Life Goal Is to Ultimately

¶ … life goal is to ultimately become a doctor. I know the path is long and arduous but fulfilling as well. There are certain mandatory goals I need to reach, maintaining a high gpa, volunteering in the health field, and getting a high enough MCAT score are all necessary before I can even apply to Medical school. However, the few decisions that are left to my own devices I take very seriously, one of which is picking my undergraduate college. An undergraduate university that will not only educate but expand my current perspectives; a university that will challenge me on an intellectual and spiritual level. In other words, I am looking for a school that will help make me a better doctor and a better person, in my opinion Lehigh is that university.

Lehigh's dedication to diversity and integrated learning is what appeals to me the most. Today's world is a hodgepodge of differing beliefs, cultures, and ideas. It is absolutely necessary for a future doctor to be able to understand where his patients' beliefs and ideas originate from, in order to treat not only the disease but the person as well. Lehigh's commitment to real world experience is another unique aspect that attracts me. I know that I can benefit from taking classes offered at your institution such as Medicine and Society, and Science writing practicum, both which are experiential learning courses that will assist me in expanding my scientific writing knowledge. Classes such as these give me an opportunity to apply theory to real world situations, giving me invaluable experiences. In order to be able to be a successful doctor, I need to be successful in all types of future academic endeavors. In my opinion, Lehigh's emphasis on the full academic success of its students is what appeals to me most.

2)

It can be difficult to support an issue that very few close to one does not agree with, but in order for a difference to be made, and in order for one to feel complete for standing up for something that one truly believes in, one must sacrifice the view of others. Coming from a very conservative family, it is very difficult for gay rights to be brought up as a topic of conversation in my family. It can be difficult for individuals who identify themselves as being gay, for both males and females, and being by their side, advocating for their legal right to choose whomever they deem appropriate for a partner, has made me realize that every person on this Earth should have the right to choose whomever they want to spend the rest of their lives with, even though my family does not support my decision to stand by those who identify themselves as being gay.

With this being an issue that is getting more and more attention in the everyday media, I found it pertinent to bring my family up-to-date with these specific issues. Coming from a very close family, I thought it to be necessary to include them in my ideas and my interests, even if it was something that they did not completely agree with. This issue is not just a social issue, but a health and medical issue as well, and it was this particular reason why it caught my attention in the first place. Everything from the reproductive perspective, as more gay couples are choosing surrogates or IVF, to STDs and STIs associated with homosexuality, I believe that it is changing the way that medicine is approached and it is changing the way that people view medicine. Having this perspective can make it difficult to talk about it around my family, but my interest in all types of medicine, and in the people who it actually affects makes this all worth it in the end. I know that when I become a physician, I will have to deal with all types of situations and deal with various perspectives that I might not always agree with, or that will force me beyond my comfort level, so attaining an open perspective will help me become a great person.

3)

Diversity is a topic of study that I believe to be essential in just about anything that one may encounter. It is because of this that I would make this mandatory for all students wishing to pursue a degree at my university. There is no longer a majority race in the United States; just about every race and ethnicity from all over the world is represented, but not everyone knows much about other people and other lifestyles outside of their own, or outside of what they have been directly exposed to. Cultural diversity needs to be understood from a sociological perspective and because of this, it should be a mandated topic of study. The real world contains people who come from different backgrounds, both economically and socially. Exposing students to the topic of cultural diversity may not fix everything in the world, but I would make sure that my students be as prepared to deal with every type of person in a mature and responsible manner.

Equality, fairness, and academic preparedness would be the values and priorities of my institution. I believe that every person has equal rights at everything in the world, and at every opportunity to assist them in their advancement, regardless of what may seem as disadvantaged upbringings or social inequalities. Those aforementioned values would also take a priority at my institution because in order to provide an environment that is high in academic enrichment, perceived barriers need to be broken before they are even formed, and giving everyone the perspective that they have an equal chance to excel in my institution will bring out the best in them. Not thinking that they are any less than their counterparts that may have had more opportunities, will bring out what they themselves may not even have thought to contain, and it will be this that will allow them to be all that they can be: to be their best.

4)

Equity is the quality of being fair and community is a group of people living in one place. These terms have been interconnected throughout history. The community dictates what equity is or what it means to be fair. Societal norms and cultural attitudes direct fairness. As society changes so does the definition of fairness. History is the greatest example of this notion. Slavery, racism at an institutional level, and gender inequality, was at some point deemed acceptable by society in other words, the community at large. However, as the community changes and becomes more diverse, so does the definition of what is acceptable and fair. Differing beliefs and viewpoints are added to the community making it less homogenous.