My name is Aashka Parikh, and I am a 1st-year Bio Sci Scholar. I was born in Elyria, Ohio and then moved to Avon, Ohio (Cleveland area) after nine years. In high school I tried to pursue a variety of activities from swimming to dance to internships at the Cleveland Clinic.
After my freshmen year of high school, I had some inclination towards the medical field, so I decided to apply to the Junior Ambassador Program at the Cleveland Clinic to expose myself more to a prospective career. As a Junior Ambassador, I worked under doctors, met and greeted patients, assisted nurses with clerical work, and more; it truly jump started a new perspective of medicine as I got to meet a number of inspirational people who have really motivated me and helped me gain experience and knowledge. In fact, I shadowed doctors that met at the clinic and was offered an unpaid clinical research internship position that is now my future career goal.
My interest in medicine and clinical research were partially reason for me applying to the Scholars Program. In addition, I believe that my ambition and work ethic, developed through activities I participated in throughout the years, allowed me to pursue the Scholars Program.