“From Burn to Care: My Path to Nursing” Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year, full of family, fun, and amazing food. Every year, I take on the challenge of preparing the holiday feast, which I eagerly accept. However, one Thanksgiving, my passion for cooking led to an extraordinary encounter that changed my life forever. As I worked carefully in the kitchen, juggling multiple dishes, I reached too close to the oven to check the turkey, and my hand burned horribly. The agony was severe and urgent, and I went to the hospital in a state of panic and anxiety. I had no idea that this traumatic experience would lead me to seek a profession in nursing. When I arrived at the hospital, I was met by a nurse whose demeanor stuck with me. Despite the busy setting of the emergency room, she approached me calmly, talked in a soothing tone, and assured me that everything would be alright. She described the treatment procedure, and meticulously cleansed and bandaged the burn. Her compassion and expertise shone through, and I realized that nursing was about more than simply medical processes. It was about establishing a human connection, assuaging concerns, and providing care that went beyond physical healing. In my moment of vulnerability, the nurse's attitude motivated me to pursue a career in nursing and to be the kind of person who could help others feel listened, respected, and cared for. This experience was pivotal, but it was not the only reason that influenced my decision to study nursing. Throughout my life, I've watched the suffering of loved ones dealing with health issues, particularly those living in underprivileged places with limited access to medical care. I watched how low healthcare access affected my family and friends, and I knew I wanted to help change that. According to the World Health Organization, over 50% of the global population still lacks access to basic health services. This statistic is startling and shows the vital need for healthcare professionals who are skilled, empathetic, and dedicated to improving access to care for those in greatest need. As I pursue my nursing degree at Johns Hopkins University, I am extremely committed to tackling the issue of healthcare accessibility, especially for marginalized and underrepresented groups. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the differences in global healthcare systems, with vulnerable communities facing larger barriers to care. This has motivated my desire to work in places where I may have a significant influence, such as low-income communities where healthcare access is frequently limited. I want to contribute to the solution by advocating for better healthcare policies, offering direct care, and educating communities about preventive actions that can improve overall well-being. Winning this scholarship would allow me to further my study and get the knowledge needed to make a difference. With this training, I hope to give back to my community by becoming a caring, knowledgeable nurse who offers outstanding care and advocates for people who do not have access or insurance to healthcare system. I feel that nursing will allow me to be a force for positive change in the lives of others. The Thanksgiving burn, which brought me anguish at first, became the trigger for a larger purpose in my life. This event, together with my life experiences, has ignited my interest in nursing, and I'm excited to apply my education and skills to serve others. This scholarship would be the first step in making that dream a reality, and I am determined to make a significant difference in healthcare, just as that nurse did in my life.

Breaking Stigma, Building Hope: My Path to Mental Health Care The heavy, locked door slammed shut behind me, and I could hear the echo of my footsteps. The dimly lit hallway stretched ahead like the beginning of a horror movie – dark and foreboding, with only a single light at the end of the corridor highlighting the figures of the security guards stationed at each patient’s door. The lobby was eerily quiet, and the nurse’s station was empty. This was my first impression walking into the psychiatric unit and it was a moment that left me deeply intrigued wondering if I would witness the powerful intersection of mental health and human resilience in a place like this. As a nursing student at Johns Hopkins University, I had the opportunity to work in a psych unit and that experience profoundly shaped my understanding of mental health and my career aspirations. Prior to this, I had always been aware of the broad impact mental illness has on individuals and families, but it was not until I started working closely with patients in the psych unit that I truly grasped the complexity of their struggles and the depth of care they required. I witnessed firsthand how mental health issues can affect a person’s sense of self-worth, their relationship with others, and their ability to function in day-to-day life. One patient made a profound impact on me during my time in the psychiatric unit. He was an intelligent and articulate person whose words were clouded by frustration and sadness. He shared that he had stopped taking his medications because he didn’t want to feel dependent on them. He just wanted to “feel normal,” believing that he could control his symptoms without medication but, without that support, his condition spiraled out of control and eventually, he resorted to drugs hoping to numb the pain. His overdose was a cry for help, a desperate attempt to escape the emotions and struggle he felt. His experience highlighted the deep stigma surrounding mental health – the way it can make a person feel weak or broken for seeking help or relying on medication. I saw how the mental health system, while designed to help, sometimes fails to address the underlying emotions and beliefs that patients carry about their condition. His words reinforced my belief that mental health care must not only focus on treating symptoms but also on healing the whole person, mind and spirit. Working with a diverse group of patients ignited my passion for the mental health field and the role that nursing care plays in the continuum of mental health and mental illnesses. I became deeply interested in the psychiatric aspects of their condition – what drives their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and how can I, as a future nurse, better support their mental well-being. In class, I found myself wanting to learn more about therapeutic interventions, the psychological principles behind various mental health conditions like schizophrenia and how a holistic approach could lead to a better outcome for patients. My experiences on the psych unit have cemented my belief that mental health is just as crucial as physical health. I now aspire to become a psych nurse who not only provides nursing care to patients but also help to bridge the gap between physical and mental health and reduce stigma that often prevents people from seeking help. Through a career that blends nursing and mental health, I aim to make a lasting impact in the mental health field – offering not just care, but a voice to those whose struggles are too often silenced.

Mamalee Milton Making Community Healthcare a Priority When I slipped and fell in the hallway during school hours, I had a swelling knee sprain and realized how hard it was to treat an injury. In order to give the injuries time to heal, I had to walk with crutches, miss weeks of school, and receive treatment at the hospital. Resilience and compassion were instilled in me by my hospital experience, which also affected my future professional path as a medical surgical nurse. I was able to connect with other patients who were residents of my community as well as my healthcare team. I began my academic journey as a biology major in order to develop an understanding of human anatomy and to acquire foundational information that would help me in my future nursing job when it comes to patient care management, diagnosis, and therapy. I received invaluable experience working as a volunteer at Christ House's Nurse's Station during my undergraduate years. Christ House is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that offers compassionate care to individuals who are homeless and have urgent medical needs. I got to know the patients in this role by interacting with them respectfully and learning about their need for care as they shared their life stories, obstacles, and issues with nurses who provided comprehensive healthcare. As part of my job, I helped patients by creating a timetable that would remind them to take their medications and to call their families and friends for emotional support. In addition to teaching me empathy and compassion, this experience strengthened my interpersonal skills, increased my sense of wellness, and earned me the President's Volunteer Service Award. With just 55% of nurses working in medical surgical nursing in the US, it also strengthened my resolve to pursue a career in this sector and gave me a better knowledge of the human condition. As I am a nursing student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, the medical surgical nursing field will provide me with the opportunity to have a comprehensive knowledge base to care for patients with numerous comorbidities, or who are recovering from or preparing for surgery. My career goals are to become certified to validate my knowledge and skills to practice higher standards of care to people in need of healthcare both inside and outside of my community, and to maximize my efficiency in clinical, and the nursing field by growing and improving my skills to stay competitive. My family and community have shown me love and support at various points during my life and academic career, and I am dedicated to continuing on the path of knowledge. Given my tenacity and natural ability for success, receiving the Dashanna K. McNeil Memorial Scholarship would enhance my academic experience and my time in college.

Mamalee Milton Eligibility Requirements Do Not Define Me. I chose to live my American dream without eligibility requirements hindering my progress because I decide to create an innovative space for myself where I thrive, appreciate the community I live in, and extend a loving hand to those in need. Like other dreamers, I have faced a lot of challenges due to my status either academically or socially. The most outstanding rejection theme being eligibility criteria and to some extent ‘thank you for applying’. I live with my mother who works a cash job as a kitchen staff in a restaurant. Due to her ill health, I feel obligated to help financially to offset some of the bills. However, I find that no matter how hard we try, our family struggles with poverty and our future seems uncertain. There are days where I must stand in a long line to get a bag of groceries from the food bank; not what we crave or would love to eat, but just to keep the hunger at bay to survive the day. Moreover, the memory of my mother being taken to court because we did not have enough money for rent was disheartening. This was because our status and eligibility criteria prevented our family from accessing resources in the community. I felt like we were walking in circles and my potential was limited. After being rejected severally from paid internships, I did not allow eligibility criteria to define me, but went ahead and applied to community services and unpaid internships with organizations that were welcoming to dreamers, and I opted for valuable experience to advance my academic career, and this earned me the President’s Volunteer Service Award. I volunteered at the Nurse’s station at Christ House, an organization in the Washington, D.C. that provides compassionate care to people experiencing homelessness with acute medical needs. In this position, I was able to interact with nurses as well as the patients and understood their need for care as they shared their stories and struggles in life. I was assigned to make a schedule to remind patients to take their medications and to place a call for them to reach their family members for emotional support. This experience taught me resilience, awakened my compassionate mind, and helped me to live wisely in good and bad times. The attending nurses provided quality care that inspired me to seek a career in nursing; and currently, I am a nursing student at Johns Hopkins University. I choose to live my American dream on a solid foundation to support my desire to help others find specialist support for their healthcare needs in my community. Since healthcare practices keeps evolving, my professional goals are to optimize my efficiency in the nursing field by developing and improving my skills to remain competitive, provide quality care to my patients, and get certified to validate my knowledge and skills to practice higher standards of care to people in need of healthcare. I have the determination to walk in the path of knowledge. My community and my family have demonstrated their support towards me at different levels of my life and educational journey. Using my college training to give back is one of the ways I anticipate showing my heartfelt appreciation for the love, support, and encouragement I received growing up. If awarded the American Dream Scholarship, it will positively impact my college experience and help me to focus and finish my degree. I am determined, I am born ready.

Reevaluating my career as a nurse As I waited for my summer research Principal Investigator (PI) to meet me at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg for my laboratory tour, my eyes viewed the four pillars of John Hopkins excellence: Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Ross Medical Building, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Hopkins School of Nursing. I was thrilled to learn that the School of Nursing was right next door because, as a biology major, I have always had a fascination for the medical industry. My desire to launch my healthcare career was reawakened by the memory of my time spent volunteering at Christ House's nursing station, catering to the requirements of ill homeless men who live in the Washington, D.C. region and endure everyday hardships. Between my senior years of college as a biology major, I spent some of my weekend’s volunteering at Christ House's nursing station. I had the opportunity to speak with and spend time with older patients who wanted to share their experiences as well as reach out to family members for support. I realized that these men, who are a part of my community, needed compassion and care; and I made myself available to assist with calls to family members and setting up a regular routine to remind them to take their medications. I gained knowledge, teamwork skills, and a new perspective on the comprehensive care provided by the nursing station to patients while interacting with the nurses, and this helped me to build a patient as well as a sympathetic personality. Moreover, I will never forget the feeling of helplessness and lack of knowledge I experienced when my aunt was rushed to the hospital. She was in a serious condition and later, diagnosed with kidney disease and complicated breathing problems. The attending nurses provided quality care that inspired me to seek a career in nursing as I never wanted to be unprepared and helpless again. I wish my aunt was alive today to support me in my journey to become a nurse. I decided to apply to the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing because I felt I needed a solid foundation to support the development of my communication skills and my desire to help others find specialist support for their healthcare needs in my community. Since healthcare practices keeps evolving, my professional goals are to optimize my efficiency in the nursing field by develop and improve my skills to remain competitive, provide quality care to my patients, and get certified to validate my knowledge and skills to practice higher standards of care to people in need of healthcare. Currently, I have been accepted into the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing 2024 cohort, and obtaining the Joseph Joshua Searor Memorial Scholarship will assist me financially to achieve my dreams, help people feel heard, understood, and validated regardless of their experiences and cultural background, while advocating for better health outcomes.