I have been a translator my entire life. At work, I help Japanese coworkers practice their English, helping them get accustomed to life in the US. At home I translate heartfelt messages from my grandmother to my siblings, bridging a gap between her Spanish and their English. I cling to the languages that bring me closer to my peers, my family, and my heritage. I added a fourth language to my arsenal my freshman year when I began studying medicine. The complex roots, prefixes, and suffixes peppering medical terminology combined into an almost foreign language; I was enthralled by their ability to define complex diseases with the anatomy of each word. I loved understanding the scary diagnoses on medical shows and getting to help my peers understand their own symptoms. I realized that if I were a doctor, I would want to translate my care to be digestible by all. Understanding the cultural norms present in various countries through my multicultural background—from my Japanese mother’s obsession with herbal medicines to my Mexican American father’s refusal to believe in acupuncture—I realized that there are often cultural barriers in terms of delivering effective and compassionate healthcare. From language barriers when delivering care to medical misconceptions regarding historically underrepresented groups in research studies, empathy and understanding may sometimes be lacking in the one field that requires it most. This is where I wish to leave my mark as a physician and as a science communicator—by emphasizing the importance of connection and communication in medicine. Over the summer before my senior year, I had the opportunity to complete the Seattle Children’s Research Training Program, where we not only completed an independent research study on congenital heart disease, but were also exposed to various biomedical career paths through panels and guest lectures. One such lecture covered science communication, or the act of taking scientific discoveries and putting them into use by delivering them to the public. During this time, I was also working with the International Learning Academy to help teach K-1 students Japanese. As I began understanding the impact that effective science communication may have, and how important it is to cater messages to your audience through my tutoring, these experiences awakened my passion for science education: important scientific announcements packaged into simple messages for the public is how tangible impact and application is made. Whether it be helping individual patients understand their diagnoses, or advertising new treatments with accessible messaging and explanations, I plan to ensure that my role as a translator does not end with translating at my workplace or home. As I enter my first year at the University of California, Berkeley, I plan to fully immerse myself in the student clubs and communities dedicated to healthcare advocacy at Cal. By joining clubs like the California Health Professional Student Alliance at Berkeley and working with organizations like the Berkeley Free Clinic, I aim to dive into my interests in healthcare advocacy throughout my undergraduate career. Additionally, I hope to leverage this diverse student body to constantly learn, not only about the various cultures that I am bound to be exposed to, but how to best engage with them, becoming a better communicator with every interaction I find. To translate in medicine is to break down jargon, address people’s fears, and accommodate cultural norms; the necessity for medicine is universal, and the care I deliver will closely follow.