school, scholarship and a favor

i remember the day education became important to me. it was the first day of seventh grade and i was incredibly disappointed to have been randomly assigned to the notoriously challenging math teacher. i still remember we used to call him "fastidious mr. sal" -- incorporating a vocab word, "fastidious," and a short version of his real last name, "salladino." such creative ones, we were!

for some reason, when i came home from school that day, i made a decision. who would have thought a 12-year-old decision would have persisted so vigorously for the past 14 years and counting? that day, over my after school snack of handi-snacks-kraft crackers'n cheese dip (those things were the best!), i declared to my mom, "i want to get all a's this year and since math is my weakest subject and i have the hardest teacher, i think i'll need a tutor to do so."

we found a tutor that year, i worked hard and i ended up fulfilling the goal i set over that fateful gourmet afternoon snack. in fact, i did end up getting an a in math that year and, most impressively, my fantastic tutor rid me of my longstanding aversion to math. from that point forward, not only did i remain steadfastly committed to school and my education, but i even liked math! imagine that!

the importance of education and the fulfillment i get from it has steadily grown over the years. my college experience opened my eyes to a wide array of fascinating and downright invigorating disciplines i previously knew nothing about. i threw myself into my studies and research opportunities and i thrived in such an academically stimulating environment. as education tends to do, i graduated from college with a bachelor of arts in communications and a raging appetite for more.

it will come as no surprise then that soon after entering the workforce, i decided to go back to school part-time at night -- this time in pursuit of a master degree in bioethics. i'm two years in and i have one more year to go. the best way to describe my passion for this program is to express how devastated i'll be to graduate. the program has completely changed the way i think about the institution of medicine and my role as well-seasoned patient and family member of a patient. it has made me believe that it is possible to change things in medicine for the better and even more importantly, that there are people -- doctors, lawyers, nurses, patients, researchers, pharma execs, academics, etc. -- who are deeply dedicated to making these changes.

the reason i tell this story is to provide the backdrop for a favor.

i am absolutely honored to have been selected for a CF scholarship from abbott pharmaceutical's CFcareforward program. they selected a bunch of undergraduate and graduate "winners" who each receive $2,500 in scholarship money.

here's where you potentially come in.

this year, in honor of the scholarship program's 19th year, they're having an open voting period where friends and family can vote on your profile -- by email, text and phone. at the end, the undergraduate and graduate student with the most votes gets a $19,000 scholarship! all votes must be in by 11:59 pm on september 30.

i'm beyond happy and grateful to have won the preliminary scholarship. every bit helps, especially when dealing with the astronomical tuition for my master of bioethics program. but a $19,000 scholarship would cover my entire last year of school, significantly lessening the enormous financial burden of my graduate education. that is huge!!!!

as i mentioned, the winner is selected purely by number of votes, which is why i'm requesting a favor. if you have 30 seconds and feel so inclined, please click on the following link and vote for me! again, you can vote online, by text and by phone.

here's the link: http://www.cfcareforwardscholarship.com/profiles/2011/emily-k.html

instructions (also on the link):

• online: go to the link and click "click here to vote"
• phone: dial 888-306-9683 and press "32"
• text: text "vote32" to 30364

my education and this program in particular have been immensely important to me and my wellbeing. it has given me goals to work towards and extra motivation to stay healthy. it has asked me to think deeply about some of the most fundamental yet complex issues that ultimately impact everyone. it has taught me a framework for understanding my medical experiences and a platform and theoretical underpinning to make real change.

i think it is spectacular that abbott and other companies and organizations offer scholarship programs like this one to encourage those of us with CF to keep dreaming, thinking, asking questions and pursuing our educational goals. so, thank you to abbott for helping to make further education far more feasible and thank you to you for your consideration and immense support.