My decision to pursue education in healthcare emanates from an early fascination with the complex mechanisms of life and a strong urge to help others in meaningful ways. Growing up, I was drawn to the sciences, particularly biology and chemistry, where I found endless opportunities to explore the complexities of the human body. My passion for healthcare crystallized in middle and high school through hands-on experiences that shaped my sense of medicine's potential to transform. In middle school, I attended summer programs with an army research company, whereby I was first introduced to the nexus of science and service. These experiences opened my eyes to the real-world applications of scientific knowledge, especially in advancing public health and safety. Later in high school, I did a senior capstone on nerve agents with another army research company. This not only further solidified my interest in biochemistry but also made me appreciate how important healthcare professionals are in solving such complex challenges that affect human life directly. As a pre-med biochemistry major, I am always amazed at how structure and function play into molecular and cellular biology and how each one applies to medicine. Coursework and lab experiences have further entrenched me in the pursuit of understanding the science behind the miracles of medicine. More importantly, they have instilled in me a sense of responsibility to use this knowledge for the betterment of others. Healthcare is not just a career option but a calling, where my intellectual curiosity meets my need to make a tangible difference in people's lives. My first career goal, considering the future, is attending medical school and becoming a physician. While I am open to every specialty, I have in mind those types of specialties that enable one to have direct contact with patients and that will give me a chance to establish a long-lasting relationship with them. I also consider Internal Medicine or Pediatrics, for example, where attention is extended to prevention and the general condition of the patient's health. Beyond clinical practice, I would wish to be afforded an opportunity to contribute to medical research. My interest in biochemistry and molecular biology drives me to seek novelty solutions for current health problems, including the elaboration of treatments for diseases at the molecular level. I am equally concerned with the issue of addressing healthcare disparities, particularly in underserved communities. Equitable access to care will hopefully be facilitated and advocated as a future physician who finds medicine no less about compassion and understanding than it is about scientific expertise. As I sit down to reflect on where my journey so far has taken me, the experiences that have shaped my path into healthcare have been well appreciated. From early exposure to research to my studies today, it has been at each step confirmed to me the power of medicine to change lives. My ultimate objective is to combine my passion for science with my dedication to service toward a health care system that gives importance to innovation and humanity.

I have always had a passion for science which led me to apply for the Science and Math Academy (SMA), the high school magnet program I currently attend. At the SMA, I am conducting over 300 hours of research with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. This, along with other science-related extracurricular activities such as Medical Club, Women in STEM, Science National Honor Society, and being the vice president of Enivrothon, has put me in the optimal position to achieve my career goals. My principal areas of academic interest include biology and chemistry. This is why I will be majoring in biochemistry at the University of Maryland on a pre-med track. I then plan to attend medical school to become a family doctor, preferably at a medical clinic on a military base. Being the daughter of a disabled Army veteran, I have a passion for helping others, especially those who have served in the military. For my capstone project at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (U.S. MRICD), I am participating in research aimed at identifying the effect of Scopolamine, an over-the-counter drug, on the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep of rats after exposure to Sarin, a nerve agent. This research is being used to help treat soldiers who have been exposed to nerve agents in chemical warfare as well as civilians who have been exposed to nerve agents through terrorist attacks. I am passionate about this because this is combining two things that I love, biochemistry and helping others. I have also recently completed a course to get my Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) license. In this class, I had the opportunity to learn about the body’s systems, functions, and patient care. I also had the opportunity to perform skills such as changing, feeding, and bathing patients. I plan to use these opportunities to apply for jobs in hospitals as a CNA. I am passionate about this because this license allows me to start helping patients who need it, even if it is the little things like changing, feeding, and bathing them. I volunteer in the choir every Sunday and almost every Saturday at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) Gospel Service, which ministers to Soldiers, their families and the military community. I volunteer as an usher’s assistant greeting people at the door. I also volunteer as a Children’s Church assistant by helping teach children below the age of 12 about the word of God. With the APG Gospel Service, I have also helped the Harford Family House to prepare homes for low-income families and volunteered at The Sharing Table to provide meals to those less fortunate than ourselves. I am passionate about these activities because they involve helping people that need help. Throughout high school, I have been an avid volleyball player. I played on the varsity volleyball team since my freshman year and was team captain my senior year, where I lead the team through an undefeated season. I also played volleyball outside of school with Baltimore Elite Volleyball Club. I was team captain sophomore year and this past year I was on the National team and traveled to Texas, Indiana, and Florida for national tournaments. I am passionate about playing volleyball because it allows me to play a sport that I love in a high-energy team setting which I thrive in. I participate in many extracurricular activities that provide joy and fulfillment in my life. Many of these activities involve helping my community and they continue to further my journey to becoming the doctor that I aspire to be.

As a young black woman of God, I, Savanna Murdock, am a determined, passion, energetic person. I strive to be kind and encourage those around me, and I wear my emotions on my sleeve. Family is one of the most important things to me along with my faith and my passion for helping others and the environment. I believe in challenging myself and as a result and a part of an exclusive, accelerated program in my county’s science and math academy and I am vice president of Envirothon. I also aspire to become a doctor at my local military clinic.

“Shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you’ll land among the stars” – Les Brown. Some say that dreaming big is ridiculous and unrealistic. But I believe that you will not get anywhere if you think small. You have to dream larger than life to make a change, you have to dream up the impossible to make a difference. That is why I have created a bucket list of things I need to do to get the most out of life. On my bucket list, I have many things. I would like to travel to all continents (except Antarctica) to experience as many cultures as I can and to educate myself. Also, on my bucket list is to become a doctor and help those in need. I am well on my way to checking this item because I am currently enrolled in the Science and Math Academy magnet program in my school. I am also a part of the National Science Honor Society, additionally, my family was named APG Volunteer Family of the Year. Also, on my bucket list is to make a difference in my community and to advocate for the environment. I am a shoe in for this because I am currently the vice president of my school’s Envirothon. While I have ambitious career goals, I also have bucket list items for myself, I dream to grow up and marry someone who is loving, kind, and caring. On my bucket list, I have 3 amazing children who I would drive around to all their sports and clubs and spend family time with. I dream of having family tradition and celebrating holidays together. Dreaming up a big bucket list and feeding into my fantasies give me a joy and excitement that I would not know otherwise.

Being a black student in STEM is not just a title. It is an Opportunity. It is an opportunity to raise expectations, to make something for those who come after you, to change the way people think. There are many stigmas about African Americans, but pursuing STEM is an opportunity to get rid of those stigmas. I am interested in STEM because it gives me an opportunity to not just become another statistic and to make a path for those like me to succeed in STEM. I am currently attending a magnet program at my high school called the Science and Math Academy (SMA), that only takes 55 applicants from the county. Not only that, but I am one of 4 black, young women in my class that have not dropped out of the program. This just shows that not many African Americans are going to STEM, but I believe that needs to be changed. As a junior, I am a member of the Science National Honor Society, Medical club, and am the vice president of Envirothon. While I am a part of these communities, I am also a peer helper. I use my knowledge that I have accumulated through the years of high school to help new students to fell more welcome and better able to have a path for success. Another reason that I am so interested in STEM, specifically science, is because of my mother. My mother was the fifth child in a house of eleven children, meaning that she did not always get the most attention. In spite of this, my mother worked hard and achieved her goals and became the only one of her siblings to have a doctoral degree in STEM. Her hard work allowed her to become a chemist. My mother is my role model, and I aspire to follow in her footsteps and live up to my fullest potential. While these are big contributing factors as to why I am interested in the STEM field, the main reason is that I am very passionate about helping others. I am very fortunate to be in good health, and I recognize that there are other people that are struggling with such problems. For instance, my father grew up in a very low-income region of Panama with his grandparents. As a child, he could not afford to go to the hospital very often and had nobody to tell him what to do and what not to do. As a result, he ate many cheap, unhealthy foods and now currently suffers from high blood pressure. This fuels my passion for helping others and has led me to pursue becoming a medical doctor. I want to be someone who prevents other people from future suffering, who helps those who are both more and less fortunate than myself, to be that doctor my father didn’t have. In closing, I am passionate about STEM for many reasons and as an African American student, I will work that much harder to succeed in being able to give back to a community that has given so much to me and to be a pioneer in the field of STEM.

Being a black student in STEM is not just a title. It is an Opportunity. It is an opportunity to raise expectations, to make something for those who come after you, to change the way people think. There should not be any stigmas and stereotypes, but there are. I support equality and diversity because I, as a black person with Caribbean blood, want to support those in minorities to have the same opportunities as anyone else. Both of my parents are from Caribbean countries and did not have a lot of money growing up. My father grew up in a very low-income region of Panama with his grandparents. As a child, he could not afford to go to the hospital very often and had nobody to tell him what to do and what not to do. As a result, he ate many cheap, unhealthy foods and now currently suffers from high blood pressure. I would like these situations to be minimized and be able to support minorities, so they can have opportunities like my mother had. My mother was the fifth child in a house of eleven children, meaning that she did not always get the most attention. In spite of this, my mother worked hard and achieved her goals and became the only one of her siblings to have a doctoral degree in STEM. Her hard work allowed her to become a chemist. Especially in a time like this, I believe that it is critical that we support equality and diversity because we all need to lean on each other with the trials and tribulations of the modern world.

Shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you’ll land among the stars” – Les Brown. I believe that to get anywhere in life we must have goals, big goals. I believe goals help guide and give you momentum in life because they give you something to work towards. I aspire to have a job of being a general practitioner in a medical clinic on a local army base to help those who have served for this country. While my goals my may seem large, they are all possible. I am on my way to achieving these goals because I am in the Science and Math Academy magnet program that allows y to take special math and science classes, I am also a part of my school’s medical club and the science national honor society which will help my jump start my career. Also, I am a key part in my school’s Peer Helper program, helping new students who need it. Believing that I can reach my goals is the first step to achieving them. To achieve my long-term goals, I make smaller goals in between, to give myself motivation and a sense of achievement which only fuels my passions. My goals fuel my passions, and my passions help me strive towards my goals so that I may get all that I want out of life.

“Shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you’ll land among the stars” — Les Brown. I believe that to get anywhere in life we must have goals, big goals. I believe goals help guide and give you momentum in life because they give you something to work towards. I have a passion for many things including helping others, my family and playing volleyball. These passions are reflected in the goals I have for my life. I dream to grow up and marry someone who is loving, kind, and caring. In my dream, I have 3 amazing children who I would spend family time with. I hope to have family traditions and celebrate holidays together. I aspire to have a job of being a general practitioner in a medical clinic on a local army base to help those who have served for this country. Furthermore, I seek to play Division 1 volleyball in college. While my goals my may seem large, they are all possible. I am on my way to achieving these goals because I am in the Science and Math Academy magnet program that allows y to take special math and science classes, I am also a part of my school’s medical club and the science national honor society which will help my jump start my career. For volleyball, I have recently made the national team for Baltimore Elite Volleyball Club which is giving me the opportunity and discipline I need to play Division 1 volleyball. To achieve my long-term goals, I make smaller goals in between, to give myself motivation and a sense of achievement which only fuels my passions. My goals fuel my passions, and my passions help me strive towards my goals so that I may get all that I want out of life.

Throughout my upbringing, I was always taught to be grateful for what I have because my situation could have always been worse. In the world, people are crying and dying of hunger and heartbreak, while others are upset that their food is too cold. When we look at what we don’t have, we tend to be less content in life, never appreciating the present. However, when we do recognize how fortunate we are, we tend to be more content with everything we do have, leading us to live a more optimistic life. I am grateful for many things, from waking up out of my bed in the morning to being able to understand a lesson in school. I am grateful that my body functions properly, that I have food on my table, clothes on my back, a family that loves and supports me, the talents I was gifted with, and the ability to be able to help those in need. Furthermore, I am grateful because there are many people that were not blessed with these things. Appreciating them gives me joy because it allows to be happy with what I have instead of being bitter about what I don’t have.

“Shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you’ll land among the stars” – Les Brown. Some say that dreaming big is ridiculous and unrealistic. But I believe that you will not get anywhere if think small. You have to dream larger than life to make a change, you have to dream up the impossible to make a difference. In my dream, I live in a world where there is no more crying and dying, where there is no more cheating and stealing, where there is no more heartbreak and pain, where there is no sickness and hunger. I dream of living in a world where the environment is prospering side by side with the human race, where everyone is mentally and physically supported by one another, where every child grows up in a loving household, with enough food to eat and clothes on their back to keep them warm. Most may think that this is impossible. I don’t think so. I believe that will happen even if it is in the far future. While I dream big for the world, I also dream big for myself. I dream to grow up and marry someone who is loving, kind, and caring. In my dream I have 3 amazing children who I would drive around to all their sports and clubs and spend family time with. I dream to have a job of being a general practitioner in a medical clinic on a local army base. I dream of having family tradition and celebrating holidays together. Dreaming big and feeding into my fantasies give me a joy and excitement that I would not know otherwise.

If a person were to look up how to live long, they would probably find articles saying to change their diet or try different exercises, and while that is very important, I think another important aspect to having a longer life is to keep and maintain good mental health. Many people go through life stressed and overwhelmed with all that is happening around them. I believe that more people need to take more time for themselves. In a study conducted by the Nation Academy of Science, it was shown that people with high levels of optimism live longer. This is because things such as stress could lead to serious mental disorders, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, and other health problems. Therefore, by eliminating stress and being optimistic, you will most likely increase the longevity of your life. To keep myself happy and relieved of stress, I practice habits such as writing my feelings in a journal daily, practicing gratitude, meditation, setting realistic goals, and taking to for myself to unwind. I believe that this way of living truly allows me to live longer because I am able to love living life and am determined to get the most of it too. While I am very interested with keeping good mental health, I am also adamant in maintaining good physical health as well. I am currently a part of the Baltimore Elite Volleyball Club national team and often condition with my teammates. Also, on days that I am not conditioning or have practice, I try to run on the treadmill to keep myself in shape. In addition, I drink plenty of water and practice good dietary habits. In conclusion, I believe the best way to live a long healthy life is to maintain both a good mental and physical health.

An environment is defined as the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates according to the Oxford Dictionary. Preserving the environment is of the utmost importance because it is the conditions that affect us and will affect future generations. Many people are a product of the environment that they are in, therefore, maintaining the environment is key for the youth of today to allow for optimum grow and development. My personal contributions to benefitting the environment are regularly recycling and promoting compost. I also am the vice president of my school’s Envirothon team, and we work to promote sustaining the environment by sending emails and putting up posters around the school of ways waste can be reduced. I took AP Environmental Science as a freshman in high school, and I loved it leading me to get a 5 on the AP test and also giving me the ambition to become vice president of Envirothon by my sophomore year. In closing, I am very passionate about the environment, and I have faith that if people put in even just a little effort to sustain the environment, many generations to come will benefit.

Being a black student in STEM is not just a title. It is an Opportunity. It is an opportunity to raise expectations, to make something for those who come after you, to change the way people think. There are many stigmas about African Americans, but pursuing STEM is an opportunity to get rid of those stigmas. I am interested in STEM because it gives me an opportunity to not just become another statistic. I am currently attending a magnet program at my high school called the Science and Math Academy (SMA), that only takes 55 applicants from the county. I am one of 4 black, young women in my class that have not dropped out of the program. This just shows that not many African Americans are going to STEM, but I believe that needs to be changed. As a junior, I am a member of the Science National Honor Society, Medical club, and am the vice president of Envirothon. Another reason that I am so interested in STEM, specifically science, is because of my mother. My mother was the fifth child in a house of eleven children, meaning that she did not always get the most attention. In spite of this, my mother worked hard and achieved her goals and became the only one of her siblings to have a doctoral degree in STEM. Her hard work allowed her to become a chemist. My mother is my role model and I aspire to follow in her footsteps and live up to my fullest potential. While these are big contributing factors as to why I am interested in the STEM field, the main reason is that I am very passionate about helping others. I am very fortunate to be in good health and I recognize that there are other people that are struggling with such problems. For instance, my father grew up in a very low-income region of Panama with his grandparents. As a child, he could not afford to go to the hospital very often and had nobody to tell him what to do and what not to do. As a result, he ate many cheap, unhealthy foods and now currently suffers from high blood pressure. This fuels my passion for helping others and has led me to pursue becoming a medical doctor. I want to be someone who prevents other people from future suffering, who helps those who are both more and less fortunate than myself, to be that doctor my father didn’t have. In closing, I am passionate about STEM for many reasons and as an African American student, I will work that much harder to succeed and stand out as an innovator and a pioneer in the field of STEM.