Ella Mayor accepts the 2024 NHS National Scholarship from NASSP CEO Ronn Nozoe. PHOTO COURTESY OF NASSP

In a classroom full of exhausted high school students, my presence alone makes little impact. An “island girl” with unconventionally broad shoulders and a soft, round face surely won’t be enough to spark the interest of teens with the attention span of a fruit fly. 

It was 2022, and as chief medical officer, I was tasked with teaching CPR to the incoming class of the Ventura County Medical Explorer Foundation at our Medical Academy orientation. I had so much knowledge I wanted to share with these students—and the world, for that matter. Yet, at that very moment, nothing came out. I felt like Ariel from The Little Mermaid—standing there helplessly while Ursula rips my voice from my throat and scurries off with it encapsulated in a necklace. The nerves were kicking in, and they were kicking in fast. I was so caught up in trying to stop my stutter, repeat my words without stumbling, and stand in front of people I didn’t know. Needless to say, I was so nervous that I was sure everyone could hear my frantic breathing onstage, and I quite literally felt like I was about to wet my pants.

Fast forward to Washington D.C., during Trailblazing Leadership Week when this moment flashed back in my head. I thought of that shy, nervous girl, and how much she’d grown from then—to now standing among the top 25 students in the nation and speaking confidently in front of principals, advisers, and staff from NASSP. 

As NASSP CEO Ronn Nozoe announced my name on stage as the national winner, I couldn’t help but break into tears. I couldn’t believe it. Because when someone thinks of a leader—one who exemplifies all four pillars of scholarship, service, leadership, and character—they don’t typically see a Filipina girl like me. A 5’4” Filipina, with shoes a size too big, a leg injury that has resulted in a slight limp when she walks, and massive calves the shape of Philippine plantains? Forget it. She wouldn’t even be given a second look. 

But NASSP saw something in me that even I didn’t. They saw a girl who was resilient, who came from a humble background and pushed through nevertheless. A girl who never became a leader overnight but rather slowly learned to love her voice and harness it into a force for positive change. A girl who won’t let anything get in her way of fostering a healthier, more equitable future for all. 

Becoming a Leader and Storyteller

Though it took years to learn to harness my gift for public speaking, a part of me will always remember the girl who felt like Ariel that day. And I am proud to say, I’ve found my purpose—a way for me to connect with others in ways I never thought possible. 

So, whenever I prepare to teach a lesson, one thought flashes across my mind: Tell a story.

Whether it be presenting my research on deep brain stimulation to the Parkinson’s community at the 8th Annual Stem Cell Symposium with the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center or teaching youth how to recognize vital medical conditions, storytelling has become a medium where I can connect with the audience in a way that is unique to me.

Every one of us has a story that is worth hearing, and so I believe it is our responsibility to share it with the world. At the 6th Annual Stem Cell Symposium, I spoke alongside Dr. Steven Peckman about research on induced pluripotent stem cells and regenerative medicine studies. Instead of spewing out a streamline of information, I made the analogy that stem cell differentiation is much like job specialization. And the same thing two years later where I presented on Parkinson’s disease research alongside Dr. Jeff Bronstein from the UCLA Howard and Irene Levine Family Center for Movement Disorders—I evoked the audience’s emotion from the perspective of a patient who underwent surgery.

Throughout high school, I quickly took up leadership roles that would push me far beyond my comfort zone. I became president of our National Honor Society, having donated over 500 pounds of clothing to child trafficking victims in countries such as India, Thailand, and Ethiopia. As president of my organization, Santa Susana Peer Tutoring, I established a network of more than 70 tutors to educate over 1,000 students in my school community. As president of STEM for Girls Excelling in Math and Science, Health Occupations Students of America, National High School Ethics Bowl, and student body vice president, I learned how to effectively communicate with people from different backgrounds.

As an intern at the Pre-College Research Institute, I led a virtual seminar on neural stem cell research and learned how to speak in layman’s terms when presenting my published research on pseudoephedrine at the International Young Researchers’ Conference. From shadowing Dr. David Chi and Dr. Mark Suski from preoperative consultations with patients in the clinical setting to postoperative care in the recovery center, I learned the professionalism involved in conveying important medical information to patients in a hospital setting.

And so, I am proud to say that I am a storyteller—a talent that has gifted me a unique identity and enabled me to communicate with people from all backgrounds. As I plan to pursue health care in the future, I have my stories to thank for broadening my approach to medicine and teaching me how to be a more impactful presenter, whether I’m educating the public about advancements in research or advocating for long-overdue policies in health care.

Changing the World of Health Care Through Medical Explorers 

As I discovered my passion for public speaking, I knew that I wanted to put it to good use. As a health care enthusiast, I live by a core principle: Pour your heart into everything you do. When met with a problem, I will do anything and everything in my power to resolve it, and Medical Explorers became a perfect avenue to do my part. 

You hear textbook descriptions of third-world countries experiencing “inadequate funding” and “limited access to vaccination services” and think to yourself, “Wow, I sure am lucky.”

But it’s not until you see it in person—the people who kindly turn down a vaccination because they don’t have the means to afford it, the people who forgo routine check-ups because they don’t know any better—that you realize the true extent of the issue.

In Bicol, my family’s province and one of the poorest regions in the Philippines, I’ve experienced firsthand what it means to lack proper access to health care. I’ve seen what conditions were like there. With no running water and unsanitary conditions, it’s a true breeding ground for diseases of all kinds to sprout up. 

The health of our community doesn’t just stop at U.S. borders, and I will not rest until everyone in this world is provided the health care that they deserve—including in the Philippines.

Here in the United States, I engage in efforts that will one day extend to initiatives aimed at eventually aiding the most underserved regions worldwide. Through the Ventura County Medical Explorer Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to educating and involving youth in health care careers, we’ve offered free testing, immunization clinics, and food to those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through more than 1,500 hours of volunteering. With the help of Los Robles Regional Medical Center, Safe Passage Youth Foundation, and our fantastic team of health care workers, our efforts have provided over 1,100 vaccinations in underserved neighborhoods across Conejo Valley and have distributed over 840 pounds of food to more than 400 underserved families in California.

So that girl who once felt helpless in front of an audience? The shy Filipina girl who once doubted whether she belonged on a stage with important leaders?

I see her now, and I tell her it’s going to be okay.

Back in that classroom, where I met with a room full of exhausted and inattentive kids, the “island girl” begins to speak—each word pouring out with as much passion as she can muster. 

As an aspiring health educator, I look into the faces of these kids and see opportunity. I see a future that defies current barriers of racial disparities—where Filipino kids like me no longer have to be born into a life that puts them at higher risk for disease than their white counterparts. The health of our community doesn’t just stop at U.S. borders, and I will not rest until everyone in this world is provided the health care that they deserve—including in the Philippines. These unique experiences will carry me throughout the rest of my life, serving as only the beginning of my mission to bridge the gaps of public health inequities. 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you NHS. My dreams are bigger than I’ve ever imagined thanks to this scholarship, and I am confident that even bigger things are yet to come. To any students out there reading this—never doubt yourself. Believe in your abilities, trust in the process, and know that whatever you’re dreaming can be within reach if you push through hard enough. You truly are stronger than you think.

Ella Mayor is a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley. A graduate of Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley, CA, she is the 2024 NHS Scholarship National Winner.