My name is Vanessa and I am from St. Louis, Missouri. I am a rising senior that is currently attending the University of Missouri – Columbia, majoring in Biology and minoring in Psychology (Pre-medical track). I am creating this campaign because I am needing funding to finish out my senior year and application fees for medical schools!

Being a first-generation student, I take my education very serious. The sacrifices that were made on both sides of my family mean the world to me, so I will do anything and everything in my power to make it worth it, by being the first to attend college and hopefully the first to attend medical school. It has been such a privilege to attend college; I will always remember each experience and life lesson learned, as well as all the wonderful connections that have been made. I will make sure that as a future physician, I will be able to provide care, treatments, and resources to all that I encounter. I have maintained above a 3.5 GPA, while also being heavily involved on campus, which allowed me to receive scholarships along with my Pell Grant. Even with this funding, I am still struggling to make ends meet with my cost of housing, books, and application fees. I am currently trying to work, study for the MCAT, and apply to MD and DO programs.

Once I graduate college in May 2023, my plans include to start medical school in August 2023. The process of applying to these programs are costly, with my DO applications being roughly $700 altogether. I am unsure about my MD Programs but let’s just say that will be even more costly. I am choosing to apply to a variety of programs to have a higher chance of being accepted, since these programs are extremely competitive.

Throughout my whole experience of college, I have been funding myself from constantly working and obtaining the scholarships I have received. It has been a lot harder to continue to work and study all summer, while also going through some extremely tough changes in my personal life. If you all can assist me in any way in my dreams of becoming a physician, I would appreciate it so much. Thank you!

Updates: 8-31-2022 HenRose Cares helped with housing and covered other necessities.