What is your passion?

My passion is to help others, to be someone else’s hero in their life that they do not have. Becoming a Physician Assistant is my passion because it allows me to make an impact on someone’s life while also stimulating the love I have for the beauty of the human body. There is something about helping someone that just lights up my soul and when I receive a thank you or a see a smile on their face it makes me truly happy.

When did you realize that this was your passion?

I realized that I wanted to pursue becoming a medical professional when I was a little girl. I always liked to play doctor, always was curious about the body and I enjoyed making others happy even if it is in a small way. I also loved things that stimulated my thinking and involved mystery; putting pieces together in a puzzle.

What gives you the strength to pursue your passion?

The strength to pursue my passion honestly comes from my mentors and my heart. My mentors help motivate me, encourage me, and keep me focused on my goals, but my heart along with my compassion that I have about learning about the human body keeps me whole.

Describe one of your proudest moments. Describe a hardship and how it was overcome. (Both in relation to your passion). One of my proudest moments was when I became a Godmother in the year of 2015 to a beautiful little girl. I feel like her birth was a huge blessing to me because she was born during a dark time in my life when I constantly doubted myself and capabilities for pursing my passion. However, she gives me more motivation to pursue my dreams because along with making myself happy, I now have another beautiful soul to keep happy.

How do you motivate yourself to stay on the path to pursuing your passion?

I motivate myself by keeping positive people in my life. I believe that with positive people in your life you can accomplish any and everything. I also take on challenges with an optimistic mindset and I keep my list of long-term goals nearby, for those times if I ever feel like giving up I have a reminder to keep me going. Sometimes we all need a little reminder.

What advice do you have for people who are too afraid to follow their dreams?

For individuals that are afraid to follow their dreams I would advise them to think twice about their thoughts. You have to really investigate why you wanna follow your dreams and what it means for you to follow them. Think about how different your life would be if you decided to not follow your dreams. Would you be happy with yourself? Find that inner-motivation and love that you have for your dreams.

How do you see your passion being manifested in the future?

I see my passion being manifested in the future after I take a year off from graduating at Le Moyne College. I want to take some time to myself, to save up money, spend time with my family, prepare for graduate schools and working to get the clinical hours that I need for the PA programs that I am applying for. Essentially, my gap year will not be a break for me because I will be working to prepare for the next stage in my life.

What is your philosophy or mantra that motivates you?

My motivation derives from three important women in my life, my mother, grandmother and my great-grandmother. All these women inspire me to pursue my dreams not just because they are hardworking and loving women themselves, but because they push when I feel discouraged, or hopeless that I cannot make it. Additionally, with their words of wisdom I also have my own personal philosophy that motivates me. I believe in putting my heart and soul into everything I do and if I do that along with working hard I know that I can make my dreams come true.

LADA: Samaria is one of the hardest working young women I know. She is so passionate about her studies and making difference. She is also humble and has inspired me to work hard when I am feeling down. I am sooo excited to present this interview to all of you. Please support her quest to graduate school by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/25egdc4 . Doing so will get her a step closer to becoming a Physician Assistant. Also, please share! Thank you!