1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am Aishat (pronounced Ayesha) Motolani, a 21yr old international student from Nigeria studying Biological science at Albany State University. I was born and bred in the cacophonous center of excellence, Lagos. By contrast, I am a reserved person who loves nature. I have tried growing tomatoes, beans, pineapple, and several other crops, and I would like to believe that they were busy preparing for a special type of appearance. I am currently a senior and actively preparing for my admission into medical school. I am the first of five siblings and a first-generation college student. I see myself as a life-long learner, someone who loves caring for others and someone who loves to right the wrong. All medical students and physicians to me right now are #goals. Outside of my academics, I love promoting diversity, advocating for humanitarian causes, exercising,  and writing poems and stories.

2.  Who was your favorite teacher in school and how did he or she impact you?  My favorite teacher in school is Ms. Jones, my biology professor (I bet she doesn’t know this). She has impacted me in so many ways. I had culture shock when I came to the United States. I had to pay extra attention to what my professors say, put in extra hours for studying, refine my communication and team-work skills, and work on several other interpersonal aptitudes that would enable me to get habituated to the new environment. Taking her class really pushed me to accomplish all those skills and helped boost my self-esteem. I had lots of self-doubts and she would quell them with her random motivational speeches and the-easy-on-the-eyes-guy anecdotes. And by the way, she is one of the few teachers who pronounces my surname so beautifully.

3.  When did you first decide you wanted to become a doctor and why?    In most developing countries or let me say African countries, it is a trend that female become doctors and males become engineers. So, I was swimming in that pool for a while. I and my friends in high school would fantasize about wearing white coats, hanging the stethoscope around our neck, and running down the hallway to save humanity (sounds familiar?). After high school, I spent 2 years trying to get admission into universities but all my efforts were to no avail. Those were one of the emotional years of my life. However, during those times, I sunk back into reality and I began to think about what I really want to do in life. This was when the Ebola virus started pervading West Africa. A particular doctor’s story resonated with me and as a result, my volition to be a physician became stronger. She saved the lives of up to 2 million residents by sacrificing her life. The patient who brought Ebola to my country was placed in quarantine. But since he knew he is going to die anyways, he was determined to spread the disease. While everyone was trying to stay away, Dr. Adadevoh sprang into action and resisted his release. She took on all his bodily fluids during the resistance. Consequently, she contracted Ebola and she passed away in 2014. Witnessing this event unfold stamped a seal of certainty on my decision to pursue a career in medicine. She embodied the selflessness and compassion that medicine demands and I wish to carry on that demeanor. My intrinsic motivation stemmed from my curiosity about the bodily organs and  from my frequent visit to hospitals for malaria treatment  and other ailments. Even though I visit because I am sick, I do feel comfortable being in the hospital and I get this subtle voice in my head that says, “ this is where you should be” (not as a patient though). I do not like to see people suffering especially when I know I have the potential to alleviate their pain. I want to help to restore people’s hopes of living and to treat people so that they can live the best life they dreamed of. So, the big picture is perfect – I decided to become a doctor.

4.  What area of medicine are you interested in? I like to say that I am a totipotent stem cell when it comes to deciding the specialty I am interested in. As premeds, sometimes we do not know the demands of a specialty until we get into medical school and start analyzing all the different components. However, with that being said, I am drawn towards cardiology and pediatrics. I love the heart. It is perfectly designed and beautiful. Its rhythm is powerful and its functionality draws the line between life and death. I can go on with extolling this amazing part of our system. On the other hand, I gravitate towards pediatrics because I love children. I love to spend time with them and care for them. Their innocence just makes me believe the world would become more colorful. I would love to be a physician who helps with sustaining the good health of our future generation.

5.  What’s the coolest experience you’ve had so far on your premedical journey?  Coolest experience I have had so far is winning scholarships to attend conferences across different states. I love meeting new people from different backgrounds and I love sharing ideas and learning from visionary and experienced students and professors. I love traveling; so, visiting new places and seeing the wonders of nature are always refreshing and uplifting.

6.  What is your favorite book?  My favorite book is the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. A non-fiction book by Rebecca Skloot that narrates the origin of HeLa cells, the cell that pioneered cancer cell research, and the life of Henrietta Lacks and that of her children. It made me appreciate how far medicine has come in terms of ethics and the human side of the story is just heartbreaking. It is a story that has stuck with me for quite a while.

7.  Tell us one thing interesting about you that most people don’t know. Most people don’t know that I understand Hindi, one of the official languages of India. I am a huge Bollywood fan, so 8yrs+ of watching Bollywood films earned me that skill.

8.  If you couldn’t be a doctor, what would you want to do?  If I couldn’t be a doctor in this lifetime, I would try again in my next life. I say that because I have had a near death experience before. And in that moment, I realized that life is only worth living when one does what the heart sincerely desires. I have nurtured this dream since the age of 12, so I am not settling for a plan B.

9.  What has been your biggest obstacle as a premed and how did you (or are you) overcome it? The word obstacle scares me. So, I would say my biggest struggle is being away from my family. I have never been away from home. So, I was afraid of losing my identity and missing special family occasions. When I journeyed alone to a different country on a different continent, I became confused with who I was at first and that made me cocoon into a shell. However, I soon realized that home is not a place, it is the people I care about. My involvement with the community and school organizations made me feel at home, and I began to bond with so many people that I can call family as well.

10.  What do you like most about PreMed STAR? PreMed STAR is a magical platform to me. When I log on, I feel like I’m on a train to my destination(medical school). The people on the train are kind and always willing to help one another through providing helpful advice and resources. My favorite feature is the profile. I have been working on it over the past years and now that I am applying, it feels less burdensome to fill out my work and activities section on AMCAS/AACOMAS. The webinars are awesome too because they offer great insights into the medical school application process.

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