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Draft Personal Statement

Hello, my name is Summer Daw and I am a Navajo Native American, third-year student
at Northern Arizona University (NAU). My majors are Biomedical Science and Applied
Indigenous Studies, and I am applying for the Optometry program at Midwestern University. I
am interested in this program at this specific location for several reasons. The first is that
Glendale is close to home and is in a familiar setting. The second is that my family owns an
optical business on the Navajo reservation. This business only focuses on retail as well as lab
work to make the eyeglass wear. However, it lacks an optometrist. This business has been in my
family for well over thirty years and I want to continue to make efforts to keep it around longer.
This business not only helps with family income for everyone, but it also provides inexpensive,
quality eyeglasses for the income average of our small-town community. Attending the
optometry program at Midwestern University would allow me the close proximity to home that
other institutions cannot provide. With this, I would be able to visit family more often, help with
the family business, and be at a distance close enough to home to where I am still able to attend
traditional ceremonial gatherings and practices, all while continuing my education in hopes to
contribute to both my family and my community.
My interest in optometry was not always set in stone. I did not have an actual idea
of what I wanted to do but I was intent on helping my community, my family, and creating
change for the Navajo reservation. Initially, I began with the idea of becoming a medical doctor.
But, considering my culture and my beliefs, I realized that that was not realistic for me. The
energy that came along with being a medical doctor and working with patients who were
severely injured or ill was going to have a lasting impact on who I am and what I strive to
accomplish in my life. So, my family gave me the idea of optometry. I would still be helping
people and creating change as a Native American doctor, but in a traditional sense, I would be
protected mentally and the drive of creating a school and influencing youth would still be a
strong desire for me. So, even with this optometry program that I hope to get in to, I still have
several goals set aside for when after I receive my optometrist degree, that all focus on creating
positive change for the Navajo reservation. But this program at Midwestern University, I truly
believe, is the first step. Optometry will not only help me to financially secure myself, but the
extra income for the family business will also be there in support for my immediate and extended
family. As for the community, there is only one other Navajo optometrist on the reservation
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currently, and I want to influence the youth in my town that there is a better way of life if they
continue to work hard and continue on with education. With optometry, I want to be the person
who is locally accessible for other students to approach for internships, for experience, for
guidance, etc. Then, after I have spent some time as an optometrist, I hope to have gained the
funding to create a school of my own focused on STEM curriculum and traditional Navajo
culture, while continuing as an optometrist. Overall, being an optometrist will support me
financially to give youth a step up in education so that they are prepared for the road ahead.
In terms of experience for this optometry program, I have shadowed an optometrist from
the local hospital in my home town, and I am also planning on applying to work under an
optometrist in the remainder of my time here at NAU. Additionally, my capstone for my
Biomedical Degree is in route for an internship with an optometrist in Flagstaff, Arizona. I
understand that these few examples of why I am a great candidate for the Optometry program at
Midwestern University are minimal. But these works have been a bit difficult, especially setting
aside time to shadow because the hospital in Tuba City was highly unwilling to allow me to have
this opportunity. I had to call several times and make weekly visits to the hospital to ensure that I
was scheduled in. Certain experiences such as this, has prepared me to do whatever it takes to
succeed in a prestigious program such as the optometry program offered at Midwestern
University.
At a young age, I understood that the only way I was going to be able to attend higher
education was if I received scholarships and obtained a free education. So, throughout middle
school, junior high and high school, and even now in college, I have and am working my
absolute hardest to keep my scholarships and find opportunities that will help me in the future. I
am also a double major and am using my time wisely to accomplish both majors within the four-
year time period of which my scholarship is valid. I have not failed any classes, I am in the
Honors College, I was nominated for a collegiate association of which only nineteen percent of
NAU students are recognized, I am well known by the Dean of the NAU Honors College as well
as the Department of the Applied Indigenous Studies Program; and although I struggle the most
with my science based classes, I never fall behind or give up, or allow myself to be satisfied with
a mediocre grade. I give tremendous effort in these classes and strive to do more as a mentor to
Native American students in the Honors College and with planning my capstones to help me
with my future endeavors.
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On a final note, the optometry program at Midwestern University would be such an honor
to be accepted into. It would only benefit me and allow me to continue on the path I have laid out
for myself. I have so many goals and the optometry degree is literally the first step for my plan
on creating positive impacts for my Navajo reservation. From this program, I not only hope to
receive my license, but I also want to build connections with other students and faculty to build
my own character as a person. I want to obtain ideas about what other possibilities of change are
out there for Native American students. Finally, the challenge that this program is going to pose,
will strengthen me mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I will know that it feels like to struggle,
to really try, and with this, I will be more prepared for anything else I will have to face in life.
With this, I can encourage the Native American youth to do anything they set their minds to.