Why I Created This Platform
As the first in my family to graduate from university and the first to pursue a health care career, I didn’t exactly fit the typical pre-med mold – neither of my parents or grandparents went to college, much less graduate or medical school. I lacked mentors that my peers had, as well as the financial resources. I also changed my career two months before graduating college! In fact, I was drafting my personal statement for pharmacy school when I finally found the courage to pursue medicine. At the time, I felt incredibly scared, alone and lost. That is a feeling I will never forget and is what motivates me to grow this platform so that no premed has to go through that again. Although I want this blog to serve as a helpful and relevant resource for ALL premeds, I hope to empower other first-generation college students to believe in their potential to succeed. I hope to connect with as many pre-meds as I can and be that free resource and caring mentor that I wish I had back then.
Secondly, I’ve always been an “average” student, at least from a statistical standpoint. As a pre-med, I didn’t have the best scores and as a med student, I have always had to work much harder just to be average or above average. I felt that more often than not, advice for pre-meds and medical students came from individuals with exceptional scores. Unlike my peers in medical school, I also did not come from a high-income household or have any doctors in the family. Coming from a low-income immigrant household, I often didn’t feel like I fit in. Imposter Syndrome is something I live with every day. Although I want this platform to serve all med students, I hope my blog reaches all the med students out there who are also battling imposter syndrome on a daily basis.
Lastly, I also created this platform to grow as an individual. I believe that documenting my own experiences will push me to reflect on them. Raised in an immigrant household, the voice and privilege I have as an Asian-American is not lost on me and I hope to use this platform to do good in this world.
A Little Bit About Me!
- Born and raised in Orange County, Southern California
- Raised in an immigrant household of seven
- Chinese Vietnamese American and trilingual!
- UC Irvine alumni
- Fourth year medical student at an MD program in Virginia
- Current specialty interest: Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
- With a mission to work with underserved populations
- National Health Service Corp Scholarship recipient
- Hobbies: traveling, reviewing food as a Yelp Elite Squad member, training and hikes with Lany my labrador, Chargers football, going to music concerts, crochet, reading, piano, and quality family time!
