Since I was a child, my parents have told me to surround yourself with good people if you want to improve. I never took this too seriously, but my time at UW has shown me that this idea is core to self-improvement. When I first came to campus, I was the classic Pre-Medicine student. I was excited about school and the four years of 4.0 GPA grades I would get from my disciplined work that would then lead me to get accepted into a top 10 Medical school thanks to my academic devotion. My primary goal coming into school was to be the perfect student who spends most their time studying so that I can move forward in my career goals. This did not happen. Upon getting to campus, I was met with many opportunities and different people who would all become imperative to my development as a well-rounded individual.
My parents would always emphasize that the friends you make should be people who believe in you and want to support your development. This is a core element of my development as the people I met in different facets of the greater UW community shaped my development in different ways. The first eye opening experience was becoming a leader in UW Leaders during my freshman year. This group fostered a community of motivated individuals with a premise that the community would be used to support each other’s involvement of any different area. It was through this that I was given the support that pushed me to apply for a research position. Three years later, I am still advancing projects at the same lab I was accepted to my freshman year. As a result of these groups, I gained the confidence to improve myself in my many weaknesses. I found myself to struggle in leadership, reliability, public speaking, and the list goes on, but I was able to improve through getting involved and practicing these skills. After joining UW Leaders, I found myself wanting to be involved on campus and continued my campus activity by becoming a mentor in UW Leaders, Orientation Leader, Peer TA for NBIO302, Global Medical Brigades Brigadier and officer, and lastly a Study Abroad in Rome.
Each of my involvements have posed their own challenges that I had to work to overcome. Each experience pushed me to some degree outside of my comfort zone and as a result I was able to improve. The support I received from each of my involvements is what pushed me over the edge out of my comfort zone to dare these adventures. Without the support of my mentor in the lab, I would have been harder to try new techniques and new experiments. Without the support of fellow orientation leaders, I would not have improved my public speaking by speaking to different groups of 250 freshman, twice a week. The list of ways I have improved goes on, but the consistent theme is that I would find an opportunity and pursue involvement despite how intimidating it may look. I’m glad that I can look back on my college experience and be proud that I matured through my four years here by taking advantage of the opportunities presented to me.
My parents would always emphasize that the friends you make should be people who believe in you and want to support your development. This is a core element of my development as the people I met in different facets of the greater UW community shaped my development in different ways. The first eye opening experience was becoming a leader in UW Leaders during my freshman year. This group fostered a community of motivated individuals with a premise that the community would be used to support each other’s involvement of any different area. It was through this that I was given the support that pushed me to apply for a research position. Three years later, I am still advancing projects at the same lab I was accepted to my freshman year. As a result of these groups, I gained the confidence to improve myself in my many weaknesses. I found myself to struggle in leadership, reliability, public speaking, and the list goes on, but I was able to improve through getting involved and practicing these skills. After joining UW Leaders, I found myself wanting to be involved on campus and continued my campus activity by becoming a mentor in UW Leaders, Orientation Leader, Peer TA for NBIO302, Global Medical Brigades Brigadier and officer, and lastly a Study Abroad in Rome.
Each of my involvements have posed their own challenges that I had to work to overcome. Each experience pushed me to some degree outside of my comfort zone and as a result I was able to improve. The support I received from each of my involvements is what pushed me over the edge out of my comfort zone to dare these adventures. Without the support of my mentor in the lab, I would have been harder to try new techniques and new experiments. Without the support of fellow orientation leaders, I would not have improved my public speaking by speaking to different groups of 250 freshman, twice a week. The list of ways I have improved goes on, but the consistent theme is that I would find an opportunity and pursue involvement despite how intimidating it may look. I’m glad that I can look back on my college experience and be proud that I matured through my four years here by taking advantage of the opportunities presented to me.