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Part 11: The year of COVID-19

Module 11: Speciation // Alternative Blog Post

        This year, I have had the honor of doing several things. I was accepted into the UMKC STAHR program in 2020, fortunately, it was not canceled. The program was virtual so by the time school started I was very familiar with zoom! Then, I become a year-long UMKC STHAR Ambassador. The program provided professional development and medical education. At K-State, I am a Class 2020 Snyder Fellow. This program helped gain professional development with a huge emphasis on leadership. I learned the importance of community and how it helps EVERYONE be successful. I was able to apply this knowledge in a couple of ways. First, I worked with leadership at K-State to assess the sense of community felt among minority pre-health (pre-med, pre-pa, pre-nursing. etc) students in both their pre-health club and advising. Second, I became part of the Intercultural Leadership Council, a joint council between the Department of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and the Student Government Association to address problems or concerns of our substituents. I represented the Multicultural Student Affairs and worked toward addressing climate issues on campus. Lastly, this year I was accepted to the MCAT Immersion Program 2021 Quinnipiac University Frank H. Netter School of Medicine. I originally applied last summer but it was canceled so they considered my application this year!! 

        When I was sixteen, I began to care for my little sister after my mom passed away. Last fall, she had a sports injury where she tore her meniscus (and two other ligaments) in such a way that many orthopedic surgeons don't often see. She had to have surgery five hours away from home. I ended up going back home and took great care of her for three weeks. I underestimated her recovery and needed to help her around the clock. This led my grades to slip drastically for every class. Although it took the rest of the semester, I was able to catch up on my missing assignments. 

        This year taught me many lessons more than any other year as I have been working on my personal development for the last three years. More than anything, I learned the value of health. Every day I have been working to learning more about nutrition and to better take care of my body. Another valuable lesson that I have learned was that education has been part of my life for so long that it has been hard to break bad habits. For the next year, I plan to focus more on my academic growth. 

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