In my room sits a stuffed animal with a monkey’s head and a unicorn’s body. I created this unusual creature during a hospital stay when I was seven years old. Despite the exhaustion and fear that I often associate with that time in my life, the sight of the stuffed animal brings me back to the small moments of laughter and hope. In moments like these- when I sang “Let It Go” with nurses and made stuffed animals with hospital volunteers- my heart filled with hope. The support of a community fueled by compassion became my strength when my body could not. When I think about a spirit of excellence, I remember the doctors, nurses, healthcare administrators, and volunteers that had stood strongly beside me during difficult times. Their selfless actions have shown me that a spirit of excellence is not measured by academic merits or extracurricular awards- rather a spirit of excellence is exemplified by integrity, compassion, empathy, courage, and leadership. It is these same pillars that I strive to exemplify as I work to give back to my community and create a positive impact. With the goal of giving back to my community, I involved myself in various forms of community service. At first, these community service acts were as a hospital volunteer. My regular tasks would be rather simple, ranging from talking to patients in their rooms as a Nursing Assisting Volunteer to checking patients in for surgery appointments as a Surgery Waiting Volunteer. One moment that stayed with me was a conversation I had with an elderly patient. She didn't need any assistance, yet I stayed and talked to her for a long time. Once she noticed that I was the same age as her granddaughter and was not medical personnel, her eyes lit up. Words flowed excitedly out of her mouth as she pulled out a tablet to tell me more about her family. Eventually, she shared her worries and hopes with me. I listened attentively. At times, I wouldn't understand what she meant, yet I stayed, gave her my full attention, asked questions, and laughed along with her. As I said goodbye, my heart filled with the same warm hope I had felt at age seven. Gradually, I took on more community service opportunities to make a tangible change within the health of our community. Currently, many individuals have limited access to primary care or inadequate amounts of crucial medical supplies: both factors that cause many life-threatening complications to pass under the radar. To change this reality, I took up the opportunity to become a Volunteer Leader at the non-profit organization Project C.U.R.E. and assembled medical aid for countries impacted by poverty or violence. I recently passed the milestone of devoting one-hundred hours to this cause, and each time I serve my community in this way I am full with hope and gratefulness. So far, I have worked with volunteers who are nurses, students, engineers, and more. With each group I lead, I encourage open discussion of different perspectives to maximize the medical relief that we could send to countries in need. When I watched the first cargo container with medical supplies leave for countries such as Nigeria and Suriname, I felt comfort in knowing that these medical supplies could possibly be the saving force for many across our world. To exemplify a spirit of excellence and consistently give back to my community, I will continue to build communities connected by empathy, take the initiative to change the reality of our world, and advocate for vulnerable populations.

My first exposure to the concept of leadership was in second grade. I had been given the very important role, as I was told, of being the only line leader for Ms. Craig’s second-grade class. As line leader, I had to instruct energetic classmates to stay in line and follow my directions to our art class. Amongst the whispered instructions to be quiet, scanning hallways to ensure they were clear before we proceeded, and alerting classmates of slippery areas, I developed my first understanding of leadership. To be a leader, I had to instruct those I lead and guide them through obstacles to reach their destination. Years later, our seventh-grade history teacher played a recording of Martin Luther King Jr., narrating his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Amongst the silence within the room, his words rang loud and clear with purpose. I noticed that although he was a leader, his words were not mere instructions. Rather, they were a beautiful articulation of expressing hope and calling to action, with words stemming from an understanding of the community’s struggles. As I read articles about his immense impact on our present-day society, my understanding of leadership shifted. Leadership was not only about guidance and instruction, rather it was also about connecting a community through empathy and encouraging increased collaboration. Leadership was not always about guiding others through predetermined paths, rather it was about paving a new path toward change and improvement. Leadership was not merely a rigid role to fit into, rather it was a fluctuating path of success that required fostering resilience and being adaptable. During a time in our history when there was disconnect and inequity within our communities, Martin Luther King Jr. paved new paths that contradicted the norms of the time to change our reality: an aspect that required leading with adaptability, respect, compassion, and collaboration. With this, I believe that leadership is vital to shaping our future, as it allows us to improve our community, innovate, spread hope, and navigate through times of uncertainty. Furthermore, as a student in the CREST Bioscience program at my high school, I have been surrounded by science. Whenever I conduct microbiology labs or analyze genetics research, I am fascinated by the minute yet intricate structures fundamental to human health. I believe that science is vital to shape our future as it inspires us to follow our curiosity and think beyond what we can see. This inquisitive mindset paves the path to learning more about the world around us and builds resilience as we face concerns such as increasing rates of antibiotic resistance. Through studying science, we have the opportunity to continuously innovate and improve the health of our community: allowing us to shape a future where people can lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.

In my room sits a stuffed animal with a monkey's head and a unicorn's body. I created this during a hospital stay when I was seven years old. Amongst the exhaustion and fear from medical exams, however, this site takes me back to a time of laughter and imagination. In moments like these- when I sang "Let It Go" with nurses and made stuffed animals with volunteers- my heart filled with hope. The support of a community fueled by compassion became my strength when my body could not. Since then, I have sought out ways to be a positive force and give back to my community. I believe there are two essential components to becoming a positive force in our community: having the courage to change our reality by paving new paths and leading through empathy to connect our community. During my sophomore year of high school, a guest speaker informed us about the impact that a scarcity of medical equipment has on the health of our global community. I came to understand that this scarcity compromises healthcare systems and creates healthcare inequity, causing millions of preventable deaths each year. Here, I had a choice. I could accept the reality of our world and be a bystander, or I could take the initiative to change these circumstances and prevent the health of others from being in constant jeopardy. I chose to take the initiative. With this, I devoted hours of service through being a Volunteer Leader and Intern at the non-profit organization Project C.U.R.E. to assemble medical aid for countries impacted by poverty or violence. Working with volunteers who were nurses, students, engineers, and more, it became clear that collaboration and compassion were at the heart of all progress. Leading these diverse groups, I encouraged collaboration, open discussion of different perspectives, and problem-solving. My goal was to foster a community: one where we can learn from the experiences of others and make a larger impact. With this, I have coordinated volunteer groups to catalog hundreds of boxes of medical supplies. Eventually, we were able to assemble medical aid for countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The hope instilled within our community through this motivates me to broaden my impact. Beyond fostering communities, I believe that advocating for increased awareness is also vital. Last year, my team and I compiled a presentation on teen dating violence to raise awareness on a topic that is not widely advocated for. Through our presentation, we wanted to raise awareness of symptoms that may be expressed and methods to help those affected. Gratefully, we were able to place second internationally at the HOSA International Leadership Conference: reiterating that we had been a positive force for our global community by spreading awareness on this topic. To amplify change and be a positive force in my community, I will continue to build communities connected by empathy, take the initiative to change the reality of our world, and advocate for vulnerable populations. Eventually, I hope to spread the same hope that I had felt at age seven.