PERSONAL STATEMENT

Like the values I feel the Peace Corps emanates; empathy, appreciation of diversity, and entrepreneurship are all values and traits I feel I encompass. Ever since I went on a mission trip to Costa Rica at the age of 16, I've known that my life's purpose is to help people. At first, I was unsure of how, but now that I've completed two more mission trips, I know that global health and education are my passion. With a father as an emergency room physician for the past 27 years, health has always been a driving interest of mine. Whether interning at Florida Breast Cancer and learning about the extensive amount of cancer research as well as the hardships, yet strength patients have, or working in a mobile clinic alongside physicians in the rural mountainside pueblos in Cusco, Peru, I feel I am right where I belong when in a public health setting. Traveling has given me a greater empathy for how some people live, as I've witnessed many without simple medication like Tylenol, or treatment as basic as a checkup. Furthering one's understanding of diversity is important when working with different cultures and the ways people learn. I believe diversity should be used to educate people who are unaware of their health, especially those in other countries. Furthermore, I appreciate diversity and long to work in an atmosphere filled with different types of people and ideas, who all have the greater good in mind. Thanks to my non-profit management experiences, I have an extensive appreciation for service, both in the heart of one’s community or abroad. My dream is to gain experience with the Peace Corps and afterwards start a non-profit that focuses on women's health, particularly one that focuses on reproductive education. This form of entrepreneurship would involve taking risks but the cost of leaving my comfort zone to achieve this goal would not only be necessary, but worth it. I now have four years of experience that I am excited to apply to my future, whether it is on the mission field or in my own non-profit organization. I am thankful for the experiences I have had in the field of health, education, and non-profit and look forward to implementing the things I have learned with an organization that solely serves to create a better world.