- Global Awareness: In today’s modernized world, all of us are united through the problems that we face globally, such as climate change and the water crisis. In order to understand these problems better and how they affect a particular population, global awareness is required. In addition, global awareness broadens the mind through the learning of different cultures and consequent experiences. In order to increase my global awareness, I plan on taking a semester during my second or third year and spend it learning abroad. One of the most intriguing options to me, since I am on a pre-med track, is medicine in Europe. The European health care system boasts some of the best health care in the world; Ideally, I would travel to Europe for a semester and spend a good portion of time shadowing physicians. This, in addition to giving me shadowing experience for medical school, would also open my mind the the differences between the European and American health care systems, which may open pathways to a more affordable health care system.
- Original Inquiry: For my pursuance of Original Inquiry, I plan to engage in medical research next year. While I am not yet sure if I will perform retrospective research or lab research, it is important in order to gain new perspectives and a research-oriented mind. Medicine is always evolving, and this is not possible without the contributions of people who are willing to ask questions. I hope that through the pursuance of research opportunities, I am also able to gain this mindset.
- Academic Enrichment: For my Academic Enrichment goal, I plan to take honors versions of the classes as I am able to. Not only do I plan to take these advanced classes but excel in them as well, through the implementation of effective study habits. Through these honors courses, I will receive a tougher workload, and I believe this will help to prepare me for the long hours and tedious work that I will surely do in medical school. In addition, I believe this will also help me become more open-minded, because I feel that I would have to engage in much more critical thinking at the honors level.
- Leadership Development: Leadership is a very important quality to have in any fields, especially STEM fields such as medicine and engineering, since these fields are constantly improving through the discovery of new methods. Someone has to get the ball rolling. For my leadership experience, the current plan is as follows: I joined a club called Future Physicians of Tomorrow. I was very interested because we will get the opportunity to hear from top-tier physicians and medical students from OSU’s medical campus. I plan to apply for an executive position within this club, so that I may have a say in the coordination and directing of activities within the club. I believe this management experience will make it easier to mentally categorize and complete tasks.
- Service Engagement: The willingness to serve people, whether disadvantaged or otherwise, is another great characteristic to have, not just in the medical field, but in life. I have already engaged in meaningful service during the time that I was a volunteer at the Sibling Clubhouse at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. I really enjoyed my time there, because in addition to helping kids get their minds off an injured sibling, I was also exposed to the general atmosphere of a hospital. Because I enjoyed this experience so much, I plan on completing more clinical service engagement at places such as OSU’s Wexner Medical Center.
