400 words or less

The Committee on Admissions values diversity as an important factor in the educational mission of the Wake
Forest School of Medicine. How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and to the
medical community in general?

Growing up as a minority in Corpus Christi, TX where Asians constitute only 1.8% of the population and
Hispanics over 60% allowed me to understand the Mexican culture, language, and heritage through both work and
school. Additionally, I was exposed to the public health issues of diabetes and obesity in my local community. As a
result, a group of students and I co-organized a non-profit organization to promote healthier habits and awareness of
health risks in the local community. We did this by implementing educational and exercise programs in the local
elementary schools and underserved communities and sponsoring an annual 5K run. These programs sought to
promote lifelong healthy habits and work towards the prevention of future chronic diseases. This experience of
being an Asian American growing up in a distinctly Hispanic community provided me a uniquely culturally
assimilated childhood, and helped me cultivate an open-mindedness to other cultures.
Once I started attending university, I was able to independently subsidize my travels overseas to over 15
different countries, including to the Dominican Republic for medical missionary work, to Spain for a biological
study program, to Heidelberg, Germany for a medical internship, and to other countries to experience different
cultures. My trip to the Dominican Republic gave me the unique opportunity to set up medical clinics in rural
communities. Studying in Spain allowed me to immerse myself in the Spanish culture, while studying evolutionary
studies. I also witnessed the disparity in the quality of healthcare in countries like Sri Lanka. Currently, I am living
in Germany gaining first-hand insight and experience in the latest techniques in laparoscopic surgery at the
University of Heidelberg Hospital. Through these experiences, I have experienced people of different nationalities
and cultures, and come to an understanding of the universal need for healthcare. All of this has reinforced my desire
to become a physician. I believe I can use these skills to better serve my patients and to provide medical care in a
culturally sensitive environment.

What obstacles or challenges have you experienced and how have you dealt with them?

As a child, especially a daughter, I naturally looked to my mother for guidance and support. I possessed a
strong, independent spirit and looked for a strong, female role model to emulate. Yet, I frequently found my mother
in an almost comatose state in her bedroom because she was a carrier of anemia called thalassemia. What I did
recognize at an early age was that I wanted more in life by becoming more independent and self-sufficient. By
taking on responsibilities, I matured early and learned to be more proactive. Learning to be decisive and solve
problems at an early age will help me adapt to the multifaceted aspect of medicine that require quick thinking to
effectively address patient issues.
Growing up in a household that lacked a strong female figure, I learned to take responsibility for myself
and my younger brother. By the time I was 8, I learned to help with household chores and get ready for school.
Afterwards, I would come home to work on not only my homework, but also help my brother with his school work.
These simple responsibilities taught me to be more selfless and more aware of the needs of others.
Being self-sufficient from a young age also taught me to become more financially independent. I learned to
manage my own expenses in high school and throughout my college years to be more financially responsible. When
I was 16, I secured my first job as an aquatics instructor and lifeguard where I worked throughout high school. I later
secured a job in college as a tutor and a resident assistant. It was through the experience of working that I learned to
appreciate the value of money and the amount of work it takes to earn a dollar. I became more resourceful and
conscientious about how to spend both time and money.
By overcoming and learning from these adversities, I believe my experiences have taught me how to better
serve others, to be more resilient and responsible and how to handle different types of situations. These life skills of
time management, thinking independently, acting responsibly, and being conscientious of the needs of others will
serve well in a career as a physician

How has creativity helped you in your studies, work, activities, volunteering, or life in general?

Through collaboration with fellow Resident Assistants on educational programming, I learned to delegate,
lead, and work collectively with others to serve the interests of my residents. There was one program in particular
that I implemented that benefited the local homeless community and was recognized as the “UT Program of the
Year” for two successive years.
“Kin’s Thrift Shop” was a program I started to bring awareness to the needs of the local homeless
community and to encourage my residential community to make a difference. Since the program took place around
Thanksgiving, I made extra efforts to give residents a meaningful and unique way to recognize the holiday. After
two months of planning and coordinating with the Central Texas Food Bank, we set up a donation station at the front
desks where residents and fellow college students could donate clothes for the homeless. Afterwards, we set up a
program to sell the clothes and baked goods for donations. All donations and clothes that weren’t sold at our Thrift
Shop were later donated to the Central Texas Food Bank. At its completion, we had enough donations to provide a
sizable clothing donation and provide over 700 meals to the homeless. By getting residents involved in supporting
their local community while providing a forum for them to donate their clothes and shop for charity, we created this
popular and effective program that will continue to be implemented in the future. Seeing the impact that I made by
implementing such a program on the campus gave me a tremendous amount of satisfaction. It also made me feel
proud that I was able to successfully lead and delegate my fellow RAs to create a successful and interactive program
that involved the whole community while also bringing awareness and assistance to the local homeless population.
Being able to create such a meaningful project made me realize how much we could accomplish when
working collectively. To be able to implement such a successful program with the UT community and the Central
Texas Food Bank to benefit the homeless was extremely gratifying. This program taught me how to responsibly
handle and implement a program on a large scale. I worked to ensure that each component ran smoothly by
strategically delegating tasks and communicating with my team. I believe the collaborative working skills I learned
from this extensive project will help me work well with others in medical school.

Briefly summarize your journey from the time you became interested in a medical career to filling out this
secondary application. Do not focus on why you wish to pursue a medical career, but how you got to where
you are now.

My desire to pursue medicine was instilled early on by my desire to help others. This has been exhibited
by my extensive involvement with volunteer work and internships to help my community as well as my first job as a
lifeguard. These activities taught me that dedication and commitment are essential to becoming a good physician.
While on a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic, I served an indigent patient group which had
little access to healthcare. The impact that our services made on this community left an indelible impression on me.
Through assessing symptoms, collecting vitals and evaluating patient history, I was able to work closely with local
physicians in helping diagnose and properly dispense medication to treat illnesses. Establishing clinics in
underserved, rural areas, and seeing the extent our services benefitted the community was extremely gratifying.
These experiences helped cultivate my passion for the medical field and exhibit my ability to work well with both
doctors and patients.
As a volunteer in the operating room at St. David’s South Hospital, I had the opportunity to assist nurses
with patient care while observing physicians perform surgical procedures. I interacted with doctors, nurses, and
patients to ensure that the operation ran smoothly and that patients’ needs were being met. I derived great
satisfaction from this experience which inspired me to want to pursue a future in the healthcare field and to seek a
better understanding of how to help others in the medical field.
Currently, I intern at the University of Heidelberg Hospital sponsored by RISE DAAD Germany for
research regarding laparoscopy. I have acquired an in-depth understanding of using minimally invasive surgical
techniques through using cadavers, models, virtual reality goggles, and a media chat forum to showcase new
medical techniques and procedures around Europe and the US. To assist in this project, I created a 3D model of a
stomach from a CT scan to be used for instructional purposes. I am also involved with assessing an elective course
by judging the quality and proficiency of cholecystectomies of medical school students. This has provided me an
invaluable opportunity to gain hands-on experience with box trainers and laparoscopic simulators to better assess the
quality of each surgery. Finally, I am writing two systematic reviews over skill transferability between laparoscopic,
robotic, and open surgery and the skill transition from robotic simulators to robotics used in the operating room.

Please tell us an interesting fact about yourself that a casual acquaintance may find surprising or interesting.

As an avid outdoorsman, I have hiked 30 miles over a course of 3 days in Sam Houston National Park,
backpacked through the jungles of Belize, and spent a recent spring break trip camping in Colorado. Staying active
helps me stay on top of my physical and mental game.