I am half way to obtaining my B.S. in Biochemistry and am on the long journey to receive my Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry. I have always had a passion for science and have had a great number of influential science teachers in my life. All of them encouraged my learning and I have never doubted my path.
Early in middle school, I decided that I wanted to go into cancer research. Cancer impacts so many people in this world. Originally I thought I would love biology the most out of all science fields and would be more interested in how cancer is developed in patients, but my goal shifted slightly when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in the eleventh grade of high school and received six months of chemotherapy. I was very lucky with my disease, it was only stage 2 (4 being the most advanced) and I was able to complete my school work on time, finish treatment and go into remission. After having first hand experience with the drugs, I decided I wanted to go into developing better medications for cancer patients. I firmly believe there has to be something better than hair loss, nausea, fatigue, etc. In addition to my own struggle, I have lost several family members to cancer: my father, uncle, and both grandfathers.
With these experiences lacing fire into my veins, I worked as hard as I could in high school to get to college. As a freshman in college, I was trying to determine what would get me to my goal of making cancer medications. This is when I figured out that I love chemistry!! I also decided that I was still very intrigued by biology, but mainly am interested in the medical aspect of it (not so much botany, zoology, etc.). With these decisions made, I declared myself as a Biochemistry major at the end of my freshman year. The best of both worlds. :-)
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