Age
21
Gender
Female
Ethnicity
Black/African
Religion
Christian
Church
Baptist
Hobbies and interests
Music
Science
Real Estate
Reading
Social Media
Social Justice
National Honor Society (NHS)
Shopping And Thrifting
Screenwriting
Music Theory
Flute
Reading
Economics
Business
Christianity
Historical
Cookbooks
Humor
I read books multiple times per week
US CITIZENSHIP
US Citizen
LOW INCOME STUDENT
Yes
FIRST GENERATION STUDENT
Yes
Ari Patterson
1,525
Bold Points1x
FinalistAri Patterson
1,525
Bold Points1x
FinalistBio
Greetings! I am currently a freshman attending Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University pursuing a degree in food science.
Education
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Agricultural and Food Products Processing
GPA:
3.5
Bainbridge High School
High SchoolGPA:
3.8
Miscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Bachelor's degree program
Graduate schools of interest:
Transfer schools of interest:
Majors of interest:
- Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services
Career
Dream career field:
Medicine
Dream career goals:
Physician
Yearbook Editor
Bainbridge High School2019 – 2019Food Server
BHS Book Club2019 – 20201 year
Sports
Badminton
Intramural2015 – 20161 year
Arts
Concert band
Music2013 – 2020Marching Band
Music2017 – 2020
Public services
Volunteering
Food Science Club — Creating food drive boxes, donating canned goods, and making food for the homeless2021 – PresentVolunteering
Bainbridge High School Book Club — I was a bearcat brew worker that had the duties of preparing and serving hot beverages for the 2020 Bainbridge High School tech fair.2019 – 2020
Future Interests
Advocacy
Volunteering
Philanthropy
Entrepreneurship
Charles Cheesman's Student Debt Reduction Scholarship
All throughout my life, I always knew that I wanted to become a physician. Enduring my weak immune system and having a skin condition revealed my value in choosing a career in life that serves someone else rather than myself. Watching my doctors constantly do such truly founded my career desires. However, being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the young age of 15 really deepened my aspiration of becoming a physician.
Being diagnosed with this illness brought about many new revelations in my life. From changing my diet to witnessing the disparities in the medical field, I genuinely began to find my life’s purpose. Out of everything, educating myself on food and nutrition made the biggest impact on me.
There were several moments when I could not eat or drink anything without having major stomach pains or nausea. Some days were amazing and others I contemplated my existence. Despite all this, I decided to persevere and attend college to study food science to learn about all the aspects of nutrition and food.
Currently, I am going into my junior year at Florida A&M University and still following through with my aspiration of studying food science. FAMU was my dream school due to it being a nearby historically black college that offered what I desired to study. Because my single mother believes in my dreams and wants better for me, she takes on much of the school's cost through parent-plus student loans. Whereas, I try to assist her with supplementing the additional costs through various opportunities.
One of my largest focuses during the past year is maintaining my affiliation with the USDA. Through this federal agency, I was awarded their 1890 scholarship. To maintain such, I am required to have a GPA above 3.0 and attend all organization meetings. I honored this devotion by completing my sophomore year with a 3.5 Grade Point Average and being continuously present at all of their events. Such a commitment was demanding, yet very rewarding. Therefore, I choose to expand where I allocated my time.
Being a member of the Food Science Club since my freshman year has made a huge impact on me as an undergraduate student. Much of what I have accomplished and spent time doing with them is volunteering. I participated in creating food drive boxes and donating canned goods to the local food pantry. We also made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the elderly at different nursing homes and even helped plant gardens for them. All of this service resonates with my value of doing work that serves someone else, which is my why for wanting to become a doctor.
Receiving the Charles Cheesman’s Student Reduction Scholarship will help assist me in progressing forward with my dreams. The costs of undergrad can be stressful even with my mother’s help and my additional USDA scholarship. I have attempted to avoid as many loans as possible, however, my debt totals up to a little less than $18,000. With the fund from this scholarship, I would be able to give my single-mother financial relief by not taking out a parent-plus loan. I will also be able to buy MCAT preparatory books, afford the costly medical school expenses, and spend the fall doing nutrition science research instead of working a job. Overall, much of the Charles Cheesman’s Student Reduction Scholarship Fund would truly help me progress forward in my path of becoming a doctor.