From Pieces to a Whole by Amelia

From Pieces to a Whole by Amelia - February 2017 Scholarship Essay

My parents are from Guyana, the only English speaking country in South America. They both became citizens of this country by the year 1989. My father went to college while I was a young child. When my brothers were born, my father decided to take a lot more classes to finish school faster, instead of helping my mother with twin boys and a young daughter. Due to my father’s lack of care for his children, my mother had to delay going to school. My mother’s parents moved to the U.S. to help her with taking care of us.

My father got his bachelor’s degree in accounting. My mother, eventually, got her associate’s degree in nursing. She is currently in school to get her bachelor’s degree in nursing. I grew up watching my parents’ relationship suffer because they decided not to focus on their education first. Instead, they chose to have children and my brothers and I lacked the care and time with our parents as children. My parents’ relationship suffered due to them not having time for each other. They eventually divorced, which left me scared to ever care and make time for people I love.

My parents’ attitude towards each other made me a very open minded person, in regards to how people should be treated and not taking things for granted. It took me a while to recover from their divorce. But when I did, I truly started believing in second chances. My parents’ divorce was a huge setback for me. Due to the build up of aggressive fighting between my parents’, my grades suffered. School was a place of release and peace of mind, rather than a place to study and work hard. My gpa dropped drastically and I ended up taking a year and half off from school to refocus on my future desires. During that time, I worked at my local Walgreens as a pharmacy technician. I got certified and licensed and became Senior Pharmacy Technician.

When I decided to go back to school, I went with a different attitude. I worked very hard to bring my gpa up as a full time student. Since I had lost my scholarship, I worked two jobs to pay for school. My hard work got me into a total of three summer research programs for undergraduates, REUs. My first REU was at Drexel University. I worked with Dr. Caroline Schauer on investigating into the electrospinning of hyaluronic acid and polyethylene oxide. We explored the properties fiber mats. The application was to create a fiber mat that could transport medication transdermal to burn victims. My second REU was at Tuskegee University. I worked with Dr. Kamel Khazal on the effects of Withania root extract on MCF-7 and MDA-MB 231. We tested different amounts and dilutions of the Withania root extract on breast cancer cells. We observed, measured, and documented the sizes of tumors on female rats. My final REU was at Rutgers University. I worked with Dr. Desmund Lun on reverse engineering the ompR gene regulatory network of E. coli. We used electroporation to introduce the ompR gene into the genome of the E. coli. Each program taught me how to better conduct myself and conduct research in a laboratory setting. Each professor was different and had different requirements, which allowed me to be shaped into a smarter, diligent student.

I graduated with my Bachelors degree in Biology from Georgia Gwinnett College. I graduated with a low gpa but I finally finished. Since I lost my scholarship and lived with a single mother, I had to work a lot to pay for school. I did not take out a loan during my undergraduate years. I worked about 40 hours a week, which was between two jobs. I took a full load of courses and finished in about 3 years. I was able to get one scholarship during my undergraduate and had the opportunity to do a study abroad program. I worked very hard a stayed focus so that I could complete my biology degree. I was so determined to graduate and prove that I could do anything I put my mind to. My hardwork and dedication got me the acceptance into Cornell University. I overcame the ridicule of divorced parents, the stress of working to pay for school, and the tears of dealing with a broken home. I got accepted into a top level university even with my low gpa. I think this is proof that regardless of your academic background, you can still prove that you can work as hard a straight A student. Even though I did not get straight As, I proved that I could withstand the heat. I could stand up for what I believe in and become the scientist that I want to become in the best institutions possible. I was in pieces due to my parent's divorce, but my acceptance into Cornell University made me whole, again.