A Calling in Pediatric Surgery

I’ve always loved STEM. Biology, chemistry, anything to do with understanding the human body, was so fascinating to me. As a kid, I would pretend to be a doctor, therapist, or researcher, constantly switching roles as I explored new interests.

When my younger sister was hospitalized with a severe bone infection, I was too young to fully understand what was happening, but I knew it was serious. Later, I realized how close she came to losing her leg, and how the skill of her medical team and her surgeons saved her. That experience deeply impacted me.

As I grew, I started to notice something else: I was naturally good with children. They’d run to me, cry around me, laugh with me. I could coax a smile out of the stormiest toddler in minutes. Parents noticed, too. They trusted me, knowing their kids were safe, seen, and happy.

And suddenly, everything fit.

I realized I could take all those childhood fascinations and match them with my talent for connecting with children. I could become a pediatric surgeon, someone who could not only heal with science but comfort with my presence.