As shown by the submission of the application, my name is Dominique Cesario. But allow me to introduce myself; Hi! My name is Dominique Cesario and I'm just a girl looking to make it in the world. I have big dreams for someone who comes from a small town, but even an ounce of determination can go a long way.
I'd like to major in neuroscience, and my ultimate goal is to solve the biggest, most prominent mystery in my life; my mom. You're probably thinking I sound like the typical teenager, "I just don't understand my mom's point". But when I say my mom is a mystery, I don't quite mean that she's a mystery to figure out.
At the age of 37, my mom had a major stroke. And at the age of 38, she had her second major stroke. Both ischemic strokes, and both have left the doctors in awe. Well, maybe the second time wasn't as astonishing, considering they knew what was wrong with her this time. It's not all too often that you see a 37 year old woman who seems fairly healthy, a mother of 2, working to get her masters degree, have a stroke. The doctors didn't think it happened all too often either, and when she arrived at the hospital, she was kicked out onto the street for being supposedly intoxicated. Long story short, she was misdiagnosed, taken to a different hospital, given the proper treatment needed, and then on the road to recovery. Sort of. The road was cut short when she had the second stroke, and so the recovery process cycled back to the beginning. It's now 10 years later and after growing up with a mother who is mentally disabled, I want to dedicate my life to solving the mystery of hers. I want to do this for her, and help the others in the world who suffer like she did.
In regards to wanting to help people, I do plenty of that right now. Currently, I'm employed in the kitchen of our local hospital, and you may think that a lunch lady can't have a helpful impact, but you're dead wrong. See, typically what I do is serve food in the community dining room to the residents of the facility. I don't however, just serve food. I serve for the elderly residents. They need someone to talk to? I could tell you half of their life stories. They need a push in the wheelchair? Don't worry, I'll leave the serving station to give you a hand. I genuinely love my job because they are my friends and who I look forward to seeing everyday. They are a part of me and my life.
I was asked to list my extracurriculars here and instead I tell you about my job because frankly it is one of my absolute favorite things that I do. Sure I could tell you about how I'm Valedictorian of my class and that I'm in National Honors Society, Mathletics, Drama Club, Peer Tutoring, Tennis, Volleyball, and the list goes on (I'm a very involved and busy person). But you want to know about me? My job defines me more than any club or activity ever could. I volunteer to play piano on my days off from work (or even before I go into work) for the people who live there. I've had residents cry on my shoulder and hug me, dance with me, sing with me, laugh with me, and make memories with me. And it has been the best thing to happen to me thus far.
I hope even better things are to come as I pursue my interest in neuroscience. But the people I have encountered while working at the hospital will always have a place in my heart. My mom and her story, will too, always hold a place in my heart. I will carry them in my heart with me as I take on the world as well as my big dreams.And although I may be a girl from just a small town, be prepared for me to be anything but small.

Essay: Nanotechnology

A disability is something that restrains someone from performing to their greatest mental or physical capability. But it doesn't have to be that way. In a world that is ever so expanding and fabricating new ways to enhance people's lives, there must be a way to augment the lives of those who are left feeling flawed. And so the concept of nanotechnology is hereby presented; a breakthrough in science that manipulates atoms and molecules, and has already provided benefits to the engineering, military, agriculture and medicinal fields. Nanotechnology is multi purposeful, and could potentially have another intention; to alleviate the disabled.
People who are physically disabled can face a number of predicaments. They could be an amputee, paralyzed, a stroke survivor, and the list is unceasing. But even these three physical retraints could perchance be vanquished through the use of nanotechnology. Take amputees for example; an option for some of them is a prosthetic. But how efficient is a prosthetic, that can't function as if it were an actual limb? To provide patients with the most normalcy that they can acquire, nanotechnology is already on it's way to making "skin" for prosthetic arms, that will detect heat, cold, and pressure. For those who face paralysis, they could regain feeling, if nanotechnology could be utilized to stimulate self healing and regrowth of the spinal cord. Stroke survivors, can reduce their chance of having another fatality if this technology could advance so much to where nanobots could detect areas of weakness in vessels, clots, or complications in arteries. So many methods could be utilized in regards to how to aid those who are assessed as handicapped. Innumerable notions and multitudinous solutions are feasible, although we know that not all will work. The test of trial and error with nanotechnology may admittedly be what is demanded, and could be the answer that deciphers these dilemmas. It is innovative, universal, and can be inherently manipulated to fit the necessities of anyone conquering a physical disability.
Physical disabilities are not the only prohibitory aspect that someone may need to surmount, as mental illnesses are in coexistence. Just a scant of the disabilities that fall into this category are bipolar disorder and schizophrenia Yet in years time, there can be a more suitable panacea for these disorders.Already in the science field, it has been discovered through nanotechnology how ankyrin-G plays an essential role in bipolar disorder. The cause of this salient disease was just now discovered by nanotechnology. Imagine the treatments can be created; the chance that something of the mind can be cured with something so minuscule is astonishing to envision. Along with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia could be conquered by developing a way to manage the glutamate pathway in the brain, as this is what is responsible for the symptoms of schizophrenia. A multitude of psychological aspects can be confronted in the nano sized world, yet still be advantageous to us here in the human sized world.
Nanotechnology is still in the making. But this just allows us to experiment with what works, and what does not. Trial and error will be something that will remain to be in progress, as there will invariably be a new complication to solve in the medicinal field. Perhaps it will be what is necessary for those of limitation, both mentally and physically, to live a life that will leave them feeling more content and at normalcy.