Support Heidy's College Tour Trip to Philadelphia

Post Trip Summary - DONORS Please check your email for updates. We thank you SO MUCH for your donations that have allowed us to travel and see these schools in person. Heidy is applying to BOTH Drexel and Temple and we are awaiting their response.

ORIGINAL FUNDRAISER INFORMATION:

My name is Heidy and I am a senior at the MET High School. I am asking for donations to fund college tour trip to Philadelphia, PA in January to explore medical program options. My advisor will be my chaperone, and she is going to be taking time away from her family to help me make this journey so I do want to help cover as much of the costs as I can with this fundraiser.

Why Philadelphia? While Rhode Island does have wonderful options for college, more opportunities outside of New England may offer me a better experience given my family's financial situation, my programs of interest, and my comfort level at schools away from home. I have already applied Early Action to several schools in our area including nursing programs and accelerated physician assistant programs. I want to keep all options open and a trip like this may offer me something outside of my comfort zone that may be a better fit.

So, why medicine you may ask? From a very young age, seven to be precise, I was often sick, nothing too serious, but my siblings and I were always at the doctor. It wasn’t until I ended up in the hospital for an extended stay that I started looking at the doctors and nurses and thought how nice it must be for them never to be the one in the hospital bed. I thought about how their immune systems must be built differently. My seven-year-old brain hypothesized that if I became a doctor or nurse I would never have to be sick again. I held on to that belief until high school where I settled in at the MET here in Providence. It wasn't until I started shadowing professionals in various medical careers that I saw just how human doctors and nurses are, that they can be born with physical limitations, they can get sick, and be deeply affected by their patient's cases. I learned that their life experiences and unique situations pushed them into different career choices within the medical field. Their human qualities make them strong enough to take on the weight of others' struggles with their health and wellness. I aspire to be a medical professional who improves the lives of her community by being a proactive provider who looks like them; I want my patients to feel comfortable speaking Spanish and know they are safe with me. I never had a doctor that looked like me, so I want to be that for other little girls.

Though I am just 17, my resume speaks to my work ethic and dedication to my education. I have spent my high school career preparing for a future in medicine because I know I will have to work a lot harder than others to get where I want to go in my future career. I will be the first in my family to attend a four-year college before continuing to medical school, and I want to make them proud as a future physician.

This fundraiser will allow me to:

This is a difficult time of year to add in these expenses, but my mentors suggested I try anything to make it happen as they want me to have as many options as possible when it comes to choosing where I will attend college and medical school in the future.

I appreciate you visiting this page to read my story and if you cannot donate, please share this link with anyone you think could help.

Thank you so much for your time.