Meet the 2020 Scholars

"What do you believe is the greatest unaddressed patient need in the CF community, and if you could, how would you try to fix it? Who would you partner with (e.g. public figure, organization) to help fix the issue and why?"

Living with the day-to-day struggles of Cystic Fibrosis is a lifelong uphill climb. People who have Cystic Fibrosis know all about what CF really is and how it can affect one’s life. However, many people without CF are completely in the dark about it even existing and what it means. I believe that the greatest unaddressed patient need in the Cystic Fibrosis community is education and awareness from peers. In my 13 years of schooling, there has never been a mention of Cystic Fibrosis in the classroom and my peers had no idea what it meant. When people don’t understand or even know what CF is, it makes the CF patient feel ostracized and less than because of their medical condition. Although sometimes having to stop and take care of your CF can be a bump in the road, anybody with CF can do anything they put their minds to. Shoot for the stars I like to say. By teaming up with world-renowned health organizations like the World Health Organization and United Nations Foundation, we can raise awareness for Cystic Fibrosis and hopefully further people’s education. In today’s society being so social media-based, I also believe that teaming up with popular social media platforms like Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram or Tik Tok can reach a younger audience and help them be more accepting of their fellow classmates with Cystic Fibrosis. I believe that spreading the word about CF can help people with CF feel like everybody else.