Throughout high school I have participated in many different activities and programs, but one of the opportunities I was given I will carry with me forever. As a junior at River Valley I participated in the Marion General Teen Volunteer Program. After interviewing and being placed in the physical therapy unit I took the opportunity to branch out into other areas of the hospital. I soon made my way to the labor and delivery floor where everyday a miracle happened. My duties while volunteering included assisting the nurses during hearing checks, changing diapers, and rocking crying infants in special care.
The transition from eighth grade to ninth grade is one of the most difficult but unforgettable things a student must do in his adolescence. For me, it was filled with new opportunities of taking Ap classes and joining clubs. One of these cubs was Youth and Government (Y&G). For as long as I can remember my brother, Riad, has boasted about how amazing Y&G is and how it has changed his life. My brother is three years older then me, so as a freshman he was a senior in Y&G.
In my freshman year, I made a choice to relinquish some of my social life and replace that time giving back to my community. I joined a non-profit organization called the Volunteer Corp. We spent our time at food banks, park clean-ups, and even hosting local events. This experience left a lasting impression on me in many ways; however, one experience changed my perspective on life and serve as a constant reminder of how the smallest contribution to others can be the most powerful. St. Joseph University, in Philadelphia, held an event called Hand in Hand. It was an event dedicated to raising awareness for people with physical and/or developmental disabilities.
My future career must focus on being there for those who cannot always be there for themselves. Working as a nursing assistant in a nursing home and on a rehabilitation floor in a hospital, I dedicated myself to assisting residents, ensuring they had everything they needed. Many residents in the nursing home lacked family support, so I became their ally and friend. The residents' faces would light up as they shared their small steps toward their physical therapy goals. For new residents feeling anxious about transitioning to a new place, I offered reassurance and showcased the facility's best aspects, creating a sense of home.
When I was eleven years old, I tore my anterior cruciate ligament, more commonly known as the ACL while playing in a football game. Being only eleven years old, this was a pretty unusual injury as most ACL tears do not happen until mid to later teens. Hearing that I tore my ACL was pretty devastating. I did not know much about it, but I knew enough to know I would be out of sports for a long time. The next nine months of my life were spent with one goal in mind: getting back to sports.
This experience taught me four main things about life, things I may have never known about if I wouldn’t have had to handle this type of adversity. First It showed me how humbling life can be. Before my injury I felt so close to accomplishing my goal, I was talking to college coaches and had visits to schools lined up. One day later I was laid in a hospital bed wondering if I would ever be able to walk again.
“Oh please! You guys say that you want to move into this new house because it looks great. The real reason is because the commute to my therapist is much faster. I’m fine mom and dad! I don’t need antidepressants nor do I need a therapist.
Revised Memoire People change, minds change,places change,but memories don’t. Memories are good and bad, but they make up your life. Our lives are full of memories, like on holidays. When they are special in our hearts. So, i'm going to tell you my special moments.
It was a cold winter day. There was fresh snow on the ground as I walked out of the Philadelphia International Airport. I had lived in Fiji for the past nine years with only one or two short trips back to the U.S. in summer months to visit family. Everything in America seemed different from my previous home. The air smelled cleaner then in Fiji where the streets were filled with diesel busses that puffed out clouds of noxious fumes.
My grandma was a remarkable person despite everything she faced as a result of her stroke. There were moments in my life when I felt incapable of being helpful and present for her. She had a stroke in her mid 40s and I saw the toll it had on her overall well-being, mentally and physically. Her stroke paralyzed her completely on one side of her body and it took away her ability to communicate verbally; she was bedridden for the remainder of her life. This memory sparked a passion in me to serve people in need.
Struggling previously in entering college, I have grown to be more focused and be confident in deciding a career. Learning about different theories and practice skills have enhanced my ability to work with clients. Currently I’m internship at AHRC Bronx TBI program have furthered my desire to want to gain more knowledge in the field. As an intern facilitating educational groups to traumatic brain injury individuals has been challenging while being rewarding. Observing the resilience of having a brain injury and the strength to continue after experience
I am still not fully recovered and I most likely won’t ever be, there will always be that little voice inside my head. I started my journey with addiction and recovery the summer before freshman year. Everything changed going into highschool. I started hanging out with different friends, I slacked in school, and my personality was trash.
It is hard for me to toot my own horn but I believe I am exceptional because, in addition to the usual applicant assets of intelligence, aptitude, drive, and experience, I seek and embody diversity, I am highly empathetic and sensitive to the needs of others, I am an Eagle Scout who embodies Scouting’s values, I have significant clinical experience, and I speak fluent Japanese. On the above, I do not just talk the talk, I walk the walk. I will be a great doctor because of the above and because I deeply want to serve. It is a calling and not just an occupation for me.
In my brief life, I have overcome a lot of adversity. My mom fled Mexico with her three young children to escape domestic violence. When we came to this country we had only a few personal belongings and the promise of a better future. We came to this country and lived in a small trailer with no toilet other than a bucket, and no shower except for the one that was lent to us from the kindness of a stranger, our new neighbor. As a single parent, my mother had to work day and night to support us.
My Road to Resilience As of 2014 I been have fighting a very tough hardship with my father. On Christmas Eve of 2014, my father was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital for emergency surgery on his lower back. This did not happen suddenly; this was a pain that developed overtime. About every 3 months my father was given a type of shot to ease the nerve pain in his back; this went on for a little over a year prior to the surgery.
