Its been a while since I've written a personal statement! This is just a general one for the professors writing my letters of recommendation. This summer I am applying to several summer internships. I may reuse a tweaked version of this if I can get it to be a better. Be brutally honest :)
Also, Let me know if you need the favor returned!
Her name was June. She was adorned in every color in the rainbow, her hair was big, and her earrings were bold. It didn't take me long to realize that this woman was full of life. Every sentence she spoke was succeeded by a large smile, the type of smile that you couldn't help but replicate when you saw. So I sat there smiling stupidly, as my mentor at Professional Research Network of Kansas (PRN) began to ask June about how the recent medication was helping her cervical radiculopathy.
Prior to interning at PRN, my impression of clinical research facilities was heavily smeared by commercials that advertised, "do you have high blood pressure, do you need extra money?" I felt that they were little more than dark places where people injected themselves full of various drugs, subjecting themselves to harmful side-effects, all just to make an extra buck.
However, that day June began to explain how the medication was interfering with her sleeping, but other than that she had found it great relief. She went on to describe how she had thought she had tried everything, but to no avail. One day, her doctor recommended her to PRN, and this medication was the first time she'd found something that helped the pain since she'd been diagnosed with the disease many years ago. My sleezy initial impression of clinical research melted away and was replaced with an understanding of how it was a vitally important these farcicalities were, not just getting new drugs out on the market, but for providing alternatives for people who need the relief, but may have run out of options.
My internship with Professional Research Network of Kansas did not afford me the opportunity to conduct experiments of my own accord, but it taught me a true lesson about the field of medical research. My understanding of the importance of research developed beyond a mere intellectual appreciation for the field and I began to understand how research touches humanity.
Volunteering as EMT-B this past summer, I saw many people who reminded me of June. They did not all bear the same audacious fashion sense, but like June, their lives were interrupted by the physical and emotional pain of illness. Sitting in the back of the ambulance watching them cry out, knowing that aside from assuring their IV was in place and asking them for the medical history, there was not much I could do for them, made me more aware of my limitations as a professional and as an individual than I think anything I've ever experienced. I want to pursue a career in research, because my experience has shown me that that is a way to remove those limits and truly help people.
Each of these summer programs offers the opportunity to work with re-known professionals, furthermore many offer extensive mentorship from on how to conduct research, present it, and apply to graduate school. This summer, I hope to improve my analytical, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. I'm ready to learn how to ask relevant scientific questions and seek answers to those questions. My research this summer may not be groundbreaking, but I am eager to contribute to a bank of past and present scientific knowledge. Knowledge that provides aid every day to women like June, to people who have tried everything but still have no relief for their pain. This summer I'd like to help eliminate limitations.
I know this is usually not recommended but I like to think of a very general thesis statement first, write some of my essay, then come up with a very solid thesis statement. That said I would recommend writing about how your passion burns for the field of clinical research.
