Teaching Assistant Personal Statement

My passion for medicine continues to grow with each patient that I’ve had the privilege of caring for through shadowing, volunteering and my job as a CNA. Being my grandma’s translator has inspired me to pursue a career as a physician assistant, and beyond becoming a physician assistant, I aspire to practice in underserved populations so that everyone has an equal opportunity to access the health care they need.

For the past nine years I have been involved in a program called Jamestown Community Center, an after school enrichment program serving kindergarten through eighth grade students. I started out as a student in the program and became a teacher assistant as a highschool student. What got me into becoming a teacher assistant was seeing other high school teacher assistants be able to be strict with us, but at the same time be our friends. I admired their maturity at such a young age, and noticed how Jamestown was very supportive with each of the teacher assistants. Last year, I was assigned to be the teacher assistant to a first grade class who had just gotten a new teacher. I advised her to give the kids tasks in order to get the students to get

I am embarking on a life-changing journey, and I cannot be more excited. I chose this career path to better myself in so many ways with the expectation of being challenged daily to be the best therapist I can be. And, I vow to give my all to my patients and coworkers. My primary drive to become a Physical Therapist Assistant was to provide for my young children.

“Your optimism is killing me,” a patient replied after my attempt to encourage her to try to stand up, so she could attend a physical therapy session. Though I took her comment with a grain of salt, it was the cornerstone for the reputation I would build during my career as a Physical Therapist Assistant. Most clinicians shy away from challenging personalities; not me, I strive to be different. It’s been three years since that patient discharged home against medical advice. which ignited fuel to the fire of continuing to pursue my undergraduate degree.

At the beginning of my undergraduate career, I was on the medical school route and I believed that my purpose was to become a physician. However, the healthcare field has provided me with several qualities and characteristics that match that of a PA. Working as a nursing assistant for over two years, has built on my ability to collaborate with my coworkers and direct supervisors, specifically in communication. In a hospital setting, I better developed my ability to handle stressful situations, while maintaining my friendly and empathic personality. Stressful situations to name a few, are cases where coworkers would be pulled off the floor in order to sit with a patient and/or simply being the only aide on the floor.

My interest in family medicine began when I was in high school visiting family members in Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina and in northern Pakistan who were shaken by a devastating earthquake that took place that same year. I felt lost and helpless as I met people living in shelters who were desperately waiting for medical care. The experience motivated me to spend the next year becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) so I could help underserved areas. Over the next five years, I worked with doctors and nurses as a CNA, primarily helping geriatric patients as I worked toward medical school. I took deep interest watching physicians develop trust and rapport with their patients and taking the time to work with nurses and specialists to tailor treatment plans.

There is an ancient Chinese proverb, that goes by “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. Today, I would like to discuss my cousin, Stephanie Lam, who went to Taiwan one summer to teach English in a two week enrichment program. Her students, ranging from 12 to 17-year-olds, came from low-income families around Taiwan, seeking help in learning English, as they do not normally have the proper resources to do so. Though the language barrier was a formidable obstacle, Stephanie bonded with her students and other teachers, and greatly improved their English proficiency. Now, thanks to her, they understand a new language even better than they did before, and therefore have access to

1. There are many attributes that I have that are much more indicative of my potential than my SAT scores. To begin, I am a dedicated student-athlete who also takes AP classes in all of my core courses. In field hockey, I was a four-year starter, First Team All-Conference for three years, Second Team All-State, and in my senior year I was voted captain by my teammates; to add, I am doing all of this while taking AP classes. This shows that even though my scores for a single standardized test were not as high as I would have liked.

A school field trip to the hospital at just six years old is all it took and I was hooked. The hospital was a fascinating place for me. All I wanted to do was explore and learn more about what happened there. At the end of the field trip I was given a “doctors’ toolbox” which included a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, syringes, as well as many other necessary tools needed to take care of a patient. I immediately took action and started using it on my then pregnant mother, to make sure the baby was doing well.

The old woman, wrinkled and tired, looked up at me with tears in her eyes and asked, “When will you be back? I don’t want you to leave.” We had been visiting for some time and she was visibly distressed to see me go. As I left my job as a nursing assistant that day, I was deep in thought, pondering where I was in life and what I wanted to do. This statement, uttered by a woman who I had worked with for a long time, stuck with me.

My experiences with the Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church children’s summer camp remain one of the most challenging ordeals I have ever encountered. Not only must I wake up daily at an outrageous hour to lift tables and set up the camp, I am obligated to entertain and care for young, hyperactive children for eight hours a day. Quick wits and swift feet are required to keep up with the children, and it is essential to solve problems as soon as they appear. Although I was warned beforehand that the camp would be a long and mentally draining experience, I am not the one to shield away from obstacles – I power on through them. Throughout the four weeks, from handling skinned knees to bawling kids to dealing with inactive participants, I displayed

During my life I was taught education is important to make it in today’s society. So because of that I went to school for C.N.A. (Certified Nursing Assistant) straight out of high school in 1992. After working in this field for a couple years I decided that this field wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I then decided to work in the Customer Service field with varies companies like BellSouth in the repair department and Carnival Cruise Line in the reservation department. In June of 2003, I took a break to have my third daughter that was premature. After being out of work for about two years I decided to go back to school. I enrolled in University of Phoenix to study Healthcare Administration. After completing the degree in Healthcare

After viewing your “Classroom Jobs” list, I have chosen to apply for the job as the class calendar keeper. I am truly interested in this position because I know it will help not only myself stay organized, but it will help my classmates know what upcoming assignments are due. This job would make me responsible for my peers to have everything that is assigned turned in at its due date.

In 2000, I was twenty-four years of age. I was working in one of the most-prestigious financial institutions the country. I reported directly to the CFO. I never knew what my official job title was. I was plucked from the trading cage. My boss had four executive male secretaries, who in turn had eight male secretaries. Two each. I knew I wasn 't a secretary. I knew I made a lot of money. I hadn 't the slightest clue what for. Until recently.

While working with these children I felt that I could see clearly how I was helping them. On the first day I helped a child who didn’t know the alphabet learn what a prefix was, how to identify them, and what they meant. This was the first time that I felt myself really helping at the school. On the second day after reading the book with the student he asked if we could continue