Tell us a little bit about yourself and your plans for college.

Like many children growing up, I wanted my job to be an astronaut, a pop singer, a TV show host, a professional ballerina, a doctor, and more all at once. When I realized these goals were unattainable to do all at once, I felt like any future plan I had was unattainable too. It wasn’t until my future was almost taken from me that I found new inspiration.

Three years ago, my health took a turn for the worse. In just a couple of months, I had gone from being an active gymnast to being bedbound, unable to walk. COVID-19 was at its peak, with hospitals and Emergency Rooms at total capacity. Thankfully, a children’s hospital took me in, and I quickly became an example of rare symptoms to dozens of medical students. Through these students and doctors, I saw how intricate and complicated the human body is and how much goes into its functions. I was immersed in science and medicine, mesmerized, trying to understand it.

A weeklong stay later, they finally revealed diagnoses. Chron’s Disease, a condition causing the immune system to relentlessly attack the intestines as the organ begins to die, and Fibromyalgia. In this neurological condition, the brain sends signals to all areas of the body to feel extreme pain despite these pains not existing.

Since then, I have been focused on one future goal, to pursue my education to become a geneticist specializing in recognizing and treating human genetic diseases. I have completed many biology courses and an advanced genetics program in high school. I was recently accepted to my dream college, Indiana University, because of my academic accomplishments and years of volunteer work through the National Honor Society.

Those months were the most difficult I’ve experienced, and even now, with my life back, those harsh memories and negative emotions still resurface. Though they hurt, they remind me of how far I’ve come, how each day was an accomplishment then, and how, now, my milestones and goals continue to expand and grow as I do.

Jaina from Indiana
High School Senior
Zionsville Community High School