1. Personal Statement
I remember the first time my brother was hospitalized; “Typhoid” the doctors diagnosed easily
andwithweariness.Itwasadiseasetheywereusedtodealingwith,andone thatwasshockinglycommon
for a metropolitan city like Lagos, Nigeria. With time, I became intimately familiar with the destructive
effectsthingslikelackof gooddrainage,andshortageof primarycare providerscanhave onacommunity.
During my high school years, my mother –a nurse- made biweekly trips to impoverished communities,
where she played the roles of doctor, nurse, and midwife. Faced with a lack of medicine,and limited
governmentwillingnesstodomore thansenda nurse,she slowlyburntout.The talkswithmymotheron
her return stoked my interests in public health and health care.
Publichealthtome ismore thana field,oracareer.Itisa chance to ensure thatone more person
has access to clean drinking water, and simple illnessesdo not devastate communities. It is a chance to
ensure thatthe peopleingovernmentpositionshaveaccesstorelevantinformationtoenactpoliciesthat
protectour health,the healthof ourcommunitiesand inturnourfuture. Ithas beenmore thantenyears
since mybrotherwashospitalizedfortyphoidfever,andinthattime the ratesof typhoidhasfalleninthat
city. Thisis most likelydue tothe oftenunheraldedandrarelycelebratedworkof publichealthofficers,
as little as improved in living situations in the city. Results like that are what motivate me, making a
difference, regardless of recognition.
I pride myself onmyabilitytoadapt to everchangingsituations. Inthe lastthree years,I moved
to a new country – the United States, completed communitycollege while working a full time job,and I
am about to get my public health degree while continuing to work full time. In this time, my priorities
have notchanged,norhave mydesire toaffecthealthcare fromthefoundationwavered. Adaptingtonew
challenges begins witha cultivated resilience that allows me to admit the inevitability of change, and a
