Underserved Personal Statement

Throughout my college and professional career I have gained many diverse and valuable experiences that have helped prepare me for a career in

Pursing a career as a medical doctor is an opportunity for me to mentor youth in underserved populations. As a child, I was raised in the low income, urban community of Roxbury, MA. Although not as notorious today, the neighborhood had garnered negative attention for its high crime rates. My mother emigrated from Haiti and raised me as a single parent. Due to our financial circumstance, Roxbury became our permanent residence. I have always felt there was something lacking in Roxbury in comparison to other towns I visited. My teenage years were largely spent in the suburban town of Stoneham where I attended high school. There was a literal difference in air quality and a psychology contrast in future prospects. While native students of

There are few certainties of what one will encounter during life. A common joke names two: death and

I was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland to William and Norma Marshall. My father was the grandson of a slave, who worked as a waiter at an exclusive club. My mother was a kindergarten teacher. Both set of my grandparents owned grocery stores, but my father wanted to be independent of them. Fortunately, my family and I enjoyed a comfortable, middle-class living. One of my father’s favorite pastimes was to listen to cases at the local courthouse before returning home. Then he would debate the lawyers ' arguments with my brother, William and me. I believed debating court cases with my father and brother sparked an interest in me becoming a lawyer. Also, my parents placed great importance on education, encouraging my brother and I to think and learn.

The process of discrimination is still going on today even though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned the form of discrimination in race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. A major way this is taking place is through the court system . In the book, Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson  a young and inexperienced lawyer fought to work for the poor. As Stevenson’s career moves on not only does he look to help the underprivileged, but he calls to action and fights the unjust justice system. While reading Just Mercy, I felt inspired to do something related with the justice system and working with disadvantaged clients. I believe the skills of a lawyer may be giving, caring and hardworking. As a potential new lawyer, I would fight for the disadvantaged and to bring attention of these issues to the forefront of the nation.

From my father, who has dedicated his life to developing community through ministry, to my mother, who despite being raised as a transnational migrant worker, pursued public education and now advocates for individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities, a strong sense of community has always been a part of my value set. I believe that my life experiences serving disadvantaged and often systemically oppressed minority communities have led to my desire to pursue the profession of law. My time spent interning at a law firm only reaffirmed my belief that the practice of law is right for

Where I come from it's taking pride in your yard, knowing every single one of your neighbors, and leaving doors unlocked because there isn’t a thing to worry about. I find comfort in that small town feel, and I am more than proud to be from good ol’ Warrenton, Indiana. Here, we are just a wee bit shy of being big enough to be on a map, but we have a name and we have town lines. Within those lines nearly two hundred people have found a home, and thanks to Mr.Dave Gruible our community is steadily flourishing. There are now three subdivisions on the rise in addition to the church, salon, family restaurant, and campgrounds that nestled into the area years ago.

I was intrigued by the profession of a Nurse at a young age. However, what truly sparked my interest in this thriving career was when a close friend of mine was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Ever since she was diagnosed I wanted to help to create an encouraging, loving and supporting environment around in her time of need and sorrow. Since then I have always been fascinated and interested by the scientific and academic side of nursing along with the caregiving duties of the profession. Because of this, it has lead me to study Level 3 Health and Social Care programme. I am particularly enjoying my Level 3 Health and Social Care programme as it allowed me to carry out the theoretical side of my course in a real life environment as I have a work placement with a care agency. Now I am striving to further my knowledge and proficiencies through taking a university level course in Nursing.

A strong work ethic, cultural competence, compassion, and a desire to learn are a few of the personal qualities that have influenced me to become a physician. To achieve this, my current professional goals are to be accepted into the George Squared Special Master’s Program/Biomedical Sciences MS and to persevere and succeed in order to reach my specific career objective of gaining entry into medical school and becoming a family medicine physician especially to serve underserved and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Although growing up I may have lacked the role models and exposure to medicine needed to cultivate my desire to become a physician, what I had were personal examples of hardworking role models – my parents. With their

“The Heartland and the Rural Youth Exodus” written by Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas take readers on a journey through the small towns of America that are located in the Midwestern states like Iowa. While on this journey Carr and Kefalas use facts, and organizational moves like a map that shows readers the out-migration of non-metro counties in the Midwest. They also use great tone in their persuasive speech by using words like death knell, poverty, and even cockeyed nostalgia to persuade their readers to look at the trouble these heartland states are going through. Throughout this entire book readers are encourage to look at the diminishing populations of small towns caused by young people leaving to go to the larger cities and why they are doing so. Many Americans are able to take a stake or claim in Carr and Kefalas’s book, but there is

It is a late summer morning and without air conditioning the environment at the not-for-profit law center, Northern County Legal Services (NCLS), is reminiscent of an overcrowded Department of Motor Vehicle office. The center does not have a variety of comfortable places to sit as chairs were donated or purchased. The aesthetics of the center, the lack of efficiency, and the frustration of the volunteers surely sets a negative tone for the customers who are already frustrated due to their legal woes. Customers are there to receive assistance with domestic violence, employment, family or housing law. Tempers flare among surly but needy customers who often are forced to wait past their

Acting as a legal practitioner is considered a “great privilege” and “offers the opportunity to serve the community in a profoundly important way.” Lawyer’s roles as officers of the Court and administrators of justice give them a monopoly on the delivery of counselling and representation services. In order to “maintain their capacity to serve the community” , legal practitioners must accept that they are

In Hollowing Out the Middle by Carr and Kefalas, the discussion regarding the decline of rural America is brought to the forefront. This decline is not usually discussed due to the inane ability of society to deem it relevant; the decrease in rural communities is causing a devastating effect on the socioeconomic stability of America. Carr and Kefalas move to a small, rural community in eastern Iowa they name Ellis, to evaluate the cause of this decline and attempt to create a solution. Through residency and interaction with the community as well as present and past high school graduates, they evaluate the reasons why youth are leaving rural communities at such a high rate. They determined youth fall into five categories growing up in small towns: stayers, seekers, achievers, boomerangs, and returners. The different categories these individuals fall into are influenced by socioeconomic statuses and are characteristic of segregation, deviance, stereotyping, and social stratification.

First Main Point: Within the last few months, I finally decided what I want to do with my life after college.

The appearance of a stranger in a settled small Kansas town, while unsettling to some, can be a rewarding experience, as long as there is a mutual desire to communicate. The course readings accurately depicted and reflected the stranger from various perspectives. Consequently, in order for the small town to thrive, there is a necessity for the appearance of strangers. Out of town travelers contribute to the local economy that provides income for local businesses. These types of strangers are transient and seldom worried the town’s folk. In contrast to the transient stranger, small Kansas towns scrutinized any stranger who desired to not be an outsider and take up residency. Beloit, a small Kansas town located in North-Central Kansas, had a population that ranged between four thousand to five thousand town folk. Anytime a stranger or strangers appeared, the talk of the town was all about who they were, where they had come from, do we like them, and which church are they attending church services. Each situation was a little bit different, which made the process that much more interesting. But in the end, each stranger or group of strangers became a pillar of the community that Beloit proudly bragged to relatives in other small Kansas towns.