Essay 2: In what collegiate extracurriculars did you engage? (400 characters) As Vice President of Phi Kappa Sigma, I co-managed the annual $30k budget, participated in 100+ hours of community service, volunteered for the Rutgers Dance Marathon, raised funds for the Embrace the Kids Foundation, and organized the annual Phi-Esta fundraiser for the Eric Legrand’s Foundation with several other fraternities. I also volunteered for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.

Essay 3: Did you work for compensation during college during the year or the summer? (300 Word limit)

Yes, every summer I worked full-time. During the summers of my undergraduate career, I worked at Selco Associates, a distribution and warehousing company. There I coordinated with management personnel to provide high quality customer service. I also managed apparel and footwear inventory for major companies and assisted in opening new accounts. This experience helped me to develop communication, organization, and problem-solving skills that I expect to be useful in many areas of medicine, such as patient care, diagnosis and treatment. I also gained teamwork skills that are essential for team-based approaches to medicine.

Upon completion of my undergraduate degree, I worked for Acertec Enterprise where I am presently employed. At Acertec, it was my responsibility to coordinate in overseeing project schedules, procurement, staffing requirements and logistics. Additionally, I helped design and give project presentations to potential clients.

Currently, I am still with Acertec and am the sole manager of a 12-building project, which requires me to manage payroll, purchasing material, and budget allocation. I also oversee daily tasks which include but are not limited to supervision of workmanship, conferencing with architects to ensure proper installation, working with vendors to properly order material, and maintaining general site safety and compliance with OSHA safety standards.

As an employee of Acertec, I have deepened many skills that I feel will be critical in my future medical career—such as communication, adhering to commitments, and solving problems. Working with a team of individuals with different backgrounds and formal education levels showed me how important clear, concise communication is to promoting greater productivity and preventing relationship strain from developing among colleagues. Additionally, as a project manager, I was often presented with seemingly unsolvable problems—and I learned to never accept failure, but rather to work towards solutions or compromises.

Essay 4: If you have graduated from college, please briefly summarize what you have done in the interim. Word limit (300 characters)

I participated in an NIH-funded study on heart rate variability biofeedback, presented the results at an international conference in Seattle, and headed a meta-analysis research team. I also shadowed at outpatient surgical centers where I observed an oculoplastic surgeon and anesthesiologist.

Essay 5: What challenges do you expect to arise from living and working in a complex urban environment? How will you meet them? (300 words)

As I have grown up in North Jersey and am familiar with NYC, I do not expect any challenges to arise from living and working in a complex urban environment. I am quite used to the various conventions of city life and enjoy being part of that environment. In fact, I should admit that the phrase “complex urban environment” sounds odd to me since I have been immersed in this environment for my whole life. It has always seemed rather well integrated to me. I do not view New York as a foreign place and if I might give my own humble opinion on the matter I would count it as one of the greatest cities in the world—such is my admiration and affection for the city. One of the things I like most about it is the opportunity to experience humanity in all its different forms: there is such range in social and cultural expression—it is truly wonderful to behold and I count myself lucky to have been able to grow up in such proximity to it.

Therefore, I do not see any challenges in this environment. I expect to adapt rather well to using the subway system (in Jersey I use a car but in NYC I appreciate the fact that the subway is a more suitable mode of transportation for a student). Living in a smaller space and operating with the urban system is something I look forward to as I embrace it all as part of the NYC experience.

Essay 6: Is there anything else you would like us to know?...

Since May of this year, I have been heavily involved in assisting with my father’s business, which had been struggling substantially with many debts prior to my involvement. While it was necessary for me to help my family for a few months and take time away from my academic pursuits, I am now ready to re-enter the academic environment and continue towards my goal of becoming a doctor. This is a goal that has been deeply planted within me for many years now—ever since my recovery from a beating I received on the eve of Superstorm Sandy. I look forward to achieving this goal and thank you for your time in considering my application.
Essay 7: Please describe your parents’ occupation (100 characters)

My father owns Acertec Enterprise, a commercial construction company. My mother is in sales.

Duke:

Have you ever been accepted or deferred admission to any medical school?

I applied to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School through an accelerated application opportunity that was offered through my Master’s Program and was deferred. I have never applied to medical through a traditional cycle.

Essay 1: Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development with respect to its demographics. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions that you hope to make to your community as a medical student and to your career in medicine? What improvements do you think might make the described community better? (600 Words)

I was raised in a culturally diverse area of North Jersey. There were many different ethnicities in the area and this diversity was always viewed positively in my schools, in my family and in my community. The values I received were based on ideas of respect, empathy, and consideration. In my family, we would never do anything that we judged to be inconsiderate to our neighbors, such as hosting loud parties late at night, or leaving our home in a state of disrepair or neglect. Respect for others started with respect for oneself, in this sense. At the same time, we were taught to understand others and make sense of differences instead of judging and condemning people because they expressed an uncommon view or because they were outside the norm. I believe that my small town upbringing instilled in me values that are consistent with caring and showing compassion for those around you, which could apply to medicine in many capacities. Quality care depends upon providers showing consideration to patients, empathizing with them, and respecting their beliefs. I feel that my upbringing has perfectly suited me to a patient-centered type of approach.

Growing up in North Jersey has also been good for me because while I received a dose of small town community values, I was also in close proximity to NYC, which allowed me to maintain a still broader view of people and cultures. By being in and around NYC, I was able to see how important culture, identity and ethnicity are to people.

Improvements that I think I could make to help better my community would be to promote more cultural awareness as part of a health literacy program. I feel that the more people understand other cultures, the more ability they will have to be respectful towards that culture. Ignorance does not foster quality care; knowledge and consideration do.

Essay 2 Advocacy: Describe a situation where you have chosen to advocate for someone who is different from yourself. What does advocacy mean to you and how has your advocacy developed? How do you see it linked to your role as a physician/leader? What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (600 words)

Recently, I joined an organization called One Spirit in Action (OSIA). This is the service arm of an Interfaith Seminary in NYC, One Spirit Learning Alliance. While I am not particularly religious, this organization piqued my curiosity when I heard about it in passing. What attracted me was their strong stance on social justice issues—and so I decided to volunteer.

To me, advocacy means showing in public your support for a cause. It is important that it be public because shining a light can have a positive impact on a community, and that is the goal of advocacy. That is why, when I heard about OSIA, I wanted to get involved: social justice is a cause I support.

Some of the issues OSIA addresses are Islamophobia, homophobia, violence and misogyny. There was…