Q. What aspects of your MCB degree program best helped you prepare for your career?
A. Berkeley helped me understand how to learn. It taught me how to critically analyze a situation from multiple angles, and how to learn from mistakes. The MCB program made me feel competent in the fields I was hoping to pursue, and confidence in yourself is just as important as an academic education. Most of all, though, Berkeley showed me how important it is to maintain an open mind in all aspects of life, from social to political to purely academic. A willingness to learn from others has only helped me in my path.
Q. How did you decide on your current career path?
A. During my time at Berkeley, I was already fairly certain I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. However, my Berkeley professors did such a good job teaching me that I heavily considered entering into academia instead. Being the indecisive person that I am, I split the difference and joined a lab researching cancer biology. After a year and a half there, I realized that although I really enjoyed contributing to cancer research (who doesn’t like big fancy spinning machines and cool glowing cells), my passion lay more towards direct contact with the people I wanted to help. I decided to move on with my initial plans and am now working as a medical scribe intending to apply to medical school in 2025.
Q. Share your favorite Berkeley lunch place, coffee shop, landmark study spot...etc.
A. MoMo masalas on Hearst!! The kindest family-run shop you’ll ever come across. Their butter chicken and chai are to die for. As for my favorite study spot, call me crazy but I loved the noise and hectic-ness of the Kresge engineering library. Something about all those people talking in the background formed a pleasant white noise to study to.