Undergraduate / I am proud to be a Nigerian; background or story [4]

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.

I am proud to be a Nigerian. I love my culture and the diverse background that I come from. Being born and brought up as a Nigerian has taught me to be more opening minded and better able to understand individual differences in others. There are some Nigerian traditions that are different from the American culture I still have to respect even though it has been one and half years I left my home country for the USA. However by abiding to these traditions has let me grow up with a better appreciation of other cultures including my own. Whenever I see a Nigerian adult I have to call them auntie or uncle, and I have to greet elders by prostrating for them, and the strict background that I was raised with has caused me to take a greater appreciation towards work and a greater respect to others.

Respect in the Nigerian culture is very important. All traditions that are upheld revolve around respect. The act of prostrating down for elders reveals a lot about a person in the Nigerian culture. When a child prostrate down to an older person it shows how well brought up the child is, he or she is respectful, and that he or she actually values Nigerian traditions. I want to reflect all these things about me when I prostrate for elders. After those few minutes I meet a person I do not want to be known as the boy that showed no respect to his elders. I care how I am represented as a person. I do not want to be the reason for why someone else is looked upon poorly. No matter where I am I make sure that if anyone were to meet me that I am representing myself the way that I would like to be remembered. Through this tradition that I follow, I value other cultures that may have unorthodox traditions too. I understand and can relate to the way that Asians have to bow down to their elders. I do not view it as strange or odd, but I know exactly how they feel or why they have to bow down to their elders. Again, it is all about respect

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One particular experience that I encountered was at a family friend's graduation. I stood with my family, and then I see a herd of Nigerians coming in my direction. I only recognize a few adults' faces, and the rest are just new faces to me. Even though I have never met some of these people before I knew the proper thing to do was to greet by prostrating for the elders. One has to treat one another as if they are family. That day I had to prostrate for every elder that I knew already or did not know. I never really understood why I greeted people the way that I do, but I simply could not let my parents down. Even being in the foreign country, I still want to continue the traditions of my ancestral country. However I do not only want to prostrate for elders or call these strangers my aunts or uncles, but I want to represent who I am as a person through these acts of respect.

I want to continue these Nigerian traditions mostly to stay connected with my roots. They are very meaningful to me because that is the only way that I can connect to my home country for which I have yet to visit since my migration to the USA on the 20th of January 2012. Keeping the culture, eating the food, wearing the traditional clothing, and listening to the native music is the only way that I can relive the culture even though I am not actually in the country.

Undergraduate / What are your career goals and how did you develop them? general physician [2]

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." This quote by William James has such a strong significance for me. I truly believe that no matter how a person helps another, one can have the opportunity to make a positive impact on a person's life. For this reason, I want to pursue a career in the medical field as a general physician. Being a general physician, I will make a positive impact in people's life which is, ultimately, a goal I want to accomplish each day of my life. I know who I am. I am compassionate, resourceful, creative, motivated, and I want to make a difference to the lives of others. I enjoy science and arts. I have an interest in health care. I intend on getting undergraduate degree in biochemistry, then continue right onto graduate school and get a degree as a general physician. I have always known I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, and when I discovered general physician, I knew it was perfect for me. Being a general physicain, I will help people dealing with their health problem,because health is wealth. General physician is set apart from other professions in health care because its touches different aspect of acute & chronic illnesses , provides preventive care and health education to patients. My interest for being a general physician comes from the experience I had back in my home country of Nigeria regarding the death of my childhood friend. Charles adeleke was diagnosed with a chicken pox in the year 2010 in Nigeria,but due to the lack of health facilities and unexperience medical doctor. Charles was unable to survived with the common curable illiness and he died in December 2010. As from the moment of this unfortunate incident,I decided to become a general physician and be able to help my country concerning their poor health services.