Graduate Fellowship Personal Statement

Surname 1 Graduate Fellowship Personal Statement Looking back at my academic journey, I cannot help but thank God for the blessings of a wonderful mother who had to singlehandedly struggle to ensure that we were brought up to be responsible global citizens. Being a single parent, mother spent most of her time trying to get extra cents to provide us with basic needs. This, however, impacted on our academic achievements since she was rarely available to give us the necessary academic support at home.

But her struggles played a major role in shaping my values in life, especially that of hard work.

Growing up in Arizona, I remember spending a lot of time helping mother run her small ice cream truck in hot summer days. In this small world of business, I developed a passion for business. In spite of the financial challenges we were experiencing as a family, I envisioned enrolling to a business school and opening a huge ice cream franchise upon completing high school. I, therefore, worked towards this goal and after high school I enrolled for further studies in a business school. It, thus, never crossed my mind that there was a better thing I would have done other than establishing myself in the business field.

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Surname 2 The turning point in my life came when I was aged 19 years. I call this a soul sanctifying experience because I do not imagine I would have achieved personal satisfaction in my life, were it not for being diagnosed with stage 4 T-cell leukemia which made me drop out of my business studies. The diagnosis made me become confused and terrified. I suddenly realized how precious life was, that this life I take for granted may be lost anytime. In the hospital bed, I looked at my mother and saw her frustration. I felt her pain, struggling but without any forthcoming benefits. I made resolutions to do things differently if I was given another chance in life. I was placed on chemotherapy immediately after diagnosis. The treatment regimen involved the use of several drugs usually administered for a long period. These drugs are not specific in their action; hence they kill cancerous cells and even non cancerous ones. As a result, I suffered a lot of side effects.

Fortunately, on being placed on treatment and undergoing bone marrow transplant, I responded well and the attending physicians gave a good prognosis for my condition. I was released from the hospital after a brief stay, and I left for home to continue with medication.

Being diagnosed with T-cell leukemia was a blessing in disguise as this was when I developed a greater passion for life and refocused my career path. I looked at life from a different perspective and more than ever, I desired to have a college education that will empower me to be able to lessen human suffering. The major drive for this was to conquer my disease by getting knowledge that can enable me to contribute towards the design of therapeutic protocols with minimal side effects. My resolve to pursue this education, however, was an elephant task for me considering the low economic status of the family, especially being immigrants. In spite of being aware of the financial challenges, the passion for knowledge now was more exceeding.

Though the effects of my ailment and treatment weighed down heavily on me, I enrolled for a part-time course at a community college and later on proceeded to university for full time studies. In addition to the financial challenges, I also had to drop out of classes for some time due to the medical condition. However, with determination and hard work, I progressively pursued my studies until I graduated with a degree in Biochemistry. I can say that these experiences advanced my ability to overcome adversities, hence the success.

As an undergraduate student, I had opportunities to work in various research laboratories.

The experience I gained form this exposure formed a knowledge base for me, and has established my desire to advance the current therapeutic procedures for leukemia. I somehow have to circumnavigate the torture that patients undergo as they are subjected to drugs that do not discriminate between healthy and diseased cells. This may be possible if the cancerous cells can be targeted without affecting the normal ones. Upon graduation, I was lucky to obtain acceptance to enroll at Cornell University for a master’s program. Prior experience in research laboratories became extremely beneficial as I capitalized on this to rapidly adapt to the dynamic research environment. While in Cornell University, I carried out a number of experiments on targeted drug delivery, a study which was later to be published in a high impact journal. This work also gained me an invitation to present the findings at the National Engineering Conference in Texas.

Having undergone a lot of struggles, I made a personal resolve of always assisting those in need of my services so that they can reach their potentials. One such opportunity presented itself while I was involved in laboratory research work during my undergraduate studies. This opportunity was in the form of mentoring emerging scientists in the biochemistry program. I particularly remember mentoring Ryan Muller when he enrolled at ASU for his undergraduate studies. Mentoring him provided me with personal satisfaction of knowing that I have motivated someone, a development ingredient which was often lacking in my life. I am happy that through my mentorship, Muller has been able to accomplish much as an emerging scientist; including

Surname 3 leading a group to compete at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (IGEM), whereby they won a gold medal.

While pursuing masters at Cornell University, I also participated in an academic program that sought to encourage students aspiring to become scientists and engineers through the development of a curriculum that motivates learners to become interested in science and engineering. I was actively involved in various research projects in this program, for instance in the design of a gas propelled rocket assembled from locally available materials. I also participated in Newtonian dynamics lecture on trajectories of projectiles and other bodies.

Together with other researchers, I have been able to demonstrate how cancerous cells can be captured by the use of microfluidic devices. I hope that through these projects, I will be able to motivate the upcoming generation to have a purpose in life.

In choosing to pursue a PhD at Cornell University, I am hoping to achieve the best education possible so that I can be able to contribute towards shaping the world. I believe that the knowledge obtained will move me towards my career objective of designing a better way of treating cancer. It is my intention to operate a research laboratory in the future so that it can act as a research center for emerging scientists. I know this will go a long way in shaping the scientific field to keep up with the challenges facing humanity. An NSF fellowship is critical in facilitating my mobility towards achieving these objectives.