Asia Farmer

Tronfeld West Durrett Scholarship Winner - Asia Farmer
Ms. Farmer with attorneys Mr. Latham and Mr. Martin.

Name: Asia Farmer

Currently Enrolled (2017): Varina High School

Essay: I have a passion to serve and want to make a difference in my community and the world by helping to make things better for other people. Will I be a pharmacist, physical therapist, or occupational therapist? I am not quite sure yet but I do know that my career goal is to be in the medical field. I will attend Christopher Newport University to start my educational journey towards my career path. As an undergraduate student, I will major in Biology. Throughout all phases (five, ten, and twenty years) of my career goal I will continue to exhibit the following values:

Be Early

No Excuses

Protect the Team

Be Confident

Service Others

Utilizing these values will keep me grounded and confident to handle any obstacle that may come my way. One of the challenges that I anticipate I will be faced with is schedule overload. I will overcome this obstacle by taking summer classes so that my load will be lighter during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Serving as a Junior Volunteer at Johnston-Willis Hospital since my freshman year in high school has helped me realize that I want to focus my career in the medical field. I assist the clinical staff with patients, shadow in the hospital pharmacy, improve patients’ experiences, and more. I enjoy working with the doctors and nurses to meet the patients’ needs. I received my pharmacy technician license in the eleventh grade. I have secured an opportunity to assist in a rehabilitation center with a licensed physical therapist. Over the next five years I will continue to seek similar opportunities throughout college to assist me in meeting my goal. In addition, I will get involved with the pre-health/pre-med advising program that will provide guidance toward appropriate curriculums, graduate school test preparation, and other needed activities. I will graduate from undergraduate school in four years and move on to the graduate level. Depending on my ultimate path in the medical field I may have an additional four years of formal education to complete after undergraduate school.

By year ten, I will be involved in my career and will start building a personal brand professionally. I will ensure to upgrade the professional organizations that I joined at the student level to the professional level. As well as join other professional organizations that will expand my knowledge and help keep me up to date with the emerging trends in my field.

Between years ten and twenty I plan to have my own business if I go down the path of being an Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist. While education is extremely important to me, I do plan to start a family and envision doing so between years ten and twenty.

While I pursue my educational and career goals I will intentionally continue to seek opportunities such as the CJ Thumbs Up Ball where I can assist those in need. Charlotte Jennie (CJ) passed away at four years old from a rare aggressive tumor. The Thumbs up Foundation was founded in her name to help others in need. An annual event, where I volunteer my time, is held each year in Richmond, VA to help the cause is the Thumbs-Up Ball. I will continue to be a servant leader.

The Tronfeld West & Durrett Step by Step Scholarship will help me to meet my educational and career goals. My formal education will not stop at the undergraduate level but must continue through to the doctoral level. I will utilize the scholarship specifically towards my education expenses. I am the dependent of a single mother. Being the sole provider, my mother was unable to save for my college education due to the fact that she had to focus on the things that were in front of her. Despite having set-backs due to company downsizing, my mother alone still had to ensure that her children needs were met. Today, she finds herself having to provide not only for me but assisting her parents as well due to high healthcare costs. My grandmother was recently diagnosed with a genetic disease and must get treatments on a monthly basis. Not having healthcare through an employer has resulted in high healthcare expenses for my grandparents. My grandmother’s quality of life will be compromised without the monthly medical treatments, therefore, my mother assists although it causes a hardship for our household.

If I am awarded the Tronfeld West & Durrett Step by Step Scholarship, I can assure you that it will not be wasted but will be valued and a good investment into my future.