My first semester as a sophomore went by a lot smoother than I expected it to.

Not because
my work load was in any way less than what it was my freshman year, but because I learned to
accept my failure and bounce back from it. Towards the end of September, I got involved in Yes
Plus that helped me control my stress. The pressure that comes with being a pre-med student is
something that I struggled with more than anything as a freshman. Pre-health students are
constantly reminded that any and everything they do will come up in the application process. We
must maintain at least a 3.7 GPA to be a competitive applicant meaning that for every B, will
have to be balanced by three As. At the same time, however, we need to be involved on campus,
shadow professionals, volunteer, work, etc. There are students that seemingly handle these
pressures with ease I was not one of them.
Anytime I got a B on a test my freshman year, I got incredibly stressed out. I tested out what
if scores on Canvas relentlessly trying to figure out a way to maintain an A in the class. I let my
stress control my life and instead of improving my grades they worsened. The beginning of my
sophomore year was disastrous. Organic chemistry became my worst enemy I struggled to
succeed in the class despite all the tutoring I had outside of class. Eventually, I let this one class
consume my entire life and as a result, I fell behind in my other classes.
After a presentation in my Cell Bio class, I decided to attend a Yes Plus retreat. Yes Plus is
an organization at UNCC that focuses on spiritual well-being. The retreat proved to be a life-
changing experience for me. I learned several meditation techniques that helped relieve my
stress. I found that it was easier to study and be productive with a clear mind. Not only did it
improve my education, it helped improved my personal life. I learned how to deal with people, I
learned how to block out negative comments and forgive people who hurt me in the past to find
inner peace. It empowered me because it made me feel in control again. I was able to control
what things and people affected my life.
Once I learned how to let go, I decided to withdraw from organic chemistry. It was a hard
decision to make so late in the semester, I worried about falling behind and not graduating on
time. I worried that withdrawing would make me seem like a horrible student. But I spoke with
my advisor who reassured me that I am not nor, will I ever be the only student to struggle in a
course. She reassured me that it would be easier to explain a withdrawal than a bad grade to med
schools. Once I finally withdrew, I felt nothing but relief. Although I have fallen behind my
preferred plan of study, I can take summer classes to get back on track. Since I finally had more
time on my hands, I was able to improve my grades in my other classes back to As. This
experience taught me that its okay to fail. I know that I am not a perfect student, but being able
to accept failure and learn from it has made me into a better student than I was before.
Since my credit hours decreased, I was able to spend more time at my internship. Before, I
usually only worked in the office. Afterwards, I was able to attend outreach events such as health
fairs and the ACA enrollment events. Such events helped me learn about branding and
networking. I got to spread information about Care Ring to other community organizations and
businesses. I was amazed by how little people knew about Care Ring, the digital divide prevents
people from knowing about the resources available to them. I also got to know more about
politics than I ever expected to through the ACA enrollment events. For example, I was unaware
that the current administration shortened the enrollment people which contributes to health
disparities. Several of the people we helped at those events had no idea. It was frightening to
think about how many people will lose coverage simply because they are unaware of the change
in the enrollment period or that non-profit organizations such as Care Ring will help them enroll
for free. In this age of technology, I would think that people are more aware of the resources
available due to the easy access to information through the internet. However, coming from a
place of privilege, I often fail to realize the digital divide that exists. As a student, I have always
had access to information even if I personally did not own a phone or a computer. However, not
everyone has this benefit. This is just one of the ways that social issues and laws can contribute
to health disparities in our country.
In my community, I have seen friends and family struggle due to a lack of access to health
care. Health disparities is an issue that I have been interested in for a long time. I have seen the
consequences of poor health care both in my community through my work at Care Ring and
abroad through my work with Global Medical Brigades (GMB). My volunteer work with GMB
has taught me the importance of cultural sensitivity. Because we were foreigners, the people of
Nicaragua felt unsure about trusting us and communicating all their health concerns/issues. For
this reason, we spent months in advance studying their culture. Although I already speak Spanish
and know many of the customs, there were still certain aspects of their culture I did not
understand. I still had to study the language like everyone else because of their different dialect.
Furthermore, we learned new ways to communicate and phrase the background questions to
avoid offending patients. Care Ring is a low-cost clinic, but it does so much more to give back to
Charlotte residents. Care Ring has a Physicians Reach Out program (PRO) in which physicians
in Charlotte agree to see qualifying patients for free and provide extra services at a low cost.
They also have a program for first-time moms in which a volunteering nurse agrees to see a first-
time mom in their home to improve prenatal health and childcare. Interning here has changed
what I want to do with my career. While I still want to attend med school and become a thoracic
surgeon, I want to give back to my community. I want to work with low-income families and
provide much-needed assistance through non-profits such as Care Ring to help close health
disparities. Furthermore, working with patients to get coverage under Care Rings Physicians
Reach Out program (PRO) has sparked my interest in social work. I love interning at Care Ring
because I always leave feeling satisfied for helping a family get approved to receive the health
care they need. I admire Beth, the renewal coordinator because she devotes so much of her time
to helping others even though she only works there part time. She has taught me so much about
trying to understand patients backgrounds to help them more efficiently. I feel that my minor in
Women's and Gender studies and Urban Youth and Communities will also help me to understand
underlying social issues that contribute to health disparities.
This semester I have obtained the tools I need to find a balance between my class work
and community engagement. Next semester, when my course load picks back up I plan to use
these tools to remain calm and collected. I used to feel anxious about upcoming semesters and
new classes. While I still worry about my grades like any other student, I no longer let the
anxiousness get to me and get in the way of my personal well-being.