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| Maria Attarwala, Medical student at UWI & PALAS Gold Star Winner (Top Performer) |
Maria Attarwala is a resident of Hanover, Jamaica, she recently graduated from Montego Bay Community College (MBCC) with a 3.96/4.00 GPA. She has passes in 18 CXC/CAPE subjects with 16 distinctions (grade ones). Below is the essay that she submitted to the Peace and Love Academic Scholarship, Inc (PALAS) committee for evaluation to be considered for one of the sponsored scholarships. Maria won a PALAS Gold Star Scholarship by earning 29 out of a possible 30 points......
She writes....
She writes....
“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.”
-Buddha
Growing up most children aspire to be doctors or lawyers, because society deems them as the ‘professions to be’. However, for me, throughout primary school I had no idea what I wanted to become. My parents Zujer Attarwala and Nadine Attarwala worked feverishly to provide for two sisters, Kimberly, Imani, and myself. They worked to ensure that we had no excuse not to be the best in whatever we chose to do. On August 20, 2007, Jamaica was facing a major hurricane and throughout this ordeal, my father received a major heart attack leaving him with only 33% heart functionality.
On the 17th of March of this year, he passed away as he began having severe breathing problems as of lately. On that bright Monday morning as he was taking my sister and I to school when he started experiencing severe shortness of breath, it later got too much to bear and he had to pull over on the highway. It was then my responsibility to get him to the hospital, however my efforts were futile as his pulse and breathing came to a stop only two (2) minutes away from the Cornwall Regional Hospital. Experiencing this calamity taught me valuable life lessons and led me to the realization that medicine is definitely the career in which I want to pursue. It has also made me realize that I have to work extremely hard to make my father proud and fulfill his dream for me of being the best at anything I pursue in this life. more
On the 17th of March of this year, he passed away as he began having severe breathing problems as of lately. On that bright Monday morning as he was taking my sister and I to school when he started experiencing severe shortness of breath, it later got too much to bear and he had to pull over on the highway. It was then my responsibility to get him to the hospital, however my efforts were futile as his pulse and breathing came to a stop only two (2) minutes away from the Cornwall Regional Hospital. Experiencing this calamity taught me valuable life lessons and led me to the realization that medicine is definitely the career in which I want to pursue. It has also made me realize that I have to work extremely hard to make my father proud and fulfill his dream for me of being the best at anything I pursue in this life. more
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