Disease has rampaged lives one after another. Many diseases have come and gone, but one that has stood the test of time is cancer. In fact, the word “cancer” comes from the greek word for crabs, seemingly due to the rigidity, pain, and appearance of the disease. In my experience, this is a great way to briefly characterize this destructive affliction. When I was in 8th grade, my dad was diagnosed with kidney cancer and precancerous polyps were found in his gallbladder. Fortunately, he underwent numerous surgeries to remove everything. He was relieved to learn that his cancer was linked to an asbestos exposure many years prior, leaving 5 children without a chance of genetic inheritance. I had hoped this would be the last time I ever had to deal with cancer. I’m sad to say I was very wrong. In the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, my mom had just received a scan of her chest, due to her asthma. She was shocked to realize that there was a tiny mass on one of her lungs. To make matters worse, the pandemic prevented her from following up with this for a great deal of time. After nearly two years, she was finally given an opportunity to investigate this mass on her lung further. With an additional scan, it was obvious this mass had grown dramatically. More testing would eventually conclude an official diagnosis: invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung. Her doctors ordered that she needed to have a lobectomy to prevent this cancer from spreading. As not uncommon for this specific cancer, there was another mass found on the other lung. At this moment, her story is ongoing. She is very resilient and has my undying respect for everything she has done. When my mom was diagnosed, I had just entered college not long before. As time carried on, I became increasingly more invested in chemistry and medicine, especially cancer. In the Spring of 2023, I officially changed the whole outline of my degree. Originally a pre-nursing student, I switched to biochemistry and enrolled in the university’s honors college, ensuring I had the best chances for attending medical school. From this point, I have made tremendous strides in my education. Just after switching my major, I joined one of the largest research labs on my campus, the Kumar Lab. In our lab, we investigate fibroblast growth factors, a type of protein family ubiquitous in humans and many other animals. These proteins can influence cancer production in the body. Over the span of my time in the Kumar lab, I have co-founded and serve as the president of a biochemistry student organization on my campus, attended a conference to present my research, and taken summer classes for the organic chemistry series. I plan to use all of these experiences for a long career in medicine. When one parent is diagnosed with cancer, it’s a tragedy. When two parents are diagnosed with cancer, it’s a sign. In my case, I took this sign and decided to do something about it. I am pursuing a career in oncology, and I have not regretted a single second of it. Although the work is difficult and emotional, an inch closer to ending this disease is worth every hour, minute, and second. I would like to end this with my condolences for every person affected by cancer, especially the brave souls who continue to fight against it.

Growing up Christian is something many Arkansans can agree was a large component of their childhood. Living in the Bible Belt, you can feel the sense of belonging anywhere you go and a simple, sweet sense of warmth throughout the entire state of Arkansas. As a resident of over 17 years, this state is my home and I can attest to the Godliness in my hometown of Farmington. This is not only from the community's high percentage of Christian residents but also from how the people interact with one another. My family life has reflected the feelings of my community due to a tragedy that happened to me before I could make it past my first weeks from birth. As a newborn, I was seemingly healthy for the first couple of days, but this was not to last whatsoever. A few days after my birth, I became severely ill with RSV pneumonia. This situation would only be compounded by another diagnosis of Congenital Hypothyroidism. I would fall into a coma for a week with fluctuating liveliness, but I miraculously survived. This single instance was quite a journey for my parents who believed this could only be explained by God's mercy. I would never have a completely normal life, always being tested for my different diagnoses, but my parents made sure to remind me that my life was just the way God wanted it to be. Because of this, I have fortunately not felt sorry for myself, because I knew all along that this was part of a bigger plan that I could not see by myself. As a way to support this, I grew very interested in medicine and could not see a greater message from God than to lead myself in this direction. Going into college, I was a nurse because I was not very confident in my abilities to become a doctor. I believed that there was no way that I could fulfill the expectations in my life because of my natural inability to think critically. After a couple of years in college, I was denied from nursing school for two straight semesters despite great clinical experience and an above-average GPA. I believed that this was my sign from God to push myself further and do what I believed I could not do. In the Spring of 2023, I decided to become a pre-medicine student. With my plans for medical school, I intend to fulfill my purpose in life through being a physician. I believe that this has been God's intention for me, even when I believed I was incapable of anything. Through Him, I know that I can fulfill these goals and use my talents to further His plan. With humility and grace, I intend to aid the sick with altruistic intentions. Even though my life has seen adversity, continuous mistakes, and an irrational low belief in self-worth from time to time, I believe that God has always had a purpose for me. From my perspective, it has always been medicine. Further, I believe that I was always meant to be a doctor and help people in a Godly way.

Medicine is a field that has played a mammoth role in my life. The effect was enough for my own mother to quit her job at the University of Arkansas as the Director of Communication to become a registered nurse. The lasting burdens I've experienced have compelled me to pursue a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Most people, including yourself, would probably be "wondering what possibly happened to make this kind of impression on one's life?" The answer can be found in Late March of 2003. On March 25, 2003, I was born with no seemingly pressing issues. I was a healthy weight, healthy size, and the only issue found was that I was very hairy. As protocol was, I wasn't allowed to leave for a few days until my exams came back negative for dangerous conditions in babies. After these three days had passed, I was finally allowed to go home and be with my family, which included my 3 other siblings. The day after I was taken home, I was immediately rushed to the NICU for jaundice, unresponsiveness, and blue facial coloration. It was discovered that my sister unknowingly had RSV pneumonia and had given it to me. If that wasn't bad enough, it was also discovered that I was missing my thyroid gland (which is an important organ for all systems, including immunity). After rushing to 3 different hospitals, I was finally given to a doctor that was capable of treating my desperate situation. I was immediately placed on oxygen because my oxygen percentage had dropped to 68% (an incredibly dangerous level). After a week in a coma, several times when I almost died, and frantic nurses caring for a mercilessly unhealthy baby, I was finally allowed to leave. This might be the point where readers would be relieved, but my parents and doctors were not so optimistic. Doctors were now reasonably concerned for my quality of life due to the extreme trauma my body had just experienced. Months and years of therapy were my only hopes of having a normal life. Even then, it was still expected that my life would be far from any normality. I wasn't expected to be capable of walking, talking, thinking, or really anything. This is why my mom decided to teach me to sign language at such an early age and continue until I was 5 years old. By the grace of God and only God himself, I'm better than any doctor envisioned my life. If not for His graciousness, I would not have the opportunity to dedicate my life to people like me. My second chance at life is everything to me and I have studied medicine for years just to prove my dedication to this profession. I believe that medicine is giving people second chances and everybody deserves second chances. The future of medical practice is brilliantly bright and its impact can only be described as "insurmountable." Thank you for your time and consideration!

The first day of my junior year was nothing short of amazing. I had recently joined the best choir in my school and started dating my now long-term girlfriend. Everything was seemingly going my way. In December of 2019, my friends and I had glanced over an article about this new virus that was infecting rapidly in China. We had no idea that it would soon destroy what we had envisioned for our high school lives. On my drive home from church in January, my parents realized that this virus was not a minor issue. My dad told me, "Sam, when this virus locks us down, you won't be able to leave very often. This virus is pretty serious." I had thought this was very strange and inaccurate considering the virus had barely infected 20 people in the United States. In my own mind, this "coronavirus" was just a media propelled story that wouldn't conquer my life. In February 2020, my small Arkansan school had shut down for the pandemic. I was shocked at how fast this virus had developed in the course of a few months. My dad was absolutely right about everything and I wish I would've prepared more than I did. My birthday was just around the corner and I wasn't even allowed to leave my own house. Everything that I had known about life was suddenly stripped from me for an unknown period of time. My senior friends had graduated thinking high school life would be worse for them than the class of 2021. Little did anyone know, my class would be cheated out of everything we had ever dreamed of happening in our last year of high school. Even after all we've been through, it continues to get worse for our hopes of a normal year. As a current senior, my class has experienced changes and sacrifices that nobody could have expected. Football season was as normal as possible, but I witnessed my fellow classmates in tears realizing just how unfair we were all treated. No more pep rallies, no more ceremonies, and worst of all, no more events that we had all awaited for our final year. We won't walk arms linked with each other that one last time across the field. Everything that is normally heartbreaking for seniors to do is even worse for us. We can't do those things we'd all dreamed of doing one day. There's no other word to describe how I felt other than cheated. My entire senior year thrown away because of some microscopic organism. These moments that some remember for life are the same that I was not given a chance to live through. Even at this very moment I feel distraught about everything I will miss out on. For some, this is our last chance to say fair well to those we have grown up with. Throughout this entire ordeal, I've sought comfort from my girlfriend, knowing that I will live these moments vicariously through her. Her company and kindness has given me a chance to forget about everything I've lost. Even though I won't have a chance to experience these precious moments, I can at least watch someone I really care about experience them for me as she's currently a Junior. This virus has made me all the more eager to fight against pathogens as a nurse. I have already applied to one of the most competitive nursing schools in the country in pursuit of this dream. This virus has stripped my dreams and moments from me, but I will not let it destroy my career and personal aspirations. I hope my pursuit of a Doctorate in Nursing will help me cope with all the things Covid-19 has taken from me.