Throughout my young life, I have constantly strived to answer the questions presented before me. Some have been easy—’What is the square root of 9,801?” . Others have not been quite so simple What do you want to be when you grow up? Why’?” My first science courses in the 7th grade stimulated my interest in the medical profession. Before long, I had even selected a specialty neurosurgery.
Although I have almost always had set goals, I have not been afraid to challenge them. From my sophomore year through my high school graduation, I worked as a typist/computer programmer (15-20 hr/wk, five d/wk) in a small music stand business. This job not only allowed me to improve my dexterity, but also to contribute to my family’s strained budget; thus I tasted my first responsibility in the real world. Although I briefly considered a career in computers, I soon realized that I would gain little sense of contribution to other people.
During my first two years in college I worked as an attendant (20 hr/wk) at a local video arcade. Constant interaction with customers made my employment there well worthwhile.
The summer following my sophomore year, I found a job as a lab assistant (30 hr/wk, 1/2 mos) in the neuro research center of the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, CA. At first I worked as a simple lab technician. Before long, however, my supervisor became convinced that I had the potential to do more, and I was taught to inject rats and to perform a simple surgical maneuver— crush a nerve in the leg and sew the surrounding muscles and skin back together. Although I worked in this lab for a relatively short time, the exposure piqued my interest in the field of research, an option I am currently considering quite seriously.