As a curious eight-year-old, I turned around in my seat to see an ambulance speeding by with its lights flashing and sirens blaring. “Mommy,” I asked, “what is that big white car?” “It’s an ambulance going to the hospital because someone is hurt and needs help,” my mother replied. I watched the ambulance speed away and wondered who was hurt, how they got hurt, and what was happening inside. My fascination with ambulances stayed with me, and years later...

Books read for pleasure in the past year Breaking Dawn, The Sunflower, New Moon, Twilight, Gone With The Wind, Jane Eyre, Candy, Catch-22, Audacity of Hope, If Tomorrow Comes, So Yesterday, The Truth about Forever, Pride and Prejudice, Before I Go, An Affair before Christmas, Duchess by Night, Fool for Love, Much Ado About You, Cannery Row Required reading most enjoyed in last year Beowulf, Wüthering Heights, Scarlet Letter Print or Electronic Publications read regularly The Hour, New York...

The biology program convinced me to apply. At Columbia, I would be able to further explore my passion for medicine. There are several opportunities for me to conduct research but...