Hi, all. Can I please have some advice for the diversity and failure questions? My application will be verified in the coming week and I would like to get some secondary questions ahead of that. Thanks in advance.
Diversity question:
#1: I grew up in a family that was very skeptical of medicine and having a doctor involved in their healthcare. Over the years, I've had to warm up my parents to the idea of seeing doctors and to start trusting the healthcare system little by little. I think I can discuss how this has given me perspective on the reasonings behind these skeptical attitudes and how to address them in my own career. Not sure if this makes me very diverse though.
#2: Growing up latino, my pursuit of academic goals always earned me some sort of label within my friend groups. In some ways, it held me back because spending time working towards my goals was almost frowned upon in the culture. In my ECs, I do a lot of youth outreach and overcoming this stigma against academics is something I've addressed with my students. I can write about how I've learned to form my identity as a minority pursuing the medical field but I'm not too sure how well this translates into showing my contribution to campus diversity; I'm sure most other students have had to deal with these labels in some capacity at some point over their lives.
#3: I can discuss some of my hobbies in music but to be fair, theres not too many talking points there as I'm not in a band or any type of organization, I kind've just play for myself for fun.
Failure question:
#1: I didn't have a strong relationship with my maternal grandparents as I grew up living with my paternal grandparents. One of my failures was not making the effort to build a good relationship with my grandfather in particular. He had reached out many times to try and connect with me but I was busy with college. He passed away out of nowhere while I was away, and dealing with that really pushed me to be more active with my family regardless of what I'm doing in my own life. I can discuss how I've found a work/family balance and have strived to build and maintain relationships while balancing academics/work.
#2: A lot of my ECs revolve around tutoring and mentoring low-SES youth. I've taught a few dozen kids in a classroom setting and tutored many others 1-on-1. One of my failures is the fact that I was never able to guide or help my own younger brother while he was struggling to get through high school and his first years of college. I was away at a college, and again, failed to make the effort to go home periodically and try to help him during those difficult years. And I can discuss how I changed during my later years in school and was able to find a balance. I think this one may be risky as i may come off as conceited but I'm not too sure.
I realize that I wrote a lot here but I'd appreciate if anyone can take a quick glance and let me know which options sound better for each question. And If none of my ideas sound good, please let me know!
