Year in Review: 2014-2015

As hard as it is to believe, I have (very) successfully completed my junior year of college.

Crazy, right? Three years of college have already gone and passed. That is an alarming fact
indeed, but now I am excited to get ready for my last year of college. Junior year began very
rocky for me, but I overcame the challenges and am proud of all that I have accomplished. The
summer before was full of successes and failures including finishing my research project at Case,
helping my family move to Arizona, and finally breaking up with my high school boyfriend for
good. All of these major changes could have stalled me, but I decided to overlook my doubts and
clear my mind. By doing this, I made new friends, joined new organizations, gained new
leadership experiences, went abroad, and studied for the MCAT. This year will be one to
remember.
I learned many new things in terms of academics, relationships, and professional
outcomes. My classes this year seemed so much more fulfilling than the past few years since
upperclassmen have more freedom with choosing courses specific to their concentrations. With
these new classes, I found shadowing opportunities, MCAT content help, and some wonderful
professors to write me medical school letters of recommendation. One more thing I would like to
comment on is I finished my Spanish minor and began my medical sciences minor, which neither
was easy to do. The newfound motivation led me to a 4.0 GPA spring semester and a successful
MCAT day. Not only did I find success in my academics, but I also made some new friendships
that I already cherish. These new people have had a huge impact on my life so far and have
played major roles in encouraging and supporting me in my work toward a future in medicine.
Looking closer to the end of this year, I had a lot piling on me. I traveled to Nicaragua for a
public heath brigade, applied to medical school, was accepted into the Women in Science and
Engineering (WISE) summer research program, and took the MCAT. It has been a crazy past
year, but there is nothing I would really want to change.
Rather than working solely on myself, I feel that I have continued to influence the
community here at UC. One of my major involvements was staying on as a biology and Spanish
tutor at the LAC in French Hall. I received very positive feedback on my evaluation and really
enjoy my job there. It is very comforting to have regulars return for appointments with me, and it
proves to me that I am making a difference when helping them, Other than my job, I hope my
influence grows and benefits more students as I step into new leadership positions. I am now
Ritualist for my sorority, a Rho Gamma (recruitment guide) for sorority recruitment, the vice
president of the Global Public Health Brigades chapter, treasurer of the pre-health honor society
Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED), and was tapped into the Mortar Board Honorary. I have been
working toward having more leadership as an upperclassman, and I am honored to have achieved
that goal.
Moving forward onto my senior year, I am excited to see where it takes me. I believe that
I have already accomplished so much these past three years. However, with my new knowledge
and leadership opportunities, I hope to do more. In my organizations, I would like to restructure
meetings and recruitment options in order to get others more involved and provide them with
connections to more service events and mingling. I want to give back to these organizations since
they have given me so many wonderful memories. One major piece of advice I have for myself
going into this year is to stay grounded. There will be many changes happening over the next few
months in respect to medical school applications, friends graduating, and final memories being
made. I need to try and make the most of everything that I can.