Looking back over my relatively short life, I can honestly say that I have had an eventful life thus far. One event worth mentioning happened during my junior year of high school. During this time, I was nominated to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF), on Medicine. This was an honor and I was elated to know that I was the first person from my high school to attend this Forum on Medicine. The Forum was very expensive, therefore numerous fundraisers were planned. The most memorable fundraiser was the chicken dinner sale. Due to the fact that my family showed up and ate all the chicken made this fundraiser more memorable.
The Forum was held in Washington, DC on the campus of Georgetown University from August 1-11, 2000. When I arrived, I thought males and females were staying in separate dorms. To my surprise, guys and girls were staying in the same dorm with the guys on the third floor and girls on the first and second floors. Jennifer was my roommate at the Forum. There were 330 individuals who attended the Forum. We were divided into sixteen groups by alphabetical order. I was in the first group that was named Bantu. All of the groups were named after famous people in medicine.
During the Forum, there were many activities planned for us by the staff. The staff took us on a tour to visit the different medical schools and hospitals that was very education and exciting! One of the places we visited was the University of Maryland College of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. I also had the opportunity to go to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC, as well as another hospital in Baltimore. At the hospital in Baltimore, we were given a free pair of scrubs, which I still have to this day. As a part of the Forum, we had to attend classes and assemblies. One of the most memorable assemblies was on AIDS. A couple that contracted AIDS, came and shared with us their fight against the deadly virus.