About Me

...well, you could always Facebook me, or, alternatively, I present you with this handy-dandy FAQ:

Q. Sooo...who are you, exactly?

A. I'm a second-year medical student at Stanford. This would be me:

Q. In the words of Grease, tell me more, tell me more...

A. I'm from Beaverton (really. I'm not kidding.), Oregon. Yes, it rains a lot there, and no, I have never actually seen a beaver, nor have I been cow-tipping or tree-felling. Contrary to popular belief, our town comes fully equipped with electricity and running water, and we are, in fact, the world headquarters of a little company you may have heard of. You know, it never occurred to me that "Beaverton" might be a peculiar name for a city, until I left for college, where conversations about hometowns would usually proceed thusly:
New acquaintance: "So, where are you from?"
Me: "Beaverton."
New acquaintance: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
Me: "No, really."
New acquaintance: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
::pause::
New acquaintance: "Oh."

Q. You mentioned something about college.

A. Yeah, I went to Stanford for undergrad. I graduated in 2003 with a B.A. in Human Biology and a concentration in Developmental Biology. After college, I took a year off and went back home to Oregon to do a year of research in stem cell biology, but couldn't keep away from The Farm for long. I moved back to Stanford in August of 2004 to start med school.

Q. So what are you planning to do with your life?

A. Wow. Mom? Is that you?? So, this is not a question that I have a good answer for yet, but I'm working on it (and, trust me, Stanford is a great place at which to do just that). Part of the allure of medicine is that the human body is so amazingly, dizzyingly complex; each organ system that we learn about opens a window onto a discipline rife with possibility and excitement--a discipline that has its own unique challenges and solutions. In other words (before I degenerate into some sort of cheesy PSA for the wonderful world of medicine), at present, my interests range from primary care to reconstructive surgery, from being an infectious disease doc practicing in a third world country to teaching new generations of medical students as a clinical instructor in an academic setting. Different aspects of various fields appeal to different parts of my personality, and I think would fulfill different needs in my professional life. So for now, I'm in an exploratory stage, and hopefully the path that's right for me will illuminate itself as I progress in my education.

Q. Fair enough. So what are your immediate plans, then?

A. Well, I'm on the 5-year plan. Having just finished the preclinical curriculum, I am going to take this next year off (rather than starting clerkships right away) to do a Post-Sophomore Fellowship in the Department of Pathology at Stanford. I wanted to do this fellowship in order to gain a solid understanding of the pathogenesis of the diseases I'll be seeing in clinics. Because of the sheer volume of material we are required to learn in our courses, I feel that it often becomes too easy to reduce the study of medicine to memorizing a series of knee-jerk associations. I'm hoping that this fellowship will not only provide me with a better foundation on which to base my future diagnoses and treatment decisions, but also that the exposure to all different specialties (since the specimens and diseases I'll encounter will be from every organ system) will help me to narrow down which fields I really have a strong interest in. Also, during this next year, I'll be serving as manager of Arbor Free Clinic, a student-run weekly free clinic providing health care at no cost to the underserved in the Bay Area community. Arbor is a cause that's very dear to my heart...I started volunteering at Arbor the first quarter of my freshman year as an undergrad, so this will be my 7th (!) year at the clinic. Working at Arbor has been one of the most rewarding and meaningful experiences of both my undergraduate and graduate careers, and you'll probably hear quite a bit more about the clinic throughout this week.

Q. Okay, so much for the nerd talk. What do you do for fun?

A. Um, sleep? I'm pretty domestic: I like to cook and bake, I knit/crochet/cross-stitch, I sketch and occasionally practice my Chinese calligraphy. I'm a film buff, I like to read (and by "read", I don't mean my Netter's or Robbins), I enjoy watching sports (in particular, the NBA). I'm also a pop culture junkie and unafraid to admit that I am a devoted follower of "America's Next Top Model". I have a thing for gadgets and technology, and work part time for Educational Technology Services doing Online Curriculum Support (yeah, I know technically it's "work", but it counts as fun for me. Go ahead. You can say it. I'm a nerd.)

Q. What's your favorite color?

A. PINK. Yeah, I know, it's unbearably girly. But I like my ESPN, movies where things blow up, and shopping at Fry's, so I like to think that I'm allowed this one froufrou luxury. Well, that and reading glossy fashion magazines.

Q. Have you ever wondered if there's more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking?

A. No. Not really.