For 16 years, I was a competitive figure skater. After years of bruises, blisters, and aches, I noticed a lump on my ankle in high school. It became worse and my method of “ignoring it and squeezing it into my skate” became too painful to bear. It was at this point that I heard of podiatry for the first time. My podiatrist treated my cyst in the least invasive way, so I could still skate and have a positive long-term outcome. I admire the way he worked with me as a teammate in my treatment choices and recovery by discussing outcomes as they pertained to my lifestyle. My interests in culture, science, and human service led me to a future career in medicine while my personal experiences helped me narrow my focus to podiatry. Growing up, I attended a bilingual school and my family often took trips to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries. Since my family did not speak Spanish, they had me translate when needed. From a young age, I learned the importance of bridging communication gaps and speaking with maturity. This sparked my interest in travel and inspired me to participate in a Global Brigade in March 2018 focused on medical, dental, and public health outreach in rural communities in Honduras. I engaged with a community lacking formal healthcare while working with locals motivated to address such health disparity. This is where I became passionate about integrative medicine and using my interest to serve and uplift people of different backgrounds. Shadowing podiatrists has assured me of my career path. I shadowed several podiatrists with a range of practice types. Dr. Ernst developed long-lasting and multi-generational relationships through years of experience. Dr. Mastay helped me understand the educational pathways and shared his interest in political action and medical policy changes. Dr. Patterson kept a fast-paced environment while demonstrating an excellent standard of care in her office. Dr. Loder confidently led residents and medical students while maintaining a calm demeanor. He mainly practices surgery and wound care, which demonstrated to me the diversity of career paths that exist within the field. The traits I took away from them were qualities I see in myself and abilities I hope to refine through further education and experience. I am motivated to facilitate wellness for patients in the same way my podiatrist helped me regain function and quality in my active lifestyle. My interest in integrative medicine will be fulfilled and utilized by practicing a specialty that considers multiple organ systems. I am excited about working interprofessionally within a healthcare team to create positive outcomes for those we serve. My ability to retain information and think critically will make me a good podiatric physician, but continuing to exercise adaptability, compassion, and agency will make me an outstanding practitioner.

Spending time outside with my dog makes me happy. I have the most amazing and active furry friend who makes it so rewarding to get outside. We often run, hike, or walk. While any of these activities already boost my mood, my dog -- Zealand -- adds more to this. Zealand always steps outside with a smile on his face and keeps it there the whole time. I cannot be sure whether dogs truly "smile", but he provides great evidence to suggest that they are expressing genuine joy. To put it in perfectly cliche terms, he stops and smells the roses, reminding me to do the same. However, living in Arizona, he is more often sniffing rocks and desert grass in place of flowers. His literal and metaphorical reminders to be thankful for the little things as well as activity and the outdoors are necessary and appreciated. Spending time outside with my dog contributes greatly to my happiness and recharges me so that I can spread that happiness into other areas of my life, too.

I have a diverse set of interests, in addition to medicine (my future career path), that will set me up for success as a future practitioner. My strengths such as creativity, curiosity, and compassion are all qualities that I exercise in my non-medical hobbies. I have come to appreciate culture as it pertains to people abroad and closer to home. As a college freshman, I took a Native American history course. My alma mater’s surrounding community is home to a large Native population, the Ojibwe, so I had opportunities to learn about their cultural experiences firsthand. I paid attention to how native identity shaped their daily lives and the struggles they faced. It was important to them that people see natives as modern citizens. In my final year of college, I published a paper in a local journal on the misrepresentation of Native Americans in popular culture. I realized I could utilize my strengths and education to start a conversation. From this experience, I became more curious about how patient identity affects healthcare choices. While shadowing a physician, we talked about building trust in the patient-provider relationship. He talked about making patients comfortable and learning about their hobbies or interests, in addition to recognizing their identities. We went on to consider what makes a physician interesting, relatable, and capable of creating connections. This conversation stuck with me as I continue to explore how I can best serve others. My personal experiences and interests have driven me to learn more about myself and the diverse identities of others. I hope to exercise what I have learned throughout my continued education and future practice.

I feel very connected to "The Anatomy Lesson" by Rembrandt. I had the privilege of seeing this original piece in person at Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands. I spent 2 weeks there learning about Rembrandt among other Dutch artists in that same time period while staying with family members who live in the area. The piece speaks to both art and medicine in that time period. As a future physician, I am interested in medical history and understanding the journey to modern medicine (as we know it). Rembrandt's use of lighting -- as well as the fact that it is physically large -- drew me to it among a room full of other amazing paintings. I am in awe of how far medical education has come and how this depiction illustrates a time and place where this difference is observable. An anatomy lab, now, contains cadavers, more diverse students, and a lot more protective equipment than what is depicted in "The Anatomy Lesson." I am inspired by this growth and development in the fields of art and medicine since Rembrandt created this artwork in 1632.

The most inspiring book I have read, recently, was "The Book Thief" by Mark Zusak. I was touched by the main character's draw to learning and education. The book was very uniquely written and showed an entirely different side to Nazi Germany than any I have read before. The narrative-style writing from the point of view of "Death" was haunting and heart-wrenching. This book made me laugh and cry while remembering to be thankful for the opportunities and access I have been privileged to have in my society. I was genuinely inspired by both the action and lack of action that was portrayed by each of the characters. The world-building and character development pushed boundaries and forced me to empathize with rounded characters who would have been easily vilified in a different story. There was growth and comfort in this story about family, society, and an -- unfortunately -- very true historical period.

I think math is important because by gaining analytical skills through mathematical education, we also become better problem solvers. I accredit my critical thinking skills largely to my interest in mathematics. I am focused on a career in medicine and cannot wait to use my mathematical abilities to help others. During 2 gap years between my undergraduate and medical education, I taught middle school math and science. Teaching math was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Math is often a "less-likable" subject, especially in the age group I was teaching. I taught with relatability being a major focus in my classroom. Using both analogies and learning games, I had the opportunity to teach and learn daily. I am beyond grateful for this experience and hopefully shared the love of math with almost 300 other learners.

I am inspired by Frida Kahlo's "Henry Ford Hospital". I have seen Frida's works in person and am from Southeast Michigan, so I connect with this in many personal ways too. "Henry Ford Hospital" is a haunting deconstruction of some of Frida's deepest scars. Her artwork does not shy away from the uncomfortable. She embraces the realness of pain, fear, and discomfort. This piece I find particularly inspiring because out of tragedy, Frida created beauty. It reminds me not to shy away from things I am afraid of -- to meet my fears head-on. I find it interesting that this piece is both hard to look at and hard to look away from. It is the type of art that can be truly studied. There are straightforward and metaphorical meanings to many of the choices she made in this work. The more time you spend looking at "Henry Ford Hospital," the more you can learn from it, which is -- to me -- the most impressive type of work.

Many books have inspired me differently in different times of my life. I can re-read the same book several times and pull new meaning from it. One of the most inspiring books I have read also demonstrates this phenomenon as it ponders human suffering and its relativity. After reading "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, I began to empathize with others through a new lens. I fixated on the passages that regarded suffering as being relative. Two people can experience the same event with varying magnitudes of suffering. Human feeling and its severity cannot be dictated by others, there is no mathematical formula by which people can compare their experience. I found Frankl to be particularly inspiring because he underwent one of the most dehumanizing events we know of in the modern world -- The Holocaust. He was stripped of everything but the bare minimum for survival while maintaining positivity through focusing on his bigger purpose. If he can be in one of the most horrible conditions imaginable and ground himself in this ideology, then I could too. I was and am still inspired by his mindfulness and consideration of others.

Zealand is my soulmate in a dog. As I begin my doctoral program, he will also be my roommate and biggest supporter. We love to hike, run, and hang out with our (human and dog) friends!

My favorite hobbies center around my best friend: my dog. Zealand, my 70-lb Aussiedoodle, loves to adventure. He and I walk, run, or hike every day. Before bringing home my 4-legged buddy, I would go for a jog occasionally, but sharing that with my dog brought a whole new light. Sharing a hobby with anyone is special and sharing it with a dog who loves unconditionally and will only ever know a life with me brings an insurmountable joy. Lately, Zealand and I have started training for a half marathon... in December... in Michigan. My nose could not be colder, but he could not be happier. Anyone who has trained for a distance event knows it is always about more than running. It is about proving to yourself you can do it. When you are training, you are facing everything you never gave yourself time to think about before. While Zealand will not be able to be at the race day with me, he loves the journey. He meets me at every challenge -- physical or mental -- and helps me through it without a single word. My hobbies mean more to me than being a pastime. They mean bonding with my dog, gaining perspective, and trusting myself.