Erica Scholl set herself the goal of helping sick children when she was 5 years old.
17年前，她的灵感来自一枚圣. 她妈妈带在身边的裘德. 当好奇的小艾丽卡问起这件事时，她的母亲解释说，圣. 裘德代表着希望. 她告诉爱丽卡有一家以他命名的医院, where children could be treated even if their families could not afford the medical care. Erica decided then and there she would become a doctor who cared for seriously ill children when she grew up.
At 22, Scholl is the first to admit that her goal was a lofty one for a child of her circumstances. She is the youngest of six children who grew up in a lower-income household. 在她5岁的时候, 她的母亲已经因为中风而残疾了, 在几年内, her father’s health also declined due to a car accident and heart problems. Growing up, Erica took on responsibilities usually reserved for someone older. And she had no role model for the particular path she set for herself; though two sisters work in the health field, she was the first in her family to aim for a bachelor’s degree and medical school.
Yet today, Scholl is well along the path toward improving pediatric patients’ lives. Last week, she traveled to none other than the very institution that inspired her – St. 裘德儿童研究医院, 特别是它的生物医学科学研究生院, where she presented her work at their National Symposium for Undergraduate Research. 在助理教授Nicole Shakerley的指导下进行, Scholl’s research seeks to understand the anti-inflammatory role played by the antibiotic minocycline. She hopes ultimately that it will be a step toward pursuing a doctorate at St. Jude after she graduates this spring with a bachelor’s in microbiology and master’s in molecular biosciences.
肖尔已经改变了攻读硕士学位的想法.D.她认为自己更适合做研究. But her goal of helping sick children remains; she is specifically interested in pediatric cancer research.
“来到这里(ACPHS)之后，, I now think doing research would make a huge impact in the oncology field,”她说。.
While the seed was planted when Scholl was 5, she did not obsess about medicine during childhood. 在学校, 她只是一个对STEM课程感兴趣的女孩, 技术, 工程与数学. 在高中上过工程课后, 她把生物医学工程作为职业, 但后来她决定更喜欢她最初的想法，成为一名医生. She was always drawn to stories about children faced with challenging medical conditions; they would pop up on her social media feeds, 她会跟着他们.
Though smart and suited to STEM, Scholl did not 自然 absorb material like some science prodigy. 她努力学习以取得成绩, Jordan Purinton说, her engineering teacher at Frankfort-Schuyler Junior/Senior High School in southern Herkimer County, 一个以农场为主，散布着小村庄的地区. Purinton recalled that Scholl would often study in the school’s library until the building closed, then make her way to the town library and remain there as long as it stayed open.
“She has a work ethic like no other student I ever met,” Purinton said. “我们仍然会给现在的学生讲她的故事.”
肖尔很早就知道她需要成人向导. 她得到了家人的鼓励和情感支持, she said, 但他们无法引导她走上一条他们从未走过的路. 在她关系密切的学校里, with under a thousand students from kindergarten through 12th grade on the same campus, 肖尔与她的老师们建立了深厚的联系. 她与普林顿和其他九人保持着定期联系, 并在她的ACPHS宿舍里展示了他们的照片.
到了找大学的时候, Scholl was clear about some things she wanted: A small school where she would be known and supported. 离家不到两小时的校园. 参加体育运动的机会. 通过俱乐部和活动发展领导技能的机会. 在学术上，当时她正在考虑医学预科课程. When she did a Google search, ACPHS was the first college to pop up, meeting all her criteria.
她参观了校园，感觉不错. 她父亲说她看起来像个进了糖果店的孩子.
“我只是想象自己在这里学习的样子,肖尔说, 今年秋天早些时候在戈佐学生中心外吃午饭. “我爸爸说，‘艾丽卡，我觉得这就是你要去的地方.’”
Scholl was so certain about her choice that she applied nowhere but ACPHS. 如果她没被录取, she would enroll in community college and find another way to a pre-med program, she said. (She did, 很明显, get in, with scholarships and a financial aid package that allowed her to attend.)
That’s not to suggest that she was always confident in her ability to succeed. Scholl worried initially about studying alongside students who had grown up with greater access to resources.
In fact, the academic rigor of college proved a challenge in her first semesters. The effort to keep up with her coursework was a shift from high school, 当对具有挑战性的主题进行重复指导时. She responded to her initial low grades in characteristic fashion – by reaching out for help where she needed it. 她和她的教授谈过. 她找了一些家教，尝试了不同的学习方法. 她每天都学习.
她特别感谢李博士. Shakerley and Professor Meenakshi Malik for helping her through that time.
“Both of these professors have really helped shape me into the student I am today,”她说。. “他们一直相信我，从未放弃过我.”
As a result of her efforts and the support she received, Scholl’s grades went up – way up. 她以3分的成绩完成了微生物学本科学位.平均成绩是5分，到目前为止保持着4分.在她的硕士课程中.
Despite the challenges, Scholl never once thought about hanging it all up.
“I don’t quit,”她说。, explaining that she learned that attitude from her parents. “生活很艰难。. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing what you believe in and stop doing what you have your goals set on.”
坚持ACPHS是一个很好的决定，Scholl说. She has made meaningful connections to professors and advisors as she did to teachers in her earlier years. 她利用每一个学习的机会, 参与和发展, 包括参加学生会, 篮球和田径, and, 自然, Pinky Swear PACK以提高对儿童癌症的认识.
“I came here, I was shy, I didn’t know where my journey was going to go,肖尔说. “And five years later, everything I saw and I hoped I could do, it happened.”
有机会去圣. 裘德儿童研究医院 last week came about through work with Dr. Shakerley. As one of only 52 students from around the country given a chance to present their research, Scholl称这次经历“令人难以置信”.”
When Scholl talks about her experience, she expresses excitement and gratitude, but never brags. 她对是否要广泛分享她的故事犹豫不决. She agreed to some publicity so that other young people might benefit from her example.
This is the message she said she wants them to hear: “It doesn’t matter where you come from – whether you’re low-income, 中产阶级, 有一个艰难的童年. 你仍然可以去追求你的梦想.
“不要放弃，一切皆有可能。.”