Meet the 2022 Scholars

"2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the AbbVie CF Scholarship. As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to continuing to recognize more students pursing their educational goals. Please share your future ambitions in the Cystic Fibrosis community, professionally and personally."

AbbVie has been helping those with CF achieve their dreams for 30 years; I’m grateful for the recognition of our potential. My future ambitions in benefiting the CF Community are already in the works! I have been an advocate and initiator of change at the UTSW CF Clinic in Dallas and the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. I found a large problem in the process of transitioning from a pediatric clinic to an adult clinic. Oftentimes, children with CF aren’t talked to directly; doctors talk to parents–the children don’t know why they’re on certain medications, or what bacteria they grow. Talking to parents at the doctor is common practice beyond CF, but adult CF-clinics are a new concept–because we are living longer and longer! We need to be capable of understanding and managing our health and regimens. I helped create a CF Teenage Transition Team. Conferences on the topic were held in Dartmouth and other accredited CF Clinics across the nation. Now, instead of the adult doctors being handed a large file as the introduction to an 18-year-old with CF, the adult team has started following children with CF by working with their pediatric doctors at least a year before they transition to the adult CF clinic. After my transition to an adult CF clinic, I have been a huge advocate for the importance of addressing mental health in CF patients. It is a growing problem that we can’t continue to ignore. I addressed this issue with my team, and it resulted in the entire CF Clinic undergoing an official mandatory training program on addressing mental health concerns in CF patients–the do’s and don’ts– and how to approach the topic. Still, this is only the beginning. I am pursuing psychology professionally–I really couldn’t go any other route; I am so passionate about it. I have a special interest in addressing the concerns of the people that need the most help–this goes beyond CF, but is wholly applicable to it, as well. First, I plan to become a school psychologist. Obtaining licensing for being an LSSP requires a master’s degree at the least. My ultimate goal is to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychiatry and open my own practice, or become a professor in psychology at a university specifically in Developmental Psychology, or Child Psychology. I have this inherent, intrinsic need to address the areas we lack in psychology–for example: Medical Trauma. This isn’t addressed enough in CF care mostly because many CF clinics do not have psychologists, psychiatrists, or counselors working with the doctors on their team. It’s not just a desire. I need to help the people that no one else wants to help because we all deserve compassion and understanding, especially for those faced with challenges concerning disabilities or uncontrollable life circumstances. I truly believe I can achieve my goals, as I’ve had a strong yearning for furthering my education, and just having the insight that CF has shown me, allows me a special perspective, unlike most others.