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Macee Prevatte
10800 Highway 707
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
maceeprevatte@g.horrycountyschools.net

3rd December 2015

Senior Digital Exploration Judges

10800 Highway 707
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

Dear Judges:

Entering high school, I was blessed to be surrounded by many good friends that I have known
most of my life. High school has been fairly easy for me due to my outgoing personality and
involvement in athletics. Freshman and sophomore year I played varsity soccer for the school but
eventually discovered a new interest. I have always dreamed of going into the medical field so I
began taking Health Science and Sports Medicine classes then finished with Medical
Terminology my Senior year. These classes were taught by Mrs. Fischer and Mr. Krauss. They
have definitely had a major impact on my life and helped mold me into the person I am today.
After a total of four years playing soccer for the high school I began the Athletic Training
Internship with Mr. Krauss and Mrs. Fischer. The internship is the best thing that has happened to
me throughout my four years of high school. I have had amazing hands on experiences being one
on one with student athletes. The internship has taught me many things from professionalism to
skills needed in the medical field. Overall high school has been an amazing experience filled
with great memories and wonderful people but I am ready to begin my future in the medical
field.
I have always shown and extreme interest in the medical profession, Oncology. This is because
my mother was diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer in August of 2007. She was given 5
months to live without treatment or 6-12 months to live with treatments. My mother was
immediately hospitalized for 8 weeks of aggressive treatment. Within 4 months she had 36
chemotherapy treatments, 25 radiation treatments, and had radiation rods inserted in her body for
72 hours. By January of 2008 the cancer had traveled to her heart. The tumor was attached to her
heart and right lung therefore the tumor was immediately removed along with 1/4th of her lung. I
spent many long hours with her while she was receiving chemo. Days that she was home I spent
most of my time outside of school taking care of her and making sure she was taking her
medicine and eating as well as possible. My first-hand experience with this illness developed a

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significant amount of curiosity in me about this life threatening disease. I immediately knew I
wanted to do my research on the various effects of parental cancer in children. Throughout my
research I learned more in depth about the psychological, psychosocial, and academic problem
children experience along with the causes and treatments. My research enlightened me on
different ways that I personally can cope with the effects of parental cancer and help others than
may come across with this problem.
The service portion of my Senior Exploration consisted of five hours volunteering at the 34th
annual American Heart Association Beach Ride, 1 hour interviewing an oncologist over the
phone, and 2 hours talking with a fellow student athlete and his mother. In the beginning I had a
difficult time figuring out what I was going to do for my service hours since I could not shadow
an oncologist due to HIPAA laws. With the help of my mother and a couple of teachers I figured
out things I could do for my service hours. My service hours definitely helped enlighten me even
more on the subject of oncology. The Senior Exploration has helped me decide that oncology is
most definitely the field I am going to pursue.
I would like to thank you for taking time out of your schedule to participate in the Senior
Exploration. Also I would like to thank you for willingly sharing your time to listen to my
experiences and viewing my portfolio. I hope enlighten you with the information I have
provided. Once again thank you and I appreciate you taking time to participate in my Senior
Exploration.

Sincerely,

Macee Prevatte