I chose the physician assistant track as a medical studies major so that I could educate people on how to advocate for themselves in medicine. Coming from a very rural area where most adults do not have a college education, I saw first-hand that most people have no medical literacy. This often results in patients not being able to help themselves. In my family, I see my loved ones paying too much for medications, not knowing why they are having a procedure, and just being passive patients. To no fault of their own, they do not know how to navigate the medical world. As a physician assistant, I want to be an advocate for patients and teach them how to advocate for themselves in other clinical settings. After graduating and becoming a certified physician assistant, I intend to go into general surgery or gastroenterological surgery. During my clinical experiences as an undergraduate student, I realized that I enjoy working with older people. With an oncoming aging population, I hope to lead geriatric patients with their health. While I find my area of interest to be in surgery, my goal as a physician assistant is to continue my role in service. I want to volunteer at clinics for those without health insurance or do physical examinations for those immigrating to America. While I have many hopes for my career as a physician assistant, any career in the medical field, especially for clinicians, takes many years of school at high costs. Having to be in college for five years instead of the typical four means that I will have much more excess student debt than the average student. This is ameliorated by the circumstances of my program. For my fifth year of school, which will be my clinical year, I will be paying double per semester. This high price often results in physician assistants becoming very specialized as those jobs have higher salaries. However, I wish to spend my times as physician assistant working in more general practices, as stated prior. These jobs do not pay as much, making it more difficult to pay off student loans. Unfortunately, general practices suffer from understaffing. I hope to work in general practices with geriatrics so that I can help fight the decreasing numbers of clinicians in rural areas and general practice. Having lower student debt with help me give my time to nonprofit organizations such as Volunteers in Medicine. I will be able to volunteer to those without insurance when I do not have to worry about paying my compounding student loans. Having this scholarship will also help me be a better clinician to my patients. Because many practitioners rely on a certain number of patients to make money, they cannot spend much time with patients. With this scholarship, I will be able to spend more quality time with patients without worrying about how many patients I can recruit to my office and see per day. This is especially important with the aging population in the United States. Older people are often ignored by their caretakers and clinicians. I hope to give my patients a voice and show them that they matter. This scholarship will help me complete my degree and continue a life of service to others. It will ease not only the stress of completing school, but it will make me more prepared to help those in need. I will be able to effectively devote myself to patients that need medical care.

In middle school, I was bullied by two girls in my class. I have felt the severe pain of being punished for being different. They would call me names, talk about me to others in class, and post their hatred online. While this experience was an extremely negative part of my life, I learned from it. I realized how often bullying occurred in my school in all classes. When I went to high school the next year, I knew something needed to change in my school. In high school, I started the Unity Club. This club focuses on bridging communication and friendship between students in the special education classes and the rest of the student body. While bullying can happen to anyone, it was apparent that students with special needs were much more at risk. This club was especially important to me as someone who volunteers for Special Olympics. On weekends and over the summer, I would see my friends participate in games while I cheered them on. Then, I would see those same students much more reserved in the school setting. After talking to some of their teachers, I learned that many of them do not live in the school district, so their only time with students was at school. They did not have the opportunity to attend after-school activities or special events. To fulfill this need for connection between the two groups of students, I started the Unity Club, which took place during our school’s free period once a week. Today, I still see how this club flourished and led to other inclusion movements, such as our new Gay-Straight Alliance. Similarly, while in college, I became coordinator of volunteer services for my physician assistant program. As the coordinator, I led a visit to our local adult daycare, Step by Step, for those with special needs. I noticed the same need at Step by Step that I saw at my high school a few years prior. My leadership is rooted in empathy and love for others. As an aspiring medical professional, my love for others has led me to pursue a degree to become a physician assistant. My love for others has steered me to student government, lots of volunteer opportunities, and various STEM clubs on my campus. As a leader on my college campus, I use my love for others in many ways. This year, I participated in two medical outreaches to my local area. During this, I connected with those facing homelessness and food scarcity. I also used my role as a volunteer coordinator to bring other students to these same service opportunities. Through my journey as a leader, I have found that my strongest leadership moments were rooted in love for someone else. My experiences were enhanced by my empathy and desire to do good unto others.

I am a third-year pre-physician assistant student at King’s College. Next fall, I will be entering my fast-track graduate program where I will complete my master’s degree in physician assistant studies in August 2026. This year, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. While I had been feeling extremely anxious and facing many panic attacks for months prior, I was too afraid to talk to my primary care physician about my concerns. I felt the need to hold up a strong persona as if I had to prove myself to everyone. I did not tell anyone in my life that I was feeling this way. My parents and friends did not know until after I told my doctor. I was embarrassed by my inability to meet my own standards. I thought that those in my life would think I was over exaggerating. However, when I told my parents and my friends, I received so much support. Nine months later, now that I have a much better understanding of my mental health, I have been able to grow as a person and face my anxiety. Instead of being afraid of my mind, I am aware of it and how it works. I am able to stop myself when I am anxious and assess myself as if I were another person. Taking charge of my mental health has allowed me to flourish as a student. I was able to get a 3.9 for the past semester. My mental health journey has also helped me improve other areas of my life. I can put more time into my friendships and extracurricular activities. I am able to destress with exercise and hobbies such as crocheting. I am currently in a fast track physician assistant program that requires difficult classes and clinical experience. I feel more prepared to take on my schoolwork and to meet my career goals in the future. Being treated for my anxiety disorder has also made me more interested in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. Because of this, I have taken on an additional minor in neuroscience. While completing credits for this minor, I have been able to take classes on mental health and treatments for those with mental disorders like anxiety and depression. My mental health journey has helped me become a better person for myself and others. I live more freely and true to myself now that I can control my mental health.

This year, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. While I had been feeling extremely anxious and facing many panic attacks for months prior, I was too afraid to talk to my primary care physician about my concerns. I felt the need to hold up a strong persona as if I had to prove myself to everyone. I did not tell anyone in my life that I was feeling this way. My parents and friends did not know until after I told my doctor. I was embarrassed by my inability to meet my own standards. I thought that those in my life would think I was over exaggerating. However, when I told my parents and my friends, I received so much support. Nine months later, now that I have a much better understanding of my mental health, I have been able to grow as a person and face my anxiety. Instead of being afraid of my mind, I am aware of it and how it works. I am able to stop myself when I am anxious and assess myself as if I were another person. Taking charge of my mental health has allowed me to flourish as a student. I was able to get a 3.9 for the past semester. My mental health journey has also helped me improve other areas of my life. I can put more time into my friendships and extracurricular activities. I am able to destress with exercise and hobbies such as crocheting. I am currently in a fast track physician assistant program that requires difficult classes and clinical experience. I feel more prepared to take on my schoolwork and to meet my career goals in the future. Being treated for my anxiety disorder has also made me more interested in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. Because of this, I have taken on an additional minor in neuroscience. While completing credits for this minor, I have been able to take classes on mental health and treatments for those with mental disorders like anxiety and depression. My mental health journey has helped me become a better person for myself and others. I live more freely and true to myself now that I can control my mental health. From my experience, I feel more inclined to help those with their own mental health challenges. I hope that as a clinician in the future, I can help my patients overcome their obstacles as well.

I am a third-year pre-physician assistant student at King’s College. Next fall, I will be entering my fast-track graduate program where I will complete my master’s degree in physician assistant studies in August 2026. After graduating and becoming a certified physician assistant, I intend to go into general surgery or gastroenterological surgery. During my clinical experiences as an undergraduate student, I realized that I enjoy working with older people. With an oncoming aging population, I hope to lead geriatric patients with their health. While I find my area of interest to be in surgery, my goal as a physician assistant is to continue my role in service. I want to volunteer at clinics for those without health insurance or do physical examinations for those immigrating to America. While I have many hopes for my career as a physician assistant, any career in the medical field, especially for clinicians, takes many years of school at high costs. Having to be in college for five years instead of the typical four means that I will have much more excess student debt than the average student. This is ameliorated by the circumstances of my program. For my fifth year of school, which will be my clinical year, I will be paying double per semester. This high price often results in physician assistants becoming very specialized as those jobs have higher salaries. However, I wish to spend my times as physician assistant working in more general practices, as stated prior. These jobs do not pay as much, making it more difficult to pay off student loans. Unfortunately, general practices suffer from understaffing. I hope to work in general practices in geriatrics so that I can help fight the decreasing numbers of clinicians in rural areas and general practice. Having lower student debt with help me give my time to nonprofit organizations such as Volunteers in Medicine. I will be able to volunteer to those without insurance when I do not have to worry about paying my compounding student loans. Having this scholarship will also help me be a better clinician to my patients. Because many practitioners rely on a certain number of patients to make money, they cannot spend much time with patients. With this scholarship, I will be able to spend more quality time with patients without worrying about how many patients I can recruit to my office and see per day. This is especially important with the aging population in the United States. Older people are often ignored by their caretakers and clinicians. I hope to give my patients a voice and show them that they matter. This scholarship will help my complete my degree and continue a life of service to others. It will ease not only the stress of completing school, but it will make me more prepared to help those in need. I will be able to effectively devote myself to patients that are in need of medical care.

I am a third-year pre-physician assistant student at King’s College. Next fall, I will be entering my fast-track graduate program where I will complete my master’s degree in physician assistant studies in August 2026. As an aspiring medical professional, I have found a love for helping those in my community who do not have equitable medical access. My college is in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The city faces high rates of drug and alcohol addiction as well as poverty and socioeconomic inequality. During my three years at King’s, I have taken every opportunity to care for those in my community. One example is my leadership in service for our pre-physician assistant society. This semester, I led an initiative to visit the local adult daycare for those with mental disabilities. I have also helped run blood drives and collect donations for various groups such as Toys for Tots and the Ronald McDonald House. One new way that I have served the community in health this year is through the Go Baby Go NEPA chapter that started at my college this year. In this group, I help build cars for children with physical disabilities who struggle to communicate and play with their peers. By building them a car that caters to their specific needs, they can equitably play with their friends. During my experience with Go Baby Go, I have been challenged in many ways. Building and modifying cars allows me to gain experience in engineering and occupational therapy, as well as problem-solving. I have also helped with two medical outreaches to the local community. During medical outreaches, I spend time with those in my area who face homelessness, food scarcity, and little to no medical accessibility. During medical outreaches, I can provide them with first-aid care, clothing, food, and a listening ear. This is my favorite way to reach those in need as I can know them as a person instead of knowing them as a socioeconomic class. As I have done these services, I have seen the importance of ensuring that all people in a community are provided with health services. As a physician assistant, I hope to continue medical service by volunteering my time at free clinics, such as the Volunteers in Medicine clinic that is adjacent to my college campus. I would like to also use my services as a physician assistant to help high school and undergraduate students that need guidance upon entering the medical field, especially those that may not have a family or friends that work in medicine. Whether this be reading and editing personal statements or guiding a student through the college application process, I plan to help students become medical professionals.

I am a third-year pre-physician assistant student at King’s College. Next fall, I will be entering my fast-track graduate program where I will complete my master’s degree in physician assistant studies in August 2026. As an aspiring medical professional, I have found a love for helping those in my community who do not have equitable medical access. My college is in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The city faces high rates of drug and alcohol addiction as well as poverty and socioeconomic inequality. During my three years at King’s, I have taken every opportunity to care for those in my community. One example is my leadership in service for our pre-physician assistant society. This semester, I led an initiative to visit the local adult daycare for those with mental disabilities. I have also helped run blood drives and collect donations for various groups such as Toys for Tots and the Ronald McDonald House. One new way that I have served the community in health this year is through the Go Baby Go NEPA chapter that started at my college this year. In this group, I help build cars for children with physical disabilities who struggle to communicate and play with their peers. By building them a car that caters to their specific needs, they can equitably play with their friends. During my experience with Go Baby Go, I have been challenged in many ways. Building and modifying cars allows me to gain experience in engineering and occupational therapy, as well as problem-solving. I have also helped with two medical outreaches to the local community. During medical outreaches, I spend time with those in my area who face homelessness, food scarcity, and little to no medical accessibility. During medical outreaches, I can provide them with first-aid care, clothing, food, and a listening ear. This is my favorite way to reach those in need as I can know them as a person instead of knowing them as a socioeconomic class. As I have done these services, I have seen the importance of ensuring that all people in a community are provided with health services. As a physician assistant, I hope to continue medical service by volunteering my time at free clinics, such as the Volunteers in Medicine clinic that is adjacent to my college campus. I would like to also use my services as a physician assistant to help high school and undergraduate students that need guidance upon entering the medical field, especially those that may not have a family or friends that work in medicine. Whether this be reading and editing personal statements or guiding a student through the college application process, I plan to help students become medical professionals.

I am a third-year pre-physician assistant student at King’s College. Next fall, I will be entering my fast-track graduate program where I will complete my master’s degree in physician assistant studies in August 2026. As an aspiring medical professional, I have found a love for helping those in my community who do not have equitable medical access. My college is in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The city faces high rates of drug and alcohol addiction as well as poverty and socioeconomic inequality. During my three years at King’s, I have taken every opportunity to care for those in my community. One example is my leadership in service for our pre-physician assistant society. This semester, I led an initiative to visit the local adult daycare for those with mental disabilities. I have also helped run blood drives and collect donations for various groups such as Toys for Tots and the Ronald McDonald House. One new way that I have served the community in health this year is through the Go Baby Go NEPA chapter that has started at my college this year. In this group, I help build cars for children with physical disabilities who struggle to communicate and play with their peers. By building them a car that caters to their specific needs, they can equitably play with their friends. During my experience with Go Baby Go, I have been challenged in many ways. Building and modifying cars allows me to gain experience in engineering and occupational therapy, as well as problem-solving. I have also helped with two medical outreaches to the local community. During medical outreaches, I spend time with those in my area who face homelessness, food scarcity, and little to no medical accessibility. During medical outreaches, I can provide them with first-aid care, clothing, food, and a listening ear. This is my favorite way to reach those in need as I can know them as a person instead of knowing them as a socioeconomic class. As I have done these services, I have seen the importance of ensuring that all community members are provided with health services. As a physician assistant, I hope to continue medical service by volunteering my time at free clinics, such as the Volunteers in Medicine clinic that is adjacent to my college campus. I would like to also use my services as a physician assistant to help high school and undergraduate students who need guidance upon entering the medical field, especially those who may not have a family or friends who work in medicine. Whether this be reading and editing personal statements or guiding a student through the college application process, I plan to help students become medical professionals.

This year, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. While I had been feeling extremely anxious and facing many panic attacks for months prior, I was too afraid to talk to my primary care physician about my concerns. I felt the need to hold up a strong persona as if I had to prove myself to everyone. I did not tell anyone in my life that I was feeling this way. My parents and friends did not know until after I told my doctor. I was embarrassed by my inability to meet my own standards. I thought that those in my life would think I was over exaggerating. However, when I told my parents and my friends, I received so much support. Nine months later, now that I have a much better understanding of my mental health, I have been able to grow as a person and face my anxiety. Instead of being afraid of my mind, I am aware of it and how it works. I am able to stop myself when I am anxious and assess myself as if I were another person. Taking charge of my mental health has allowed me to flourish as a student. I was able to get a 3.9 for the past semester. My mental health journey has also helped me improve other areas of my life. I can put more time into my friendships and extracurricular activities. I am able to destress with exercise and hobbies such as crocheting. I am currently in a fast track physician assistant program that requires difficult classes and clinical experience. I feel more prepared to take on my schoolwork and to meet my career goals in the future. Being treated for my anxiety disorder has also made me more interested in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. Because of this, I have taken on an additional minor in neuroscience. While completing credits for this minor, I have been able to take classes on mental health and treatments for those with mental disorders like anxiety and depression. My mental health journey has helped me become a better person for myself and others. I live more freely and true to myself now that I can control my mental health.

Travel is an important experience that all students should be able to do. Traveling is a form of education. As someone who has traveled extensively, I have gotten extra educational experiences than many of my peers. Going to places with different governments and culture than my own country has shown me the grand scope of the world. Traveling to Turkey has shown me the differences in gender roles in other places. Ireland has shown me an area that is actively wanting more independence and the conflict that has pursued in that effort. Even going to other places in the United States such as Alaska has shown me how resource availability changes across a country. Travel broadens our view of the world. It allows us to compare our culture to others. This perpetuates societal growth as we can see what other countries do better than us. It also helps us gain perspective for why certain cultures and religions practice differently than our own. Travel has helped me be a more empathetic and understanding person. Ethnocentrism is easy when you have never seen how other people live or learned why they live that way. It is easy to judge those who are different. As I have traveled and met so many people from other countries, I am more aware of how people may live different lives than mine. People in other parts of the world face different socioeconomic issues than I do. For example, when I was in Kusadasi, Turkey in 2022, I saw the effect of strict gender norms in a Middle Eastern country. Women dressed and acted differently than I did. I was treated very differently by men while in Turkey. This has led me to learning more about culture and how the gender hierarchy works in Middle Eastern countries. Travel has greatly increased my self-awareness when I am at home. As a college student, I see people of many cultures daily. I am able to better understand them because I have more travel background. I understand certain holidays or practices of other cultures more than many of my peers. I hope to continue my lifelong pursuit of travel in order to meet more people and experience more cultures. Travel has broadened my scope to the world and has made me a more aware and kind person.

I am a third-year pre-physician assistant student at King’s College. Next fall, I will be entering my fast-track graduate program where I will complete my master’s degree in physician assistant studies in August 2026. As an aspiring medical professional, I have found a love for helping those in my community who do not have equitable medical access. My college is in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The city faces high rates of drug and alcohol addiction as well as poverty and socioeconomic inequality. During my three years at King’s, I have taken every opportunity to care for those in my community. One example is my leadership in service for our pre-physician assistant society. This semester, I led an initiative to visit the local adult daycare for those with mental disabilities. I have also helped run blood drives and collect donations for various groups such as Toys for Tots and the Ronald McDonald House. One new way that I have served the community in health this year is through the Go Baby Go NEPA chapter that has started at my college this year. In this group, I help build cars for children with physical disabilities that struggle to communicate and play with their peers. By building them a car that is catered to their specific needs, they can play with their friends in an equitable way. During my experience with Go Baby Go, I have been challenged in many ways. Building and modifying cars allows me to gain experience in engineering and occupational therapy, as well as problem-solving. I have also helped with two medical outreaches to the local community. During medical outreaches, I spend time with those in my area who face homelessness, food scarcity, and little to no medical accessibility. During medical outreaches, I can provide them with first-aid care, clothing, food, and a listening ear. This is my favorite way to reach those in need as I can know them as a person instead of knowing them as a socioeconomic class. As I have done these services, I have seen the importance of ensuring that all people in a community are provided with health services. As a physician assistant, I hope to continue medical service by volunteering my time at free clinics, such as the Volunteers in Medicine clinic that is adjacent to my college campus. I would like to also use my services as a physician assistant to help high school and undergraduate students that need guidance upon entering the medical field, especially those that may not have a family or friends that work in medicine. Whether this be reading and editing personal statements or guiding a student through the college application process, I plan to help students become medical professionals.

I am a third-year pre-physician assistant student at King’s College. Next fall, I will be entering my fast-track graduate program where I will complete my master’s degree in physician assistant studies in August 2026. As an aspiring medical professional, I have found a love for helping those in my community who do not have equitable medical access. My college is in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The city faces high rates of drug and alcohol addiction as well as poverty and socioeconomic inequality. During my three years at King’s, I have taken every opportunity to care for those in my community. One example is my leadership in service for our pre-physician assistant society. This semester, I led an initiative to visit the local adult daycare for those with mental disabilities. I have also helped run blood drives and collect donations for various groups such as Toys for Tots and the Ronald McDonald House. One new way that I have served the community in health this year is through the Go Baby Go NEPA chapter that has started at my college this year. In this group, I help build cars for children with physical disabilities that struggle to communicate and play with their peers. By building them a car that is catered to their specific needs, they can play with their friends in an equitable way. During my experience with Go Baby Go, I have been challenged in many ways. Building and modifying cars allows me to gain experience in engineering and occupational therapy, as well as problem-solving. I have also helped with two medical outreaches to the local community. During medical outreaches, I spend time with those in my area who face homelessness, food scarcity, and little to no medical accessibility. During medical outreaches, I can provide them with first-aid care, clothing, food, and a listening ear. This is my favorite way to reach those in need as I can know them as a person instead of knowing them as a socioeconomic class. As I have done these services, I have seen the importance of ensuring that all people in a community are provided with health services. As a physician assistant, I hope to continue medical service by volunteering my time at free clinics, such as the Volunteers in Medicine clinic that is adjacent to my college campus. I would like to also use my services as a physician assistant to help high school and undergraduate students that need guidance upon entering the medical field, especially those that may not have a family or friends that work in medicine. Whether this be reading and editing personal statements or guiding a student through the college application process, I plan to help students become medical professionals.

I chose the physician assistant track as a medical studies major so that I could educate people on how to advocate for themselves in medicine. Coming from a very rural area where most adults do not have a college education, I saw first-hand that most people have no medical literacy. This often results in patients not being able to help themselves. In my family, I see my loved ones paying too much for medications, not knowing why they are having a procedure, and just being passive patients. To no fault of their own, they do not know how to navigate the medical world. As a physician assistant, I want to be an advocate for patients and teach them how to advocate for themselves in other clinical settings. After graduating and becoming a certified physician assistant, I intend to go into general surgery or gastroenterological surgery. During my clinical experiences as an undergraduate student, I realized that I enjoy working with older people. With an oncoming aging population, I hope to lead geriatric patients with their health. While I find my area of interest to be in surgery, my goal as a physician assistant is to continue my role in service. I want to volunteer at clinics for those without health insurance or do physical examinations for those immigrating to America. While an undergraduate student, I have taken on many roles in various places on campus. I am a member of student government, which plans events and makes King’s a lively school. I am on the faith and service committee of the college as well. In this committee, I help plan campus ministry and service activities for student government. I also am the leader of service opportunities for the pre-physician assistant society. I plan and execute various volunteer projects such as visiting a local adult daycare and running blood drives. Similarly, I am an active member of biology club and the Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children. In these clubs, we do many service projects such as medical outreaches to the community. My ample experience with serving others has shown me the contentment I feel with helping those in need. It has given me an understanding of those in my community and be more aware of people’s situations that are different than my own. I have also found a new love and appreciation for other majors as I have joined theater on campus. I am a member of the school’s improv troupe, “Causing a Scene.” Improv and performance have helped me build confidence and zest that will carry into my career. It will help me with teamwork and show professionalism to my patients. This year, my school has also started a Go Baby Go chapter of which I have been an active member. In this club, we build battery powered cars for children with various disabilities. This has shown me the spectrum of ways that clinicians can help patients. It has exposed me to othr sectors of medicine, as this club brings together occupational therapy, patient care, and even medical engineering. This club has helped me with problem solving and shown the importance of seeing a patient as a whole person, rather than just a disease or disorder.

Mental health is important because it is the basis for many other kinds of health. Often, when someone is mentally unhealthy, they can be less motivated to keep their body healthy. This leads to chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. Mental health can promote healthy choices for our body. Someone who is not depressed or extremely anxious is probably more likely to exercise, eat well, and practice good hygiene. As someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder, I find that my anxiety makes it difficult to organize my health tasks. Going to the gym, buying groceries, journaling, and doing my normal routines seems very overwhelming. When I take the time to ease my anxiety, these tasks become not only easy, but fun. I maintain my mental wellness through many ways. I use an app called Headspace daily. This app provides breathing exercises, calm instructional videos, and coping mechanisms. Often, I will use this app when I am anxious or if I am exercising. I will usually accompany my breathing exercises with stretching and various forms of journaling. I have found that gratitude journaling is helpful for me. I also use exercise as an outlet for my stress. The endorphins I get after running or weightlifting can calm my racing thoughts. I also like to use social interaction as a way to maintain mental health. I am in my school's craft club, which meets weekly for an hour to do a certain type of creative activity such as painting or crocheting. Getting to do a relaxing activity like this with my friends helps me refocus my thoughts on the present. Joining my school's improv group has also greatly improved my mental health. I use improv as a way to get outside of my comfort zone. It allows me to feel some eustress and makes other types of stress seem less intimidating. The positivity from my fellow actors also helps with my mental health. We prioritize teamwork and lifting each other up. Every time I do a scene in improv, I am praised by all of the members of my group. My mental wellness is important because it allows me to function in my stressful college life. When I allow my mental health to decrease, I face consequences of worry and restlessness. Finding ways to maintain my mental wellness and increase it has given me the tools to become a resilient student.

Mental health is important because it is the basis for many other kinds of health. Often, when someone is mentally unhealthy, they can be less motivated to keep their body healthy. This leads to chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. Mental health can promote healthy choices for our body. Someone who is not depressed or extremely anxious is probably more likely to exercise, eat well, and practice good hygiene. As someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder, I find that my anxiety makes it difficult to organize my health tasks. Going to the gym, buying groceries, journaling, and doing my normal routines seems very overwhelming. When I take the time to ease my anxiety, these tasks become not only easy, but fun. I maintain my mental wellness through many ways. I use an app called Headspace daily. This app provides breathing exercises, calm instructional videos, and coping mechanisms. Often, I will use this app when I am anxious or if I am exercising. I will usually accompany my breathing exercises with stretching and various forms of journaling. I have found that gratitude journaling is helpful for me. I also use exercise as an outlet for my stress. The endorphins I get after running or weightlifting can calm my racing thoughts. I also like to use social interaction as a way to maintain mental health. I am in my school's craft club, which meets weekly for an hour to do a certain type of creative activity such as painting or crocheting. Getting to do a relaxing activity like this with my friends helps me refocus my thoughts on the present. Joining my school's improv group has also greatly improved my mental health. I use improv as a way to get outside of my comfort zone. It allows me to feel some eustress and makes other types of stress seem less intimidating. The positivity from my fellow actors also helps with my mental health. We prioritize teamwork and lifting each other up. Every time I do a scene in improv, I am praised by all of the members of my group. My mental wellness is important because it allows me to function in my stressful college life. When I allow my mental health to decrease, I face consequences of worry and restlessness. Finding ways to maintain my mental wellness and increase it has given me the tools to become a resilient student. In my community, I help with medical outreaches to those that are homeless in my area. During outreaches, I not only give donated items to citizens, but I also give them a time to talk to someone. I use my time with those that are homeless to gain a better understanding of their situation. I hope that these conversations give them power and feel that they matter. I am also a member of Go Baby Go NEPA, a club that builds and modifies battery cars for children with disabilities. In this club, I help children that struggle to connect with their peers. With their modified cars, these children are able to fit in with their friends. I have seen the amazing smiles of young children that finally feel as though they can freely play. It has truly been one of the most rewarding organization of which I have been a member.

Mental health is important because it is the basis for many other kinds of health. Often, when someone is mentally unhealthy, they can be less motivated to keep their body healthy. This leads to chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. Mental health can promote healthy choices for our body. Someone who is not depressed or extremely anxious is probably more likely to exercise, eat well, and practice good hygiene. As someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder, I find that my anxiety makes it difficult to organize my health tasks. Going to the gym, buying groceries, journaling, and doing my normal routines seems very overwhelming. When I take the time to ease my anxiety, these tasks become not only easy, but fun. I maintain my mental wellness through many ways. I use an app called Headspace daily. This app provides breathing exercises, calm instructional videos, and coping mechanisms. Often, I will use this app when I am anxious or if I am exercising. I will usually accompany my breathing exercises with stretching and various forms of journaling. I have found that gratitude journaling is helpful for me. I also use exercise as an outlet for my stress. The endorphins I get after running or weightlifting can calm my racing thoughts. I also like to use social interaction as a way to maintain mental health. I am in my school's craft club, which meets weekly for an hour to do a certain type of creative activity such as painting or crocheting. Getting to do a relaxing activity like this with my friends helps me refocus my thoughts on the present. Joining my school's improv group has also greatly improved my mental health. I use improv as a way to get outside of my comfort zone. It allows me to feel some eustress and makes other types of stress seem less intimidating. The positivity from my fellow actors also helps with my mental health. We prioritize teamwork and lifting each other up. Every time I do a scene in improv, I am praised by all of the members of my group. My mental wellness is important because it allows me to function in my stressful college life. When I allow my mental health to decrease, I face consequences of worry and restlessness. Finding ways to maintain my mental wellness and increase it has given me the tools to become a resilient student.

As an aspiring medical professional, I have found a love for helping those in my community who do not have equitable medical access. My college is in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The city faces high rates of drug and alcohol addiction as well as poverty and socioeconomic inequality. During my three years at King’s, I have taken every opportunity to care for those in my community. One example is my leadership in service for our pre-physician assistant society. This semester, I led an initiative to visit the local adult daycare for those with mental disabilities. I have also helped run blood drives and collect donations for various groups such as Toys for Tots and the Ronald McDonald House. One new way that I have served the community in health this year is through the Go Baby Go NEPA chapter that has started at my college this year. In this group, I help build cars for children with physical disabilities that struggle to communicate and play with their peers. By building them a car that is catered to their specific needs, they can play with their friends in an equitable way. During my experience with Go Baby Go, I have been challenged in many ways. Building and modifying cars allows me to gain experience in engineering and occupational therapy, as well as problem-solving. I have also helped with two medical outreaches to the local community. During medical outreaches, I spend time with those in my area who face homelessness, food scarcity, and little to no medical accessibility. During medical outreaches, I can provide them with first-aid care, clothing, food, and a listening ear. This is my favorite way to reach those in need as I can know them as a person instead of knowing them as a socioeconomic class. As I have done these services, I have seen the importance of ensuring that all people in a community are provided with health services. As a physician assistant, I hope to continue medical service by volunteering my time at free clinics, such as the Volunteers in Medicine clinic that is adjacent to my college campus. I would like to also use my services as a physician assistant to help high school and undergraduate students that need guidance upon entering the medical field, especially those that may not have a family or friends that work in medicine. Whether this be reading and editing personal statements or guiding a student through the college application process, I plan to help students become medical professionals.

I chose the physician assistant track as a medical studies major so that I could educate people on how to advocate for themselves in medicine. Coming from a very rural area where most adults do not have a college education, I saw first-hand that most people have no medical literacy. This often results in patients not being able to help themselves. In my family, I see my loved ones paying too much for medications, not knowing why they are having a procedure, and just being passive patients. To no fault of their own, they do not know how to navigate the medical world. As a physician assistant, I want to be an advocate for patients and teach them how to advocate for themselves in other clinical settings. After graduating and becoming a certified physician assistant, I intend to go into general surgery or gastroenterological surgery. During my clinical experiences as an undergraduate student, I realized that I enjoy working with older people. With an oncoming aging population, I hope to lead geriatric patients with their health. While I find my area of interest to be in surgery, my goal as a physician assistant is to continue my role in service. I want to volunteer at clinics for those without health insurance or do physical examinations for those immigrating to America. While I have many hopes for my career as a physician assistant, any career in the medical field, especially for clinicians, takes many years of school at high costs. Having to be in college for five years instead of the typical four means that I will have much more excess student debt than the average student. This is ameliorated by the circumstances of my program. For my fifth year of school, which will be my clinical year, I will be paying double per semester. This high price often results in physician assistants becoming very specialized as those jobs have higher salaries. However, I wish to spend my times as physician assistant working in more general practices, as stated prior. These jobs do not pay as much, making it more difficult to pay off student loans. Unfortunately, general practices suffer from understaffing. I hope to work in general practices with geriatrics so that I can help fight the decreasing numbers of clinicians in rural areas and general practice. Having lower student debt with help me give my time to nonprofit organizations such as Volunteers in Medicine. I will be able to volunteer to those without insurance when I do not have to worry about paying my compounding student loans. Having this scholarship will also help me be a better clinician to my patients. Because many practitioners rely on a certain number of patients to make money, they cannot spend much time with patients. With this scholarship, I will be able to spend more quality time with patients without worrying about how many patients I can recruit to my office and see per day. This is especially important with the aging population in the United States. Older people are often ignored by their caretakers and clinicians. I hope to give my patients a voice and show them that they matter. This scholarship will help my complete my degree and continue a life of service to others. It will ease not only the stress of completing school, but it will make me more prepared to help those in need. I will be able to effectively devote myself to patients that are in need of medical care.

America. While an undergraduate student, I have taken on many roles in various places on campus. I am a member of student government, which plans events and makes King’s a lively school. I am on the faith and service committee of the college as well. In this committee, I help plan campus ministry and service activities for student government. I also am the leader of service opportunities for the pre-physician assistant society. I plan and execute various volunteer projects such as visiting a local adult daycare and running blood drives. Similarly, I am an active member of biology club and the Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children. In these clubs, we do many service projects such as medical outreaches to the community. My ample experience with serving others has shown me the contentment I feel with helping those in need. It has given me an understanding of those in my community and be more aware of people’s situations that are different than my own. I have also found a new love and appreciation for other majors as I have joined theater on campus. I am a member of the school’s improv troupe, “Causing a Scene.” Improv and performance have helped me build confidence and zest that will carry into my career. It will help me with teamwork and show professionalism to my patients. This year, my school has also started a Go Baby Go chapter of which I have been an active member. In this club, we build battery powered cars for children with various disabilities. This has shown me the spectrum of ways that clinicians can help patients. It has exposed me to other sectors of medicine, as this club brings together occupational therapy, patient care, and even medical engineering. This club has helped me with problem solving and shown the importance of seeing a patient as a whole person, rather than just a disease or disorder. After graduating and becoming a certified physician assistant, I intend to go into general surgery or gastroenterological surgery. During my clinical experiences as an undergraduate student, I realized that I enjoy working with older people. With an oncoming aging population, I hope to lead geriatric patients with their health. While I find my area of interest to be in surgery, my goal as a physician assistant is to continue my role in service. I want to volunteer at clinics for those without health insurance or do physical examinations for those immigrating to America. In the future, as a PA, I hope to use my leadership skills as a way to guide patients to a healthier life and more medical literacy.

I am a third-year pre-physician assistant student at King’s College. Next fall, I will be entering my fast-track graduate program where I will complete my master’s degree in physician assistant studies in August 2026. I chose the physician assistant track as a medical studies major so that I could educate people on how to advocate for themselves in medicine. Coming from a very rural area where most adults do not have a college education, I saw first-hand that most people have no medical literacy. This often results in patients not being able to help themselves. In my family, I see my loved ones paying too much for medications, not knowing why they are having a procedure, and just being passive patients. To no fault of their own, they do not know how to navigate the medical world. As a physician assistant, I want to be an advocate for patients and teach them how to advocate for themselves in other clinical settings. Some of my strengths as a student are my love of learning and my love for people. Healthcare is a field that requires constant learning. Best practice and clinical reasoning is always updating with science. Because I enjoy learning, I know that I can use it to my advantage as a future PA. I hope to use my love of learning to help patients. I want to encourage their knowledge and learning about their own health. I have already experienced this in my family as a pharmacy technician. I have helped my grandparents get their medications at more affordable prices using my growing knowledge of insurance. This has shown me the joy of helping others. After graduating and becoming a certified physician assistant, I intend to go into general surgery or gastroenterological surgery. During my clinical experiences as an undergraduate student, I realized that I enjoy working with older people. With an oncoming aging population, I hope to lead geriatric patients with their health. While I find my area of interest to be in surgery, my goal as a physician assistant is to continue my role in service. I want to volunteer at clinics for those without health insurance or do physical examinations for those immigrating to America. I hope to continue my local service at clinics such as Volunteers in Medicine. The biggest difference I can make as a PA is at the local level, helping those who do not have access to medical care.