My brother and I have always been close and continue to be close today, but when we were in early elementary school I almost lost my best friend. One day we were playing on the playground and he was pushed off by a classmate of mine, which caused internal bleeding in his brain. Being rushed to the nearby hospital and then rushed to Akron Children's Hospital I was in shock that my best friend may be taken away from me. Before his surgery my family and I were all stressed, hearts beating fast and sweating worrying about my brother when my inspiration for pursuing medicine walked into the room. The head neurosurgeon at Akron Children's was performing his surgery and stopped by to talk to us, as a family first. In a calm and collected manner he looked me in the eyes and stated, "I am going to take of your brother just fine, and he will be back to playing catch with you in the yard in soon." After a long 7 hour surgery my brother made it through and has now continued to be my best friend, but my inspiration to become a physician never went away after that day. That neurosurgeon made a lasting impact on me that motivated me to be that calm, collected, respectful, and confident doctor that some family may need in a time of worry and anxiety. Being motivated to pursue a medical degree and one day become a practicing physician has always lived in me, and is what I plan to accomplish as I am enrolled currently in Ohio University's medical school for the Fall of 2025. The area I am most interested in specializing in is Oncology and participating in cancer research along with my practice. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, and continues to evoke anxiety and worry into patients and their families. In my family I have lost two family members to cancer that never got to see my first high school basketball game, watch me graduate high school or college, or see my first car, and this as also pushed me to help not only specialize in that field but continue researching cancer therapeutics further. Being calm, confident, and collected for your patient and their families is one of the most impactful moments a doctor can have during practice, and I intend to provide that to my patients and families that I am involved with to hopefully inspire them like I once was or just help them get through a tough situation.

As a first generation college student I experienced many different obstacles my freshman year of college that contributed to my resilience and determination that I possess today. As a freshman I struggled in my classes, was home sick and grew farther from my family because I was mad at them for not preparing me for college. I fell behind in many classes, did not know how to study and thought that I would be able to just show up and perform the same way I did in high school, but this was not the case. After my freshman year first semester of my undergraduate degree I received a 2.5 GPA and did not make great relationships with professors. After my first semester I looked myself in the mirror and knew that this was not me and needed to change my methods and approach to school and my family if I wanted to pursue my dream of being a physician. After that semester I have been on deans list and received many academic honors for my academic success. This hard obstacle to get over was difficult for me at first but it taught me many different lessons. One lesson this obstacle taught was, "see a little, see a lot, see a lot, see nothing". This saying taught me to focus on what was in front of me whether that is a test, spending time with my family, homework, or research, and not get too caught up in everything else that is going on around me. This taught me to be dedicated to my school work and my family, but learn resilience along the way that I will continue to accomplish my dreams no matter what the set back may be. As an undergraduate student and high school student I volunteered mostly in my church at home that included food collections for the homeless and soup kitchen serving on holidays and the weekend. At Grove City I was a part of many drives including with the Salvation Army and around Christmas making stocking for veterans at the VA in Butler, PA. Finally, through Grove City College I was able to complete an outreach program in Europe, which included helping rebuild homes and spread the gospel in anyway I could. These experiences have all impacted my character and my commitment to others because it has taught me that some people are not as fortunate and may face obstacles that we do not see on the outside, so it is important to not judge any person and to get to know your patients to really find out the root cause of their underlying disease. In the future I will be attending medical school in Fall of 2025 with the hopes of becoming a physician one day. I am passionate about the medical field because my goal since I was a young kid was to change the lives of others around me, and I feel the medical field is the best place where I can not only help others that can't help themselves, but also impact their lives for the better. I hope to bring a dedicated, resilient and passionate physician to the medical field and someone that does not just see a patient and then get the patient out of the office, but someone who wants to know their patients and understand their life. The medical profession has many values that include patient centered care and more. I plan to carry these values with me for every patient I visit, which will allow me to bring them the best care. Seeing each patient for who they are and not judging them based off of their history or background, but taking each patient into account individually will allow me to carry out my profession to the highest aptitude.

When I was about 10 years old my brother was pushed off of playground equipment and suffered from head trauma and bleeding in the brain. As a young kid I was in shock that my brothers life was in jeopardy and that my best friend may be taken away from me as such as young kid. Many emotions and thoughts were running throughout my head until the doctor that was about to perform his surgery talked to me and my family. The doctor walked into the warm and calmed everyone, held his head high with confidence and when speaking to my family and I had overwhelming faith that he would take care of my brother. Every since this day I knew I wanted to pursue medicine and be that person that the doctor at Akron Children's Hospital that day was for me. Making a difference in the medical field is not an easy task as the field is filled with great people and great professionals. During my undergraduate years I played on the varsity football team and learned what it was like to be a team, be there for others, and work toward a common goal. Many people believe that you if you have a really good player on the field you can win games, but this is not the case. Good teams, yes, have good players that can score for them, but great teams have players that are working toward a common goal and have each others backs no matter the situation. One quote our coach used to use was "each of us needs all of us", and I think this is relevant not just to football, but to life and being a medical professional. "Each of us needs all of us," is not just a fancy saying, but a mindset. In the medical field the doctor or physician must be there for his team of nurses, nurse practitioners, assistants, technologists, administration and more, but also be there for the family or the patient to ensure that the patient receives the best possible care. The common goal of medicine is patient centered care, which I feel with my background in sports I can bring a mindset to each patient interaction with this common goal at the forefront. I can make a difference by showing compassion, loyalty and respect to the patient and their families. Bringing to the table an experience with my brother at such a young age or the different lessons learned throughout my time playing football will not only keep me working toward the common goal of patient centered care, but allow me to be there for the patients family just like the Akron Children's Hospital physician was for me.