Through collaboration with fellow RA’s on educational programming, I helped benefit the local homeless

community and was recognized as the “UT Program of the Year” for two successive years.
“Kin’s Thrift Shop” was a program I started to expose and to encourage my residential community to make
a difference. After two months of planning, delegating, and coordinating with the Central Texas Food Bank, we set
up a donation station at the front desks in which residents and fellow college students donated clothes for the
homeless. Afterwards, we set up a program to sell the clothes and additional baked goods for donations. All
donations and clothes that weren’t sold at our Thrift Shop were later donated to the Central Texas Food Bank.
Overall, we had enough monetary donations to provide a sizable clothing donation and provide over 700 meals to
the homeless. By getting residents involved in supporting their local community while providing a forum for them to
donate and shop for charity, we created this popular and effective program that will continue to be implemented for
years to come. Seeing the meaningful impact that I could make by implementing such a program on a community
wide basis gave me a tremendous amount of satisfaction. It also made me feel proud that I was able to successfully
lead and delegate my fellow RAs to create a successful and interactive program that involved the whole community
while also bringing awareness and assistance to the local homeless population. I believe the collaborative working
skills I learned from this extensive project will help me work with others well in medical school.

As a child, especially a daughter, I naturally looked to my mother for guidance and support. Yet, I
frequently found my mother in an almost comatose state in her bedroom due to the fact that she was a carrier of
anemia called thalassemia. What I did recognize at an early age was that I wanted to be more independent and self-
sufficient. By taking on responsibilities, I matured early and learned to be more proactive. Learning to be decisive
and solve problems will help me adapt to the multifaceted aspect of medicine that require quick thinking to
effectively address patient issues.
Growing up in a household that lacked a strong female figure, I learned to take responsibility for myself
and my younger brother. These simple responsibilities taught me to be more selfless and more aware of the needs of
others. Being self-sufficient from a young age also taught me to become more financially independent. I learned to
manage my own expenses in high school and in college to be more financially self-sufficient. When I was 16, I
secured my first job as an aquatics instructor and lifeguard where I worked throughout high school. I later secured a
job in college as a tutor and a resident assistant. It was through the experience of working that I learned to appreciate
the value of money and the amount of work it takes to earn a dollar. I became more resourceful and conscientious
about how to spend both time and money.
By overcoming and learning from these adversities, I believe my experiences have taught me how to better
serve others, to be more resilient and responsible and how to handle different types of situations. These life skills of
time management, thinking independently, acting responsibly, and being conscientious of the needs of others will
serve well in a career as a physician