First and foremost, I want to honor the beautiful legacy of Julia Elizabeth and her efforts to impact the STEM field and represent people of color positively. As a black woman in the U.S., I have experienced and seen countless incidents regarding the neglect and abandonment of the equal and fair treatment of black lives. In the medical field, it is common for black men and women to be deemed and labeled as “strong,” and “resistant” to intensifying and excruciating pain because of the unrealistic stereotypes and systemic racism that is common. With there currently being nearly 65.6% White physicians and the majority of other races dominating as doctors in the U.S. and only less than 6% African American doctors in the U.S., I feel as though there needs to be more representation of black physicians in the medical field for the enhancement and betterment of our healthcare system. I have chosen to pursue a degree in STEM as a person of color to cultivate positive change in the medical field, diminish systemic racism and racial barriers, and advocate for the needs of black individuals and all races. I was initially inspired to become a doctor because of the prevalent toxic generational cycles in my family and community. Growing up in a low-income neighborhood, I witnessed my family struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. I witnessed the deterioration of the mental and physical health of my family because of the detrimental effects that drugs and alcohol had on them. Growing up, my family would never consider going to see a doctor because of the internalized mistrust they had in doctors who didn’t look like them, or understand their struggles. My family felt as though they couldn’t rely on a doctor who wasn’t of their complexion to save their lives because of the neglect and disregard that was frequently shown, leading them to self-medicate. Losing my grandfather, aunties, uncles, and cousins to terminal lung, heart, and breast cancer, diabetes, and addiction inspired me to pursue medicine to align individuals with convalescent routines and lifestyle habits that lead to their wellness and longevity in life. As a future physician, I hope to achieve equitably, compassion, and trust for all patients by effectively communicating and relating to the issues they are facing, providing patients with professional advice, and beneficial treatment without disregarding or prioritizing one's needs over the other because of the solely basis of race. As a future physician, I aim to change the trajectory of the healthcare system by drawing awareness to the mistreatment of black lives and allowing the voices of black individuals to be heard by not hindering, or gaslighting their needs, and taking into consideration their experiences by providing them with efficient treatment to enhance their health conditions. I will educate my patients on specific measures they can take for the betterment of their mental, physical, and emotional health. I will aim to view all lives as equally important and understand that everyone is human regardless of their distinctive and unique features, or eccentric life experiences. It is important to have representation in STEM careers to remind young black girls and boys that they are capable of dominating in fields that may seem stereotypically unqualifying and overly rigorous. Black individuals need to be reminded of their endless potential, grit, determination, and efforts to succeed in a profession commonly known to be dominated by whites, and other majority races. Diversity in STEM ensures that every group is fairly represented and advocated for, and that is what I will continually strive for as a woman of color in STEM.

As a black woman in the U.S., I have personally experienced and seen countless incidents regarding the neglect and abandonment of the equal and fair treatment of black lives. In the medical field, it is common for black men and women to be deemed and labeled as “strong,” and “resistant” to intensifying and excruciating pain because of the unrealistic stereotypes and systemic racism that is common in the medical field. With there currently being nearly 65.6% White physicians and the majority of other races dominating as doctors in the U.S. and only less than 6% African American doctors in the U.S., I feel as though there needs to be more representation of black physicians in the medical field for the enhancement and betterment of our healthcare system. I have chosen to pursue a degree in STEM as a person of color to cultivate positive change in the medical field, diminish systemic racism and racial barriers, and advocate for the needs of black individuals and all races. I was initially inspired to become a doctor because of the prevalent toxic generational cycles in my family and community. Growing up in a low-income neighborhood, I witnessed my family struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. I witnessed the deterioration of the mental and physical health of my family because of the detrimental effects that drugs and alcohol had on them. Growing up, my family would never consider going to see a doctor because of the internalized mistrust they had in doctors who didn’t look like them, or understand their struggles. My family felt as though they couldn’t rely on a doctor who wasn’t of their complexion to save their lives because of the neglect and disregard that was frequently shown, leading them to self-medicate. Losing my grandfather, aunties, uncles, and cousins to terminal lung, heart, and breast cancer, diabetes, and addiction inspired me to pursue medicine to align individuals with convalescent routines and lifestyle habits that lead to their wellness and longevity in life. As a future physician, I hope to achieve equitably, compassion, and trust for all patients by effectively communicating and relating to the issues they are facing, providing patients with professional advice, and beneficial treatment without disregarding or prioritizing one's needs over the other because of the solely basis of race. I aspire to do all I can to ensure the proper and adequate care of all human races by supplying my skills and focusing on the internal health of individuals to make the world a better place. As a future physician, I aim to change the trajectory of the healthcare system by drawing awareness to the mistreatment of black lives and allowing the voices of black individuals to be heard by not hindering, or gaslighting their needs, and taking into consideration their experiences by providing them with efficient treatment to enhance their health conditions. I will educate my patients on specific measures they can take for the betterment of their mental, physical, and emotional health by aiming to view all lives as equally important, and understanding that everyone is human regardless of their distinctive and unique features, or eccentric life experiences. As a future black doctor, I aspire to understand that everyone is human and experiences the same highs and lows, therefore, no one should be treated, valued, or viewed differently because of their ethnic background, race, or color.

Moments in foster care often felt unbearable and painful, for I couldn't grasp the reality of being separated from my biological mother and five younger siblings. I didn't understand why I was put into the system and suffered great anguish while being there. Frequently moving from foster home to foster home, changing schools, and not remaining in a stable environment because of the disorder and abuse in my household struck immense and intense anxiety and fear in me about my future. "Are these people safe to be around, am I a bad daughter?" I often questioned myself. Not knowing it, my harsh circumstances would enable me to grow in resilience, character, and passion. Living with my biological mother during my early childhood initially led to this harsh reality. My early childhood was traumatizing because I witnessed domestic violence, sexual assault, and drug abuse. This experience was detrimentally impactful to the mental, physical, and emotional health of me, and my younger siblings. Growing up, I would have to do motherly duties like making my baby sister’s bottles, brushing their hair for school, and cleaning up after the house. Growing up in a toxic household taught me the importance of persevering through difficult times and walking by faith, not by sight. I learned to be a role model to my younger siblings and to never give up on my dreams. In the year of 2019, my grandmother took me and my five younger siblings and became our legal foster parent/ guardian. In the year of 2020, my biological grandmother officially adopted me and my siblings. This transition brought joy, tranquility, and optimism into the lives of me and my siblings. I was able to focus on my passions, begin to heal from my past trauma, and enjoy the freedom of being a child again. Living with my grandmother was completely different from living with my mother because I was given the ability to grow and develop in a healthy and stable environment. I was provided with adequate amounts of food, clothing, and significant amounts of love. I indulged and focused on my interests and passions, such as attending a magnet school with a program in healthcare and medicine, touring my dream college, Howard University, and creating a hair business in my community. My grandmother originally planned to return to California to continue her life as a registered nurse, but she decided to stay for me and my siblings. My grandmother's resilience and selflessness are things that inspire me today. Though I struggle with PTSD and am still healing, I can proudly say that I’ve come a long way with cognitive therapy, perpetual faith, and continual support from my grandmother. Just recently, I was accepted into my dream school, Howard University. I am amazed and proud of the resilient, kindhearted, ambitious, passionate, and intelligent young woman I have become after facing great adversity and challenges in my early childhood. My story truly serves as a testimony, worthy of inspiring others to never allow the past to determine the beautiful future ahead. I have gained great strength and perseverance because of my experiences in foster care, and have learned to navigate through tough and painful circumstances in life by believing in myself and knowing that my journey serves a great purpose. My experiences have enabled me to know that in life's challenges, I will always get through them because they are meant for me to learn something pivotal. I am proud that my distinctive experiences have shaped me into the woman I am today, instilling much impregnability and confidence to face the challenges ahead.

First and foremost, I want to respectfully honor the memory and legacy of the beautiful Amber D. Hudson. Her story immensely encourages and inspires me to continue my educational journey of obtaining my M.D. degree to become a doctor to minimize and prevent terminal medical conditions and diseases in others. May her heartfelt story also inspire many others to advocate for necessary change in the world to prevent families from experiencing the harsh reality of losing a loved one. Living in a toxic environment growing up, I habitually saw the abuse of drugs, alcoholism, and poor eating habits, from close relatives, including my mother and stepfather. This would, unfortunately, lead to me losing my grandfather, uncles, cousins, and just recently my auntie to terminal lung, heart, and breast cancer, and later stages of diabetes. My family's struggles with drug and alcohol addiction and unbeneficial eating choices initially inspired me to pursue medicine to align individuals with convalescent routines and lifestyle habits that lead to their wellness and longevity in life. Negative cycles of the poor prioritization of internal health and wellness have ignited and shaped my perspective to cease the generational trauma and struggles in my family, and have enabled me to grow passionate about medicine to prevent common health conditions like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes in future patients. I aim to have a different approach to life than familiar by helping others in the future who struggle with poor dietary habits by professionally positioning them on the right path to living fulfilling and healthy lives. If awarded this scholarship, I will educate and assist patients and their families on ways to improve their quantity and quality of life by drawing awareness to medical conditions prevalent in today's society, including the unhealthy strategies and mechanisms used by individuals in society, to cope with mental health illnesses, leading to terminal diseases. I plan to educate patients about beneficial dietary choices to prevent severe diseases such as cancer, and counsel patients with nutritional plans to eliminate negative patterns of poor food intake, and drug and alcohol consumption. With my education in medicine, I will advise future patients to consider practical ways to prevent and treat their health conditions from becoming too harmful and hindering to the continuation of their lives. I will educate patients and their families about the importance of properly eating vitamin-enriched foods, abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and incorporating a healthy diet daily, depending on what they are deficient in. I am inspired to use my education to align patients with healthier habits to prevent the spread of diseases and make patients and their families aware of the benefits of seeking professional treatment to prevent diseases. I hope to educate and be an asset to patients and their families' lives in the future by providing them with insightful information regarding their health conditions and offering adequate treatment to improve their conditions and diminish the spread of terminal illnesses.

There are many obstacles and challenges I’ve had to face and overcome, but one specifically was my early childhood. Being raised by a single mother and having five siblings taught me the reality of life’s challenges because of financial inadequacy. My mother was often evicted because of her inability to keep up with rent. I've experienced compact scenarios growing up, like questioning my next meals. Living in a toxic environment growing up, I learned that there are pivotal issues and struggles in the black community that aren’t discussed, or taken into consideration enough. Witnessing my mother be domestically abused, sexually abused, and others in my family struggling with drug and alcohol addiction initially inspired me to one day become a doctor. I am saddened to see my community struggle because of poor life choices and habits, and mental health illnesses. Losing my grandfather, aunties, uncles, and cousins to terminal lung, heart, and breast cancer, diabetes, and addiction inspired me to pursue medicine to align individuals with convalescent routines and lifestyle habits that lead to their wellness and longevity in life. My distinctive experiences with trauma have influenced my interests, passions, strengths, talents, skills, and character. The negative experiences I’ve faced in my life have ignited and shaped my perspective to cease the generational trauma in my family and have a different approach to life by helping others who struggle and leading them on the right path. My childhood experiences have served as a catalyst for my passion to be the first generation in my family to one day pursue a career in medicine. The black community is very monumental to me, and seeing the adversities and challenges that we face as a unit because of generational trauma has inspired me to support and help others in ways that are beneficial and necessary for their psychological and physical health, and ultimate well-being. My traumatic childhood experiences have led me to perceive education as very pivotal because learning about the different aspects and anatomy of the human body and psychological conditions gives me a better understanding of what negatively affects us as human beings, and is insightful on ways I can prevent, and/or treat harmful and unideal health conditions and realities in my, and others lives in the future. I plan to use my education to draw awareness to psychological conditions prevalent in the black community, including the unhealthy strategies used by individuals in the black community and society in general, to help cope with mental illnesses. Though I am indecisive about what specific kind of doctor I want to be and the kind of medicine I want to practice in the future, I plan to advocate for the betterment of mental health. I hope that my education enables me to be an asset to the patients I care for in the future by providing them with insightful information regarding their health conditions. With my education in medicine, I will consider practical ways to go about treating, or preventing health conditions from becoming too harmful and hindering to the continuation of my patient's lives. I am inspired to use my education to align others with healthier life habits to prevent the spread of diseases, and aware others of the benefits of professional treatments so that they live fulfilling lives. I will use my education to inspire and uplift others to never give up on their dreams because of negative past experiences and generational trauma, instead to use their past experiences to shape their passions and interests to advocate for change in their community and/or the world.

My name is San'aa Duncan, and I am a student at Silverado High School with a strong passion for pursuing a career in medicine to help others. I’ve had to overcome many adversities to shape me into the resilient and ambitious young woman I am today, but one specifically was my early childhood. Being raised by a single mother and having five siblings taught me the reality of life’s challenges because of financial insufficiency and poverty. My mother was often evicted because of her inability to keep up with rent, leading me and my family to depend on government assistance, such as SNAP and Section 8 for our survival and sustainability. I've experienced negative scenarios growing up, like questioning my next meals. Growing up and seeing my stepfather physically assault and verbally abuse my mother led me to feel helpless and hopeless about what I could do to help my mother. Though I was experiencing intense anxiety and panic attacks, I had an eagerness to protect my younger siblings from the traumatic scene by escorting them into a safer room. Drug abuse and alcohol were habitually used in my household by my mother and stepfather to cope with financial circumstances and mental health issues. It was disheartening to experience such trauma at a young age, leading me to question the importance of my life and why I was destined to go through these unbearable circumstances. In hindsight, I learned that the obstacles that I've faced have cultivated and developed my character of determination, drive, self-discipline, generosity, and much more. Living in a toxic environment during my early childhood, I learned that there are pivotal issues and struggles in the black community that aren’t discussed, or taken into consideration enough. Losing my grandfather, aunties, uncles, and cousins to terminal lung, heart, and breast cancer, diabetes, and addiction inspired me to pursue medicine to align individuals with convalescent routines and lifestyle habits that lead to their ultimate wellness and longevity in life. The difficult circumstances that me and my family faced in my early childhood have instilled tremendous faith and optimism in me and have inspired my passion for advocating for the wellness and the betterment of the mental health of others. The advice that I would give to anyone currently going through similar life circumstances is to have perpetual and unshakable faith that everything is working out for the good and the rectification of their future because in all actuality it is. What we go through helps to shape and determine our passions, interests, character, and approach to the world. We can inspire others with our distinctive stories and life experiences, so never give up on what you are currently going through. A cliche, but practical quote that I live by is, "There is light at the end of the tunnel." The darkness and hardships we face as human beings force us to grow stronger in the strength hidden inside of us. At the end of the difficult and unpleasant situations we experience in life, we enter new seasons of joy, peace, abundance, alignment, fulfillment, and happiness. We learn enlightening lessons from the chapters and seasons we go through in life that help us on our next journey. Had I not gone through, abuse, trauma, and psychological pain, I wouldn't be as passionate about medicine or have experienced the immense joy that this life has offered me thus far. Always remember that you are worthy and destined for greatness even in your trials and hardships. You can and will get through this because I did!

Adrenaline rushed through my body as I watched my stepfather physically assault and abuse my mother. I felt helpless and hopeless about what I could do to help my mother. Though I was experiencing intense anxiety and panic attacks, I had an eagerness to protect my younger siblings from the traumatic scene by escorting them into a safer room. A challenge I've had to overcome was living in a toxic environment growing up. I learned that there are pivotal issues and struggles in the black community that aren’t discussed, or taken into consideration enough. Witnessing my mother be domestically abused, sexually abused, and others in my family struggling with drug and alcohol addiction initially inspired me to one day become a doctor. I am saddened to see my community struggle because of poor life choices and habits, and mental health illnesses, and because of this, I have gained a great passion for helping and supporting others. Losing my grandfather, aunties, uncles, and cousins to terminal lung, heart, and breast cancer, diabetes, and addiction inspired me to pursue medicine to align individuals with convalescent routines and lifestyle habits that lead to their wellness and longevity in life. This experience has led me to my goal of becoming a physician because of the hard realities I faced growing up in my early childhood. As a young woman, I have developed immense skills, including leadership, integrity, grit, perseverance, work ethic, self-motivation, hard work, and resilience. The negative experiences I’ve faced in my life have ignited and shaped my perspective to cease the generational trauma in my family and have a different approach to life by helping others who struggle and leading them on the right path. I aspire to do all I can to give to my community by supplying my skills and focusing on the internal health of individuals to make the world a better place. I am forever grateful for the inevitable challenges I've had to overcome because they have helped me grow into my character and passions, and I've accumulated unbreakable strength from my experiences. Being raised by a single mother and having five siblings taught me the reality of life’s challenges because of financial inadequacy. My mother was often evicted because of her inability to keep up with rent. I've experienced unbearable scenarios growing up, like questioning my next meals. My family has often struggled to afford general things like food, clothing, and housing bills. The expenses of college are extremely costly, leading to the unaffordability of my family to pay for my college education. This scholarship will help me achieve my academic goals because I will have the ability to pursue a career related to medicine at a college that suits my passions and interests, without the worries of financial struggles and burdens. This scholarship will benefit my ability to educate, uplift, be a positive role model in other's lives, and lead others to ultimate wellness to the best of my abilities through my utmost acts of service.

There is a multitude of things that I would like to promise my future self to have a better life. I never want to settle for mediocrity and I want to push myself to get closer to the ideal version of myself every day. One of the many things I would promise my future self for a better future is never to give up on myself, even when difficult circumstances arise. Life is inevitably hard, no matter how much we try to perfect it. Times and seasons come when we can't put the pieces together, or make sense of our circumstances. Despite life's challenges, I want to never give up on myself. This means staying in school, studying, and completing four years of college to obtain my Bachelor of Science (BS) degree. Graduating from college is one of the biggest goals that I have for myself because I'll be the first to attend and graduate college in my family. Graduating from college will be the catalyst to growing closer to pursuing my dreams. Another goal that I am committed to achieving is staying fit and eating healthy. With various diseases and health conditions that exist related to heart disease and cancer, I want to limit my chances of being affected by staying committed to having a healthy diet and exercising regularly. We are only given one body, and I want to take care of my body to my fullest ability by getting the right nutrients and staying away from foods and things that could potentially affect my health. My family normally consumed a lot of fried, processed, and salty foods growing up and I want to break this toxic cycle by having a completely organic diet. Eating healthy and regularly exercising will enable me to feel more confident and healthy, which I consider to be the highest version of myself. I also want to go to medical school to become a doctor. Ever since I was a little girl, I envisioned myself as a doctor. Aiding others to a more abundant and healthy life is something I find passion in. I want to positively impact other's lives through my services and contribute to other's breakthroughs. I know the days will come when I doubt my ability to complete medical school, but I want to persevere through these emotions by seeing the bigger picture and knowing that I can save people's lives, and do something I never thought I could do. This scholarship will help me because I would have the opportunity to study stem-related courses in college, without the concerns of financial stability. Attending college was something that I thought was out of reach for me coming from a low-income family, and being a black woman. Growing up, being raised by a single mother, and having six siblings taught me the reality of life struggles because of financial responsibilities. My mother was often evicted because of her inability to keep up with paying rent. I experienced hard days growing up like questioning my next meals and having the lights, water, and gas turned off. Academic achievement was the last thing my mother was concerned about because she had to worry about raising me and my siblings and putting food on the table. It was very hard for me to see my mother go through this, which is why I want to break this generational curse by going to college and pursuing a higher education.