Meet the 2021 Scholars

"Living through a global pandemic with a chronic illness, what is one piece of inspirational advice that you would give to other students with CF who are in the same or similar position?"

Cystic fibrosis is a super power; although CF is an ugly and somewhat invisible chronic illness to fight, it has shaped me throughout the past 22 years into a young woman who is exceptionally strong-minded, hard working, and insightful. The fall of 2021 will mark the beginning of the end of my 17 year long academic career. I look forward to obtaining an undergraduate degree in psychology with a double minor in sales and business administration, but of course, throwing a global pandemic into the end of my academic journey has certainly not been rainbows and sunshine. The COVID-19 pandemic has created isolation, depression, and anxiety within our CF community. As chaos and worry became an everyday part of my life in March of 2020, I recalled a conversation I once had a year earlier with my nurse as I laid in my hospital bed. I was preparing to take a college exam while being attached to an IV pole with yet another lung infection. My nurse glimpsed at my laptop screen, noticing my exhausted body language as I was trying to keep up with my college coursework. She placed her hand on my back as she said, "Never forget you have not come this far, to only come this far. You can do hard things." Through a global pandemic and while juggling the life of a student with CF, we all must hold that message in our hearts. We are stronger than we may think; never count yourself out!