Prompt: The search for knowledge and commitment to service are both integral to the Spelman creed.

Illustrate and discuss a) how you have made an intellectual pursuit integral to your commitment to service, OR b) how an act of service has led to deeper intellectual engagement.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Through volunteering, I have found my calling in life; which is to become an infectious disease physician. Every day, I am constantly reminded of the hardships others face through simple observations and exposure through the media. As a result, I am motivated to engage in various service opportunities with the intention of giving back to others. Through acts of service, I have learned about who I aspire to be. Four years ago, I joined my schools Rotary Interact club, was Service Chair, and eventually became President of the club. Interact is a club for young people ages 12-18 who want to join together to tackle the issues in their community that they care most about. Interact carries out hands-on service projects, makes international connections, and develops leadership skills in its members. During the first year with the club, I participated in over 20 events all over the state of Utah. I volunteered in various activities with different organizations, including, a local Christmas coat drive, childcare services for underprivileged families, St. Jude Running for the Children Marathon, and Halloween projects with local recreation centers. I found these service projects to be an effective way to take action in the community and connect with other young leaders. While volunteering has always left me with a good feeling, as Service Chair, I was convinced that our club could have a greater and more meaningful impact. Through research, I discovered that Rotary International participates in a yearly Polio Awareness Campaign. Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease which has no cure, but has safe and effective vaccines. Rotarys strategy to eradicate polio is based on preventing infection by immunizing every child to stop transmission and ultimately make the world polio free. After successfully sharing my findings with my club, we participated in the Rotary International End Polio Awareness campaign. It was during the campaign that was when my interest in combating infectious diseases was ignited. Since the campaign, I have looked for other opportunities to deepen and widen my understanding of infectious diseases. I took up an internship at the Salt Lake County Health Department Bureau of Epidemiology. Coincidentally, the year of my internship, the Salt Lake City area was experiencing an unusually high outbreak of the infectious gastrointestinal disease, Norovirus. I was curious to find the reason for such a high outbreak. I decided to make this my science fair project. The focus of my project was to determine the general awareness of Norovirus and create an effective way to disseminate information about prevention methods. After surveying hundreds of Utah residents on general knowledge about Norovirus, I discovered

that the Salt Lake Valley Health Departments primary method of distributing information via posters was ineffective. My project made it to the statewide level competition. After visiting Spelman College and learning about its culture and creed, I am convinced that the school will provide me with the best environment to further my intellectual engagement which is deeply rooted in my passion for volunteering.