A Tremble of Strength by Catherine

A Tremble of Strength by Catherine - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

The ground underneath my feet trembled as I ran and then crawled to find the door. I was terrified for my family’s life. I was feeling very fortunate to have survived the 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, until I realized approximately 220,000 others had died and were not as fortunate as I. Minutes after the shock ended, I sprinted outside to discover the impact of the earthquake. I was accosted by the images of body parts covered by collapsed buildings, severely injured people and deep cracks in the streets.

I spotted a medical tent hours after the earthquake. As I walked into the medical tent, I saw many physicians comforting and taking care of the patients. Even though I could not understand the words spoken, I could see how much they cared through their actions. At that moment I realized that, while medicine involves diagnostics and medical treatments, being a great physician requires you have to be compassionate and caring. That day I saw many people dying while waiting for help; I realized there are successes and failures in medicine, but it also confirmed my desire to pursue a career in Medicine. I have always had an interest in medicine ever since I was a little kid. I used to pretend I was a doctor with my own Operating Room, and I would pretend that I was operating on my cousin (which occasionally led to many fights). My intellectual curiosity continued throughout high school and led me to pursue classes and clubs related to medicine. One of those clubs was the Medical Science club which made me love medicine more than ever before. My medical science teacher had a quote by George Washington Carver hanging up in her room: “No individual has any right to come into this world and go out without leaving behind his/her distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.” Everyone has a purpose, and after the earthquake, I realized that my purpose was to give back through things that I am extremely passionate about, just like those missionaries. Not only was I in the Medical Science club, but I was also in the PSH kindness club where throughout our spring semester we put on random acts of kindness throughout our school and close neighborhoods. Those random acts of kindness included mowing the lawns of elderly people, collecting teddy bears and other essentials to create care packages for kids in orphanages, and handing out pins with encouraging words to students throughout finals week.

My involvement with my community did not stop after high school. During my first year in college as a freshman I participated in many activities that were focused on community service, while maintaining a 3.43 GPA and being on the track and field Honors list. I am a track athlete and one of the many things I love about that is the fact that we are focused on giving back to our community. We spend most of our saturdays at the food bank, helping build houses for Habitat for Humanity, Or working the middle school track meets. During the track season I tried events that I never thought I could do, I surpassed my personal records in most of my events, and I was chosen to be on the Track and Field Honors list because I had one of the highest GPAs on the team while holding senate positions in two organizations. I participated in the Student Government Association (SGA), Residence Hall Association (RHA), Black Coalition Club,and the Campus Activity Board (CAB). All of these clubs are about improving the lives of students on campus. Holding a senate position in RHA, this year we achieved our goal of : bringing hammocks on campus, repainting our residence halls after seven years, and introducing irons and ironing boards to our residence halls for the first time in history. I also held a senate position in SGA and this year we helped teach students about diversity by finding funding to show the movie “Whose Streets,” which highlights the anger, disappointment, and hurt the black community felt after the killing of Michael Brown. Our CAB club hosted many events such as, BBQ on the lawn, and many homecoming events. In the Black Coalition Club, we achieved our goal of bringing people from different backgrounds together to talk about our experiences with racism and discuss possible solutions to the problem. Being in these clubs and watching our dreams and goals come true motivated me to continue on the path that will eventually lead me to the ultimate goal of becoming a Neonatologist.
I used to doubt that I would become a physician and be able to help out in third world countries like I desperately want to, but volunteering and participating in those clubs made me realize that I am capable because throughout my life I have always had and shown resilience, compassion, care, commitment, and dedication in all things. I can further use those attributes to gain the knowledge and skill set to help people in medical need, like the victims of that catastrophic earthquake in 2010. I look forward to giving back to my community; even in the face of adversity, I will feel empowered.