Author: whitham.4

About Me

My name is Tarik Whitham, I was born in Canada and have since lived in Russia, Switzerland, and now the United States. I have visited over 25 countries. I truly consider myself an international citizen as I have family all over the world and love to travel. My many travel experiences have taught me so much about the world in which we live.

Having studied in 9 different school has made me a very adaptive learner and an open minded individual. In high school I was given lots of exposure to many subjects. Science has always caught my attention from a young age. Given the chance, I took as many science courses as possible and excelled in all of them. Having taken many AP courses prepared me well for college and the many science related courses I  take as a biology major.

I aspire to go onto medical school and become a surgeon. This goal has led me to  many great experiences . For several years I volunteered at a local hospital in an attempt to gain exposure to my desired occupational field. I’ve worked in a retirement home with the elderly in need of medical care and I have scrubbed in on operations to test my composure. Over this past summer I conducted independent research with the EPA. I investigated UV-inactivation of pseudomonas aeruginosa in relation to premise plumbing apparatus’.As first author I presented this paper at the national water microbiology convention, I was the youngest individual to ever present at this conference.

Since beginning at OSU I have become an EMT working with MEDCARE ambulance service. I volunteer at the Wexner Medical Center and am currently working on a quality improvement project with the volunteer department. I have also gained further research experience doing cardiology research with Dr. Sakima Smith.

My experiences are not limited to academic interests as I have played hockey for many years and was captain of two teams. I was also captain/president of Ultimate Frisbee. I was kitchen manager of Chipotle, participated in mock trial, tech crew, national honor society, DECA,wrestling, and tutoring.

I look forward to expanding my horizons with further academic enrichment. I hope to study abroad and conduct research research in Antarctica. After graduation I plan to travel to south Africa to help animal conservation initiatives and complete the tour de Mont Blanc before beginning medical school

Shadowing Experience

Tuesday November 27th I had an amazing opportunity to shadow multiple surgeons at the OSU Wexner medical center. Throughout the course of the day I gained first-hand experience of what a day in the life of a doctor is like. I was able to step into the operating room and see 3 surgeries. The first operation was a left femoral artery obstruction bypass using vein graft. This 3 hour procedure was truly amazing. Following this procedure I spent some time with a general surgery resident who described his daily activities and career thus far to me. He said his average work week is under 80 hours which is good for a resident. It is not uncommon for surgical residents to work 80-100 hours a week. He has been an M.D. for seven years, however he is only in his fourth clinical year of surgical residency because he tool extra time to conduct research for several years. The average surgical resident has 5-6 clinical year. While watching Dr. Starr, a vascular surgeon, operate I was able to ask her about her favorite and least favorite parts of the job. She said that the administrative requirements of the job are tedious and annoying.  However, it is all worth it to be able to help people while being mentally and physically stimulated. After spending 5 hours with Dr. Starr I was able to spend some time with Dr. Rushing, a CT surgeon. He was performing an open heart procedure involving an aortic bypass with artificial graft. Being able to see an operation of such a nature was a dream come true for me as I have been interested in CT surgery for over a decade.Spending 10 hours with surgical teams was an enlightening experience that motivated me even further towards becoming a doctor.

 

Dr. Peter Lee

Image result for Dr peter leeOn Tuesday, October 24th Dr. Peter Lee came to give a lecture about his life and experiences in becoming a cardiac surgeon and his career outlook. His experiences have been truly fascinating. He is a Canadian citizen who has worked across the country doing research and other medical work. His fascination with flying and space have led him to aeronautics research with NASA, Space-X, and Blue origin. It was truly amazing to see how following ones heart and interest can lead to ultimate career success.

A very insightful part of his lecture was his discussion of different paths to becoming a doctor. The varying training and degrees are all variables that affect salary, occupational responsibility, length in education and destination. All these different things are difficult to balance when looking to the future as a prospect medical student. His insight certainly helped guide me, despite of the vast span of time before such decisions are necessary for me.

As a transplant surgeon Dr.Lee spoke of some amazing experiences while quite literally saving lives. From traveling on private jets to see patients to holding a disconnected yet still beating heart, Dr. Lee has seen it all and the experiences inspired me to become a cardiomyopathy surgeon with transplant training.

G.O.A.L.S

During my time at The Ohio State University I have been given so many great opportunities through many different organizations. So far I have had great fortune in being able to interact with people who are very dedicated to the community. This dedication has led me to be able to enrich my academics and work to serve the community. These two aspects of the G.O.A.L.S are very much related to my future career and education aspirations of becoming a surgeon. The medical profession in itself is rooted in helping those who you are able to. Doctors work tirelessly to save lives day in and day out. However, in order to become a good doctor and a well rounded person one must have insight it a vast array of fields and ideas. As a member of Health Points: Pre-Health connections and volunteering, I have been given opportunities to do both service outreach and academic enrichment that is directly related to the medical and pre-medical tracks.

Almost every week Health points has service events for its members. One of the more notable ones has been making cards for sick children. Over the course of 2 hours hundreds of cards were hand made to be given to hundreds of kids in the local hospitals. Many of cards were difficult to make and a serious mess was made but being able to encourage and put a smile on the faces of these amazing children is certainly worth it. Additionally, I have spent hundreds of hours volunteering at a hospital weekly.  This work is always satisfying as there is a sense of immediate gratification when you lend a hand.

Academic enrichment can come in many forms. One of the best events I have been to this semester has been the talk by Dr.Peter Lee. He is a cardio-thoracic surgeon at the Wexner Medical Center and has a very impressive resume. During his talk he discussed things like his aspirations to become an astronaut and how that led him to do research with NASA, Space-X, and Blue-origins. He has done an overwhelming amount of research and work relating to aeronautics. Academically, Dr.Lee has pursued an M.D, PhD, and MPH. He is truly an amazing individual. Attending his lecture and speaking with him after has been very beneficial in determining how I should go about my activities and extra-curricular activities while trying to become a doctor.

Year in Review

Over the past two years I have matured and grown so much. I started college as a 17 year old kid with big ambitions and a defined set of goals. I wanted to become involved in the field healthcare, I want to start making a difference in peoples lives and I wanted to set myself apart  with academic achievement.

In the last two years I have made great progress towards each of these goals. Starting with research I was able to be a first author on a paper and the youngest individual to ever present at the national water microbiology conference. After that experience I moved on to cardiology research at the Davis heart and lung institute. Bringing together my passion for medicine and my goal to be a cardio-thoracic surgeon. Both of these experiences have taught me so much about science but also about working collaboratively with others. In the last year I also became an Emergency Medical Technician. This is the prefect way for to help others as well as gain experience in the field of medicine. I only wish I had more time to dedicate to wroking as an EMT in the past year. Additionally, through shadoiwng surgeons and physicians I was able to see and learn so much about the occupation I hope to hold one day. I was also able to give lots of time to the community. Through organizations like habitat for humanity, STAR, OSUWMC and others I was able to make an impact on those in my community.

Academic achievement has perhaps been my greatest challenge in college so far. After my first year I was disappointing with my GPA being a 3.8;throught hard work and determination I was able to get a 4.0 while taking 2 organic chemistry classes and a physics class (which is no easy task) boosting my overall GPA to 3.92. I hope to continue in this success and boost my GPA higher through the next year.

As I move into my final year at OSU I hope to continue in these avenues. I wish to further improve my academics, do well on the MCAT, continue to volunteer and work in the field of medicine and have an impact on my community. I look forward to taking more challenging courses that are more oriented towards medicine. Perhaps most importantly, I hope to continue to forge meaningful relationships with those around me and have an enjoyable final year.

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

EDUCATION

Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA      

Biology Major

Pre-medicine professional

Class of 2020                          

GPA: 3.92
EMT-Basic

Course completion and certification. 50 hours of clinical experience.

  2018
Indian Hill, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (2011-2017) GPA:4.3
Humber Valley village, Toronto, Canada (2008-2011)
Geneva English School, Geneva, Switzerland (2005-2008)

EXPERIENCE

The Exciting Company

Founder and CEO

 2018-present
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Research

Undergraduate research assistant in Smith Lab

 2018
EPA Research

First author, Efficacy of Inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Multiple-Wavelength UV LEDs

 2017
MedCare Ambulance EMT-Basic

Function as an EMT on private ambulance service to treat and transport patients.

 2018-Present
Seasons Retirement Community Server

Nursing division nutrition supervisor. Ensured residents nutrition needs were being met effectively

 2014-2016
Ohio State university Wexner Medical Center Volunteer

Volunteer as an ambassador and a nursing unit assistant

 2018-Present
Bethesda North Hospital Volunteer

Escort Volunteer

 2015-2017

AWARDS

Provost Scholarship 2017-Present
Dean’s List 2017-Present
PricewaterhouseCoopers case competition 1st place 2018
National Honor Society 2015-2017
Honor Roll 2013-2017
DECA State 2nd place 2016
ICDC International Finalist 2016

 

HOBIES/INTERESTS

Hockey Varsity and Club Captain (2016-2017)
Camping
Wood Working

References available upon request

Artifacts

Image result for Dr subha ramanI was granted an incredible opportunity to speak with Dr. Subha Raman, the leader in the cardio radiology field. Much of her work leads the forefront in noninvasive diagnosis of muscular and cardiac related ailments. In preparing to speak with her I read much of her work.  A large portion of this work pertained to individuals with Duchene muscular dystrophy, an interesting pattern. One article I found extremely interesting was her work with phosphorus 31 isotopes from imagining of skeletal muscle to determine the rate of oxidative phosphorylation. Essentially, this new method of imaging is able to obtain information about the energy use of skeletal muscles. Before this information was gathered through biopsy and the data collected was not quantitative. Using the phosphorus 31 isotope one can determine much more about energy use noninvasively.

When meeting with her she was tremendously amiable and really sought to understand why I had such an interest in her work. She asked me about my future aspirations and we began to discuss how she had become such a successful researcher and clinician. I was able to gain much about how to treat the whole college experience as well as how to make an impact on my education that would truly be invaluable in my future. One thing she made very clear was that each and every endeavor that I pursued it was critical that I kept my end goal in mind. At the end of the day my success would be driven by my devotion to my goals. Additionally, I was advised to follow my heart in a way; to do things that interested me, not just that would make my medical school application competitive. In bringing our discussion back to her work I was able to learn that much of her work had been relating to DMD because of chance. She happened to be the expert in the field and neurologists needed an expert. It seemed that even being in radiology was a chance happening as she had majored in electrical engineering in her undergraduate work. Speaking with Dr. Raman was an amazing experience and I gained a lot of useful information in going forward with my education.