This year’s ISM journey has been quite different from my ISM journey from last year. For one, finding professionals who are willing to meet up for informational interviews has been quite difficult. Nonetheless, I persevered through, and it has paid off!
On Friday, I met with Dr. Dike to discuss the ISM program in-depth and see if this would be something he is interested in. Dr. Dike was quite excited to be a part of a mentorship program, and he said that it reminded him of his years as Chief Resident in medical school where he would teach younger medical students about disorders. During the meeting, Dr. Dike also briefly covered his background in medicine, and explained that his interest in neurology sparked when he had the opportunity to attain hands-on experience by working in a clinic. This was quite interesting given that I decided to study neurology in ISM because of my experience shadowing Dr. Dike in his clinic over the summer, so hopefully I will go on to become a neurologist in the future as well! Overall, I am quite happy that Dr. Dike will be my mentor for this year because he has ample experience and most of all, we have worked well together in the past: he is able to put difficult concepts in laymen’s terms and also make learning fun.
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This past week was a nice break from the usual hectic schedule of school. Along with a four-day weekend, there was also a half-day on my birthday (yay!), so there was a lot of time to relax. In addition, this also allowed me to spend some more time on my topic researching and scheduling interviews.
Luckily, I was able to finally get in touch with Dr. Dike, the neurologist that I shadowed during the summer, and he was really interested in the ISM program. Thus, we will be meeting on Friday to discuss the program more in-depth and hopefully formalize the mentorship. In addition, as the year progresses, it is time to think about Original Work. Through past research assessments and interview assessments, it has become apparent that Alzheimer’s Disease is caused by a lack of intellectual stimulation during old age, so it would be interesting to research this correlation more in-depth. In fact, since I have volunteered and worked at many different Nursing Homes, I could use these connections to even conduct a small-scale research study. However, before progressing with this idea, I would like to get feedback from Dr. Dike. In the meantime, I will continue to explore different diseases of neurology in order to see if there is a specific aspect that interests me and could possibly turn into my Original Work and Final Product. Last Wednesday, all ISM students went to Business Symposium in order to network and get advice from professionals on their soft skills. Meeting different people from across the district was quite fun, and I was able to bond with fellow students across the district who were studying neurology and were also having a hard time finding professionals willing to interview. In addition, one girl personally knew a neurologist, and she shared the professional’s contact with me, so there is ample hope for the future!
During the symposium, I was interviewed by Mr. Bloch, and talking with him was quite enlightening. Mr. Bloch’s father was in the medical field, and he brought up a question regarding medical ethics: how does one decide between treating a rich patient and a patient with no money and how does the government indirectly control this decision? This question has no right or wrong answer, and it is quite hard to answer, but it has made me more interested in researching the American healthcare system in depth. Through current events and past projects, I have a foundational understanding on the healthcare system in the United States, but it would be interesting to compare and contrast this system with other countries for a future assessment. Overall, the Business Symposium was quite an enriching experience, and I can’t wait to follow up with the students I met to see how their ISM journey is progressing. I am no Football fanatic, but this past weekend surely consisted of a lot of football. On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys won their game against the Detroit Lions, which is the reason why I am able to sip my celebratory free coffee from Dunkin Donuts while writing this weekly report! However, in addition to the recreational aspect of football, I was able to look more into America’s favorite sport from a researching point of view.
On Saturday, I had my interview with Dr. Kumar, a renowned neurologist and the official doctor for many former NFL players. Given that Dr. Kumar was scheduled to discuss his research projects with his colleagues right after meeting with me, there was not much time to interview him, but he was kind enough to allow me to listen to his research presentations. In general, Dr. Kumar and his team researched the health effects of football on NFL players. They explained how football players are more susceptible to depression and anxiety due to concussions, with mental illness rates ten times more than the average football player. This information was quite surprising, and for a future assessment, it would be interesting to look into this trend and what the NFL has done in response to this research. In addition, Dr. Kumar mentioned how he often involves college students in his research, and he told me that he would love to have me on his team once I am a freshman in college. The future beyond high school holds ample potential and ISM is to thank! Furthermore, with Business Symposium in just two days, there is hope that more interviews can be secured through the connections made at this networking event. It has been exactly a month since school started, and it is quite interesting to compare where I am today with where I was one year ago. Watching the ISM I students learn the art of handshakes and cold calling brings back nostalgia of times when the thought of talking to professionals was daunting. Nowadays, I have been following up and calling five to six professionals every class period in order to secure interviews, so it is much easier to interact with other adults as well.
Since this week the class took a break from doing an assessment, the free time was used to get ahead in other subjects so ample time could be allotted during class for working towards setting up potential interviews with neurologists. I have yet to schedule another interview since Dr. Aiyagari, but hopefully my persistence will pay off soon. Furthermore, the ISM Business Symposium is happening next Wednesday, so there is much to look forward to because networking with different professionals can help in establishing a line of contact with neurologists. So far, my ISM journey has been developing my perseverance, and hopefully in two or three months, I will look back at this time and remember how the obstacles faced paid off in the end. Calls, calls, and more calls: that is what this week primarily consisted of. In efforts to attain more opportunities to interview neurologists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I spent most of the ISM class periods pacing back and forth in the hallways while leaving messages in voicemail boxes. Although little success was achieved in actually getting through to professionals, there is still ample hope because there are many professionals in the area to contact.
On a more positive note, I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Aiyagari on Wednesday, and the stories that he told about his experience in neurocritical care have sparked further interest in the field. The most inspiring part of Dr. Aiyagari’s journey in neurology was his decision to move to the United States even though he struggled financially. Because the medical technology that is available here is unrivaled, he decided to pursue his love for knowledge in exchange for security, and this choice showcases the persistence and drive for knowledge that medical professionals must have. Thus, after the interview, I feel less discouraged about only having interviewed one professional. In addition, Dr. Aiyagari also offered to provide more contact information for neurologists in the area, so the upcoming weeks will consist of more calls and emails. This past weekend was much needed. Above every other type of weather, the rain is the most soothing, and it rained so much this weekend. As the raindrops gently pitter-patter on the window, the world almost seems to come to a standstill. And in those moments, I get my best work done.
After one week of unsuccessful cold calls and emails, I decided that this had to change, so this weekend consisted of hours and hours put into enhancing my ISM journey. To start off, I researched more neurologists in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area, and added them to my contact lists. In addition, my friend has been researching with a neurologist for college, and he shared his contact information, so there is quite a lot of hope. The hard work truly paid off because Dr. Aiyagari from UT Southwestern Medical Center just emailed me back, and he said that he would be happy to speak with me. Thus, Wednesday will be when I have my first interview. It is exciting that my ISM Journey is headed in the right path. So far, cold calling has been much harder this year than it was last year. Often times, secretaries and office managers answer the phone instead of the actual neurologist that I want to speak to, and my message ends up getting lost. However, given that neurologists have such a high-stress job, I understand and shall remain persistent. It’s been about two weeks into senior year now, and the stress is slowly building up. Tests, quizzes, and projects: they are all rolling in and managing this on top of extracurriculars, work, and, of course, college applications is testing my level of productivity. Usually, a short nap was the first thing on my schedule upon getting home, but lately, there has been no time for that either. Sleep is for the weak!
In terms of ISM, however, there is ample security because of my past connections from the summer. I started by reaching out to people who I already have a direct line of contact established with because then more connections can be made. Over the summer, working with Dr. Dike allowed me to learn more about him and neurology, and he even expressed interest in participating in the ISM program. In fact, he also told me that he would be more than happy to help with networking. Thus, Dr. Dike was the first person I contacted. In addition, over the summer, I was quite determined to watch a brain or spinal cord surgery, so I contacted many different neurosurgeons. Out of everyone that I emailed, Dr. Braga responded, and he told me that unfortunately it would not be possible. In order to increase my neuro-network, I made sure to ask him about any potential contacts that he would be willing to share. Even with the school year starting, one of my goals for ISM is to watch a brain surgery. Although neurology is my topic for this year, it would be such an interesting experience to observe a surgery involving my favorite organ. As we progress into the year, all of the ISM students will slowly branch out from the classroom as they start pursuing their topics more in-depth through interviews and mentor visits. I wish everyone a happy ISM journey! Another year, another ISM journey, but nonetheless, a completely different path. It’s been quite a while since I last conducted an interview or even went on a mentor visit, but I am back better than ever, ready to start my journey through the world of Neurology!
Last year, as an ISM I student, I had gone into the program thinking that I wanted to study Neuroscience, but because of an impulsive decision and too many Ted Talk videos about regrets, I felt compelled to check out International Marketing. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my year and the time that I got to spend with my mentors, Ms. Regina Borda and Ms. Timea Domokos, I decided that business was just not where my heart was at. After eliminating business as a possible career option once and for all, I went back to my lifelong aspiration of going into the medical field. I vowed to myself that over the summer I would find what career I wanted to go into, and indeed I did! During July and August, I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Dike, a neurologist at Affinity Neurocare, and I absolutely loved what he did and all that I got to learn. Hence, I am continuing my ISM journey by studying neurology. In terms of the actual class, this past week in ISM mainly consisted of introductions to the class and the students. In fact, we went ahead and did our introductory speeches, which allowed me to learn more about my fellow classmates, especially the juniors. It’s so inspiring to see how passionate everyone is about their topic. Veterinary Science, Game Development, Human Rights Law, Orthopedics, and much more: our class has it all! I am quite excited to see what this year brings me. Having already completed the entire ISM curriculum once, I hope that I can work smarter and not harder this year. Most of all, I cannot wait to get started on learning about what I love! If I had to sum up my week in three words, I would say, “Final Product grind”. Next week, my final product is due, and I cannot help but feel bittersweet about the end. Yes, I’m happy that all my hard work will finally pay off. But also, I wish I had more time to add more elements and detail into my product.
After a long week of three AP tests back to back, it seems nearly impossible that I will get my final product done because I just want to go home and take a nap. However, on Monday, I will be presenting my research to the Marketing Team and other Pizza Hut employees, so I must make sure to finish my final product before then. Over the year through ISM, I have really been improving on my presenting skills, so I look forward to seeing how far I’ve come by giving this presentation. I am slightly nervous for this presentation because my audience will be professionals in the topic that I will be talking about, so hopefully my analysis and conclusions are coherent! Without further ado, I am going to get back on the “Final Product grind”. See you at the finish line, folks. |