If you have taken a gap year(s), please explain what you have been, or will be, doing since

graduating from your undergrad institution. (2000 characters)

Starting from the summer after I graduated college, I began working full-time as a
researcher in Dr. Yvonne Saenger’s cancer lab at Columbia and will continue working there until
I matriculate into medical school. In the lab, I am leading a project to create an artificial
intelligence program that will determine the probability that different types of cancers will recur.

Soon after beginning full-time work in Dr. Saenger’s lab, I also began a part-time job as
an educator at the Lang Youth Medical Program. The mission of the Lang Program is to foster
interest in healthcare careers in underserved Manhattan students. As an educator, I give weekly
lectures to a class of fifteen 10th grade students about topics in medicine and healthcare.

Since graduation, I have also been volunteering at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospital in the
geriatrics, cardiothoracic surgery, and ER departments. I plan on continuing to volunteer at St.
Luke’s throughout my gap year to gain as much clinical experience as I can before attending
medical school.

In September of 2018, I began training for a marathon. I ran 5 times a week and steadily
increased the number of miles I ran over the next 6 months. In March of 2019, I competed in the
Queens Marathon and won a medal for completing it in under 6 hours.

In December of 2018 and March of 2019, I organized math competitions at Booker T.

Washington Middle School in Harlem. I wrote the problems, structured the events, and worked
with the teachers to incorporate their curriculum into the competitions. During this time, the
principal of the middle school and I also began talking about expanding the competition to other
schools in her district.

In January of 2019, I began volunteering at the Schervier Nursing Home and

Rehabilitation Center and will continue volunteering there throughout my gap year. At Schervier,
I volunteer specifically with Alzheimer’s disease patients and help plan activities to sharpen their
memory and fine motor skills.

Is becoming a physician a second career for you? If so, what was your first career choice?
(2000 characters)

N/A
Indicate any special experiences, unusual factors or other information you feel would be
helpful in evaluating you, including, but not limited to, education, employment,
extracurricular activities, prevailing over adversity. 

You may expand upon but not repeat AMCAS application information.
2000 character limit.

One special educational experience I have had is in pursuing a degree in math in college
and going on to do research and publish papers in theoretical mathematics. My background in
math gives me a unique perspective that would contribute to the diverse educational community
at the Baylor College of Medicine. The laws of mathematics pervade all aspects of the world,
from the physics that governs chemical reactions in our bodies to the laws of economics that
guide how healthcare is delivered and drugs are patented. I believe that being able to view
problems from a mathematical perspective will be widely applicable in the practice of medicine,
where patient outcomes and medical research increasingly rely on the computational analysis of
data and analytical thinking.
Another special experience I have had is being a marathon runner. I had always been a
poor runner growing up due to a medical condition I was born with that caused my sternum to
cave in on my chest and squeeze my lungs. As a result of this condition, I stopped competing in
sports throughout my childhood because I was never able to keep up with my friends. However, I
eventually decided to start running again in high school as a personal challenge to myself. What
began as a hobby to help me improve my cardiovascular status eventually developed into a
passion. I kept running after high school and took part in local 5K’s and 10K’s while in college.
After graduation, I competed in marathons and joined NYC Runs, a community of runners in the
city. In medical school, I would try to create this same type of community at Baylor. I believe
that running is not only important for its health benefits, it can also teach us how to endure
through challenges and how to set goals and accomplish them; values which are extremely
important for being a successful physician. Having these principles is also crucial in medical
education, which shares similarities to a marathon in terms of length and difficulty.