For My Parents by Emily

For My Parents by Emily - February 2019 Scholarship Essay

As a child of immigrant parents from Vietnam, their wish for my three siblings and I are to attend college that will grant us a pathway towards our desired career goal. My parents’ education level is only up to junior high; by escaping the post-war environment in Vietnam, they had to sacrifice their education in order to work for money. They have inspired me to pursue a pharmaceutical career path with goals of assisting patients, similar to how they have helped my siblings and I when we were in a financial crisis. This has further given me the drive to become actively involved in a number of clubs for community service. A turning point came when I was a member of Red Cross: the experience and fulfillment of coordinating care packages for local communities in need made me reflect on how I have the privilege and opportunity to consistently lend a helping hand to individuals that are overlooked in today’s society. This became my motivator to actively serve communities that are financially unstable as I can relate to their experience of having nothing except scraps. Another instance was when I traveled to my homeland, Vietnam. The trip to Vietnam was very emotional for me; I saw how devastating the environment was as the people were slowly weakening due from lack of medical drugs to sustain their lifespan. In addition to the lack of medical drugs were the lack of pharmacies in the area; the communities themselves were too poor to afford education, resulting in the deficiency of licensed pharmacists in the area. My drive in assisting groups of people is solely based on my passion to help. I want to help parties that don’t have certain resources to decrease their sufferings and improve their qualitative way of life. In the future, I plan on traveling overseas and give back to humanity by establishing (or take part in) a non-profit organization to underserved communities throughout the world—with the focus on essential medical drugs. Specifically, with the help of numerous and countless volunteers, I want to restore the health of patients and correct problematic issues concerning the body. Although it may take years after graduate school to accomplish my oversea mission, I can in the meantime, serve my own community. Due to my already planned career, I have already tasked ahead of which high school courses I would undertake. Throughout my four years of school, I have been taking college-level courses that would transfer over to college: chemistry, biology, calculus, human geography, language & composition, world literature, and western civilization. My plan is to attend Oregon State University for four years of undergraduate credits as a BioHealth Sciences major and then transfer into their pharmaceutical graduate program for an additional four years. I hope to obtain a P.h.D. in pharmacy and acquire a position at a local pharmacy near my area of residence. Therefore, I am committed to working hard and looking for countless opportunities that can help me make my dreams turn into a reality.