There are many countries where there is little to no research being done on medicine. There can be many negative effects to this - high death rates due to disease and people without access to proper health care.

Most of my close family lives in Guatemala, which has decent medicine in the city but is very expensive to access. Not only does my family not have the money to access it,  but they also live far from the city in a small village called Xija. They have a 4-hour drive just to get to a proper hospital with educated doctors. 

My 12-year-old cousin recently died from lupus, which can be treated in the US, but has no available cure in Guatemala. Her lupus advanced so quickly because of how young she first contracted it and because she had no annual check-up. Knowing that there was nothing I could do made my career choice clear: I want to be able to do something, help someone - not just my family but others too. 

This is why I am driven to understand how these diseases develop and ways to treat or even cure them. I want my research to help people live longer and healthier by looking through their cells and finding new ways to combat or prevent these diseases. 

Attending Dominican University Of California not only will help me with my academics but I will also be able to do research on the correlation of human health and cells, I will apply my knowledge and give back the the community by educating other people and bringing better healthcare options to countries in need.