Hello SDN! Thanks in advance for your help. I'm debating between a few topics for my diversity essay. For context, I am a non-Hispanic white woman.
1. LGBTQIA Status: I identify as gay, and spent most of my life in a female-dominated sport. I remained closeted for most of my teenage years, because although I grew up in a liberal area, I was terrified of being excluded from the female spaces that constituted the majority of my community. I never faced any discrimination because of this status, but I often felt different from my mostly-straight peers. Now, one of my most meaningful activities is volunteering with a crisis line designed for LGBT+ young people (mostly teenagers), and the experiences that made me feel so alone now allow me to empathize more effectively with the challenges experienced by our callers. I am passionate about LGBT+ healthcare and am interested in doing research to better understand the experiences of AFAB LGBT+ people in OB/GYN spaces (re: reciprocal egg exchange, sexual health, gender-affirming care).
I speak about my time volunteering with this organization in one of my MME essays, and disclose my identity there as well.
Pro: more straightforward diversity essay prompt answer, representative of my experience
Con: I don't feel that I experienced any true discimination, and fear that I don't have the hours to back up this claim (I have about 250 hours over a year and a half in this volunteer position)
2. Chronic Illness Status: During my teenage years, I was diagnosed with a common physical chronic illness (think PCOS, endometriosis, etc.) that resulted in significant pain and feelings of isolation from my peers (was in an environment where I largely had to conceal my illness as to not jeopardize my competitive spot). I was eventually diagnosed (have been mostly symptom-free for the last several years) and started a large research project in college studying the diagnostic experiences of people with the same illness as I have. When doing this research, I disclosed my personal illness status, which allowed me to be an insider in community spaces and in turn resulted in a research study more attuned to the needs of the community. My disclosure of my diagnosis also fostered trust/understanding between myself and my participants, with several people telling me that they participated in the study ONLY because I also had the disease. In this way my personal diagnosis allowed me to bridge patient and medical communities.
My PS is largely about this/ my research project (although I didn't specifically talk about how disclosure of my diagnosis fostered trust). It's also one of my MME.
Pro: Directly related to my experience with research participants, definitely have the hours (>1800) on the research project to back up the claim
Con: Already talked about this in my PS, don't want to seem too one note.
3. Somehow combine the two?
Pro: get it all in there
Con: feels a little bit like I'm forcing them together, having trouble finding a connection between the two beyond using aspects of my personal identity to foster trust/understanding.
