Sara Ramirez

Essay 1 (Excel): Discuss the subjects in which you excel or have excelled. To what factors do you attribute your success? Ever since I can remember, I have loved to read. Reading and literature are the strongest academic subjects I have had since elementary school. Delving into a book for me is a blissful experience that helps me learn about the world and human relationships while at the same time opening my imagination in a way my art cannot. The way a book develops a setting, creates dynamic characters, and establishes strong messages always seems to give me a thrill I cannot receive with anything else. I can experience events I would never dare to do or I could learn about something. I do the impossible when I read, and I cannot get enough. My interest in reading and literature has greatly helped me understand subjects that are more difficult for me and has aided me in many challenges in school and my life. Books are one of my passions that have helped me stay away from negative influence, and have guided me towards academic success. While I have had drugs thrown in my face and liquor shoved in my hand, I have never taken any. I have learned from what I read. I see how peoples lives become ruined when they take drugs. Books make me wise. While I do not directly live what the characters live through, I can feel their pain, and I learn from their mistakes. Books are not only a pass time; they are my friends and my counselors. Furthermore, health science is a recent strength I have discovered. Even though originally I did not like health science, my school provided the perfect education for a health career. Therefore, on my freshmen year of high school, I realized that health science was actually a perfect subject where I could balance my interest and my academic strengths. When I first took a class in the health sciences, I quickly learned how to map out case projects for health science disparities. The process of learning about a disparity of a population at risk, crafting possible solutions for that disparity, and implementing the solutions through creative public service announcements (PSAs) really excites me. For instance, I once had to create a lesson on safe sex and abstinence for my health class. In this case project, my solution was that teens needed accessibility to the benefits, consequences, and precautions that should be taken into consideration for sexual affairs without exposing the teens curiosity. For this reason, I created original and appealing templates that teens could feel were approachable, important, and necessary. In an attempt to make sure teens could privately access the PSAs, I created flyers, posters, a book, a PowerPoint, a website, and even a short sound informative so that teens could have multiple resource choices. What I learned from this case and many more from then on was that health science was a subject that helped fulfill my desire to help others, used my academic strength in the sciences and literature, and incorporates my love for art. Literature and health science are the two classes that I am excited to go to all the time. They have not only helped me create my life goals, but they have given me insight on the world as well. I have learned through these classes that my interests in these classes make me succeed not only in school but my life in general.

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Essay 2 (Difficulty): Discuss the subjects in which you have had difficulty. What factors do you believe contributed to your difficulties? How have you dealt with them so they will not cause problems for you again? In what areas have you experienced the greatest improvement? What problem areas remain? As I walked into my high school junior year ready to tackle one of the most important years of my high school career, I remembered the excited faces of the juniors last year as they rushed proudly to their English and History classes. Aside from my excitement to take the ACT, I was looking forward to being one of the few students who were going to take two college English courses with the University of Illinois at Chicago and AP U.S. History. I understood that the rigor of the classes would be much greater than what I was used to, but I later discovered that I had underestimated how intense the classes would be. My first class junior year was my AP U.S. History class. Mr. Saken, my history teacher, had his walls covered with different maps and timelines of the United States history. At first, it seemed like AP U.S. History would be all fun and games, but as time passed, it became obvious that I was having a hard time remembering old information as we learned new material in class. In English 160, my problem was slightly different. While I was accustomed to receiving high scores on my first drafts for assigned papers, English 160 proved to be completely different. The five paragraph structure did not work anymore. I had to learn to write in new genres and in different forms of language I was not familiar with. My English 160 professor torn my papers apart, and my first drafts were always scored really low. These were new feelings for me because I was used to always receiving high grades in all of my classes. My History and English 160 classes were challenging my old ways of tackling my school work. Therefore, I decided to problem solve. I looked back at how I was organizing myself in the classes, and that is when I found my following problem: my notes were not as well written as I thought they were for U.S. History and my approach to my papers for 160 were not well brainstormed. Therefore, I altered my tactics. I went to office hours and asked the teachers to help me approach the subjects differently. In my history class, I figured out that when learning excessive amounts of new information, the best way to organize it was in chronological order and with short phrases. I found that I was writing too much detail in my notes, which did not allow me to actually look over information well. In English 160, I went to my teacher so she could help me learn what ways were better for me to brainstorm and understand new genres and language styles. My English teacher quickly helped me recognize that since I learn better visually, that a good way to organize myself would be with diagrams and webs. After I applied the new tactics, both classes started to become easier. My papers were easier to write and I was starting to quickly remember a greater quantity of historical information.

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Now, in order to ensure I do not commit the same mistakes, I always look over the semester course structure to pinpoint the best way to organize my notes and information for the specific class. Also, since I learned to adapt to new genres in English 160, I can now brainstorm much easier than before. At the end, the way I approached a class changed the most. Retaining historical information is still slightly difficult, specifically with names and dates, but I now know how to recognize places that can cause me difficulties in the future. With the new tactics I learned, I feel that I can head into college knowing that I am prepared to tackle any difficult classes in the future. Essay 3: (Unfair treatment) briefly describe a situation in which you felt that you or others were treated unfairly or were not given an opportunity you felt you deserved. Why do you think this happened? How did you respond? Did the situation improve as a result of your response? Something is missing. I sit in church hearing the preacher. Looking up, the depth of the ceiling clouds my vision. I am hearing but not listening. Looking but not seeing. Sensing but not feeling. The numbness consuming my body reaches for my mind, threatens my sense of belonging, and tosses me into a perplexing cloud of speculation. One voice registers, though: the preachers. Women are nothing without their husbands, for the husband is the head of the wife. Without a husband a woman is hopeless in her life and faith, he states. I see his condescending expression. He interprets the Bible, and the church accepts his words, yet I look around and see the disconsolate faces of the widows and unmarried women. I cannot just sit here. Before I know it, I blurt out, The quote says that God is the head of men and the head of women. God is the head of us all. You cannot consider women worthless. You are not God. A woman's connection to God can be just as strong as any man's. Looking around, I see stunned faces, some disapproving and some not. I do not regret my words. I sit down. One thought keeps appearing in my mind: the feeling of being limited. Underneath lies the emotion my heart wishes to reveal: doubt. Doubt in my faith. Doubt in the sermons credibility. Doubt in the unity of the church. There is no room for individual opinions, and I am now questioning everything I have heard in my church. There is a neglected part of my mind that rejects the sermons; it screams for more evidence and power in the congregation. My church needs to adapt to new generations; it needs the congregation to truly understand the meaning of the word of God. My mind begs to be released from its confines. After church ended, my preacher looked ashamed, but nobody bothered me. I walked out of the church with a new resolve in mind. This day made me remember that I have learned nothing is convincing without evidence. Questioning beliefs and life leads to true faith; questioning leads to reasoning, which in turn leads to logical conclusions. My church needs this freedom to question dogma, and I came to realize later that my outburst had exactly that impact.

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After the day of my outburst, Sunday school changed. Now, before I walk into the temple, I can hear the blissful conversation, and when I open the door, I can see people in the crowd holding a microphone and discussing their opinions on a biblical text. The preacher is still giving his insight, but now the congregation is as well. In all aspects of life, individuals need to question themselves, the evidences, and the theories informing them. Without thinking and questioning, people leave themselves open to misinterpretations. For sixteen years I had blindly believed in my faith through the words of others, but this one event opened my eyes and made me realize my faith must come from my own interpretation of the evidence. Like King David said, Open my eyes let me behold wondrous things. I say open our souls and let our minds mingle with reason and faith; let us see that learning is more than hearing. It is interacting. I want to be a David of the world: a strong individual who has a mind of her own and is willing to be the difference in difficult situations. Essay 4: (Goals) Discuss your short and long-term goals. Are some of them related? Which are priorities? At the beginning of my senior year I was already eager to be finished with high school. I found myself glancing back at my first three years and started to lock away the memories created so far. With my final year rapidly drifting to an end, I think about the bittersweet moment approaching when I will graduate with my friends by my side. As I reach for my lifelong dream of attending a four year college, I will leave behind my adolescent life and transition into the adult world. I am preparing myself to plan for the future and organizing room in my heart to store future memories. With transitions always come new beginnings, and accompanying it comes a need for both an immediate and master plan. My immediate plan consists of many pieces. First, I plan to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where I was fortunate enough to have been accepted Early Decision, to study in the fields of health science and art. I want to give back to my community before I even graduate from college by studying abroad to help those in need and mentoring children who are falling behind in school. In my life, many people helped me become the person I am today, so I want to give the same aid to future children by helping them learn as much as they can and reach their dreams. Also, while in school, I plan to do as many internships as I can in both art and health science professions to get real world experience for when I start my career. My final short term goal is to have one of my pieces of art hung proudly somewhere in the halls of the University of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, my master plan is to combine both fields to create a career in which I can use both art and the health sciences to become a specialized member of an organization of public health professionals. Once I receive my bachelors degree, I plan to get my masters degree in public health in order to be well prepared to tackle any situation thrown at me. From there, I plan to take a few years to work as a volunteer public health professional in poor neighborhoods in Guatemala facing serious health problems. My goal is to create an intervention for Guatemala,

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with the organization World for World that will help reduce or eliminate the prevalence of poverty for Guatemalans, and I plan to go over there and make a shelter for the homeless children from Salcaja, Guatemala. Aside from my career, I also plan on adopting three children who have no home. While this declaration is controversial in my family, I cannot consciously have my own children, while in the back of my mind I think of all the children already born in the world without a home. While I recognize that my goals can change, my priorities are clear: I definitely plan to stay within the health science and art fields, and I plan on helping my mother financially as soon as I finish college. My career, goals, and academics are extremely important to me along with my family and my art. Essay 5: (Leadership) Discuss a leadership experience you have had in any area of your life: school, work, athletics, family, church, community, etc. How and why did you become a leader in this area? How did this experience influence your goals? My father yells while my mother cries. My father stomps away. My sisters gleaming, watery eyes, tainted red and swollen from salty tears, stare at the scene before me. All I hear are incoherent, buzzing voices surrounding the air that shadows the mirrored expression on my sisters young face. The heavy air carries my pain away, but cages up my sisters sorrow. I grasp my sisters shaking hand, pull her towards me, and embrace her small body. I whispered in her ear, Do not cry. We are not losing anything. The only person that has lost something is daddy. He will not be happy later, but we must. We are a family. When my father left, it changed my life. For a while I had been a daughter abandoned by her father, but then, I became a beacon of light for my older sister. My anger fueled the thrust to keep pushing forward and made me a strong shoulder for my broken older sister, Natalie. I was the little sister, but I took over the big sister role. At the beginning, it was as simple as holding her when she cried. When I was older, I started helping her with her homework and making sure she completed it. I even helped her get over her fears of clowns and swimming, and when she started to become afraid of the dark, I told her to just think of something happy: to imagine me smiling next to her, so she would forget she was scared. Other times, I had to make sure nobody took advantage of her because she was so vulnerable at times. One time, I caught someone calling her stupid, and I had to step up to them. I went up to the girl and made her apologize, and later, I had to convince Natalie she was not stupid. Though the ongoing process was draining, I felt like I was making her stronger little by little. While I was young myself and went through many struggles, I somehow found a way to always rise to the occasion and help Natalie. I needed to help her learn to love life again. I would be more than just her sister: would be her little warrior, lawyer, psychiatrist, and friend. Now, my sister is in college, and she much more independent. I see her apple green eyes staring at me with victory. She still misses my father, but she is strong. We are both strong. She is now in charge of her life, but when she needs it, Natalie always comes to me for help. Even as

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a college student Natalie, my sister still asks me to proofread her papers or help her solve a mathematical problem. However, after Natalie started college, I realized that I liked to help people with their problems. I have tutor at my school, educated children at my church. I learned that in addition to pursuing my career, I want to continue helping children who need assistance taking control of their lives. I can see no better way to make a person strong than with giving them knowledge. For this reason, I feel my experience with my sister has helped me develop my goal of tutoring and mentoring children as I go into college. Essay 6: (Community contribution)(Gallery 37) Discuss your involvement in and contributions to a community near your home, school or elsewhere. Please select an experience different from the one you discussed in the previous question, even if this experience also involved leadership. What did you accomplish? How did this experience influence your goals? As I wrap my fingers around my paintbrush, I feel the brittle hairs on the brush and transport paint to the canvas. I start to stroke, losing myself in the comforts of my mind. Traveling to places unrecognizable to my eyes, unimaginable to my mind, and blissful to the oasis of my life, I find myself pleasantly content. With each stroke, I fall deeper in sync with my painting, blurring the line between my life and the surreal feeling that radiates from my artwork. When I follow my instinct, zoning out all thought, dismissing all problems, and feeling my hand just move on its own accord, I feel my muscles relax and my mind exhales with bliss. I am sitting in a room at Gallery 37, the art program I joined, completely focused, painting an old abandoned Chinese building that caught my eye in a stack of old pictures I found in the programs inventory. I have already painted the basic frame of the building in a fisheye angle when the corner of my eye picks up on the movement of a flying paintbrush. My instinct is to quickly move away, but I stop to look at the person who threw the brush instead. Her eyes were full of frustration and a hint of anger puzzles me. Why is Esme so mad? I ask myself. Everyone in the room stares at her with disapproval while I look at Esme with curiosity. She pulls out of the room, and after a while she walks back into the room. Esme looks embarrassed. She sits at her easel and stares at her sloppy canvas. My curiosity beats me, and I walk towards Esme. Are you okay? I whisper. She turns and pierces me with her gaze while stating, I do not know what to paint. In that instance, I decided to help Esme find her muse. I an effort to explain to her how I find my inspiration, I said,I always find a new flare and face to art when I think about my life, for I think what makes my art unique is that it becomes a part of my life afterwards. Unconsciously, my artwork becomes a unique form of expressing my life experiences and uncovering or emphasizing a personality I did not know I had. Art is not just my hobby; art is my life. So, I try to uncover forgotten memories. Not just to fabricate a painting, but to find myself. Try to think what is most important, or at least most prevalent, in your life right now, and you are bound to find something worth painting.

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After a long talk, I coaxed her to tell me what was important to her, what her dreams were, and what her life was like, and I asked her to tell me about insignificant things she could remember she had done in the last week. In the end, she ended up painting a mermaid coming out of a spaghetti bowl with newspapers scattered on the bottom of the plate. It was a great feeling of achievement for me to see her proud of her painting. After I helped the Esme find her muse, other peers from Gallery 37 asked me to help them think of something to paint. Gallery 37 helped reinforce the idea that my art can be connected to so much more than just myself. My art allows me to connect with people, and it helps me express what I mean in a wide range of topics. I now know that regardless of my academic career, I will definitely try to find a way to tie my artistic abilities to my academic career. Now I know that I must look for a career that will feed both my hunger in art and interest for the health sciences. Essay 7: (Other skills) Other than through classes in school, in what areas (non-academic or academic) have you acquired knowledge or skills? How? My grandmother said, The best things in life are found right behind your house in the alleys of America. Of course, she ignores the rotting aroma of decomposed food, dog urine, and feces in the alley. I looked up at her in confusion, and her eyes twinkle as she smiles. That is when I knew my grans was once again going to take me on a journey, but what I received was far beyond what I expected. Walking down the alleys of my neighborhood my grandmother pointed out the messy furniture and the scattered trinkets on the floor. She told me to closely look at them, not as garbage, but as beginnings and ends. They tell you stories you know, she said, after a while of silence. It was this moment that I mark as my transition to becoming a person who can see beyond the ugliness of the world. A person who can appreciate the beauty in things others consider insignificant. Most people do not think about garbage twice, and they miss out on what I see. I see the journey of a disposed chair in the alley. I see it starting out as a single twig and transforming into a beautiful tree, and then I see the wood abruptly taken from the tree. I see it processed in a wood factory and bought by a carpenter, who then creates the chair. Sold to a store and bought as a birthday present, the chair enters its owners home. I see it resold in an auction and driven to Chicago, where the chair is displayed in a flea market. Later it is bought by an elder lady and placed in her home, where the chair is regularly used. Now, however, the chair sits here in the alley, waiting to be hauled to its new destination. I grab it. Moved by the chair, I become the new event in the chairs history. The chair and I, two movable things, join paths. I find objects like this all the time. I use them to express myself, and show that objects withhold information beyond what the eyes can see. They show that life, as transient as it becomes, leaves behind pieces of the past. The alleys keep our secrets for us: the ones we wont reveal and the ones we keep dearest in our heart. Turning trash into art

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opens so many wonderful details in the world. That is why art has relieved me of the sorrows of my past, revives my present, and will sculpt my future. My view allows me to see that the allys trash is a palette of paint that creates untold stories that move me. This experience has opened my eyes to new cultures and ways of seeing the world. I have realized that my ideas can be different than others, but by communicating my ideas and listening to others ideas, I can allow new possibilities to arise. On that day with my grandmother, we kept walking, and as we took each step, the whispers of my grandmother and the caresses of the wind directed me on my search for new stories. I now walk into the sunrise, a lone walker searching for trash to teach me observational skills and knowledge. Essay 8: Other Information In 5th grade, my doctor said my spine and legs were bent and I was close to losing the ability to walk. At first I was scared, but then I realized I couldnt let the doctors word come true. Ignoring the pain, I started exercising my legs. I joined the swim team, track team, and played school sports. Though my doctors said it was unnecessary, I knew I couldn't just give up on myself. Then, one day my x-ray revealed that my legs were slowly getting better. The physical activity made my bones stronger, and I was slowly on my way to getting completely better. Now, as a senior, my legs are much better, but I still have a bump on my knees. However, even though this bump on my knee hurts me at times, I consider it a trophy of my lifelong determination to fight my physical disability and challenge my faith. This past year, however, life decided to throw a new type of challenge in my life concerning my mothers health. Since I was young, I have always seen my mother as a hardworking, single mother who would give her life for my sister and I. She nurses my sister and I when we are sick, takes care of the house bills and school fees, and works full time at a low wage. She has always been my role model and a perfect representation of a strong woman. However, when my mother started to feel ill my junior year of high school, she started to lose a lot of strength. I was concerned for her, so numerous times I tried convincing her to go to the doctor. Her stubbornness made it difficult at first, but she agreed to schedule a visit to the doctor. When she went to the doctor, she received several screening tests. To our dismay, the doctor thought she had found a small tumor in my mother. To make matters worse, when the doctor removed the predicted tumor, she realized that it was actually a piece of cancerous cells. From the moment the doctor told my family that my mother had cervical cancer, the determination I established at a young age returned in a whole new form: I had to take care of my mother this time. I had to be strong for her. For slightly over a year, I was by my mother's side as she went to operation after another to battle the cancer. Because I realized the cancer was draining my mother, I decided to distract her by including her in my art project I planned to do for my teachers. She helped me brainstorm a canvas for each of my teachers as I secretly did one for her. Then one day in the summer after my junior year, we received stupendous news: my mother was cancer free. She had won. She beat the cancer.

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After these experiences I had in my life, I learned that when I am deprived for any reason, I just need to set my mind in the right direction and think positive. Life is full of surprises, and as long as I approach each challenge head on, life becomes a beautiful experience after you pass the darkness.