Artifact 1: 

The Claddagh is a traditional Irish symbol that represents love (heart), loyalty (crown), and friendship (hands). A few years ago, my great aunt gave me a Claddagh ring for my birthday and I wear it every day. The symbol and the ring itself remind me to stay grounded. It has reminded me and continues to remind me that even when life is difficult, I have a support system in my friends and family. This symbol relates to my goals in that it reminds me to keep going and that there are people rooting for me in all of my ventures. 

Artifact 2: 

This is a book called Ethics & AIDS in Africa, and I chose to read this for a class I took this year (BIOETHC 3000: Case Studies in Medical and Healthcare Ethics).  In this class, we were assigned a final paper in which we had to pick a topic we covered, provide a relevant case study, and ethically analyze the study and topic. The professor so kindly allowed me to stray from the syllabus, and I elected to write about the current state of the AIDS Epidemic and what ethically ending it might entail. This paper and book incorporated and allowed me to examine two of my biggest interests: bioethics and microbiology/HIV. Though this was not necessarily a challenge, I was able to grow academically as a specialized interest of mine was fostered in a class I thoroughly enjoyed.