Career Goals
My Vision for the Future
My career goal for the past several years has been to become a physician. Specifically, I am interested in pediatric general surgery and gastroenterology. This goal has always played a major part in my life because of my rare disease. I have been treated at Riley Hospital ever since my diagnosis, and I have received all my major surgeries there. After being hospitalized for a total proctocolectomy (removal of the large intestine and rectum), I realized how passionate I am for this field. It's important to me because I want to contribute to rare disease research and help others who live similarly to me. It just so happens that I enjoy math, science, chemistry, and biology, so I feel very confident about my future in the medical field.
With my background and personal experience of living with a rare disease, I know I'm passionate about becoming a doctor because I have experienced what is is like to be on the receiving side of medical care. I'm excited to see what the future has in store for me!
How have my goals changed?
My overarching goal of going to medical school has not changed during the duration of my college career. However, I have become more open-minded to what I want to do after medical school. Before my internship with Dr. Mueller, I never considered going into a specialty AND doing research projects on the side. However, I realized that I enjoyed all of the research I did with her and how helpful it will be for caregivers and their children with cancer. It was inspiring to see Dr. Mueller interact and take care of patients while also manning some major research projects on the side. This is something I can see myself doing in the future.
In 5 years, I visualize myself as a first-year resident. Ideally, I would love to stay in Indiana for residency so that I can stay close to my family. By this point in my life, I would love to have figured out what speciality I want to go into and what region of the United States I want to live/work in. I imagine in this time I will still have the same core personality traits and skills, but they will have evolved to become more complex. In this stage of life, I want my communication, critical thinking, leadership, and public thinking skills to be stronger than they currently are. To reach this point, I plan on applying for as many teaching/leadership positions as possible and continuing research so that I can further build my professionalism. I believe leadership positions will not only build my communication skills, but they will also help me become more comfortable with public speaking.
Growth and Exploration
Although I have a good idea of what I want to specialize in after I finish medical school, I know that nothing is set in stone. I know my interests will more than likely change throughout the next handful of years. I'm open-minded to trying anything that will help me figure out what I want to do.
I can explore this pathway further by shadowing doctors in different specialties. This will give me a well-rounded perspective of all of my options. I don't want to feel limited when it comes to choosing a specialty. While I'm at IUPUI, I can talk to other pre-med students and current medical students to see what specialties they have been considering. This will widen my perspectives and help me think about all of my options and not just the initial ones that come to mind.
Leaving an Impact
Leaving a positive impact on the world has always been important to me. Ever since I was diagnosed with FAP, I knew medicine would be a major part of my future. Living with a rare disease and going through so many life-changing surgeries and medical procedures hasn't deterred me from this path; it only made me more passionate about it. As a physician, I want to be able to empathize with my patients and their families as they navigate tough medical situations. My medical team has always taken excellent care of me, so this is something I know I want to do for my future patients because it helped my recovery process tremendously.
Because FAP currently has no cure, I want to dedicate some of my time in the future toward rare disease research. Being able to learn more about the mechanisms of rare diseases will help find potential cures. I understand how difficult and draining it can be to live in the unknown with a disease, so being able to contribute to that research would mean the world to me.
Next Steps
My internship was extremely helpful in solidifying my career path. My worksite was in a field that I have been interested in for some time (pediatrics hematology-oncology), so it was very eye-opening to have a direct hand in the research that is being done by Dr. Mueller and her team. Working with Dr. Mueller made me more open-minded about what I can do after medical school. I have always wanted to work directly with patients and participate in research, but I wasn't sure how I would make it work. Seeing Dr. Mueller do this in her career has been so helpful for me because now I know that it's possible for me to do the same thing.
Currently, I am going through the process of completing medical school interviews. I took the MCAT in June 2022 and submitted my AMCAS application in July 2022. Ideally, I would love to attend Indiana University School of Medicine, as I have a very deep and personal connection to IU Health because I have been treated at their facilities for my whole life. This entire process has been very eye-opening and stressful, but I am excited to enter this next portion of my education and life!