Hi, my name is Jazlynn Mitchell-Garland, and growing up, I changed schools often. I rarely stayed in one place for more than two years.
At the time, I saw each transition as a fresh start. But looking back, I realize I was carrying a heavy, invisible passenger with me everywhere I went: sickle cell disease. While my surroundings changed, sickle cell remained constant. I had to learn how to navigate new classrooms and hospital rooms at the same time.
Moving so often taught me how to connect with people quickly. My father calls it my “je ne sais quoi” — a natural charisma that helps me find common ground with almost anyone. Whether it is complimenting someone’s bright red sweater or bonding over a shared interest, I learned early that connection can be an antidote to isolation.
That mattered because both frequent moving and chronic illness can make a person feel alone.
💪 Learning to Advocate for Myself
The deepest impact of sickle cell disease has often been felt in hospital rooms or at home during pain crises. Living with sickle cell means learning how to endure, prevent, and cope with pain that can disrupt the life I have worked so hard to build.
In vulnerable moments, I realized that my ability to connect with others was more than a social skill. It became an important tool for my care.
I have seen firsthand how the medical system can sometimes feel dismissive. Many people in the sickle cell community experience care that feels impersonal or skeptical, where their pain is minimized and the diagnosis is seen before the person.
In my own journey, I was prescribed the wrong medication for ten years. For a decade, my family and I searched for answers that should have been found sooner. That experience taught me the importance of listening to patients, trusting their voices, and seeing the full person behind the symptoms.
Those moments shaped me. They taught me to advocate for myself with strength, confidence, and empathy.
🩺 A Future Rooted in Listening
Living with sickle cell disease has clarified my dreams.
I do not just want to become a doctor. I want to become a bridge.
I want to practice medicine as a listener first. I want to be the kind of physician who understands the exhaustion of constantly starting over, the fear of being invisible in a waiting room, and the need for patients to feel truly seen and heard.
My goal is to make sure my future patients never feel like “cases” to be managed, but like people to be understood, respected, and connected with.
🎓 What This Scholarship Means to Me
Receiving the Warrior on the Rise Scholarship means so much because it supports my education and the future I am working toward.
This scholarship is not only financial support. It is encouragement to keep pursuing a path shaped by purpose, compassion, and lived experience. Sickle cell disease has challenged me, but it has also given me a deeper understanding of people, pain, advocacy, and the power of being heard.
I plan to carry those lessons into every classroom, every opportunity, and one day, every patient room.
🌟 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, healthcare, and purpose.
Your donation helps provide encouragement, financial support, and hope to young people who are determined to rise above obstacles and use their experiences to help others.
Thank you for believing in me and in the future of Warrior Scholars everywhere.
— Jazlynn
