Therefore, this scholarship will help me honor my mother’s wishes and make my dream a reality by providing less financial stress, allowing me to focus more on performing well in my education and serving others. As such, this scholarship delivers a remarkably meaningful opportunity that will tremendously help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program studying to become a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. From this achievement of service, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and improving the Hispanic community and patients of all backgrounds to make a positive, meaningful difference. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems that my parents faced when they immigrated to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. This inspires me to pursue dentistry because having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that members of the underserved Hispanic community face can provide comfort and support to those in need. I knew that pursuing dentistry would not only yield immense fulfillment but also great pride in being able to help those within and outside of my own culture. I continued to support underprivileged communities by volunteering at the UF Health Shands Hospital to help disadvantaged patients. The hospital environment can be incredibly lonely and stressful, thus I provided comfort and support to patients who are isolated or disconnected from the rest of society. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. Furthermore, I was awarded the UF President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. From my various leadership experiences in community service, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. These invaluable experiences and accomplishments allowed me to realize the immense impact of hard work and dedication on changing lives. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a dentist without the help of scholarships. Therefore, this scholarship will help make my dream a reality by providing less financial stress, allowing me to focus more on performing well in my education and serving others. As such, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also assembled feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. For this reason, I made it my goal to pursue a STEM-related career in the field of science and medicine to ameliorate this disparity in representation and support underserved minorities as a dentist. I worked to remedy this problem as a Health Outreach volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and improving the Hispanic community and patients of all backgrounds to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters, which proves that I have a deep passion and adoration for learning. I also maintained a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious university Honors Program, which highlights my dedication to my education. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. To accomplish my goals, I take my rigorous STEM courses seriously because I know how crucial they are in providing the foundation needed for me to make a positive impact as a future healthcare provider. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of pursuing a career in the field of science and medicine to help underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. My ultimate goal is to mitigate the detrimental effects of health disparities as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. The fact that an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers are white and only speak English is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and other components of health disparities. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to remedy this problem at the Equal Access Clinic Network as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and supporting underprivileged communities to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to help empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also helped assemble feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems my parents faced when immigrating to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. There has to be another way. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing my goals. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. Career-wise, I plan to provide high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. I served as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and improving the Hispanic community and patients of all backgrounds to make a positive, meaningful difference. I continued to support underprivileged communities by volunteering at the UF Health Shands Hospital to help disadvantaged patients. The hospital environment can be incredibly lonely and stressful, thus I provided comfort and support to patients who are isolated or disconnected from the rest of society. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to help empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. Furthermore, I was awarded the UF President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make for underserved patients suffering from health disparities. As such, this scholarship delivers a remarkable opportunity to help me keep my promise and accomplish my dream of assisting underprivileged individuals as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

1+2) “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Career-wise, I plan to provide high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. Having an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers as white and only English-speaking is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to combat this issue as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. This experience taught me that I want to dedicate my future to serving disadvantaged patients to make a positive, meaningful difference. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to help empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also helped assemble feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that disadvantaged communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, I am certain that this profession will allow me to devote my life to a career that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on supporting underserved communities. 3) “What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure that I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. My mother’s cancer diagnosis massively influenced my goals and dreams. I have seen how health disparities have negatively impacted the health and well-being of my own family. Thus, my vision for a just future is one in which everyone has equal access to high-quality healthcare regardless of their background. To honor my parents, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing this vision by making it my goal to provide high-quality healthcare to underserved communities as a dentist. My parents inspired me to work hard and pursue an education that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on others. For example, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. I have also developed an extensive history of community service to continue my passion for supporting disadvantaged patients. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurriculars, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping underprivileged individuals. Additionally, I learned tremendously about the immense impact that hard work and dedication can have on benefiting disadvantaged communities. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even though her cancer diagnosis was distressing, it taught me invaluable lessons about where my passions lie and what impact I ultimately want to make for underserved patients suffering from health disparities as an aspiring Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Back in high school, I read a surprising statistic that 67% of America’s healthcare providers are white, while Hispanic, Black, and Asian healthcare providers each make up about 10%. As a Hispanic, such data made it clear to me that something had to be done to improve this disparity in representation, and I was more than ready to take action. I am a First-Generation student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Career-wise, I plan to provide high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. Having an overwhelming majority of America’s healthcare providers as white and only English-speaking is incredibly harmful to minority citizens whose first language is not English. This results in millions of citizens suffering every year from language barriers and health disparities. To counter this challenge, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from these issues. I worked to combat this issue as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. To specifically combat language barriers, I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. This experience taught me that I want to dedicate my future to serving disadvantaged patients to make a positive, meaningful difference. In terms of academic excellence, I was awarded the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.93 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that disadvantaged communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, I am certain that this profession will allow me to devote my life to a career that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on supporting underserved communities. Attending a school as prestigious as UF requires substantial funds and financial aid to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. To make matters more financially stressful, I also hope to attend dental school to become a dentist. Because my parents and I cannot afford to pay for my college education on our own, it is evident that I cannot achieve my goals without help from scholarships like this one. As such, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me accomplish my dream of improving the health and well-being of America’s citizens by assisting the underprivileged as a future Hispanic dentist.

“What happened?” I exclaimed in fear, unsure why my parents were weeping and shaking with distress. “It’s your mother,” my father croaks out, “We just received a call from the doctor saying she has stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.” My heart shatters. The room suddenly spins as I gasp for air. None of us expected this diagnosis, no family ever does. We had no idea how to move on from such gut-wrenching news. “This can’t be it. There has to be another way. I can’t lose you!” I bawled. My mother held my face with a smile, “Don’t worry mija. No matter what happens, you will never lose me.” She expresses concerningly, “Listen mija, I want to discuss your future. I know how intelligent you are, and I don’t want that potential to go to waste. Promise me that you will study and work hard to graduate and accomplish your dreams.” I vowed to her, “I promise Mama.” For context, my parents immigrated from Ecuador to the United States, hoping to establish a better life for myself. They grew up in an impoverished, underdeveloped country, and unfortunately never had the chance to have a high-quality education. Although my parents could never pursue prosperous careers, they did everything in their power to ensure I had every opportunity to obtain a high-quality educational career to accomplish what they could not. To honor the blessings my parents gave me, I dedicated the rest of my life to accomplishing my goals. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. Career-wise, I plan to provide high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. I worked to combat this issue as a Health Outreach volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This free, student-run clinic provides healthcare services to families in need. I coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and improving the Hispanic community and patients of all backgrounds to make a positive, meaningful difference. I continued to support underprivileged communities by volunteering at the UF Health Shands Hospital to help disadvantaged patients. The hospital environment can be incredibly lonely and stressful, thus I provided comfort and support to patients who are isolated or disconnected from the rest of society. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to help empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by crocheting handmade headbands. Furthermore, I was awarded the UF President’s Honor Roll and the Dean's List recognition at my university for multiple semesters while maintaining a high collegiate GPA of 3.96 in the prestigious Honors Program. Moreover, I graduated from high school at the top of my class as the Valedictorian with a Class Rank of 1 out of 363 students. Everything I have accomplished was in honor of my promise to my mother. Even with her unexpected cancer diagnosis, I am confident that I can make her proud by dedicating my life to a career that combines my passions and skills to maximize my impact on others. As such, this scholarship delivers a remarkable opportunity to help me keep my promise and accomplish my dream of assisting underprivileged individuals as a future Hispanic dentist.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt. This quote, although admittedly confusing to me at first, finally makes sense after realizing exactly what my dream is and what impact I ultimately want to make. Throughout my life, I have always asked myself, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Upon realizing my passions, I knew dentistry was my career. I am a First-Generation Hispanic student at the University of Florida (UF) in the Honors Program. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences, I plan to attend the UF College of Dentistry to earn my dental degree. Career-wise, I plan to make the world a better place by providing high-quality care to help the underserved as a dentist. Health disparities have largely shaped my motivation in pursuing dentistry, where my goals include helping bridge the gap between healthcare and those in need. As a Hispanic, I know that minorities such as mine are often underserved when it comes to meeting proper healthcare needs. To counter this, my dream is to serve as a representative and advocate in dentistry for disadvantaged minorities like mine to reduce the suffering born from language barriers and health disparities. I worked to combat this issue by volunteering weekly as a Health Outreach and Quality Improvement volunteer under the Equal Access Clinic Network. This clinic network is a free student-run clinic that provides healthcare services to families in need. I took vitals, performed data entry, and completed other crucial tasks to deliver care. I also coordinated patient intake and follow-up with prescriptions, test results, and referrals to specialty services to educate and link patients to beneficial community resources. I also served as a Spanish translator for Hispanic patients at the clinic. From this experience, I learned that I want to dedicate my future to serving and improving the Hispanic community and patients of all backgrounds to make a positive, meaningful difference. I continued to support underprivileged communities by volunteering weekly at the UF Health Shands Hospital to help disadvantaged patients. The hospital environment can be incredibly lonely and stressful, thus I volunteered to provide comfort and support to patients who are isolated or disconnected from the rest of society. I also offered patients personal care and leisure items, including hairbrushes, puzzles, and more. Additionally, I volunteered under the Days for Girls nonprofit to help empower females worldwide with more dignity, health, and safety through access to quality sustainable menstrual health management. I also helped assemble feminine hygiene kits for disadvantaged females in developing countries. Furthermore, I volunteered under the Blossoming Butterfly nonprofit to provide compassion, warmth, and support to individuals coping with the unexpected diagnosis of cancer by fabricating handmade headbands. From my various leadership experiences in community service and extracurricular activities, I developed and strengthened numerous skills that illuminated my commitment to helping disadvantaged individuals in need. Because I come from a low-income Hispanic family, helping these underprivileged communities is incredibly significant to me. The patients I serve face the same problems that my parents faced when they immigrated to America. The combination of language barriers and the stresses of being alone can be overwhelming, and I have seen how this has negatively impacted my own family. I hope that having more dentists like me who speak Spanish and understand the problems that underserved communities face can provide comfort and support to those in need. Therefore, this scholarship delivers an opportunity that will tremendously help me utilize my passions and skills to accomplish my dream of helping underprivileged individuals as a future Hispanic dentist.