Admissions Essay - My Long Route to Medical School

Admissions Essay - My Long Route to Medical School

I have always loved science and had planned a science career from an early age. However, life circumstances required me to follow a longer, less traditional route toward my goal, learning useful skills and gaining valuable experience along the way.

From the time of my parents' divorce, when I was eleven, I have had heavy family responsibilities. Initially, these responsibilities included caring for my three younger brothers and sister, and maintaining our home, while my mother worked.

I began to work as soon as I was able, as my income was required to help support my family. I was fortunate to find work in a picture framing shop, where I was allowed the flexibility to schedule my nearly full-time work hours around my classes in high school, and later, in college.

In 1977, I entered Arizona State University with the goal of pursuing a career in veterinary medicine. However, I found it difficult to achieve good grades, work nearly full-time, and attend to my responsibilities at home. After two years, it wa...

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...ese skills include performing tasks efficiently, managing my time well, coping with stressful situations, being flexible, and working hard for long hours. Evidence of this is my 3.84 GPA since returning to ASU in 1991, and achieved while maintaining a parenting role with my nephew and working as many as 70 hours per week. In addition, my years of meeting the public in the workplace have allowed me to develop good interpersonal skills. I believe that these qualities, along with my love of science, will enable me to become a competent and humane physician.