Undergraduate / Common App: A story that is central to your identity? - Trains [7]

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the prompt, but here it is again: "Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story"

Ever since I can remember, trains have fascinated me. Their whizzing, clacking, humming, and choo-chooing made my heart skip with delight. As a child, I often turned my first floor into a train-yard, where I constructed my own lines out of anything that I could carry - Styrofoam boxes, chairs, cushions - and scooted around my house like an itchy baboon. To the onlooker, I was a mad-child stringing together meaningless items and squatting on top of them. For me, each box or chair was a different rail car and each pillow linked them. Pulling them behind me, I was king of the world.

So, as you can imagine, once I boarded my first real-life train, I was blown away. It was a snowy December afternoon when my grandfather, on his first trip to the US, and I climbed into a replica Orient Express. What I had imagined on those nights in the family room suddenly surrounded me. I clambered up in my seat and pressed my nose against the cool window. Up to that point what my imagination had constructed was only fantasy, but once the train jolted forward, and my grandfather steadied me, I gasped from the world outside blurring past: imagination and adventure became tangible.

Today, as I reminisce about my wonderful obsession with trains, I see how far I've traveled in my life and how much they have meant to me, in connecting me with people and in discovering new experiences. This past summer, 3,750 miles from home with nothing but a backpack, camera, and 4 years of high school Spanish, I sped towards Machu Picchu in an electric blue diesel train. Each click and clack of the track reminded me of the nights filled with imagined whistles and billowing smoke plumes, of the excitement brought by my intrepid construction and exploration. Never in my wildest dreams could I have believed that I would be racing towards an ancient Incan civilization.

My heart raced, partly from the frosty air and partly from the whole idea of Machu Picchu, and I suddenly realized that in 48 hours, I would also work in El Hogar San Francisco, a home for destitute children with disabilities.

After spending a week with incapacitated children, I would understand something special: though disadvantaged, they have a certain perspective on life that is so innocently resilient, that living and helping them with activities becomes more of a lesson for the helper than the helped. I would watch them dry dishes, sweep the floor, stack cups, wipe tables with alacrity and skill and I would learn a great deal about appreciation of life seeing the kids afflicted with cerebral palsy, club feet, and tuberculosis hobble and clean with their childish clumsiness.

I sank into my seat and looked out into the passing trees. The curves and splits of the track which wound through the valley and to our destination eluded me; but I knew what lay ahead was marvelously exciting. It dawned on me that I was once more on a train heading to yet another adventure and with each mountain folding away, I felt closer to the ancient city and awaiting children.

As I grow older and the age of locomotion dies away, I realize that trains have evolved in design and function, much like I have grown. But the excitement that comes with its power to explore the expansive, unknown world and its ability to link people have not changed. These things continue to influence me, carrying me farther into the future - both literally and figuratively. What I once built for imaginative exploration is now what takes me to thrilling places for greater things. With this in mind, I tow my experiences behind me like the trailing cars of my Styrofoam train - my imagination, grandfather, Peru- and barrel towards a horizon of endless possibility. And I gladly say,

"Full steam ahead!"

Undergraduate / Medicine has long been a dream of mine; Brown PLME -Experiences/ Why a good fit? [4]

1. Most high school seniors are unsure about eventual career choices. What experiences have led you to consider medicine as your future profession? Please describe specifically why you have chosen to apply to the Program in Liberal Medical Education in pursuit of your career in medicine. Also, be sure to indicate your rationale on how the PLME is a "good fit" for your personal, academic, and future professional goals. (Please limit your response to this question to 500 words.)

Medicine has long been a dream of mine. It is where my interests in biology and chemistry are happily married with my affinity for social interaction and helping others. My personal battles, shadowing opportunities, and volunteering experiences have bolstered this passion.

The first time I had an asthma attack, I was only four. As I chased leaves one autumn afternoon, my throat closed and I began to choke, suffocate, and faint. Though weak and terrified, my fear vanished once I arrived in the ER and a doctor hooked me onto a vaporizer. I want to help others overcome the powerlessness that scarred me that day.

Dr. Blue, an interventional radiologist at a local hospital, showed me everything a physician should be. His confidence when he read an MRI scan and his vast knowledge about patients' conditions were as big as his smile. Similarly, cardiologist Dr. Fiengo showed me how to pass wires through a completely blocked femoral artery without injuring or alarming the patient. And even though 17 years of schooling were tough and the job is demanding, both would do it over again. These interactions have inspired me to become someone dedicated to saving lives with compassion, tenacity, and grace.

This past August, I volunteered in a Peruvian children's home filled with disabled kids. One boy, five-year-old Eloy, is stricken with cerebral palsy that impairs his legs and speech. For his weekly trip to therapy, Eloy must be hoisted up into a bus by volunteers. As we bumbled along one ride, his braced legs and bandaged head sunk into my body; in that precious moment I realized here was a child who, against all odds, was healthy and bursting with happiness thanks to the power of therapy and medicine. Each child had a story similar to Eloy's. As I grew to know them, I wanted all the more to help cure their ailments and to give them a better life.

PLME is an incredible opportunity to develop productively and expansively into a well-rounded doctor. Allowed to design my own concentration, I can fulfill a comprehensive medical curriculum and pursue broad interests. Taking unconventional pre-medical courses in the humanities, like economics and ethics of medicine, helps me become a well-rounded doctor. Additionally, PLME students delve into activities that other prospective physicians wouldn't have the luxury of doing. Things like volunteering for Breeze Against Wheeze with the Hasbro Children's Hospital and the Medicine in Action Program that give me valuable shadowing experiences with physicians, along with the opportunity to give back to the community, add breadth and depth to a doctor's background atop the vigorous academics. Furthermore, time needed to prepare for the MCATs and to apply to medical school can be reallocated to research/internship endeavors and the Whole Patient/Physician Programs. This culmination of expansive and active learning will shape me into a knowledgeable, apt, and experienced physician.

PLME fits my personal, academic, and future goals by providing an unparalleled medical education with opportunities to volunteer, to pursue liberal arts interests, and to gain valuable shadowing and patient-relations experience.