Biological Sciences Student Government - Admission/Application Essay Example

Biological Sciences Government (BSSG) BSSG is a body involved in all biological facets and provides opportunities for many students to interact with each other, the university and Kansas City community to help them create UMKC family and continue with their undergraduate degree from UMKC and the School of Biological Sciences. I joined BSSG since Biological sciences are of great interest and importance to me as regards my career. BSSG invites students every week from across campus for their meetings. BSSG enabled me to attend all meetings held and participate in all their events. Being an extra active committee member gave me greater roles. I also helped in all BSSG affairs and events. BSSG is most meaningful since through it I was able to assist in events close to my heart and that matter to me most; I set up an American blood drive, 50 people donated blood thus saving 150 lives, oversaw the whole process; ensured donors were well prepared and then directed them to the nurse when ready; willingly captained UMKC’s Pre-Health Relay for life team and helped raise money for cancer victims; assisted in Dr.Kathleen’s fundraiser for her family’s scholarship; volunteered to initiate Science Pioneers program for young boys in mid school, and introduced biology as a potential career and finally acted as a link in-between. I am currently the BSSG’S President, a post I got for my high participation concern and passion for the organization. Social wise I was able to hold such events as; Meet, Greet & Recruit, KC Zoo Trip, Union City/Science Center Scavenger Hunt, winter gathering and Jeopardy, Get the year rolling/Welcome back, Sea Life and End of the Year Celebration. BSSG increased my knowledge and understanding of biology which is a biomedical science together with cultural and societal issues of people, which are important in medicine. By working with various people and holding leadership posts, my communication and collaborative skills were also highly enhanced; attributes needed by a doctor. Islamic School of Greater Kansas City This is my community high school which after my graduation, I remained in contact with the principal, teachers, and faculty members. The main reason why I got so much involved with this school is because I felt the need to give back to the community more so to this school because what I am and what I will become is highly dependent on it. My aim was not just to give back, but to do it wholeheartedly in a way pleasing and enjoyable not only to me but also to the other people involved. Being a passionate soccer enthusiast, I undertook to coach, train and prepare the young children for matches against other teams and tutoring them Science, English and Math. This experience was most meaningful to me since I was able to form a successful football team that has greatly changed and impacted the lives of many kids who are now able to practice well in comfort. It gives me sense of satisfaction and achievement seeing the transformation I caused through my simple efforts. Being able to organize a fundraiser and transforming the plight of those kids from using a rugged terrain to a comfortable football pitch motivates me in my studies, making me realize anything is possible to a willing and determined heart. Secondly I created rapport with the kids by ensuring a friendlier and comfortable environment since their age was closer to mine than for the older coaches before me. This made me realize that I had good leadership, organizational and teamwork skills which are essential in my line of study. Applying the same skills as a doctor I can deliver effective patient-centered care, thus improving the health of the patient and that of communities as well. This experience also improved my critical thinking, collaborative, communication and problem solving skills. The fact that I was able to notice the dilapidated field, talk to people and raise monies for its renovation and buying equipment made me realize I can tackle any problem through, team work and critical thinking. The Medina Clinic Medina clinic was founded in 2009 and is a 501(c) 3 charitable organization dedicated to provision of low cost outpatient medical care as a community service to the residents of Jackson County, Missouri, and surrounding areas. Consultations are done for a range of medical conditions. The urge to volunteer here arouse while working at my family business. It opened my eyes together with other several aspects of my life such as duties to my family and community as well, enabling me to closely look into the lives of the less fortunate. My community is full of poor sick people and their plight moved my heart and I felt sorry for them, hence my desire to alleviate their condition. This experience is meaningful to me because my volunteering was triggered by my working at family business an awakening which made me realize that I had a duty to my community as well and could change their plight. My tasks at Medina were; taking vitals an activity that involved measuring various physiological statistics to assist in assessing of fundamental body functions, documenting patient history, collecting allergy information and current medication. This exposure boosted my knowledge of biomedical sciences, cultural and societal values, evidence based practice, adding to my already bank of knowledge that mirrors present understanding in basic clinical disciplines, biomedical sciences, population health and behavioral and social sciences that impact patient care. I also learnt the proper manners and ethics in dealing with patients via a great deal of patient interactions and got the chance to work with many physicians and oversee their daily lives and interaction with various patients. I learnt how my behavior should always reflect honesty relationships not only with my patients but also my colleagues and the entire wide healthcare system, that in practice I should understand and adhere to the basic principles of health ethics comprising; on-malfeasance, beneficence, justice, and patient autonomy. Pre-medical history Pre-Med is an organization that enables medical students achieve their goals via provision of opportunities to interact with one another, share their experiences and provide great prospects to each other as future doctors. I have been an active member of the Pre-Med Society. I ran the Webmaster position as well as the Pre-Med twitter page. As vice president I made meetings interactive and involving thus increasing attendance. We also do mock interviews, med student panels to ask about their experiences in med school, set up doctor shadowing network for the society whereby doctors willing to help us will allow our members to shadow them and we can match students to doctors. Peer Tutor (PT) and Undergraduate Learning Assistant (ULA) I have been lucky enough to be a PT at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) and an ULA at the Biology Studio of the same university. I tutored science and math, shared effective study strategies and refreshed my own knowledge on the information by review of material beforehand. At the studio I answered Biology questions and helped direct students in the right path. I assisted in grading and proctoring exams ran an online forum where I posted weekly questions for students to answer as I gave feedback. I learnt communication, leadership and collaborative skills, which are vital basics for doctors. Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity (APO) This is professional networking body. Through it I was able to make a big professional network and made lifelong friends. I joined APO and have been active since I have a passion for giving back to the community, this saw me complete a huge amount of fraternity, campus, community and national service. Due to my hard work, time and commitment to APO I was elected Senator on the Executive Board, which enabled me manage members on probation and ensure working of all fraternity families. I volunteered so much and led by example so as to motivate others. I gained a lot of leadership, communication and collaborative skills which will assist me in future as a doctor. Ghando’s sales This is our family business. I worked here to fulfill my duties to my family. This opened my eyes to other aspects of life, not only to my family but to my community as well, making me desire strongly to assist and make a difference in these poor peoples’ lives. I volunteered in many activities and organizations that were involved in poverty alleviation. My job was in a poor slum which helped me gain insight in poor people’s lives, many of whom were disabled. This made me volunteer at a free clinic to help them get medical attention. I increased sales by 46% got promoted to manager, gained skills in teamwork, communication, leadership, problem solving and prevention of crisis. Truman Medical Center (TMT) Lakewood Care Center provides residents access to acute and specialty care services on site and is a nursing home integrated into hospital. It is fully accredited long-term care center which gives each resident a fully furnished room and bath and Alzheimer’s/Dementia Unit. The loneliness and conditions of these people filled me with kindness and led me becoming a long term volunteer. I gave an on-going social interaction and relationship with kids and planned daily events to give residents varied social occasions within the center and community. I also provided transport and company to these souls, an event that taught me to deliver effective patient-centered care. Saint Luke’s Hospital (SLH) SLH generally caters for the sick. My passion for being a doctor so as to alleviate the suffering of patients and give them a second lease in life led me to volunteer here. I was tasked with doing rounds, aid patients with any non-medical needs and inform the nurse if patients have any medical needs. I would introduce myself; explain who I am and was there to help with non-medical needs. Most patients needed a pillow, warm blanket, glass of juice; others wanted nurse called and others someone to talk to. I learnt the need for honesty with ethical standards, thus my actions should mirror honesty in relations with patients, colleagues and the wider healthcare system. Non-medical experience I’ve also volunteered non-medically, but in events close to my heart and catering for humanity and environment. I have through Mobilize KC been part of a weekly Kansas City based community service organizations participated in different volunteer events such as Meals on Wheels, Harvesters and through Bridging the Gap have been a weekly volunteer at local recycling centers. Have encouraged and assisted people to recycle, sort and compress material, and aid in site management as well as other events such as earth day and campus beautification. These events honed my communication and collaborative skills; which are crucial for a doctor dealing with patients and colleagues. Phi Kappa Phi (PKP) This is an honor society recognizing and promoting academic excellence in fields of higher education and engages scholars’ community in service to others. As a Student Vice President I became PKP’s promoter on their campus and represented PKP’s association with students from student’s perspective. I took part in chapter meetings and closely worked with faculty members, organized Welcome Back BBQ, Meet Phi Kappa Phi National President, induction ceremony, Finals Coffee Gathering, and a Bioethics Symposium with honored speakers as well as a movie (Gattaca) then intense discussions. I did all this since I appreciate quality and excellence in one’s field and honoring the same. Research On Dr.Chi-Ming Huang’s Lab I focused on video analysis of head angular velocities and accelerations of boxers prior to their concussive traumatic brain injury (cTBI) and assisted Dr. Huang with work related to TBI; literature analysis, data analysis, research reports preparation. At SBII HHMI, I developed strong introduction to bioinformatics and computational biology gaining tools to be applied in future research laboratories. I focused on CCR5 gene and the delta 32 mutation that gives HIV-1 resistance and gained hands-on experience. I learnt aspects of research such as thinking critically, teamwork, time management, seeking out and evaluating information via intellectual curiosity. Shadowing I’ve shadowed Dr.Mohammad Taha of KU Med, specialist internal medicine, Dr.Osama Ismael of Hay’s Med and Miami County Hospital, specialist emergency medicine, and Dr.Wael Mourad of Medina Clinic, specialist family medicine. I’ve always wanted to be an ER doctor, thus I stayed with Dr.Ismael more since I enjoyed and loved what he was doing, which is my passion. He allowed me to follow the patients to the specialist or another hospital. I learnt ER doctors deal with horrific situations being the first people to encounter patients. I learnt teamwork from Dr. Taha and at Medina, I shadowed doctors after taking vitals, which was more interactive since I worked and did tests on patients. Read More