2011 Scholarship Entry #61: Amanda Annett

It goes without saying that the youth of the 21st century have much to anticipate, both in terms of opportunities to come, and in responsibilities placed upon our generation. The challenges our generation faces are numerous and diverse in nature - but can largely be summed up concisely in a single word: disparity. So often we are bombarded with images of global food, shelter, and water scarcity, but of equal significance is disparity within the less tangible realm of 'services', the framework upon which thriving communities are built, and with which 'standard of life' is entwined.

From birth through the duration of my childhood years, my survival hinged upon the great care and dedication of a number of truly remarkable physicians; it is thanks to their efforts that today I am able to celebrate both my good health, and my life. It pains me to think of how things may have been, had I been denied the level of care I required - to imagine the countless experiences, remarkable opportunities, and wonderful years that could have gone amiss; yet, there are individuals within the global community for whom this is a harrowing reality.

It is for this reason that I enrolled in the University of Alberta's Honors Immunology and Infection Bachelor of Science degree program. Though presently embarking on my second year of studies, I dream of attending medical school in the future, in the hopes of some day becoming a peer to those many remarkable people who made my life as I know it possible. It is my greatest goal to become a professor of medicine, working alongside the many commendable nonprofit organizations that seek to improve both healthcare and standard of life, such as Doctor's Without Borders, to combat inadequate access to healthcare services on an international scale. In providing access to training for local populations, one is able to increase the number of healthcare practitioners exponentially, as they are certain to go on to educate a greater number of individuals. In this way, by doing so much as providing basic training for midwives (with a particular emphasis on the value of proper sanitization of equipment), dramatically lowering a nation's infant mortality rate within relatively little time becomes quite feasible.

Within each of us is a wealth of potential - a potential to be instigators of change, to be the best version of ourselves, to find it within us to overcome any challenge or obstacle - that, when realized, I genuinely believe will be what makes our generation one to be remembered. Just as one individual may teach others, who in turn go on to spread the knowledge in exponential progression, the change we wreak will be manifold, for innovation feeds upon innovation. Together, we will craft a better tomorrow; together, we will move mountains.