Change by Sonali

Change by Sonali - January 2018 Scholarship Essay

I held my grandmother’s hand as the beeping of the monitors decreased and her heart began to fail. There was little that could be done with the few yet costly resources available in her primitive Indian hospital. The room spun from the realization that these would be my last moments with her. My pulse quickened as hers slowed. Unable to bear witness to her last breath, I ran out of the room, tears spilling from my eyes.

I grew up in a supportive yet sheltered multi-generational household with my parents and paternal grandparents. Our age gaps brought diverse viewpoints on political, social, and economic topics, allowing me to see many sides of the same story. Education was always emphasized in my home, especially by my grandparents. Though they died when I was young, my dream to attend college never died. As the first in my family to attend college, I realize that I will represent everyone who came before me and all of their hard work that brought me to this point. Though my upbringing brought many joys, I also had to manage a number of mature responsibilities.

As the only one in my family born in the U.S., I was the sole English speaker. Everyday things people take for granted became challenges for my family. When my parents had a question for their doctor or needed assistance at the bank, I had to be there to interpret. I have always been the one to help my father and grandparents remember their medications and inform them of dosages and side effects. As I got older, I drove my father to his appointments and interpreted information shared by medical personnel, taking another burden off his shoulders. Through the lens of my childhood, I was able to recognize the importance of medicine in the world, as it does much more than save lives; it is a window into my future.

Although these experiences make up much of my past, my summer in India was an experience that will stay with me forever. What began as a trip to explore my heritage became a lesson about the harsh reality of inadequate medical care. One week into our visit, my maternal grandmother suffered a stroke in a remote village outside of Chandigarh. She unfortunately passed away due to the lack of adequate health care. Had she been able to afford her hospital fees and costly medications, she may have had a greater chance of survival. My experience with her during her last few moments awakened my passion to pursue a career in healthcare. After witnessing the astounding hardships encountered by those without adequate access to medications and healthcare, questions began to form in my mind. How do people survive without medicine, and who can they go to if they are unable to pay for medications? What do people do if they have life-threatening side effects as a result of their medications? After returning to the U.S., I observed that the significant inequity in access to quality healthcare was not limited to a country with limited resources. I was appalled to see the amount my father paid for his medications, even with health insurance. The healthcare crisis in the U.S. is complex, and the affordability of medications is just one component.

My frustration became motivation to create change. This global inequity in healthcare has defined an ideal career pathway for me: pharmacy. While the healthcare crisis in the U.S. is quite intricate, a profession in pharmacy would be the stepping stone in making a difference in the world, so no other girl must go through losing a loved one at a young age.It is evident that the inequity in healthcare is a crisis that cannot be ignored. Once in college, it is my dream to participate in a medical mission trip that would allow me to visit an under-served community to help those who cannot afford their medications or do not have access to necessary medication. If financially possible, I would also like to study abroad for a semester to increase my exposure to different cultures and medical situations. I am interested in learning more about local, alternative medical practices as a means of diversifying my knowledge and bringing them to more patients. Above all, one of the main goals of my college experience is to participate in research efforts to help create safer and more cost-effective medication options, prescription and over-the-counter. Many of today's high-priced drugs have prohibitive production costs, which makes them less affordable, as well as dangerous side effects. My research will be dedicated towards designing a new process of developing drugs that will make them safer and more cost-efficient. In doing so, I aspire to address the affordability of medication, especially for patients with limited means. It is a crusade that is close to my heart.