I have had many opportunities that have contributed to my professional development at Ohio State, such as my positions of leadership within student organizations. I currently serve as the Service Chair for the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (M.A.P.S.) as well as the secretary of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Theta Chapter. These organizations have left with great communication and organizational skills, experience planning events and programs, as well as offered many opportunities for networking and mentorship. However, I believe my greatest opportunity for professional development has yet to come, being the start of my undergraduate research in the Kopp Lab, beginning in the Fall of 2020. The Kopp Lab focuses on the outcomes of Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle- Cell related Lung Diseases. My goal for this research opportunity is to effectively carry out lab experiments related to the research. I want to make sure that I am keeping up with both what I am learning through studying the diseases, but also what I am learning through laboratory techniques and ethics. When I do conduct my experiments, my goal is to analyze data so that it may be of use to advance developments for treatments. It will be imperative that I keep a record of all the data I will be analyzing in my research, so that I may make connections and critical decisions about past and present findings.
Another goal I have for this project is to be able to present my research findings at the Autumn Undergraduate Research Festival following my summer of research, as well as the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum in the Spring. Presenting my research will be just as important as conducting it, in that it will show that I was able to understand the data, discuss the results, and receive feedback, which will help me to take a step further in advancing the project as a whole. A long term and more professional goal I have is to gain further exposure to the field of Pediatrics, which has been an interest of mine from the beginning of my pre-medical journey. Working at Nationwide Children’s Hospital will allow me to interact with more Pediatricians and expose me to their choices in subspecialties, such as Dr. Kopp and Pulmonary Medicine. As a future advocate for health and health equity, I wish to study the effect one’s community has on adverse lung health outcomes. I believe I will find that patients with Cystic Fibrosis or Sickle Cell Disease that are subject to the stress of their socioeconomic status or poor-quality air and water in their communities will have more negative outcomes than those who are not. This will be transformational in my view of the world in that it will allow me to acknowledge that certain groups of people require more education and public help when it comes to controlling their health. I believe this experience will encourage me to continue research, especially on health disparities, after graduation and as I venture into life after Ohio State. I believe by accomplishing these goals in the Fall when I am able to start my research journey, I will have improved my undergraduate experience at OSU and become more aware about my future career.