As the famous Albert Einstein once said: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” Always wondering and pondering what complex processes are occurring, I have personally felt that chemistry is not just a subject required in one’s education, but challenging the idea of curiosity to find answers of unknowns.
In September of 2007, my little sister, Brooke, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of 5 years old. As a young boy at the time, I witnessed first-hand the degenerative effect cancer had on the body. With those effects, the complexity of such a disease increases the chances that a separate unknown complication may occur. It is those unforeseen complications that initially sparked my curiosity and questioning mindset, which, over a decade later, has led me to where I am today studying as an undergraduate chemistry student.
Like my mother who became a nurse shortly after my sister’s remission, I am also pursuing to become a medical professional at the same time. As I’ve grown older, the realization of the long-lasting effects that cancer can inflict on the patient and their families had me greatly appreciate how rewarding being a healthcare professional would be. After graduating medical school and doing my residency training as an oncologist, I plan to make a transition over to pediatric oncology. I deeply felt that if I plan to pursue a challenging career in oncology, I would need to have a thorough background between the interactions of the chemical composition of medicine and biological components within the body. It is this, along with my drive to understand how the human body functions in greater depth and how medicine can affect biological processes, has ultimately inspired me to pursue a career medicine.
During my recent educational years in high school, I was concurrently enrolled in a program called HOSA-Health Occupation Students of America. Similar to National Honor Society, HOSA had similar foundations of community service and leadership, but also gave students an opportunity to become more passionate and learn different parts of the medical field with hands-on and knowledge based competitions. My most successful event I competed in was inventing a new and original medical device to help treat and combat obesity, a rising health issue around the globe today. Alongside my colleague, our device not only won at the state competition level in Alaska, but also made it as a finalist amongst hundreds of others at the international competition. Whenever I wasn’t participating in extracurricular activities, I was always involved with community service projects alongside my peers. Whether it be clothes drives to donate to women’s shelters or wrapping gifts at the hospital for the pediatric patients, I have always felt this need to give back to my community. After graduation, close colleagues of mine and I decided to renew our enrollment in HOSA and start the first ever collegiate HOSA chapter in Alaska at the largest university in the state. As President, I founded the organization with a basis to not only help and serve our large and diverse community, but to also be inclusive of individuals that even may not be healthcare orientated, but just want to find an outlet for community service.
If chosen to receive a scholarship, it would be an absolute honor and privilege. The funds from the scholarship would help to further fund an education that will, one day soon, be able to help save the lives of many individuals so that they will be able to have a story and a childhood like mine. I sincerely thank you for your time and consideration.
