My name is Julia and I am a recent high school graduate who will attend Wellesley College in the fall. Currently, I plan to pursue the pre-med track and public health. I enjoy working with students and hope to help in any way I can. I began tutoring students during my sophomore year of high school. I've helped students with reading, writing, algebra, some earth science, and some history homework. Since then, I've tutored elementary school, middle school and high school students.

As a child, I grew up with life threatening food allergies. When I was in elementary school, I experienced anaphylaxis for the
first time in living memory. I also faced times when people shunned me due to their fear of harming me.

As a result of my experience, I threw myself into making the world safer and more welcoming not only for people with food allergies, but for anyone who feels somehow different or isolated. I mentor younger students to let them know they're not alone, and I serve as a resource for school nurses to share my experiences navigating life with food allergies. I march with the Food Allergy Research and Education organization to help find a cure. I train as an endurance athlete and encourage others to train with me as I compete in half marathons and triathlons. I connect disparate groups of friends at the lunch table with kindness. I hold an elderly woman's hand after she receives chemo.

Today, when I consider my first experience of anaphylaxis at that restaurant, I am filled not only with the terror of my throat closing, but also with a deep gratitude for having access to medical resources and support. Knowing that many others do not have these same resources, I feel compelled to enter the healthcare field in order to help make medical care and life-saving devices, like EpiPens, accessible to those who need them. To this end, I plan to pursue a rigorous, interdisciplinary course of study that includes not only healthcare-related courses like epidemiology and global public health, but also humanities courses like Spanish and psychology. In doing so, I could begin to acquire the knowledge needed to identify illnesses and understand treatment plans, as well as the empathy and creativity needed to truly connect with patients. Allergies do not define me, but my actions to help others will.

Thank you.