Catholic. Gay. These two words are usually juxtaposed as antithetical terms, opposites of one another, yet to me, they coincide in order to create the harmony that I like to call my life. To many people, being gay and Catholic may seem like a living oxymoron; however, in my life, they are labels that make me who I am. This leads me to a story in ninth grade, where just as any other Catholic kid who couldn't afford Catholic school,...

Freshman year, my critical thinking skills teacher thought it would be important to teach us about world religions, even though it was not part of the curriculum. While everyone moaned around me, deep down I could feel my excitement growing. That day she started with Buddhism, which is probably the last thing you would think a boy raised strictly Catholic would be intrigued by, but every aspect of the religion captured my mind. Learning about the four noble truths hit...

Yale will allow me to focus on aspects of Public Health that are usually overlooked. Yale puts an emphasis on the liberal arts training, so I will be able to concentrate on the social aspects of public health, such as sociology and gender studies, which are crucial in developing answers to the world’s health issues. Here, I would also enjoy participating in research with incredible professors such as Naomi Rogers, on subjects such as alternative medicine or the effects...

An individual’s health is more than his or her physical wellness; mind, body, and soul all come together as one. Religion is the agent that molds these three parts together. Medicine and public health both focus on amending the physical body, yet that connection between all three parts of an individual is overlooked. The mind and soul is what controls the body. The mind can overcome many illnesses, sometimes with just a positive outlook. Religion enables individuals to to...

“Health Disparities in the patriarchal world” focuses on the difference in the standard of health of males and females in developing countries, and how feminism has changed the global view on health. My mom gave her up her dreams of being a teacher to raise me. Her commitment to keep working to give me the opportunities she never had, even after having multiple health problems, is inspirational. I would love to get inside the mind of Walter Reed, see the...

After a failure at my biomedical debate HOSA competition freshman year, where I learned that I oddly speak in a southern accent when I get nervous, I knew I needed to find a different competition that I was more interested in in order to perform at the highest level. This is where I found epidemiology. At first, it was a bizarre concept to me, but with some studying I fell head over heals. I loved how it applied health on...

After a failure at my Biomedical Debate HOSA competition freshman year, where I learned that I oddly speak in a southern accent when I get nervous, I knew I needed to find a different competition that I was more interested in in order to perform at the highest level. This is when I found epidemiology. At first, it was a bizarre concept to me, but with some studying, I fell head over heels. I loved how it applied health on...