What I love about STEM is how flexible it is. When we think about STEM, we’re normally bound by the rigidity associated with the cold-cut sciences. We let the supposed limits bind our ability to use one of the most diverse fields as the infrastructure of innovation. I found that STEM, contrary to common belief, makes room for all sorts of creativity. This is especially true when looking at STEAM, not just STEM. The University of Central Florida says, “STEAM encourages collaboration to understand a STEM concept by integrating concepts and practices of the arts”. I see STEM as the skeleton of the world; the laws and theorems that dictate the natural order of things. The arts and humanities make up the muscles and skin, giving the world density. As a problem solver, the full picture is important to finding a solution. The principles of STEM, and at a more complex level, STEAM, provide a holistic view of the world that allows us to diagnose the fractures in the skeleton and come up with new ways to reset the bones and prevent the damage from happening again. I love STEM because it is never halted by the perceived limit. There is constant change in this field that seems set in stone. It pushes the boundaries of what we know to be true in the best ways. For me personally, STEM has always presented itself as a method of outreach. As an aspiring medical professional and health equity activist, understanding biology and genetics, in particular, has been incredibly important. The way healthcare providers learn about the manifestation of diseases determines the way they treat their patients in the future. Lives depend on a solid understanding and application of STEM and this understanding and application are disproportionately affecting different communities. I want to be part of the group of people that makes a push for STEM to be used in the most impactful way for all types of people. I want to see technological advances in treatment to better serve my communities. I want to not only see the overlap of STEM and activism, but be an integral part of it. STEM is flexible and its flexibility tends to be overlooked, but the extent of its power comes from its full potential being reached. I think of it as giving a rhythmic gymnast a ribbon. In anyone else’s hands, the ribbon may make some nice shapes while they spin, but when the gymnast picks it up, it curls and snaps and flows through the air in ways you would have never thought possible. There is beauty in the supposed ordinary. So much can come out of STEM with every new pair of hands that it lands in and that excites me. The world will experience so much positive change because of STEM and the people that are involved in it.

Unlike the other mental health challenges I have, my eating disorder wasn’t something I picked up on right away. I had always had a distorted body image and was insecure in my stature, but the full extent of my ED came to fruition during quarantine. I fell ill after a competition at school and spent the first week of lockdown lying in bed and not being able to eat. I lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time and realized that I liked the way my body looked. So I stopped leaving my room and stopped eating. It was the only thing I could control at the time. I started feeling nauseous when I did eat and resorted to forcefully purging what I did eat. I wasn’t getting enough nutrients and became physically weak. I was stuck in a vicious cycle; I was nauseous because I wasn’t eating and was nauseous when I did eat. My mental health and self image was the lowest it had ever been. I spent hours looking in the mirror and criticizing everything I saw. I showered in the dark so I wouldn’t trigger myself. My tightest fitting clothes started slipping off of my frame. I let all of it happen because I thought I deserved it. At the end of the summer of 2020, I attempted suicide. From that point onward my treatment became more serious. I missed the first week of school for a PHP treatment program. It worked for a bit, but it didn’t last long. I couldn’t think straight and the days blurred. I stopped turning in assignments on time, then stopped turning them in at all. I attempted suicide again in February and started missing half the school day 3 days a week for an IOP ED treatment program. I was a fraction of the person I used to be. My eating disorder took so much from me. I didn’t just lose weight. I lost friends, connection with my family, and so much of myself. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. I became an officer for my school’s Coping and Life Management (CALM) Club to educate and empower my peers regarding mental health and partner with administration to make changes throughout the district to better the student body’s mental health. I’ve shared my testimony over and over because I know my experience isn’t unique. I know how easy it is to fall down the slippery slope without realizing you spent years walking along the edge. My vulnerability is important for me to acknowledge my own healing, but more importantly, I can deliver the truth on a peer-to-peer level in a way that my teachers can’t. Being able to break through to people has always been a priority of mine and I don’t want to let that fall by the wayside after leaving high school. I want to be involved in campus mental health committees to be involved in systemic change, but I also want to continue to personal, peer-to-peer support. I plan to join extracurricular activities dedicated to student outreach and volunteer with community organizations that work with teenagers to combat ED stigma. My ED stopped my life in its tracks and nobody else deserves to feel as alone and misunderstood as I did. I will admit that I’m thankful for one thing: it gave me a new sense of purpose. I’m prepared to dedicate as much of my time as necessary to make a path to recovery for those who feel like there is no way.

As everyone is, I’m a complex person with complex interests. If you were to put my passions into a playlist and hit shuffle, it would confuse you just as much as my “Liked Songs” playlist on Spotify would. Bubblegum K-pop to breakup ballads to afrobeats. Literary analysis to activism to relearning Kreb’s cycle every other week. Yet, the interest that has the most influence on the things I’m involved in is activism. I’m in charge of a project called Books For Africa where we send books to areas in Africa that need them. As a Nigerian-American, this cause holds great significance to me because I’m able to uplift the people in the place I call home. I advocate for positive mental health practices at school as the head officer of our Coping and Life Management club. I educate myself and others on the healthcare disparities faced by people of color and women through my HOSA event: Cultural Diversity and Disparities in Healthcare. I make it a priority of mine to use my privilege and education to uplift the people around me. I see myself taking my college education to the next level and attending medical school to become a gynecologist who works in resource-scarce communities to provide women of color the proper care that they need. The communities I most want to work with include the inner cities of the United States, war-stricken nations via Doctors Without Borders, and areas of need in my native Nigeria. Medicine isn’t the only path I’m considering, though. The idea of changing my trajectory scares me a bit, but I want to remain open to different possibilities as I progress in my undergraduate career. I could pursue a Ph.D. instead of an MD, and research ways to better integrate comprehensive and inclusive reproductive and sexual health education in underserved communities or become a professor and teach about healthcare disparities. I would also consider following the MPH route to focus on achieving equitable health outcomes from an administrative standpoint. No matter what my job is on paper, my heart will always be set on my goal of providing women of color with the reproductive care and education that they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives. As a woman of color, I have experienced first hand—and researched the statistics regarding—the dangers of care teams that lack cultural competence. I want to contribute to providing culturally competent healthcare, whether that means participating directly as a physician or by educating others. What I love about STEAM is how flexible it is. When we think about STEAM, we’re normally bound by the rigidity of STEM and the cold-cut sciences. We neglect the A. I found that STEAM makes room for all sorts of innovation and creativity. The University of Central Florida says, “STEAM encourages collaboration to understand a STEM concept by integrating concepts and practices of the arts”. I see STEM as the skeleton of the world; the laws and theorems that dictate the natural order of things. The arts and humanities make up the muscles and skin, giving the world density. As a problem solver, the full picture is important to finding a solution. The principles of STEAM provide a holistic view of the world that allows us to diagnose the fractures in the skeleton and come up with new ways to reset the bones and prevent the damage from happening again. I love STEAM because it allows for constant change in a field that seems set in stone. It pushes the boundaries of what we know to be true in the best ways.

I’ve chosen to submit a video. If there are problems viewing, please contact me at tonishoyinka@gmail.com. Thank you for this opportunity!