Embedded Files
As I continue to grow as a person and a future physician assistant, I tend to reflect on who I was when I first started and the path that it took me to get where I am now. As a freshman in H200 I was still trying to navigate a new city and unsure
regarding which graduate path in healthcare I wanted to pursue.
As I moved through my undergraduate years, attending more student events and got more accustomed to the campus, I began to recognize the things that resonated with me and what did not. Through the first two years of undergrad and exploring different graduate programs, I saw myself shifting towards the physician assistant route. This shift deepened once I started working in the hospital and volunteering in hospice.
Group photo after a long morning of volunteering during the VIDA 2025 Dominican Republic trip.
Photo from e-board pictures for ASU 2023-2024.
Compared to my experience in assisted living facilities, the hospital exposed me to a wider range of healthcare professionals, while the comfort of hospice brought a new perspective on the care of geriatric patients. Also, I had the chance to shadow a physician assistant and observe their day‑to‑day responsibilities. During this experience it made me realize how naturally the PA profession aligned with my goals. Beyond my academic and professional experiences, the Honors College has played a central role in shaping who I am today and guiding me toward the field I hope to pursue.
As I look back at my first showcase artifact, which was created to capture who I was as an H200 student compared to who I’ve become as a senior, I can see how much I’ve grown. Many of my goals remained consistent from freshman to senior year, showing that I stayed steady in my intentions even when I wasn’t sure how everything would unfold. This reminded me that, although the unknown was intimidating, I trusted that things would work out. As I moved through different experiences along my college journey, each activity began shaping the person I hoped to become. From my first Honors contract in a general chemistry lab sampling water to conducting research in a laboratory, I’ve come a long way.
Each artifact I selected for my Honors Showcase reflects a different stage of my development, academically, professionally, and personally. Together, they demonstrate how I learned to think critically, engage ethically, and approach challenges with curiosity rather than hesitation.
My early H200 work shows the beginning of this shift. At the time, I was still learning how to articulate my ideas and connect course concepts to real‑world issues. As I continued through courses, I began to see how the themes discussed in my classes surrounding community, identity, responsibility were relevant ideas that would shape how I approached healthcare.
An important quote that stuck with me was from my undergraduate classes was my anatomy professor, Dr.Yard. Multiple times through the semester he would stress this important quote that has stuck me. Which is he would say to “make it real” as he would tell stories to his students his past experiences to help us understand topics regarding anatomy.
"Make it REAL"
His class contained mostly freshman who did not have solid study habits which he constantly was trying to engrain a way to aid his students. Even now, I still hear that statement echo in my mind like a quiet mantra, a reminder of how deeply it shaped my understanding of the material. Beyond strengthening my learning, it also nurtured the kind of academic depth and intentionality that the Honors College embodies.
Mixing cement for the clinic that was being built in the Dominican Republic (2025).
My research artifact demonstrates a different kind of growth outside of my classes. This researched aligns with the IUI Honors College goal of research within engaged learning.
When I first joined my research lab, I was doubtful and a little hesitant, as anyone might be when trying something new. I knew I wanted to participate in research, and organic chemistry felt like a natural place to begin because of my experience as a Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) leader. What I didn’t expect was that this opportunity would eventually lead to becoming a co‑author on a publication.
As I began making more regular visits to the lab, I started working on a project alongside several graduate students, which allowed me to learn from people with more advanced experience. Since I am not majoring in chemistry, I felt like I was constantly learning something new. Being surrounded by graduate students exposed me to the variety of projects they were pursuing, the objectives they aimed to achieve, and the challenges they were working to overcome. Through this Honors experience, I have engaged in a learning environment that continually challenged me and pushed me to grow academically
The artifacts in my Showcase highlight how my learning has grown more interconnected, reflective, and grounded in real human experience. These relate strongly to my ability to communicate strongly, problem solve and have applied learning, which are goals the IUI Honors College has.
Each piece, whether from anatomy, chemistry, or a humanitiy course, captures a different stage of my development, but together they show how I’ve learned to think across disciplines and approach complex material with integrity and responsibility.
My cavaver lab experience especially reminded me of Richard Selzer’s reflections in Imelda, where he emphasizes the quiet responsibility that comes with learning from another person’s body. That idea stayed with me throughout the course and shaped the way I approached the donor with respect and attentiveness. Even in my lab‑based courses, or within my job as a patietn care technician, I found myself carrying that same mindset, recognizing that scientific knowledge is not separate from the people and communities it affects.
"scientific knowledge is not separate from the people and communities it affect"
These artifacts also demonstrate how I’ve grown in ways that align with the Honors College’s learning goals. I’ve become more reflective through reading narratives, ethically aware, and more capable of connecting scientific detail to broader social and humanistic questions. Anatomy taught me patience and the reality of the human body. Likewise, courses like biochemistry and microbiology strengthened my systemic thinking and pushed me to analyze problems with precision. Through hands‑on lab work, repeated experimentation, and even the occasional mishap, I gained a clearer picture of the many roles that make modern medicine possible. These experiences helped me understand how I will one day communicate not only with patients, but also with the diverse healthcare professionals who contribute to their care.
All of this has prepared me for what comes next. The combination of scientific rigor, interdisciplinary thinking, and reflective practice has given me a strong foundation for graduate study and a future career in healthcare. I feel more confident in my ability to approach complex problems, communicate thoughtfully, and carry forward the sense of responsibility that writers like Selzer describe. These artifacts show not just what I’ve learned, but who I’ve become and how I’m ready to continue growing beyond graduation for my future endavours as a Physician Assitant.
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