What truly inspired me to study medicine was the surgeon who operated on my dad. She was personable, caring, and compassionate when treating my dad and it made me want to do the same for others. Thereafter, every D.O. physician I worked with, shadowed or volunteered for had these same qualities and I attributed this to their osteopathic training. I knew I not only wanted to pursue medicine, but I wanted to become a D.O.
Who or what has inspired you while at VCOM?
I am inspired every day at VCOM to be my best and work my hardest. I have the administration and facility to thank for that. Our dean, Dr. Cannon, is one of the most personable and caring people I have ever met. It took me a while to work up the courage to introduce myself to him but when I did he was so friendly and made sure to offer any advice he could. This is the same mentality of every administrator and faculty at VCOM. I never feel like I can’t go to a professor for help in a class I am struggling with. They truly want you to succeed and because of this, it pushes me to do my best. It also helps that they offer any and all resources they can to aid in our studies. Their dedication to our success is what inspires me to be the best student I can be.
How has the VCOM mission inspired you as a medical student?
Part of VCOM’s mission is to train globally-minded, community-focused physicians. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take part in VCOM’s Global Health course that they offer to students. In this course, we reviewed cases covering important topics that impact global health such as poor water quality, infectious diseases, and poor nutrition. We would then have video conferences with international medical students to discuss these topics and how we could solve them. This class taught me how to address global health issues on an international and community level and has inspired me to continue to be globally-minded throughout my career.
Who or what inspired you to study medicine?
I began having an interest in the medical field halfway through college when I realized I would rather learn about what my nursing friends were learning than what my financial accounting class was teaching. What truly inspired me to study medicine was the surgeon who operated on my dad. She was personable, caring, and compassionate when treating my dad and it made me want to do the same for others. Thereafter, every D.O. physician I worked with, shadowed or volunteered for had these same qualities and I attributed this to their osteopathic training. I knew I not only wanted to pursue medicine, but I wanted to become a D.O.
Why did you choose VCOM?
When applying to medical schools, I made an entire spreadsheet of the medical schools I applied to and the pros and cons of each. I chose VCOM primarily because of its mission statement - I wanted to go to a school that gave me opportunities to do research and travel internationally for mission trips. Looking back now, the main reason I am happy I chose VCOM is not only because VCOM offers opportunities for those interests, but mainly because of the continuous support I receive from the administration, faculty, and fellow classmates. If I could go back to when I was trying to figure out what the most important quality was when considering which medical school to go to, I would tell myself that the number one thing that outranks everything else is how supportive the school environment is. VCOM tops every other school in this category.
What do you enjoy most about living in the area around your campus?
I come from Delray Beach, a decent-sized city in South Florida. I was hesitant to move to a smaller city but to my pleasant surprise, Spartanburg has been incredible. I love that there are an endless amount of spots where I can study or hang out and that you will always run into someone you know. I remember one time I was studying at the Starbucks downtown and four other classmates were studying there too. We decided to join tables and spent the rest of the day studying together which made it more bearable.
What do you like to do in your free time?
It is true that you lose a lot of your free time when you are in medical school but when we do find that time, my friends and I take advantage of the local shops and restaurants downtown, the nearby hikes, and the occasional day trips to Asheville or Charlotte. There is always some activity going on that someone in my class will post about in our group chat so I never run out of things to do.