Spring 2015 – Last semester at Cornell

Schoellkopf Field, Cornell University

My final semester at Cornell University has proven to be the most stressful and challenging time of my life (thus far). As I finished up my pre-medical studies and Spanish degree, I also faced the difficult tasks of preparing for the new MCAT, writing an honors thesis, and of course staying on top of an 18-credit workload. I am more than blessed to say that I made it! Graduation was about a month ago (May 25). I received my undergraduate degree at Cornell University alongside several hundred amazing peers.

One of the craziest things that happened to me this past semester was losing my USB flash drive. Actually, I have reason to believe that it was stolen, but that’s another story. I lost years of important information, including a portion of my thesis, past applications to summer programs and activities that would have been useful now, MCAT study materials, letters to friends and family, ALL of my assignments since the sixth grade, and so much more. All of this was saved on my computer, but the hard drive ended up crashing the week prior, and I lost this same information on it. For a month, I searched relentlessly for the flash drive. I created a flier and posted it in the computer lab where I last had it, stopped by the service desk in that particular dorm every day, checked the Lost & Found incessantly, and asked around. It never showed up. It was such a burden to overcome and it took me a long time to accept the fact that I wouldn’t be getting that information back. It was very painful. I have no idea why this happened, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason.

There were many ups and downs this past year since I’ve written in this blog. The most wonderful thing to happen to me to date is seeing my hard work as an undergraduate culminate into my diploma. I graduated magna cum laude from an Ivy league institution. I never thought I would have made it this far. There is no way I would have succeeded without the grace of God, and the immense support of family, friends, and my mentors during my time at Cornell.

Gap Year Plans
This summer, I am in Boston as an intern for the Harvard Catalyst Summer Clinical & Translational Research Program. I have the opportunity to engage in a 10-week mentored research experience at the Center for Human Genetic Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. My project aims to understand the associations between certain environmental and economic factors with the on-set of depression among ethnic minority youth in the U.S. I’m passionate about this area of study, and I’m looking forward to seeing what I find at the end of this experience.

Starting in mid-August, I will begin my post-bac fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). My research will focus on studying the circuit connections between different cortical areas in the brain. I am excited and nervous to engage in such work (I have not completed any biomedical research during my undergrad), as I know this will be a challenging but rewarding experience. My goal remains to pursue a career in medicine, and I am currently applying to schools this cycle.

I plan to post more updates about my experience here in Boston for the summer. Stay tuned!