Dear Family and Friends,

I hope this letter finds you well. I write to you today to talk about an amazing opportunity and to ask for your support as I take the next steps in pursuit of becoming a dermatologist.

My passion for dermatology stems from a deeply personal experience—losing my father to skin cancer. His journey opened my eyes to the importance of skin health, especially in Black communities, where awareness and access to specialized care are often limited. Many people are unaware of how skin conditions manifest on darker skin tones or how to properly care for their skin. I am committed to spreading awareness, providing education, and ensuring that Black patients receive the attention and care they deserve. By becoming a dermatologist, I hope to make a meaningful impact by promoting early detection, prevention, and overall skin health in underserved communities.

Recently, I learned about Atlantis, a pre-med study abroad program that offers students hands-on experience shadowing doctors in hospitals around the world. A friend introduced me to the program after hearing about it from her doctor, and I was immediately drawn to the opportunity to gain real-world medical experience in an international setting.

Atlantis is a pre-med abroad program that connects pre-health students with doctors in hospitals across the world. It is designed to help students like me understand their place in the medical field and get first-hand experience shadowing physicians. As you may know, getting serious shadowing experience in the States is both extremely competitive and rigorously regulated. Yet, pre-med students are all but required to have shadowing experiences, along with unique extracurricular pursuits, to get accepted into medical school. An Atlantis program satisfies both needs.

After hearing about the program, I applied the next day, interviewed the following week,an and was thankfully accepted soon afterwards. Through the program I will get the opportunity to: shadow international physicians, rotate weekly through various specialties, shadow for 20 hours per week, go on group excursions to experience my host country's culture, connect with other pre-med students around the world, grow personally through international experience, and volunteer to help tutor English to hospital staff. I will be traveling to Lisbon, Portugal for one week, and I am so excited to see healthcare from this new cultural perspective!

I am excited to see a variety of departments, and I hope to be either affirmed in my pursuit of dermatology or steered in a new direction. I am also excited to discover new local cuisine, swim in beautiful waters, and discover Portuguese culture in Lisbon and other nearby cities.

I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to read this letter and learning about my summer plans. The total cost of the program is $4,700, but I am aiming to raise $5000 to afford flights, additional food, and any extra expenses. This is where I need your help -- if you are willing and able to partner with me in my medical pursuits, I would greatly appreciate a monetary contribution of any amount. No gift is too small, so whether you give $10, $25, $50, $100, or $500, I would greatly appreciate any support. If you decide that you want to partner with me in this endeavor, you can send a check to my home address, and I would love to keep you updated on my journey and the things that I learn from it.

I will be sending a letter after my program to everyone who partners with me so that I can share how I learned and grew from the experience. Thank you again for considering my future medical career, and I would love to speak in person or over the phone if you have any additional questions!

Most sincerely,

Amira Burrell