Personal Statement: Ge-A Salud

With given a choice of what to write this paper, I could not get past the subtle nature of who we are as God’s creations. This fundamental truth of our identity is simplified with the truth of our identity in Jesus. We are created in God’s image with a purpose here on earth to display all of God’s greatness, His beauty, and to reveal all of His character aspects. Best of all, we are completely dependent on God. This new enlightenment of my identity in Christ as God’s creation will allow me to help people around the world become one with Christ by revealing the truth of their identity.

Pursing a career as a medical doctor is an opportunity for me to mentor youth in underserved populations. As a child, I was raised in the low income, urban community of Roxbury, MA. Although not as notorious today, the neighborhood had garnered negative attention for its high crime rates. My mother emigrated from Haiti and raised me as a single parent. Due to our financial circumstance, Roxbury became our permanent residence. I have always felt there was something lacking in Roxbury in comparison to other towns I visited. My teenage years were largely spent in the suburban town of Stoneham where I attended high school. There was a literal difference in air quality and a psychology contrast in future prospects. While native students of

There are few certainties of what one will encounter during life. A common joke names two: death and

Coming from a small town on the east coast, I would have never expected to fall in love with such a large and diverse college like the University of Michigan. The upbeat atmosphere of Ann Arbor alone was enticing enough before I even saw the actual campus. Upon visiting, I quickly realized the University of Michigan was a place I would not mind spending my next couple of years. From the countless students all around to the wide variety of shops in town, Ann Arbor seemed like a lively and exciting place to spend my college experience. While walking through the campus, I was continuously amazed by the large intricate buildings surrounding me. Some of my favorites included the Law Library, the College of LSA and the Michigan Union. While I do not plan on attending it, the Ross School of Business was also an incredible

I became interested in missions when my family and I lived abroad in Laos, Singapore, and Costa Rica; we had adopted my youngest brother and were in the process of immigrating him back to the United States. I believe that I can use my majors, Spanish and music (piano pedagogy) in evangelism and in furthering Christ and His Kingdom.

I have a strong interest in Geisel School of Medicine because of Geisel’s unique learning environment and its various opportunities for me to contributing back to the community.

I felt my heart racing, heard my name being called, and suddenly, anxiety turned into elation. Within moments, I was walking across the international stage in Orlando in front of 16,000 people. I had won 5th at DECA Internationals!

As a child I learned about the world primarily by experimenting rather than asking someone. That being said, I have had my fair share of failures such as baking gummy bears in cookies. However, I have also had much success. While the rest of my class was growing crystals for our science fair, I was piecing together a coyote skeleton. In high school, I conducted scientific research on drought signals amongst soybeans at varying distances. This research not only took me to the State Science Fair, but the International Science and Engineering Fair as well. I fell into a fascination of science at a young age, and I have a desire to continue on this path. The REU program offered at Tarleton is not only superb in research, but a great fit to me as

For the past six years, I have had the privilege of sharing my first language, Spanish, and Spanish culture as a teacher at a small private elementary school in a small rural town where diversity is almost non-existent. It has been a pleasure to open up a window to the outside world in the classrooms of this school where the students and I get to explore Spanish culture and language without having to leave town. My experience sharing my culture as well as my bilingual skills, however, extends beyond the elementary school classroom. Prior to teaching Spanish at the elementary school level, I worked as a Spanish-English translator and interpreter at various companies, and I also taught Spanish to adults.

USciences gives me the opportunity to attain higher education. By attaining higher education, I will be able to apply the knowledge and experiences I have gained in the workplace. Furthermore, USciences provides a great opportunity of various clinical settings, hands on experience, and allows me to be a part of a diverse group of individuals within the community. I believe hands on experience in various clinical settings will enhance my ability to provide better care for my patients. By enhancing my abilities, I will feel more confident in what I do in the future. Like any other career, I feel like it is important to feel confident in your job. For example, with physical therapy, patients are trusting the physical therapist to provide the best

On a clear and sunny day in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba I was on duty in the naval hospital emergency room. We received a call of an unresponsive individual in found in the ocean. Another corpsman and I jumped into “Juliet” ambulance and rode quickly drove the short distance to a local beach. A large family gathering had taken place and we quickly assessed the situation. We ask where the patient was at and they pointed out in to the ocean at a person who looked to be snorkeling, one of the bystanders stated they hadn’t seen him move for the past few minutes. I had the other corpsman to grab towels and quickly swam out and brought the patient back to the beach. The patient did not have a pulse and was not breathing. We quickly started ACLS/CPR protocols,

Then after much practice came for the competition, came the actual day of the competition. The day all the hard work and sweat would come to play. The first day progressed smooth with not much trouble, but once the second day came, the effect of being told what to do came to play. When I changed the time to arrive at school, to a later time, some of the students took this negatively. The purpose of this was to give the students more time to sleep because of the competition ending late. Rather than being grateful for more sleep-time, some students said, “Why is student council dictating what we do? We should have a say in this?” When leading a group of students, it is impossible to please every single student, but nonetheless, this was a learning experience. Rather than ignoring this student’s concern, I took it into account and discussed any time changes with the students before officially changing them. Then, finally came the last day, the most challenging. This was the awards ceremony day. More than one thousand people filled the hall, and sitting in the first row is what every school wants. To accomplish this, I consulted the students and inquired them, “What is the best time to arrive at the venue to obtain the best seats?” Once agreeing on the time, I thought this was my last worry, but this was not the case. On the third day, with arriving

Aside from the MCAT, a student’s G.P.A. gives a quick glimpse that provides insight on their potential to succeed within medical school. Although not a perfect means to determine a student’s potential to matriculate through medical school, nonetheless it is important and establishing a high GPA speaks well on the student’s behalf. I graduated Norfolk State University with a 3.87 G.P.A.. Even though this is considered to be “high”, and I’m admittedly proud of what I achieved, there is a realism associated with this. Grade point averages are bias standards that are influenced by many variables. The most evident of these confounding variables is the vast differences in rigor between professors across a wide range of universities. There is no augmentation of content between universities and this stands true on a global scale. Thus an admissions officer for a medical school will factor in the university that I graduated from when considering my G.P.A.. To my knowledge, NSU is not a high ranking university when it comes to the STEM field. Therefore, a 3.87 G.P.A. at NSU may be devalued when compared to another university, typically a PWI. Personally, I think a 3.87 may be a “strong”

“Vivir apasionadamente es vivir exitosamente.” To live passionately is to live successfully. As I took my first steps into the heart of the historic city of Madrid, Spain, I was immersed into a new world, finding clarity in why I chose to learn Spanish. Cooking with Spaniards and admiring Flamenco performances made me fall in love with new aspects of the Spanish culture. After my trip, I became mesmerized by the culture, which further ignited my passion for mastering the language and expanding my knowledge of the Spanish speaking world. After this trip, Spanish no longer seemed mundane. As my curiosity piqued, I became more dedicated to the mastery and understanding of the Spanish language. It drove me to work harder and harder each day, knowing

In our lives, we have to make important choices, and sometimes our choices determine our happiness or sadness. As a Filipino, our families tell us to do well in school and to not make bad choices because they want us to be successful and to have ethical morals. Growing up as a Catholic, I was taught to be obedient and respectful to my family which has shaped who I am today. Yet, I too made some mistakes, and I learned from the consequences. From my failures, I learned to not belittle myself, but to grow.