As I have grown, I realized the person I am today would not be the same without my adversities, and that it made me a better person. Cystic Fibrosis has been my adversity. To put it in better perspective, I take around 12-15 medications daily, with morning and nightly 1 hour long nebulized treatments. I also have around six different specialists and monthly appointments to monitor my health. With this disease, I tend to end up in the hospital unexpectedly. For example, one week before my college move in day, I ended up in the hospital with my third known bowel obstruction, and almost needed immediate surgery, which would have caused a delay in my first semester of college. CF has caused a huge burden while receiving an education. Although I still maintain good academic standing, when I become ill, it is ten times more the struggle. When I am sick, I need to do the hour-long nebulized treatments three-to-four times a day to get better and to stay out of the hospital, but even then, it is not a guarantee. Other issues can occur randomly like persistent lung infections, kidney stones, and digestive issues. Despite having these issues, I still make a point to excel within my academic without letting these issues hold me back. As of right now, my yearly tuition cost is about thirty-six thousand dollars. Since my family makes above a certain amount, I had gotten little to no help from FASFA. However, my family has constant struggles with money. So as of now, I am paying for my education on my own. This puts more unwanted stress on me during my semesters. I already have the issue of dealing with my health, and when I have more than that it becomes extremely difficult. To pay for my education, I got an on-campus job, working about thirty to forty hours a week, while fulltime in school. This was hard, especially during the first semester. I would go to classes throughout the morning and afternoon, work a five-to-seven-hour shift, then study for the rest of the night. This scholarship would benefit my greatly, by giving me the opportunity to alleviate the stress of working and would let me solely focus on my academics and extracurriculars so I could excel at my education. I am someone who I would consider very passionate about my education and future goals. I take school very seriously and make it a priority to stay involved in school and in the community. It would be a shame if needing to pay for my education took that part of me away. Moreover, since I am eighteen, I chose to take on all my medical expenses, co-pays for medications, co-pays for doctors’ appointments, and any extra expenses. This is because my family simply cannot afford these comfortably and is extreme medical debt from me from when I was younger. As I got older, I realized STEM is all around us and realized a passion for it. These are the jobs that technological advance our society. STEM is so important to the development and running of our society, and is a career path that can help make a difference in so many businesses of inventions. Since these types of jobs make technological and societal improvements, it has drawn me into the career path. On top of that, STEM is known to be a challenging career that needs good problem-thinking skills. As I mentioned before, I am passionate about school. Furthermore, I am passionate about making a difference in society while challenging myself to achieve those goals.

Admiration: it’s a word that everyone knows but is not used often. “Admiration” is the word that comes to my mind when I think about my mother. Not only was she a teenage mom, but she also had given birth to a child with severe medical problems, while also working and pursuing an education. My mom was only eighteen when she got pregnant. Being so young and kicked out of the house without help, she decided to change her life. She got a job, worked full-time, and then got an apartment. But little did she know that was just the beginning. It was already hard enough doing things on her own and supporting herself. When I was born, I was extremely sick—vomiting everything up, not eating, losing weight, coughing, etc. After a month, the doctors figured it out. I was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at one-month-old. Looking back, I can confidently say my mom did everything she could to be a great mother. Being a mom and having a baby with Cystic Fibrosis was not easy. It required multiple trips weekly to doctor's appointments, which were about 30-40 minutes away due to the need for intensive care from Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford. I also needed to take multiple medications a day, which not only included pills but also two nebulized treatments, morning and night, that each took between 30 minutes to an hour. On top of all of that, I ended up being hospitalized multiple times a year due to medical complications such as lung infections and sinus surgeries. It's safe to say that I was a sick kid. But despite my being ill and taking care of myself, my mom worked full-time at an eye doctor's office while working to get her associate's degree in nursing. Unfortunately, this took her more than two years because of everything she had going on. Eventually, after four years, she obtained her associate's degree, became an RN, and started working in a hospital. Growing up, my mom supported me and always encouraged me to try my best. She knew what it was like to struggle and make mistakes. Now, she did not tell me not to struggle. But she wanted me to avoid making the same mistakes she made. I would say that my mom was the most influential when it came to my education and my career goals. My mom was very pushy about doing well and succeeding. Throughout High School I was very involved in many clubs. From drama club to other things like varsity Tennis and Managing the Soccer team. When it came to college, I knew what I wanted to go into and that I wanted to go to the UConn. However, the college process was nerve-racking. In 2024, UConn had over 55,000 applications and only excepted around 4,300. When I got excepted, not only was I proud of myself, but my mom was also excited for me. Knowing all she did for me growing up, made this moment in life even better, knowing that I couldn’t have gotten here without her. I think it’s safe to say that sometimes what our parents do for us go right over our heads. It especially did for me. Despite being only eighteen years old, and having a baby with extreme medical conditions, my mom fought for me. She worked full time and went to school while also providing everything I needed, medically and miscellaneously. I admire her, and her ambition to take care of me while also pushing me to achieve all my goals while being a teenage mother.