Science has always been such an integral part of my life. I have grown up around my parents, who are both nurses, speaking in massive healthcare diction whether it is in trying to take care of us when we fall sick or in discussing and/or educating each other about their work. Words like stethoscope and MRI scans were ordinary to 5-year-old me as well as visits and hangouts in the hospital as "the child of that nurse" all of which shaped my amazing childhood. I cannot imagine a time in which science is ever not a part of my life not just because of its familiarity in my life but because I have seen firsthand- through the work of my parents- the impact it has in people's lives every single day and I would love to bring its influence to more people. As I evaluate my career choices and likings, I have realized that I am drawn towards the art of research. I aspire to particularly become a biological researcher, mostly in the field of oncology, as I realize how cancer heavily weighs on society and families. I hope to bring change, even if it might be minor, so that we can all collectively draw towards a better and healthier society as a result. To do so, I would need to first wrap up my high school career and transition to college to strive for a bachelor's degree in Biology or Biochemistry. Furthermore, I would need to work toward an advanced degree in either of those fields in order to join and aid those working on the front lines to discover a cure or a better treatment. Thus, in pursuing this scholarship, I hope to alleviate the financial burden that comes with the education offered here in the US, not just for me, but for my family too who have been and continue to be a pillar of support in every aspect from day one. By winning this scholarship, I hope that I can settle into a future that is comfortable for me to focus on helping those in need instead of money or debt. This would also pave the way to the ambitious side of me that hopes to reach those underrepresented or insufficiently cared for with my work so that more people are able to receive the help that they need too. Science continues to grow in a fast-paced manner today and it has touched so many lives that one could guarantee that almost every person in America alone has a story attached to the impact of science in their lives. However, the fact remains that despite the huge strides made by scientists across the decades, there are so many questions left unanswered, so many concepts not discovered yet, people still not attended to, and so little time, resources, people, etc. left to discover and aid them all. Hopefully, I can help balance the scales, with the help of this scholarship, and just be that tiny piece of the puzzle that assists in helping the big picture come together all while reaching more human beings. After all, isn't that the beauty of science?

If we take a look at the span of the world's history, it seems like it was only yesterday when minorities planted their feet firmly on the ground and said that this was the final straw. Discrimination had plagued society's history for millennia and its oppressiveness silenced the victim's voices. Now, they are millions of changes being made to hold people accountable and bring voices to the underrepresented. However, there's a truth that still lingers and haunts the present times- not all minorities have been properly reached. As a female black student of African descent, I am greatly aware of the opportunities I have now that my female ancestors did not have back then. I have the chance to go to school here in America and study which is amazing. However, there are still many of my people (blacks), for example, who face unemployment and poverty issues just here in America and live in disadvantaged neighborhoods with poor hygiene conditions. According to Statista, in 2020, the African American unemployment average rate was 11.4 percent in the USA compared to the national average of 8.05 percent. Furthermore, according to the American Cancer Society, blacks have the least chance to survive cancers with black women being 41 percent more likely to die from breast cancer compared to white women. All of this, without even plunging into cancer first and just looking at the 2020 statistics based on unemployment rates during COVID-19, is enough to put into perspective how blacks and other people of color are so disadvantaged, especially in the ever-challenging financial problems of health care provision in America. And the questions here at stake are, "How long till there is a change? How long will minorities be disadvantaged and on the struggling side of history?" I hope to be a part of advocating for change in these statistics and the personal lives of those who suffer. I want to hurry along these changes by being a researcher mostly in the field of oncology or biological sciences in general by pursuing a Biology Ph.D. degree. In turn, I hope to reach those still disadvantaged in these current times and bring light to the issues they face in their daily lives. I hope to get answers as to why diseases and conditions like our good ol' relentless cancer may affect them so differently and how to go about treating them and equipping them with better health. As a result, with me working in the front lines or labs, I also hope that my 'minority' patients may find someone to relate with them too as I can see them and understand what it is like living in a society that is still healing from the deep cuts of discrimination. And at the end of my career, I hope I would have provided an important piece of information in health and influenced more minorities on the other hand to follow in the footsteps of seeking answers in STEM confidently. I hope too that I would guide history in the right direction and prove that everyone, despite their color, their gender, etc., is well capable of being knowledgeable, and being able to advance society in terms of intelligence and science for the better, and that we should all be given that chance to. Finally, I hope that one day everyone will be able to attain healthcare services equally and that everyone can be taken care of without any economical or social disparities in the way.

I'm Yvonne Kibaara and an eleventh-grade student in Katy, Texas. I have always aspired to be involved in health care in some sort of way because my parents' stellar work in this career path made me admire the work put forth by these amazing workers to promote a healthier and better world. I also recently discovered that I have always had a passion for researching and figuring out new things. As a result, for my career, I would love to become a researcher, especially in the field of oncology or medical research. First and foremost, I plan to complete my high school education and fully enroll as a college student at a great school. I plan to major in Biology as I find it to be a passion of mine when it comes to the natural sciences. Whilst pursuing this bachelor, I would work too so that I can somewhat pay off my tuition and other expenses to be financially secure in the future and ensure that my siblings can study with ease. Also, in order to increase my research experience, I would work along with my professors to gain more insight into research and would undertake more research projects. Furthermore, after earning my bachelor's, I would love to move on to graduate school and pursue a master's degree in Biology while working in an entry-level job to increase my experience. And after my years of studying (with a Ph.D. in hand), I would love to join those working on the front lines or the labs- working to provide better health to those struggling- in finding solutions and cures by equipping myself and the world too in the process with more knowledge.

The universe is filled with layers and layers of complexities and I have always been amazed by how every component, ranging from atoms to whole organisms, has a role to play in the universe. With this in mind, I believe and do think that it is very important that we need to work to better understand the universe as the answers obtained from asking the hard perhaps even controversial questions from a scientific point of view form the basis of answers for individual life and societal issues. For example, take the heliocentric view that was debated and constantly shut down even to the point that Galileo Galilei was convicted for it. He asked the uncomfortable questions (through Nicolas Copernicus' theories) and as a result, even though the outcome may not have been immediate, he opened people's eyes to the misinformation fed to them for centuries and in 1822, the church apologized for their action against Galileo as it was a common belief by then that the earth did move and was sphere-shaped. Also, with the heliocentric view as a foundation, space exploration has become a huge goal in society. We are equipped with knowledge about the galaxies, the planets, the stars, the sun, and much more. Today, we can better understand what brings day and what brings night, what brings seasons, and what brings climate change. Today, we are taking steps to ensure that life is better for those who will settle in the future just as it has been for us today thanks to those who took the initiative in the past to raise questions that brought discomfort and were generally shied away from. And the fascinating concept of it all: we are just barely scratching the surface. Understanding the nature of the universe from the scientific point of view also changed the face of religion too as we know it and I do think that it is not a bad thing at all; we are more open-minded as a society than we ever were in history. I hope that in my career path as a researcher, I would get the chance to explore life and the universe from a cellular or molecular point of view to better understand how the universe works from a perspective unable to be seen by the human eye. I would love to understand these structures that make everything so connected to each other and form life as what we know today. I would love to be able to aid people and provide them with answers even if it is a small piece to the huge jigsaw puzzle known as the universe, and I would very much love to inspire people to live in a manner that stimulates their asking of questions and their hunger for answers as living in ignorance of this complex universe would only make us fall behind, and would a promote a worse future and in a moment of honesty, if it were us living in a world which is at the state it was about 400 + years ago, we would not enjoy it as we enjoy it now.