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Sad last day with my amazing new friends. Mina is on the far right.
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High School: Wayzata High School
Major(s): Possibly Economics or Biology
Summer Program: Summer@Brown
Courses: So You Want To Be A Doctor
Why did you choose your summer program?
I've always been one for exploring all my options as fully as possible. As a junior, I'm not completely sure what career I want to pursue in the future, but I always loved biology and chemistry classes at school. After reading the online course description for "So You Want To Be A Doctor," I was so excited to "practice" the medical school experience without actually being in medical school. Where I live, there really aren't any opportunities I'm aware of that allow students my age to explore medicine so thoroughly. From shadowing to lectures to anatomy lab, the whole experience sounded so amazing and unique, I just knew I had to sign up!
What is your favorite memory from your summer program?
It is so difficult to choose just one memory from my three weeks at Brown!
But in terms of my memories of class, I particularly enjoyed anatomy lab. Previously, I had seen pig or cow organs before, but never a full human cadaver. It was an enriching but thought-provoking experience -- I couldn't help but feel so much respect and gratefulness toward the donor and his family. And of course, I learned so much from being able to touch and handle different parts of the human brain, heart, and lungs as well. We even identified an extremely calcified abdominal aortic aneurysm. The combined impact of reflection about the donor and the educational value of anatomy lab is definitely something that remains with me.
But in terms of my memories of class, I particularly enjoyed anatomy lab. Previously, I had seen pig or cow organs before, but never a full human cadaver. It was an enriching but thought-provoking experience -- I couldn't help but feel so much respect and gratefulness toward the donor and his family. And of course, I learned so much from being able to touch and handle different parts of the human brain, heart, and lungs as well. We even identified an extremely calcified abdominal aortic aneurysm. The combined impact of reflection about the donor and the educational value of anatomy lab is definitely something that remains with me.
Why did you decide to become a Fellow?
Prior to my departure, I was so nervous. I had never visited New England or flown alone before, and of course I was worried about making friends, doing well in class, and not getting lost. I was confident in my ability to survive at Brown, but I wanted to thrive.
So imagine my horror when I realized I would miss the informational conference call where Fellows answered new Summer Scholars' questions. I couldn't stand the thought of happily departing on the trip of a lifetime, only to realize I had forgotten something important that was discussed in the conference call.
Luckily for me, the Fellows were all very kind and accommodating. They shared the notes from the conference call with me, and they reached out to me via email multiple times to assuage my concerns. I had so many questions about what to bring and how to bring it and where to go and how to get there and what were the dorms like and how do I not get lost and what is the roommate system like and how are the bathrooms and should I bring a fan and...
Let me just say that thankfully, the Fellows were also very patient with me.
Their kindness really impacted me, and I realized right away that I wanted to do the same for new Scholars. When I saw the email inviting me to apply to the Fellows program, I jumped on the opportunity to help other Midwestern girls have experiences as eye-opening and fantastic as mine.
So imagine my horror when I realized I would miss the informational conference call where Fellows answered new Summer Scholars' questions. I couldn't stand the thought of happily departing on the trip of a lifetime, only to realize I had forgotten something important that was discussed in the conference call.
Luckily for me, the Fellows were all very kind and accommodating. They shared the notes from the conference call with me, and they reached out to me via email multiple times to assuage my concerns. I had so many questions about what to bring and how to bring it and where to go and how to get there and what were the dorms like and how do I not get lost and what is the roommate system like and how are the bathrooms and should I bring a fan and...
Let me just say that thankfully, the Fellows were also very patient with me.
Their kindness really impacted me, and I realized right away that I wanted to do the same for new Scholars. When I saw the email inviting me to apply to the Fellows program, I jumped on the opportunity to help other Midwestern girls have experiences as eye-opening and fantastic as mine.
What do you like best about the JIF?
Of course, I am thankful for the support, both financially and emotionally. But in particular, I love that Joyce Ivy truly helps everyone. The scholarship I received granted me an opportunity I certainly would never have had otherwise. My family is financially stuck in an awkward spot where it is nearly impossible to pay for pre-college summer programs like Summer@Brown, yet also very difficult to find resources like scholarships or counseling. Joyce Ivy was fantastic in this way particularly.
Also, I love that Joyce Ivy provides great resources regardless of whether or not one is a Summer Scholar. This blog itself is brimming with fantastic information, and the JIF website also has some very helpful links. I wish more programs would do this, and I am very grateful that Joyce Ivy provides these resources for everyone.
Also, I love that Joyce Ivy provides great resources regardless of whether or not one is a Summer Scholar. This blog itself is brimming with fantastic information, and the JIF website also has some very helpful links. I wish more programs would do this, and I am very grateful that Joyce Ivy provides these resources for everyone.
How did the JIF affect who/where you are today?
Even if I stayed in Rhode Island for only three weeks, I feel like I learned so much there -- about medicine, about New England, about other people. I was lucky enough to share a floor with girls who were all so sweet and friendly. Many of them were from other nations, and not a single other girl was from the Midwest. One would think that all Americans have relatively similar cultures, but that is certainly not the case. I had great conversations with girls from the East Coast, the West Coast, the South, Hong Kong, Portugal, Turkey, and Canada. I got to hear so much about their lives and their reasons for coming to Summer@Brown, and it really opened my eyes to the sheer amount of viewpoints that exist in one age and gender group. Now that I'm back home, I still find myself considering situations while thinking of how my one friend from Hong Kong would see this, or how my other friend from Boston would see it. I don't think my world view would have been this broad without my trip to Brown, which certainly would have been impossible without JIF.
If you could give any advice to a potential JIF Scholar about anything regarding this experience, what would you say?
Don't be afraid.
Does that sound cheesy? Maybe? But it's true. I was terrified on my first day of camp. I had been assigned to a single room, so I had somehow convinced myself that because I had no roommate, I would be a pathetically miserable loner with no friends and no classmates around me for the next three weeks. I was worried that I would get lost if I strayed off Thayer Street (unfortunately, a very legitimate fear for me).
But when one of my suite mates knocked on my door and introduced herself to me, I realized that maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Maybe I would be fine on my own, and maybe I would be fine living away from home for three weeks. I tagged along with my new friend to greet our other suite mates, and it turns out that we all got along together fantastically! We all stayed up pretty late that night getting to know each other (and confessing that we'd all had that moment of hair-tearing despair when we realized we had no roommates).
I am so glad that I got to experience that for myself, and I am so glad that I didn't let my fear keep me from having fun and getting the most out of my time at Brown.
Does that sound cheesy? Maybe? But it's true. I was terrified on my first day of camp. I had been assigned to a single room, so I had somehow convinced myself that because I had no roommate, I would be a pathetically miserable loner with no friends and no classmates around me for the next three weeks. I was worried that I would get lost if I strayed off Thayer Street (unfortunately, a very legitimate fear for me).
But when one of my suite mates knocked on my door and introduced herself to me, I realized that maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Maybe I would be fine on my own, and maybe I would be fine living away from home for three weeks. I tagged along with my new friend to greet our other suite mates, and it turns out that we all got along together fantastically! We all stayed up pretty late that night getting to know each other (and confessing that we'd all had that moment of hair-tearing despair when we realized we had no roommates).
I am so glad that I got to experience that for myself, and I am so glad that I didn't let my fear keep me from having fun and getting the most out of my time at Brown.
If you would like to contact Mina, feel free to e-mail her at minayuan26@gmail.com.
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