I would like to be a doctor in the future, and so that means excellence in my undergraduate career as well as in medical school. As a doctor, that means people’s lives would be in my hands. I must be confident in the knowledge I have gained over my years of schooling. Medicine is constantly evolving and should I get into medical school and graduate from there, my learning would not stagnate. I will constantly be learning new things, and I find new treatments and sciences of medicine exceedingly interesting, particularly in cancer research and the development of vaccines. The fact that we have created a shot that can essentially eradicate diseases that used to wreak havoc on populations is astounding to me. I am excited for the future of medicine, and what that means for new treatments and cures for some of today’s diseases, and to get to that point it is integral that I, and everyone else never stops learning to ensure that medicine never stops progressing.
Global awareness is also very important to me since lots of other countries are not as fortunate as we are in the quality and infrastructure of medicine. While I am still young and have not settled down anywhere, I would like to join a medical program such as Doctors without borders that goes and helps where help is needed most. I think that would be a valuable life experience, I would learn a lot about different cultures, and different ways of life. I think that a different perspective is invaluable to really understand the world that we live in, and as I have never been outside of the United States I know it would be a challenging experience, but worth it in the long run. I definitely feel like helping those less fortunate than oneself shows one’s character, and afterwards it would allow me to connect with my patients better regardless of where they come from. I know it is sometimes intimidating to go to an unfamiliar place in an unfamiliar culture, but hopefully this would alleviate some of that fear. I would have gone through some of the same things that they would be dealing with, such as language barriers and cultural differences. I firmly believe that an experience such as that I mentioned before would make me a better doctor, and a more well-rounded person.
In short, while all of the G.O.A.L.S of the Honors and Scholars program are important, the two that I believe are most relevant to me are academic enrichment and global awareness. I believe I can better myself, and hopefully the world by using the principles of those two goals.