Hi, my name is Charlize Enchill, and for much of my life, the hospital announced itself before anyone ever spoke.
The beeping monitors, humming IV pumps, bright lights, cold rooms, and the sound of something being wheeled past my door became part of the background of my childhood. While other children were learning routines built around school, friends, and activities, I was learning that my body required constant watching.
Living with sickle cell disease has meant learning lessons that many people never have to think about. Cold is not just uncomfortable for me — it can be dangerous. A chilly room, a sudden change in temperature, or not being warm enough can trigger pain, stiffness, or a crisis. I learned to layer hoodies indoors and carry heat packs like armor.
At some point, I realized my body did not come with simple instructions. Its warnings were hidden in the fine print: hydrate, stay warm, rest, pay attention. Living with sickle cell disease can feel like being born with a user manual no one else reads, where survival depends on noticing details others may overlook.
💪 Learning My Body, Finding My Voice
Growing up sick also meant learning my body in ways most people never do. Veins became landmarks. I learned which ones roll, which ones collapse, and which ones hurt the least. Needles taught me endurance — not because I chose to be brave, but because I had to learn how to stay still, breathe through pain, and trust that relief would eventually come.
I learned that a dull ache behind my knees means slow down. A sudden chill is a warning. Fatigue is information. While others may move through life on instinct, I have had to move through life with awareness, constantly interpreting the signals my body sends.
Sickle cell disease has disrupted the rhythm of my life through missed school days, canceled plans, and milestones interrupted. Time feels different in the hospital. Minutes stretch when pain is unmanaged, and weeks can disappear into charts, discharge papers, and recovery.
But even in those moments, I learned what endurance really means. Sometimes endurance is quiet. It is remaining calm. It is advocating for yourself. It is trusting your body to recover and believing that life is still waiting for you beyond the hospital room.
🌟 Turning Experience Into Service and Design
As a young adult, I have turned the knowledge I gained from living with sickle cell outward. Through local sickle cell organizations, I became a youth peer counselor, working with children ages 7 to 11. I encouraged them to express their emotions, especially through journaling during pain crises, and reminded them of the importance of self-care — staying hydrated, eating well, and speaking with trusted adults.
Through support groups, fun-runs, and blood drive advocacy, I have helped show younger warriors that sickle cell may present challenges, but it should not define their futures.
That same purpose led me to create Blueprints & Braids, an initiative empowering young Black girls to see themselves in STEM, especially engineering. As a civil engineering student at Prairie View A&M University, I see resilience as design — building something strong enough to withstand pressure and still stand.
🎓 What This Scholarship Means to Me
Receiving the Warrior on the Rise Scholarship means so much because it supports both my education and the purpose I am building from my lived experience.
I did not choose this manual, but I have mastered it. Sickle cell disease has shaped how I approach life — with patience, determination, awareness, and self-trust. It has taught me how to survive, but also how to lead, serve, create, and keep moving forward.
This scholarship helps me continue my path as a civil engineering student, a mentor, an advocate, and a young woman determined to build a future with strength written into every blueprint.
🌟 Help More Warrior Scholars Rise
When you support the Warrior on the Rise Scholarship Fund, you are investing in students like me — scholars impacted by sickle cell disease who are pursuing education, leadership, service, and purpose despite obstacles many people never see.
Your donation helps provide encouragement, financial support, and hope to young people who are determined to rise, build, and make a difference.
Thank you for believing in me and in the future of Warrior Scholars everywhere.
— Charlize
