Alpert Medical School of Brown University

At URI: BS Cell & Molecular Biology, BA Spanish, Phi Beta Kappa, URI Men’s Club Lacrosse, part-time EMT at Aetna Ambulance in Connecticut

After Graduation: Following graduation, I took 3 gap years before applying to medical school. In that time, I spent 1 year as an EMT in Hartford, Connecticut, and then ~2 years as a Clinical Research Assistant in the Infectious Diseases Division at Rhode Island Hospital. Currently, I am a first-year medical student at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

What advice do you have to incoming Pre-Health students?

My biggest advice for incoming pre-health students would be to try and grasp early-on and then frequently remind yourself that preparing for a career in medicine is a long and “big picture” oriented process. Based on my experience pursuing medical school, it seems as though you need to have a perfect GPA, a perfect MCAT score, and 10,000 hours of volunteering, research and shadowing all at once, however, this is far from the case. It is a slow and longitudinal process, and success is impossible without at some point facing and learning from failure. Though there certainly is a lot that needs to be accomplished to achieve your success, you have 4+ years to do so, and no single exam, research opportunity or academic year will define your future success. Throughout your process, focus on checking off one box at a time, and make sure that you are also making time for what is important to you whether it is family, friends, traveling, working out, or sleeping (my personal favorite). And finally, award yourself for even the small victories, because over time, each small step forward amalgamates into a marathon-length path that you will one day reflect back on, and when you do, you will surprise yourself with how much you were able to endure and accomplish.

How was Pre-Health a service to you?

Pre-Health was an invaluable asset and resource throughout my pre-med at URI and post-grad application experience. Pre-Health helped me to remain aware of impending dates for medical school applications and MCAT testing, informed me of pre-med research/clinical care opportunities around RI, and served as a go-to resource for any question pertaining to aspects of my application or how to navigate the very complex process of applying to medical school, and importantly, doing so on time.