About Me

Hello, my name is Sonia Chang, and I am a third year at the University of California, Santa Cruz. My long-term goal after graduating with a Human Biology, B.S. is to become a Physician Assistant (PA) specializing in family medicine.

My time at UCSC has been valuable in helping me choose a career path in the medical field. I first learned about the PA profession in my first year when I joined the Aspiring Physician Assistant Association (APAA), where I had the opportunity to hear from several PAs and PA schools. I was quickly drawn to the flexibility that PAs have in switching specialties and the better work-life balance they have compared to other healthcare professions. I am now an officer of the APAA leadership team, encouraging students to look into being a PA and informing them of the benefits of the career.

I plan to graduate from UCSC in Spring 2025 and take a gap year working to gain more patient care experience before applying to PA schools. Currently, I am working as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) at an ambulance company, where I have encountered a diverse community of patients facing various health conditions and coming from different cultural and financial backgrounds. This experience has taught me the importance of having cultural awareness and empathy, as we never fully know what someone may be going through and their cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. I also discovered my passion for helping others and listening to patients when they need it. For example, I have encountered patients who do not have family members who visit them often, but they just want someone to listen to them talk, so I’m willing to sit with them and listen to their thoughts and experiences when there is no else able to do that for them. In addition, being fluent in Mandarin has been beneficial in assisting Mandarin-speaking patients to feel more comfortable and safe when put in a new and strange environment.

I look forward to my educational journey after UCSC and working as an EMT to build my medical knowledge, cultural humility, and interpersonal skills to prepare for PA school and the workforce. I will continue to use those skills to make a positive impact in the medical and patient-care community, whether through volunteering or working as a PA.