Background: I grew up in the small town of Morris, MN in the southwestern portion of the state. Morris is a small farming community with approximately 5,000 residents. My interest in medicine started in high school as the result of a few key life experiences. First of all, was a personal injury that I suffered and experienced the life of a medical patient in which I started to realize the intrigue of the medical field. Secondly, and the most influential, was a close friends battle with Hodgkins disease which I saw the details of how medical professionals impacted the lives of their patients, families, and friends.

Following these experiences, I took classes to get my foot in the door and continue learning about the different aspects of medicine. After high school I chose to continue my education at St. Scholastica. Among other reasons, I really liked the community aspect as well as the great opportunity to take the career path I wanted.

While at St. Scholastica, I had the best four years of my life. I received a great education and met a ton of lifelong friends. I was a four year member of the St. Scholastica baseball team and was an All-American player and team captain. I was also very involved with on campus activities such as being a peer mentor, a peer advisor, campus tour guide, as well as being a member of clubs.

One club I was a part of was the Pre-Med club, which was comprised of students interested in pursuing professional careers in medicine. It not only helped me meet other people, who I had the majority of my classes with, but it also gave me valuable advice about the process of medical school preparation and admissions.

There are many aspects of the medical school admissions process, and without the help of the advisors and fellow students at CSS I would not have made it this point now. The process of fulfilling prerequisites, preparing and taking the MCAT( or Medical College Admissions Test), AMCAS application, and multiple interviews can be overwhelming but the support from St. Scholastica and the friends I made there have put me in position to achieve my dreams.