1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am from Katy, Texas – born and raised! I grew up in a small town (which is not so small anymore) and am a first generation college student majoring in psychology. I enjoy cooking, watching inspiration YouTube videos and TedTalks and free-style writing, in my spare time. I try to give back to my community as much as possible in various ways!

2. Who was your favorite teacher in school and how did he or she impact you? I have 2 favorite teachers. One from high school and one from college. Mrs. Williams was my high school Health teacher. She identified my strengths and encouraged me daily to become a better person. Whether it was showing us how to properly do CPR or teaching us how to be kind to one another, I will never forget her impact on my life. When my father passed away, 1 day before my high school graduation, Mrs. Williams and her husband came to my home for condolences. When she left, I opened the card she gave me and in it was a check to help me buy my books for the first semester of college. She is truly an angel. My second favorite teacher is Dr. Kristin Anderson – professor of psychology. She impacted my life so profoundly after taking her Social Psychology course. She taught me how to stand up for myself, to see through the biases we are faced with on a daily basis and how to think for myself critically and logically. She opened my eyes to the disparities we face as a society and how to be a better individual to have a positive impact on our communities. She is a brilliant professor and her impact on my life will be longstanding.

3. When did you first decide you wanted to become a doctor and why?  It was when I saw the reality of medicine first hand that I decided to be a physician. My dad tragically passed away in 2009 and was taken to the Texas Medical Center where we were told that the doctor’s couldn’t do anything to save him. I remember sitting on the ground thinking, “I will do everything in my power to save someone else’s parent”. And I have a mission to do this. Medicine is science and science is being revolutionized every single day and new treatments and medicines are being made. I want to be a doctor to improve and maintain good health of the people. I want to be a physician to educate people on the fact that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I am so certain that I have the capability to do this and in turn, give someone else’s dad, mom, brother, sister, aunt or uncle a longer, healthier life.

4. What area of medicine are you interested in? I am interested in Emergency Medicine and Primary Care, both. As an ER physician, you are on the front line of defense. It is such a critical responsibility and with proper training, the ability to treat carries a wide impact. I know this as I have been a scribe in the ER for 5 years. I am also interested in primary care because I have a knack to educate, promote, and inspire. As a primary care physician, I can manage my patient’s health on a long term basis and create lasting, personal relationships with them.

5. What’s the coolest experience you’ve had so far on your premedical journey?  The coolest experience I have had so far as a pre-med was being given the opportunity to be involved in a medical research paper with a team of doctor’s. It was with this research paper that I experienced first hand the pressures of medicine: working 2 jobs as a scribe and a medical assistant, being in college, studying for the MCAT and working on the paper to meet a deadline gave me a realization that my journey isn’t going to be easy – but it will be worth it. And when the paper was accepted to be published and is now on PubMed – every minute of stress was worth it!

6. What is your favorite book?   My favorite book is “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. I always encourage everyone to read this book at least once as the story teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts and following our dreams, no matter how many obstacles we may face.

7. Tell us one thing interesting about you that most people don’t know.  An interesting thing about me – I have visited 11 countries and speak 5 languages!

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