I was 9 when I heard a sentence that changed everything: “Your 2-year-old sister has cancer.” I didn’t know what those words meant at the time, but I could sense a change in my family, the fear, the not knowing, and the quiet that took over our home. My sister Nicoletta was lying there all small and frail in the bed with the beeping machines I couldn’t name. I didn’t know how to help, and for a long time, I refused to come to terms with it. My life felt out of my control, but I could control learning. I read everything available on Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, hoping to learn what was going on, but also how one day I could make a difference for families like mine.

That was the start of my passion for medicine, as I know now. I have spent many years seizing every opportunity to work in clinical contexts by shadowing doctors, doing hospital internships, and learning how I can relate to patients and their families with both a medical and emotional approach. I’ve realized that compassion and communication are as important as diagnosis and treatment in healthcare. I am particularly interested in gynecology and neonatal surgery, where I can help patients through some of life’s most challenging times. My sister’s sickness taught me the force of a doctor’s presence, and that is why I strive to give them one. I want to be a doctor who knows not just the science but also offers comfort, strength, and clarity for those who need it most.