I grew up around healthcare professionals. A majority of my family members work in the health field, and my parents openly talk to me about their work experiences. Hearing about my mom’s day as a home health nurse or my dad’s extensive work as a GI nurse made me realize how much of an influence nurses have on patients’ lives in and out of the hospital. I learned the value of being empathetic towards others and how kindness can positively impact one’s life. That internal drive of compassion and care for others heavily motivated me to work hard to become like many brave and caring nurses in our health workforce. With this career path in mind, I joined this program in high school called Health Careers Academy, or Health Academy for short. In this program, students learn 350 medical terminologies and 400+ medical abbreviations, become CPR and First Aid certified, and perform some medical skills like taking vital signs, EKGs, and ambulating patients. After building this foundation, students got the extraordinary opportunity for clinicals and internships. My first experience in a medical setting would be at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. I got assigned to the Pediatric department for my clinicals which made me ecstatic since I love working with kids due to babysitting a lot growing up. During my clinicals, I tended to patients’ meals and helped patients with activities and entertainment. Junior year, I interned at Sutter Roeseville’s Hanger Clinic where I assisted in creating ankle braces and leg prosthetics, and sat in on patient consults. In my senior year, I interned at Sutter’s Wound Clinic where I created exercise routines for patients, did clinic maintenance, assessed patients’ vitals, and assisted patients with their exercises. Working in these settings allowed me to see how passionate and empathetic healthcare workers are toward patients and families. Nurses are accommodating to each individual's needs, and see them as their person rather than just a patient on a board. Under mass pressure and stress, nurses keep calm, are dedicated, and show empathy towards patients, coworkers, and interns all while performing optimal care. It amazed me to see and experience this beautiful balance of soft and hard skills in such a demanding profession. While I got an opportunity to work and experience different departments, my goal is to become a pediatric nurse. Apart from my love of working with kids, I enjoyed my time at Mercy. The female doctors and nurses I shadowed were inviting and encouraging me to learn and try some hands-on assessments of some patients which helped empower me not only as a student but also as a woman. As a woman in healthcare, I want to pursue my passion for empathy and care just as these women in healthcare have demonstrated to me. I want to help create a more welcoming and warm community among my peers and faculty. Stronger bonds will help nurture empathy and communication skills with everyone, including my patients. I strive to become as caring and as hardworking as the female healthcare workers I have shadowed and for all female healthcare workers in general. During my pre-med journey, I hope to improve my personal and technical skills and strive to grow as a nurse who can better understand my patients and my community. I wish to become a nurse who positively impacts the lives of many by providing the most optimal care through empathy and kindness, just as my parents and many empowering female healthcare workers.

Throughout my life, I grew up with healthcare professionals. A majority of my family members work in the health field, and my parents openly talk to me about their work experiences. Hearing about my mom’s day as a home health nurse or my dad’s extensive work as a GI nurse made me realize how much of an influence nurses have on patients’ lives in and out of the hospital. I learned the value of being empathetic towards others and how kindness can positively impact one’s life. That internal drive of compassion and care for others heavily motivated me to work hard to become like many brave and caring nurses in our health workforce. With this career path in mind, I joined this program in high school called Health Careers Academy, or Health Academy for short. Students learn 350 medical terminologies and 400+ medical abbreviations, become CPR and First Aid certified, and perform some medical skills like taking vital signs, EKGs, and ambulating patients. After building this foundation, students got the extraordinary opportunity for clinicals and internships. My first experience in a medical setting would be at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. I got assigned to the Pediatric department for my clinicals which made me ecstatic since I love working with kids due to babysitting a lot growing up. During my clinicals, I tended to patients’ meals and helped patients with activities and entertainment. Junior year, I interned at Sutter Roeseville’s Hanger Clinic where I assisted in creating ankle braces and leg prosthetics, and sat in on patient consults. In my senior year, I interned at Sutter’s Wound Clinic where I created exercise routines for patients, did clinic maintenance, assessed patients’ vitals, and assisted patients with their exercises. Working in these settings allowed me to see how passionate and empathetic healthcare workers are toward patients and families. Nurses are accommodating to each individual's needs, and see them as their person rather than just a patient on a board. Under mass pressure and stress, nurses keep calm, are dedicated, and show empathy towards patients, coworkers, and interns all while performing optimal care. It amazed me to see and experience this beautiful balance of soft and hard skills in such a demanding profession. While I got an opportunity to work and experience different departments, my goal is to become a pediatric nurse. Apart from my love of working with kids, I enjoyed my time at Mercy. The doctors and nurses I shadowed were inviting and encouraging me to learn and try some hands-on assessments of some patients, and I loved working with pediatric patients and parents there. While expressing my compassion towards the patients, I can also show a little of my inner child to help enhance providing optimal care. Becoming a registered nurse would allow me to pursue my passion for empathy and care. I want to help create a more welcoming and warm community among my peers and faculty. Stronger bonds will help nurture empathy and communication skills with everyone, including my patients. I hope that during my pre-med journey, I can improve my personal and technical skills and strive to grow as a nurse who can better understand not only the patient but also the community around me. I wish to become a nurse who positively impacts the lives of many by providing the most optimal care through empathy and kindness, just as my parents and many other healthcare workers do.

I moved around a lot when I was younger due to my parents’ jobs. During kindergarten through 4th grade, I remember being bullied by my classmates for my ethnicity. The belittling question of, “What are you?” or comments such as “ching chong,” and making their eyes look smaller by pulling on them. I remember feeling so isolated and unlikeable, I was just waiting for our family’s next move. Once I moved here to my current hometown, the bullying became worse. I became more open about my interests, but I became a huge nerd to the rest of my classmates. I experienced a deep depression throughout high school. I got physically abused by people who I thought were my friends, constantly criticized about how I was very skinny by classmates and even by some of my teachers, and I experienced my first toxic relationship. My first partner made me feel like I was a terrible partner if I didn’t do everything he asked, isolated me from my friends, and I also put up with sexual harassment from this partner because it made him happy. My whole life I believed that my thoughts and feelings didn’t matter due to constant bullying and the lesson of “sucking it up” from my parents because “others had it worse than I did.” I never felt like I was able to talk about my trauma even to my closest friends until recently. I’m self-aware of how my trauma affects my relationships with people, but I always felt stuck on how to move forward and felt utterly hopeless for a while. In early 2023, my current boyfriend gave me the courage to try and reach out for professional help because he knew how heavy my trauma weighed on me. I reached out to my primary care physician, and she referred me to a therapist. After getting diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and ADHD, I experienced an 8-week program where I talked about my trauma, healthy coping mechanisms, and steps I can take towards being more open about my past with those close to me. Some examples of those steps and mechanisms were allowing myself to cry, doing my hobbies like art and singing, and having someone to talk with after I thought I had enough time to process my feelings. Mental health is significant because it helps create more confidence and self-love. Having a positive mental space can allow you to show off your personality and grow into the person you want to become. Also, because our mental health connects to our physical and emotional well-being, I think it’s important to find healthy coping mechanisms and to have great support systems. On this self-love journey, I’m proud of myself for the progress I’ve made so far. I hope now with my amazing support group, I can learn to accept that I do matter and that the trauma I went through wasn’t nothing. I know how isolating and painful it is when your mental health gets pushed aside or becomes so abused to the point where you don’t believe you’re worth anything. This is why, as an aspiring pediatric nurse, I want to provide a space where younger patients can feel safe and have a support system they can rely on. I wish to highlight the importance of having a reliable support system and secure environment at a young age, especially during situations that are more difficult emotionally, mentally, and physically. In the end, I wish to be part of or become that reliable support system for younger patients and for everyone I care for.

Throughout my life, I grew up with healthcare professionals. A majority of my family members work in the health field, and my parents openly talk to me about their work experiences. Hearing about my mom’s day as a home health nurse or my dad’s extensive work as a GI nurse made me realize how much of an influence nurses have on patients’ lives in and out of the hospital. I learned the value of being empathetic towards others and how kindness can positively impact one’s life. That internal drive of compassion and care for others heavily motivated me to work hard to become like many brave and caring nurses in our health workforce. With this career path in mind, I joined this program in high school called Health Careers Academy, or Health Academy for short. In this program, students learn 350 medical terminologies and 400+ medical abbreviations, become CPR and First Aid certified, and perform some medical skills like taking vital signs, EKGs, and ambulating patients. After building this foundation, students got the extraordinary opportunity for clinicals and internships. My first experience in a medical setting would be at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. I got assigned to the Pediatric department for my clinicals which made me ecstatic since I love working with kids due to babysitting a lot growing up. During my clinicals, I tended to patients’ meals and helped patients with activities and entertainment. Junior year, I interned at Sutter Roeseville’s Hanger Clinic where I assisted in creating ankle braces and leg prosthetics, and sat in on patient consults. In my senior year, I interned at Sutter’s Wound Clinic where I created exercise routines for patients, did clinic maintenance, assessed patients’ vitals, and assisted patients with their exercises. Working in these settings allowed me to see how passionate and empathetic healthcare workers are toward patients and families. Nurses are accommodating to each individual's needs, and see them as their person rather than just a patient on a board. Under mass pressure and stress, nurses keep calm, are dedicated, and show empathy towards patients, coworkers, and interns all while performing optimal care. It amazed me to see and experience this beautiful balance of soft and hard skills in such a demanding profession. While I got an opportunity to work and experience different departments, my goal is to become a pediatric nurse. Apart from my love of working with kids, I enjoyed my time at Mercy. The doctors and nurses I shadowed were inviting and encouraging me to learn and try some hands-on assessments of some patients, and I loved working with pediatric patients and parents there. While expressing my compassion towards the patients, I can also show a little of my inner child to help enhance providing optimal care. Becoming a registered nurse would allow me to pursue my passion for empathy and care. I want to help create a more welcoming and warm community among my peers and faculty. Stronger bonds will help nurture empathy and communication skills with everyone, including my patients. I hope that during my pre-med journey, I can improve my personal and technical skills and strive to grow as a nurse who can better understand not only the patient but also the community around me. I wish to become a nurse who positively impacts the lives of many by providing the most optimal care through empathy and kindness, just as my parents and many other healthcare workers do daily.

If I were in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I would get sorted into the Hufflepuff House! I grew up learning the values of respecting your elders, treating others with respect, and that family comes first. But as I grew older, I turned into a people pleaser. I always needed validation from other people, especially my parents, so I worked hard in my classes even though it was difficult. I always struggled with grasping concepts and ideas as fast as other students in class, I had difficulty sticking to projects, and I tended to always procrastinate until the last minute. I felt embarrassed and I always seemed to be falling behind everyone else. However, I worked hard to help me keep up with the rest of my classmates. I asked my friends for help, emailed professors, asked professors many questions after class, and watched many YouTube videos. As for procrastinating, in recent years, I’ve become better at setting deadlines for myself and breaking down bigger projects into chunks to help me feel less overwhelmed. In recent years, I was diagnosed with ADHD, depression, and anxiety. This diagnosis helped me understand why it was harder for me to grasp concepts and why I always felt so overwhelmed. I felt less ashamed for asking so many questions and looking for more information about the topics I learned. With the lessons my family has taught me in addition to my learning struggles, I learned to treat everyone with kindness since you never know what someone is going through. That is why I’m so grateful for those who were willing to take their time to help me during school and with personal issues. My friends have become a new home for me to feel accepted and I will always be there for them whenever they need me. While I have an amazing support system now, I still struggle with being a people pleaser. I still try to say the answers that would least offend the person I’m talking with. I still try to hide my emotions even though I wear my heart on my sleeves so it’s easy to figure out what I’m feeling. I still try to appease everyone. But day by day, I’m starting to learn how to build boundaries for myself mentally, emotionally, physically, and with my education thanks to the encouragement of my friends and loved ones. I still have my own struggles, but I realize now that I am not alone. So overall, I think it’s important to be open to different circumstances and be patient with everyone. I hope to become a person others feel okay with being vulnerable and honest with. Due to my morals of loyalty, being kind to everyone, and working hard to better myself, I believe I would get sorted into the Hufflepuff House. Lastly, I would also be sorted into Hufflepuff because I am an animal lover! I would love to become like Newt Scamander with his suitcase full of fantastical beasts. I think it would be amazing to rescue, learn, and befriend new creatures of the Wizarding World!