Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, I was five years old when Hurricane Katrina struck the city in 2005. Suddenly moving to Texas to seek refuge, my mother and I relocated to Texas where we had no other family and desperately needed support. Several non-profit organizations came to our aid and helped my mom find a new job, a new home, and a new school. Once we became stable, my young mind genuinely believed that my mother and I were in the best shape of our lives. Although my mother often worried about paying bills or what we would eat for the night, she would never show me how much we struggled to get by. Once I became older, I realized how much my mother sacrificed to ensure I had a 'normal' upbringing. Now that I am fortunate enough to give back to others, I have heavy sentiments towards helping underserved communities after experiencing hardships growing up. Aside from my upbringing in underserved communities, having the opportunity to volunteer in low-income areas was the first experience that prepared me for my future work. For five days a week, I was committed to preparing healthy meals and snacks during the summer season, a time where many children are unable to eat nutritious meals during the day. This experience not only allowed me to interact and empathize with the children who were in need, but I was also able to understand the challenges that plague underserved populations. A challenge that has helped prepare me for helping underserved populations is learning to live a life with grief. The years 2015 and 2019 specifically were the most difficult times after I lost my younger brother due to a choking accident and my great-grandmother to pancreatic cancer. Learning how to better care for my mental health has made me more aware of how important it is and how it can affect individuals and their loved ones if it is not cared for. It is no doubt that mental health has become a challenge for individuals in minority and underserved areas. As a person of color, a first-generation college student raised in an underserved area, and someone who battled with mental health issues, I can personally attest to the hardships many people face within communities. Having this unique perspective going into my future career in the medical field will enable me to bridge the gap that can exist between physicians and their patients. Many of the physicians and health care providers I have had growing up were predominantly from different racial and financial backgrounds from my own, so I know what it is like to feel slightly disconnected from those who committed to serve their community. Having that sense of security can instill greater peace of mind in concerned patients.

Overcoming adversity and the challenges that are naturally brought on in our daily lives build character and strengthens an individual. Despite the faulty hand life dealt me, not once have I accepted my current circumstances and given up on my goals. One instance where I overcame adversity was when I lost my great-grandmother to pancreatic cancer in 2019. Although I became well acquainted with grief back in 2015 when I lost my younger brother, my grandmother’s passing was a greater challenge to face because she was one of my inspirations and motivations for my career goals. I had a difficult time grieving while managing one of my most difficult semesters in college. Now that I am more familiar with how to live with grief as a college student, these past two years I have experienced personal growth as I persevere through challenges. In the end, this experience taught me to not take life for granted and to find silver linings when I am amid a difficult circumstance. Even though I finished that semester with the lowest semester GPA I have ever had, I was still proud of my willingness to remain resilient and work past my challenges. Now, when I encounter a challenge, I strive to use those experiences as opportunities where I realize new things about myself. I am currently a fourth-year student on track to obtain a BA degree in Cellular/Molecular Biology with a Public Health minor. I have secured my decision to pursue a career path in medicine, however, I plan on taking the untraditional route by taking a gap year to gain more clinical experience and to further my education. During this time my goal is to receive a Master’s degree in either Medical Sciences or Cell and Molecular Biology. The recent pandemic and additional health complications within my family have allowed me to take a step back and realize how necessary it is to make time to explore my interests such as reading, volunteering, and spending time with my family. Lastly, I am also interested in pursuing research opportunities focused on Molecular or Cancer Biology during my gap year. My recent experience in a Cancer Biology lab and its significance strongly relating to my personal life has led to my interest in pursuing an independent project in the future. While in medical school, I plan to obtain an M.D. or M.D./M.P.H. degree to progress towards a career related to anesthesiology.

Following graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Cell/Molecular Biology with a minor in Public Health, I have secured my decision to pursue a career path in medicine by furthering my education by seeking a Master’s degree in either Medical Sciences or Cell and Molecular Biology. After careful consideration, I decided to enhance my abilities in my particular area of interest and before applying to medical school. The recent pandemic and additional health complications in my family have allowed me to take a step back and realize that timing taking an additional year or two to develop before I achieve my dream is normal and acceptable. During this time, I also hope to seek out research opportunities in either molecular or cancer biology. My recent experience in a cancer biology lab and its significance strongly relating to my personal life has led to my interest in pursuing an independent project in the future. Before this recent research experience, my experience from another program and through my laboratories for my biology courses stemmed my research interest. However, now I am more confident that research is something that I can notice myself continuing in the future. While in medical school, I plan to obtain an M.D. or M.D./M.P.H. degree to progress my career as an anesthesiologist. Despite the several hardships I have faced to get where I am today, my family has been my number one motivator and support. The prolonged interest I have had in science and being a provider to my community stems from three generations of women in my family who are (and were) involved in the healthcare field. My great-grandmother was a clinical dietician before losing her battle to pancreatic cancer in 2019, while my grandmother is a medical assistant and home health nurse. Lastly, my mother works as a pharmacy technician. Being exposed to their dedication and passion towards their community at an early age prompted me to follow in the footsteps in the health care career, but I plan to create my own path from the foundation that they have provided me. Once I become settled into my career, I wish to continue serving my community in honor of my little brother Caleb who passed in 2015. After years of providing services to our community under the name ‘Caleb Cares’, my mother recently finalized the process of finalizing it as an official non-profit organization as we continue to honor his memory. I plan to achieve all of these goals by continuing to stay true to myself and developing more self-confidence. I believe that I already have the work ethic that will get me to my end goals, but self-doubt and imposter syndrome often set me back. My recent experiences however have helped me become more confident in myself and my abilities.

My mother often told me she didn’t get a cell phone until she was eighteen. I laughed hysterically, but soon realize this wasn’t a joke. Everyone around me had the latest computers and cell phones, yet I had the free phone that my mother got during hurricane Katrina with her disaster assistance. My mother always told me I will get the kind of phone I want when I have a job and can pay the bill. I often complained to my mom about getting an upgrade, but she never took me seriously. She would always go down memory lane and talk about how her generation survived without a phone. My mom told me I only needed a phone for emergency purposes. Most of my friends had the latest phone, but I was lucky to have a phone for emergency purposes since my family was in the process of working to be financially stable after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. After a few years, my parents were able to get an upgrade on my phone. Having a smartphone can be beneficial when you’re behind the wheel of a car. I am a firm believer in listening to music whenever I have free time, so using my Bluetooth feature while driving allows me to stay focused on the road. Although this feature is useful, I still often find myself getting distracted when I want to change a song that I am listening to. To help combat this issue, I often try to select the songs that I want to listen to beforehand to keep me from using my phone while I am driving. With my growing up in a generation where I can easily give Siri a command and make use of my phone while being hands-free, I actively choose not to send texts or call while I am driving because I know my risky behavior could be harmful to others. My phone is most helpful when I need to navigate to certain places that I am unfamiliar with. With time, I have learned that my generation and my mothers are far from being the same. To this day I have never used a payphone. Smartphones are good to have in today’s society, but they can also have a negative effect on me. I spend a lot of time getting distracted by social media to the point where I have to delete apps every so often.

The world seemed to come to a complete halt due to the unforeseen pandemic. The mandatory stay at home order however gave me time to reflect on being grateful for the simple things in life. One thing I admired about my great grandmother was her strength in her faith and her passion for helping those in need. In her honor last year, my family and I prepared and distributed food and care packages to the homeless. We were taking a big risk at the time because my family risked getting Covid to be a blessing to others.