Jonier: characteristics and applications

Medical School Personal Statement

I looked at this teenage boy -- slouching, defiant, tense and trying his best to ignore me -- and I saw myself, 15 years ago. I used to be such an adolescent, a first-generation English speaker with little future before him. Unlike the young man I was seeing now, however, I was able to master English relatively early on and excel in academics. Looking back at the resolution in the young man's face who I was supposed to be tutoring, all of my own resolve solidified and I renewed my commitment to help him -- despite his best efforts to the contrary.

Jonier was the teenager I had the pleasure of working with for three years during my tenure at Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. Like me, he suffered from the fact that English was not his native language, and was deemed one of the worst adolescents in the program. I realized that his language barrier was largely the cause for all of his behavioral, social and scholastic issues, and realized that it would take someone with a firm commitment to helping others to keep him from becoming another casualty of poor socio-economic conditions without a father and a single mother who worked long hours. During the duration of my tenure in the program I resolved to become that positive male role model for him, and to help him to help himself.

Working with Jonier for three years helped me to realize my purpose in life -- to assist others and to give them the sort of chance that circumstances in life had taken away from them. As I spent time with him each week, taking him out to eat, poring over his homework and school assignments, teaching him how to drive, I found myself wanting to help others as well. I believe that the principle way I can do so is by laboring through medical school and becoming a doctor, and gaining the requisite knowledge to hone my talents to become a successful practitioner in the medical field.

Still, working with Jonier was far from easy. The language barrier he had and which helped to render him an outcast was still existent with me. Many times, he would appear disinterested and disengaged at our activities. However, I was able to see through his facade on several occasions, and discerned the knack for realizing when he was enjoying himself and when my efforts were paying off. I believe I was able to help him reach an epiphany at one point when I told him that I, too, had learned English as a second language, and was now working my way through college. From that point on he looked at me differently. I was no longer just another person on the outside who spoke and communicated in a language that he had difficulty understanding. I was an example of the fact that he and his own were a work in progress, and my desire to remain an exemplary role model for this young man intensified.