Aspiring biomedical engineer turns personal loss into a deep desire to help heal the sick and injured
Skye Goldson possesses a wonderful curiosity for helping humanity in the area of healthcare by focusing on the details and intricacies of healing,” said Cheryl O’Donoghue, CEO at Aspire2STEAM.org. “We applaud her interest in advancing medical technologies, shortening the time people spend combating serious illnesses and extending the time spent with loved ones.”
Skye has an acute understanding of what it means to have access to medical treatment that improves one’s quality of life as her fraternal sister, Davie, was diagnosed with leukemia at a young age. Skye and Davie shared a close bond and as Davie’s disease progressed, Skye became more immersed in the medical devices and treatments used to fight leukemia. Each time she visited her sister at the hospital and saw the procedures her sister endured, she wished that the treatments would help her sister return to her typical fiery, happy self and give her more time with family. Sadly, Davie passed before the girls’ celebrated their thirteenth birthday.
In the years after Davie’s passing, Skye navigated teenage life and learned many valuable lessons, including how to stay true to her values of being kind, respectful, and determined, even when other children treated her poorly. She learned how to acknowledge and leave toxic relationships and surround herself with positive people. In high school, she began to excel academically and in sports as a member of the varsity swim team. Yet one of her most memorable experiences was her volunteer work for the Florida-based nonprofit A Safe Haven for Newborns.
“I’m excited to build my scientific knowledge to one day help manufacture new technologies to improve the health of others.”
— Skye Goldson
A Safe Haven for Newborns focuses on the parents and children of unplanned pregnancies and offers support in making decisions so a positive outcome is ensured for both parties. Skye created informative educational materials for the team at A Safe Haven for Newborns to use in their outreach, as well as numerous pieces of art for the organization to help raise awareness. Skye also was an active volunteer for the Morningday Community Solutions Warehouse. The organization collects returned or discontinued items and resells them at a lower price to help the less fortunate. Skye stocked shelves, assembled furniture, and folded clothes; she cared about making the goods look neat and presentable. Her attention to detail was valued by the warehouse coordinators and the experience helped her learn responsibility, leadership, and to take pride in her work, no matter the task.
Skye honed her detail-thinking abilities further by participating in peer projects with the Southeastern Consortium of Minorities in Engineering (SECME). While at SECME, she built a variety of machinery with fellow teammates, including one to construct a “Sea Perch” apparatus that could be operated underwater and maneuvered through a series of obstacle courses. Skye said, “My team worked tirelessly soldering wires and bolts while cutting PVC pipe to construct a device worthy to compete in the competition, and we felt very accomplished after seeing how well it worked.”
Skye capped off her high school experience by becoming a Sun-Sentinel Kids of Character Award recipient, an honor bestowed annually to only a handful of students and faculty in Broward County. Nominated by teachers and school officials, individuals selected for the Sun-Sentinel award exemplify character pillars of responsibility, honesty, citizenship, respect, kindness, self-control, cooperation and tolerance. Skye was additionally recognized for her cooperation in academics and for being a positive and productive member in their community.
Now in her freshman year at Florida State University, Skye is excited about her chosen career major—biomedical engineering. “One day I will create and engineer mechanical devices and continue to study human anatomy, which amazes and inspires me,” said Skye. “One of the reasons why I enjoy medical engineering is because it necessitates close attention to smaller, even microscopic pieces in order to maintain the intricacy of the machine. I’m excited to be able to develop my attentiveness to detail even further so that I can benefit others in the future.”
ABOUT…
Aspire2STEAM.org is a charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which has earned Guidestar’s Gold Seal for integrity, transparency, and accountability. We provide scholarships and mentoring to young women and girls who are working hard—aspiring—to achieve careers that require education in science, tech, engineering, the arts, or math…and they could really use a hand up over the incredible barriers of student debt and rising education costs and the real, ever-present opportunity barriers that keep them out of most male-dominated industries. These young women are doing their part, let’s help them by doing ours.
Scholarship Applications Accepted Year-Round! Share this online application today.