PERSONAL & ACADEMIC GOALS
My Big Hairy Audacious Goal is to empower people by improving their health. I am particularly interested in how individual health affects a community, so I would love to be able to provide medical care to an impoverished part of the world. I will achieve this goal by attending professional school and becoming qualified to serve such populations. I plan on getting experience by shadowing medical professionals, doing research, and participating in study abroad as an LU student. This will supplement my passion for science and diverse cultures as well as help me gain insight into global issues related to health.
DEVELOPING A RESEARCH AGENDA
A subject I am interested in studying more closely is the early development of young children in rural communities around the world. A challenge I will face is finding enough people, resources, and connections to execute a research project internationally. Getting involved in a PLN, a professional learning network, now is crucial in order to network with people interested in the same field as I am and to see what other people are researching. It will be important in the future as well to keep learning about the field and to maintain connections with other professionals.
SELF-DIFFERENTIATED LEADERSHIP
Leadership is increasingly becoming crucial in today's society, and acquiring this skill will be fundamental for me in achieving my goals. Being a self-differentiated leader is essential in preventing tensions from forming within a group, as calmness exhibited by the leader resonates into a friendly, productive environment. I am always searching for opportunities to define my personal leadership, and I believe one of the best ways to emerge as a leader is to participate in groups that do not have an official "leader." Rather, these groups require a self-differentiated member to keep the goals of the group in mind and diffuse tensions without necessarily being told to. Doing this allows me to practice leadership on a small scale every day, and these experiences can eventually be applied to a broad range of roles and responsibilities.