As a child of immigrants, I was always taught that the road to success will only be paved through my hard work, determination, and commitment to progress. As such, I understand the importance of responsibility, and holding oneself accountable for one's setbacks, success, and advancements. I was pleased to exercise my independence and accountability, as well as my willingness to accept any feedback/constructive criticism into my current time at the internship. When working as a part of a team, it is important for the team members to feel that they can trust each other to complete their assigned tasks. Having a strong sense of self-accountability and responsibility is essential in optimizing team performance. I am always working to improve my communication. Social anxieties can create some barriers to strong communication, however, I believe it is crucial to always push myself outside of my comfort zone in order to see growth. I plan to continue challenging myself to grow this skill by checking-in with my supervisor more often, building rapport with my fellow researchers, and initiating meetings where I can identify any support I need throughout the project. Through regular meetings, I could plan out better for future weeks which in turn would begin increasing my hours while also in-directly solidifying my grasp on communication in a professional setting. 

As my first real job, I found more meaning into the work I am assigned as I begin to realize how everything comes full loop like gears in an engine to produce work. Keeping up with responsibilities allows the team to function fully without a cork impeding the continuing cycle needed for smooth flow. The independence I have gained while also continuing to practice humility in recognizing that I have a learning curve, has been very enlightening. Being able to look back back to where I first began has been both a humbling and exciting experience to embark upon as I continue to strive and grow, with the aid of my colleagues, to build a more solid foundation of being an independent person. Excluding the experiences I have had in terms of personal growth, I found the interactions with some interviewees as a very delightful part of this internship. The appreciation and kind words which some have given have been a wonderful way to lighten up any difficult week during the semester.

Although there are many points where I would like to further develop myself as part of this team, I feel as though I am lacking mostly in my ability to stay punctual. I have experienced many external difficulties this past year. As students, we are not only met with academic and work responsibilities, but our lives extend past the walls of the university. If COVID-19 taught us anything, it is that life is filled with the unexpected. The unexpected pays no mind to punctuality. Though life has been filled with the unexpected for me lately, I will continue to work on improving my punctuality. Through my time at this internship, I hope to be more capable in juggling things when presented with an increase of tasks as it would help maintain my composure in light of what my profession will surely also encompass. 

Being able to assimilate and keep an open mind towards all environments of a healthy workplace has been very reassuring in terms of what I look forward to in the future. Since everyone is different and many come from all aspects of life, you begin to worry about the differing expectations that some may bring along with their work. Having everything stated out clearly with guidelines to ensure that everyone feels both safe and comfortable in their work environment at a professional level clears away any doubt I previously had on the possibilities of toxic environments so often mentioned by classmates or in everyday media.

Relationships are powerful. Our one-to-one connections with each other are the foundation for change. And building relationships with people from different cultures, often many different cultures, is key in building diverse communities that are powerful enough to achieve significant goals. Whether you want to make sure your children get a good education, bring quality health care into your communities, or promote economic development, there is a good chance you will need to work with people from several different racial, language, ethnic, or economic groups. And in order to work with people from different cultural groups effectively, you will need to build sturdy and caring relationships based on trust, understanding, and shared goals.

My first real “win” in terms of the work done at this internship includes my first week of independent calls! Utilizing the plethora of aid my colleagues had provided made the stress of a possibility to fail much less dictating when working alone. Providing me with practice mock runs, lots of detailed notes, easily followable/clearly listed procedures, and one-on-one joint calls all collectively increased my confidence in independent work that I otherwise would have found much too challenging. 

Although I had known it would definitely impede my schoolwork as it is a job outside of the curriculum, I hadn’t pictured it to be as difficult as it has shown. With the addition of outside or at home stressors, I found myself sometimes asking if it was the correct decision in joining such a time consuming and thought demanding job while attempting to prepare for medical school. I have learned however that in-order to overcome these challenges, I am to better myself in terms of planning and making sacrifices to the more important aspects of my life. Whether that be decreasing my sociability/time spent with friends or any private leisures I set aside for myself, it is all attainable if you put ahead what you truly desire.