Adaya Haskins

10800 Highway 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
843-650-5600

25 April 2017

Senior Digital Exploration Judges

10800 Highway 707
Murrells Inlet, SC 29577

Dear Judges:

Good Evening, I am Adaya Haskins. I was born and raised in Myrtle Beach living with both of
my parents, two sisters, and a brother. I am currently a junior graduating a year early. Graduation
is approaching and I could not be more thrilled! High School was an experience, but I am ready
to pursue my dreams of creating an empire. Aside from graduating early being one of my
greatest accomplishments, I have maintained a high GPA, and participated in Future Business
Leaders of America, National Honors Society, and National Technical Honors Society. It was
challenging juggling five classes and trying to work at the same time. Although I put working
aside for a while, as the end approaches it is tough staying motivated because of the excitement.

My sister was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia in February of 2015 at the age of five. This was
critically life changing for my family as we struggled to accept the chronic disease and its
effects. We all encountered negative emotions as life seemed to crumble all at once. The
condition instantly brought my family closer together as we grasped that this situation could not
be conquered individually. We joined in unity agreeing on how we would cope with the new
changes in our lives. My family handled it in a way that we treated everyday the same and
pushed our emotions to outward sources. This motivated me to research how families cope with
cancer because I know other families would have approached the situation differently than we
did. I learned that you must stay positive in a time as this and create great support systems. This
will be used in the future as I report back to cancer organizations to volunteer and be a support
figure for families.
The Senior Exploration process was immensely life touching for me. I visited MUSC in
Charleston three different times, attending my sisters clinic appointments. I got to observe an
average day in clinic and the process my sister is going through to conquer cancer. I also got to
communicate with social workers, nurses, medical administrators, and more. I collected so much
information that covered beyond the question I was seeking to answer. I faced many obstacles
with my emotions throughout the process. As I observed families first discovering that their
loved one had cancer I could feel the pain as they were. I also once had to leave my sister in tears
as she was admitted to the hospital from the clinic because she was sick. The environment of the
clinic gave me a sense of sadness because I felt for the families who had to be there for the same
reason that I was. Speaking with the social worker and learning different information was a huge
accomplishment for me. I improved my networking skills and fixed my mind to think in a
different way. I am now educated more about the ins and outs of cancer and the resources
connected to it.

This experience has been enlightening to me. It has helped me learn and grow creating a lot of
self healing as I came in contact with recurring emotions. I hope this presentation enlightens
every one of you in the awareness of cancer as it has impacted my life. Thank you all in advance
for taking out time to indulge in the information I have to present to you.

Sincerely,

Adaya Haskins

Adaya Haskins