Medical Which diversity/adversity topics should I choose/focus on?

[tantacles]

I'm having a lot of trouble thinking about strong answers to both of these types of prompts. I'm also trying to avoid an overlap with other topics mentioned in my application (mainly research-related). Applying this cycle btw. Any help would be much appreciated! Sorry that these descriptions are so long, I thought it would be more helpful to provide more info to you.

Here are some routes I can take:
Diversity:
- Mom is an education specialist and dad is a software engineer.
----- With the former, the value of education was instilled early in my life and is a source of motivation that continues today, not just with my own aspirations but also in giving back to the community. I've tutored/mentored students in various capacities since my freshman year of high school and have learned how teaching them strategies for success (not just classroom material) and focusing on building rapport with students by understanding their background and interests can yield long-term benefits in their education, beyond my time with them. Inspiring self-efficacy in others is what I hope to do with patients too, by providing them with helpful strategies and information to empower them to take control of their health.
----- With the latter, my dad always wanted to get me into coding and programming early on, emphasizing its value as a skill in various fields. I was incredibly indifferent to this, even more so after taking a computer science class in high school and absolutely hating it. Towards the end of my time in college, I discovered the topic of precision medicine and how deep learning/AI applications can be applied to diagnostic and therapeutic decision making (its use in the field of neuroscience is what really drew my interest). This brought me to my current research position, where I am involved with an AI study (though not the actual coding aspect yet). My initial indifference towards learning coding has turned into a hobby/interest of mine due to its applications in medicine and research. I'm going to take a deep learning course this fall to gain relevant skills and experience with machine learning that I hopefully can use in the future. I strongly believe AI in healthcare has vast potential and would love to continue my involvement and understanding of its applications in the future. This may be a little niche, but hopefully it can contribute to collaborative efforts towards innovation in the medical community. The only issue with this is that I don't have a strong coding background (was a neuro major), so all of this is relatively new to me despite my drive to gain knowledge and skills in this area.

Diversity or adversity, not sure:
- Part of the LGBTQ community, though I haven't come out to my family/friends yet (only to a couple of teachers, through writing pieces/assignments). I'm also South Asian, which means being gay is not a conversation that comes up often, if ever, and if it does it's not usually in a positive light (this has slowly been changing with my generation, but with older parents and relatives this hasn't changed much). It was difficult growing up because I knew I was different, but, at the time, even in my educational environment, it just wasn't a normalized thing to talk about, impacting my confidence and openness in friendships greatly. Also, South Asian LGBTQ representation in mainstream media is very minimal, so I also internalized the belief that I may never be able to come out and have a happy family life in the future. Come college, I was exposed to a LGBTQ-friendly campus environment which dramatically shifted my perspective and gave me hope for coming out in the future. Much of my fear of coming out is due to a fear of judgement and changed relationships, particularly with my family. I had to rely on independently seeking out information online to educate myself on the LGBTQ community and also learn about others' similar experiences through Youtube/forums. I'm still not out yet and that has to do with intentionally deciding to focus my efforts on my medical aspirations, as that is something I had more confidence and control over in college. I also wanted to avoid unnecessary emotional stress at the time. It may be weird to say this, but whenever I thought about my future, the only thing keeping me optimistic and motivated was that I could achieve my professional goals at the very least, even if I don't end up having a partner/family. My perspective has since changed, and I am planning on coming out right before I matriculate into medical school so that I can finally make progress in this area of my life towards a happier, less confined future. Overall, this experience has made me realize more broadly that individuals' life experiences and/or struggles are often not discernable at the surface level. I'm thus more aware of my interactions with people and strive to be non-judgemental and positive in pretty much every conversation I have with strangers. I also really want to be involved in the LGBTQ community in my future medical school, serve this community in diff ways (I know some schools have clinics geared towards this population), and also continue educating myself on LGBTQ health since I still have a lot to learn(!!).

Diversity:
- I was in a community scholars program in college and thus learned a lot about community-based research and the value of forming collaborative relationships within the community. I think this applies at the individual level too, where if your goal is to help someone in the long-term, it's important to get them invested in the process too. I've been involved in a number of volunteering activities aimed at serving and supporting disadvantaged/vulnerable populations (both education and healthwise). Learning from the community through direct involvement and striving to improve basic healthcare access and services to the aforementioned populations is something I hope to continue doing in the future as a medical student and beyond.

Adversity/Challenge:
A number of prompts ask about a challenging situation or problem. There are a few schools (worried about conservative adcoms due to geographic location of schools) where I don't want to mention my LGBTQ identity, so I need to think of an alternative answer to prompts.
- Going back to the South asian thing, I had a relatively "sheltered" upbringing. My parents have always and will always be concerned about my safety in life, which is obviously important. But I think there is a fine line where too much sheltering can hinder personal growth and confidence towards independence. During college, I gained an immense amount of self-confidence due to a variety of reasons related to realizing what I wanted to do career-wise and intentionally stepping out of my comfort zone to pursue personal interests and hobbies. Anyways, one big step towards independence for me was planning and taking my first solo trip to pursue my goal of learning Spanish in an immersive environment. Studying abroad was never a possibility for me, since I wanted to graduate early and also didn't think paying for an expensive summer/winter experience was worth it. So I took it upon myself to research affordable, short-term options. I ended up finding a local school in Guatemala and brought the idea to my parents. They were adamantly against it, but I am also very persistent. I did more research on the safest city to study in and compiled descriptions of others' experiences. After a month of online research and personal planning, I was able to convince my parents to let me take a two-week trip, especially since my desire to learn spanish stems from wanting to comfortably use it with Spanish-speaking patients. Keep in mind, I had never traveled solo domestically in the U.S. either, so this was a big step for me. I can also go into describing the trip itself for this prompt; but I feel like the challenge of being in an unfamiliar, foreign environment is more common than showing my parents that I am capable of independently pursuing my goals in a safe, informed manner. From convincing my parents about this trip in addition to my decision to take two gap years (so that I could fully engage in medicine-related research interests I wanted to explore prior to medical school), I've become more confident and assertive towards independently deciding what my future will entail. I don't know if this situation seems trivial... but I think the confidence I've gained has contributed to my growth as an individual and strengthened my desire to continue on a path of learning and exploring interests both related and unrelated to medicine.

Diversity:

1. Your parents' skillsets can't be used for a diversity essay. Has to be about you.
2. LGBTQ is a great thing to write about in terms of diversity. If you're going to do it, be out and proud in your essay.
3. Being in a scholars program in college probably isn't great for a diversity essay either.

Adversity:

1. Of course, something related to being LGBTQ would work, but if you're not out, I would say that it's hard to make a fantastic essay about being LGBTQ that is truthful and relates to adversity.
2. Going on a trip should really not be your adversity essay. When you're thinking about this essay, think about an interpersonal challenge or some other struggle you had that made life difficult. For example, if you were thrown into (not voluntarily choosing to take a trip to) a situation where you didn't speak the language, that would work. The difficulty has to be out of your control in some way, and your job is to show how you persevered and grew despite the adversity.

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[Goro]

Thanks so much for your feedback!

With #1 for diversity, I was more just stating how my current interests/passions are connected to my upbringing. If I did choose that, I would focus more on how what I've learned through education/tutoring/social justice programs I was involved in would contribute to the medical school community and surrounding (outside of campus) community rather than focusing on my parents' professions.

#2 diversity, I definitely want to be out and proud in medical school, so this whole process and mentioning it in most of my applications is my opportunity to intentionally put myself in a diverse, inclusive environment that can support my growth in that area, and not just my goals to become a physician. The only school I'm not mentioning my sexuality in is an in-state school (less liberal school location wise) that I really don't want to risk my chances of getting accepted to, since I think I have a good shot otherwise. In my experience, finding an external support system has been hard, so I also want to be a physician who fosters a safe and open space for individuals if I do end up working in a practice-based setting.

Noted for the third thing! Was trying to add tangible evidence towards my focus on community-based health, which was heavily influenced by my time in that program.

For your feedback on adversity - yeah I was unsure how to approach this. I am fortunate and privileged to not have had to deal with major adversity events in my life. I have had tough experiences with close relatives passing away due to cancer, but I know this is a common topic and will thus avoid it. The trip was mainly an example of a time where I had to overcome familial pressures in order to assert my own independence. And yeah I also agree with the LGBTQ thing. It so far has been an internal struggle where I have to rely on myself as an independent support system. I've grown in many ways due to this, but still have more room for growth. I would love to come out now, but in thinking long and hard about it many many times, the more "practical" time to come out is when I'm not currently living at home with my family as I'm doing right now, if that makes sense. Thus I'm waiting until I leave for medical school.

Another potential idea:
- When I was younger and through high school, I was always afraid of being wrong and/or judged, so I had a low self-esteem for a very long time. I was fine in social settings, as this was more about being less confident in my academic ability and knowledge (especially since I went to a magnet school where I developed an early sense of imposter syndrome). I usually didn't speak up much and was more likely to be a follower than share my own opinions on matters. I reflected a lot on my time in high school and how I could improve for the future in the summer before college. Stepping out of my comfort zone and engaging my interests to the utmost degree were goals I set for myself in college. I definitely achieved this and through leadership positions, I tried to foster these same core values in others, since growing together as a community of peers just feels more special. Even being wrong can lead to productive, insightful discussions, so being confident in sharing ideas/opinions in future collaborative settings will definitely be useful. I've since become more confident in my abilities as a life-long learner, team-member, and leader.

I'll try to brainstorm some other ideas as well. This is tough. Any additional advice based on what I mentioned above would be appreciated, thanks

Your interests about coding and tech are nothing new.

What's cool about you???

 

[Goro]

Not much honestly! I don't have any non-academic long-term hobbies, since my interests have changed and the hobbies I am pursuing now (learning Spanish and learning how to play the piano as a beginner) aren't really unique. I hope to use Spanish with patients in the future (at an intermediate level now, took 5 years in high school but minimal use in college apart from my solo Guatemala trip and am relearning now during my gap years). I play basketball and soccer for fun occasionally (used to play competitively when I was younger). I am also a black belt in Taekwondo (got it when I was in middle school, but quit shortly after because I couldn't handle the commitment with high school activities). Taekwondo taught me a strong sense of discipline at a young age though, which permeated into other aspects of my life. I was on an indian dance team for one year in college. I also really enjoy music and comedy, and was involved with the campus committee that organized live entertainment events for students which was super fun to be involved in, but isn't something that I could contribute to the med school community I guess. Not at all an expert musician or a stand up comedian. I'm currently doing research at the NIH in an infectious disease related lab, which has been a cool experience, but with schools that already have a research prompt, I wouldn't want overlap. The only other thing that isn't necessarily "cool" is my struggle and eventual acceptance of my LGBTQ identity leading me to want to advocate for and serve those communities in the future since there still remains stigma and barriers that hinder LGTBQ access to health services and/or openness with physicians due to fear of judgement or not feeling comfortable. But I can't imagine filling an entire diversity essay with just that, since I'm not out with my friends/family yet and my experiences within the community are limited.

Just word vomited a bunch of things. Anything that stands out to you?

Introspection is a required trait for a doctor.

 

[tantacles]

Thanks so much for your feedback!

With #1 for diversity, I was more just stating how my current interests/passions are connected to my upbringing. If I did choose that, I would focus more on how what I've learned through education/tutoring/social justice programs I was involved in would contribute to the medical school community and surrounding (outside of campus) community rather than focusing on my parents' professions.

#2 diversity, I definitely want to be out and proud in medical school, so this whole process and mentioning it in most of my applications is my opportunity to intentionally put myself in a diverse, inclusive environment that can support my growth in that area, and not just my goals to become a physician. The only school I'm not mentioning my sexuality in is an in-state school (less liberal school location wise) that I really don't want to risk my chances of getting accepted to, since I think I have a good shot otherwise. In my experience, finding an external support system has been hard, so I also want to be a physician who fosters a safe and open space for individuals if I do end up working in a practice-based setting.

Noted for the third thing! Was trying to add tangible evidence towards my focus on community-based health, which was heavily influenced by my time in that program.

For your feedback on adversity - yeah I was unsure how to approach this. I am fortunate and privileged to not have had to deal with major adversity events in my life. I have had tough experiences with close relatives passing away due to cancer, but I know this is a common topic and will thus avoid it. The trip was mainly an example of a time where I had to overcome familial pressures in order to assert my own independence. And yeah I also agree with the LGBTQ thing. It so far has been an internal struggle where I have to rely on myself as an independent support system. I've grown in many ways due to this, but still have more room for growth. I would love to come out now, but in thinking long and hard about it many many times, the more "practical" time to come out is when I'm not currently living at home with my family as I'm doing right now, if that makes sense. Thus I'm waiting until I leave for medical school.

Another potential idea:
- When I was younger and through high school, I was always afraid of being wrong and/or judged, so I had a low self-esteem for a very long time. I was fine in social settings, as this was more about being less confident in my academic ability and knowledge (especially since I went to a magnet school where I developed an early sense of imposter syndrome). I usually didn't speak up much and was more likely to be a follower than share my own opinions on matters. I reflected a lot on my time in high school and how I could improve for the future in the summer before college. Stepping out of my comfort zone and engaging my interests to the utmost degree were goals I set for myself in college. I definitely achieved this and through leadership positions, I tried to foster these same core values in others, since growing together as a community of peers just feels more special. Even being wrong can lead to productive, insightful discussions, so being confident in sharing ideas/opinions in future collaborative settings will definitely be useful. I've since become more confident in my abilities as a life-long learner, team-member, and leader.

I'll try to brainstorm some other ideas as well. This is tough. Any additional advice based on what I mentioned above would be appreciated, thanks

#1 still is not good. Anyone can volunteer. I think my point still stands.

If your state school is putting a diversity prompt out there, I would take the risk of being out and being openly LGBTQ+.

With regard to adversity, what you wrote is extremely vague. Choose an event that challenged you, not your own personal insecurities.

 

[tantacles]

Noted about #1.

Hmm okay. I'm worried because I consider it to be a "safer" school option based on where my stats fit. It's been a tricky decision because on one hand, I absolutely do not want to stay in-state for medical school because all options are pretty close to my family and I really want space/independence to explore my LGBTQ identity more. But at the same time, the application process is difficult and it would be dumb to not apply to my in-state schools which I have a better chance of being accepted into simply for that reason. I'd rather have that be the only school I get into than none at all, you know. I guess I will take the risk of being out.

And true, I'll continue brainstorming.

Thanks again!!

If they’re specifically making a diversity prompt, I would choose something that actually makes you diverse. LGBTQ is that.

 

[Goro]

If you can provide some additional advice, that'd be great. I've been thinking and have come up with a couple more ideas!

Adversity:
I'll most likely focus my adversity/challenge essays on my journey of realizing my sexuality when being raised in an environment (family + overall South Asian community) where the LGBTQ spectrum is completely disregarded and very much stigmatized against. I have grown tremendously because of it and it has shaped my future motivations as well. I have found support in online communities of LGBTQ people and also have come out to two teachers through writing pieces/assignments (one of which I submitted to a regional writing competition my senior yr of HS and got a Silver recognition for; not sure I'll mention this though?). While I'm still not out to my family, I've accepted that the gradual nature of this journey was necessary in giving me the confidence and insight towards my next stage in life, a stage where I can freely explore my identity. I've also learned that you can't force or expect one's lifelong beliefs to change immediately and it's important to understand the perspective of my parents in this whole situation, as well.

There are a couple of essays about resilience and situations that have had unfavorable outcomes. For those, I can potentially talk about being cut from the bhangra (indian dance team) at my college and what I did as a result. I've never been a good dancer, so it wasn't a huge surprise. But bhangra was the main avenue through which I was able to engage with the South Asian community at my school (a small liberal arts college with an unsurprisingly low south asian student population). After being cut in tryouts, I invested my energy towards other interests/hobbies, like learning how to play the piano (started group classes) and joining a music/comedy campus event planning committee. The latter involved working with an incredibly diverse and awesome team of students; we made it a priority to bring underrepresented acts to campus in order to actively promote diversity and inclusion within the larger campus community.

Diversity (I want to weave a narrative that demonstrates my community-minded perspective as a culmination of my cultural background, identity, experiences.):
I would talk about a family trip to my dad's home village in Kenya (his side of the family for a couple of generations were brought up in Kenya, immigrated from India), exploring many facets of Kenyan culture in the process. One thing that stuck out, not just with my dad's upbringing in Kenya but also my mom's in India, was everyone's strong sense of community, where food was used as a way to bring people together. I only had the chance to visit Kenya in high school, so until then my only exposure to that aspect of my background was through the Kenyan dishes my grandparents would make. Growing up, I became a "foodie" of sorts (following in my dad's footsteps). We would find small, relatively unknown places and seek to learn the story behind different foods/cuisines. In frequenting many Thai and Latin American restaurants (our favorite cuisines!), we gained insight on the struggles and successes of restaurant owners who took risks to share their passion for food and inspire others to learn about the culture behind it. I absolutely love hearing about the life stories of people and value the connections made through meaningful conversation. This is something I will bring to my bedside manner with patients.

I'm thinking I can also weave in my college experience, where for the first time I felt like I was part of a community of people I deeply connected with. I connected with new friends through group cooking/potluck sessions once a month and community members through a shared commitment and active citizenship mindset towards helping the underserved in the rural region surrounding our campus location. I'll also mention how my LGBTQ identity founded my desire to contribute to community initiatives that serve LGBTQ individuals and to also continue educating myself with the knowledge and tools to better serve those populations.

What do you think?

Dealing with coming out is fine for adversity

Being LGBT is also fine for diversity. A number of schools would consider you to be URM.

Not a fan of the Kenyan heritage bit, and being foodie will NOT get you into medical school.


For diversity, what makes you cool?

 

[tantacles]

@tantacles @Goro

If you can provide some additional advice, that'd be great. I've been thinking and have come up with a couple more ideas!

Adversity:
I'll most likely focus my adversity/challenge essays on my journey of realizing my sexuality when being raised in an environment (family + overall South Asian community) where the LGBTQ spectrum is completely disregarded and very much stigmatized against. I have grown tremendously because of it and it has shaped my future motivations as well. I have found support in online communities of LGBTQ people and also have come out to two teachers through writing pieces/assignments (one of which I submitted to a regional writing competition my senior yr of HS and got a Silver recognition for; not sure I'll mention this though?). While I'm still not out to my family, I've accepted that the gradual nature of this journey was necessary in giving me the confidence and insight towards my next stage in life, a stage where I can freely explore my identity. I've also learned that you can't force or expect one's lifelong beliefs to change immediately and it's important to understand the perspective of my parents in this whole situation, as well.

There are a couple of essays about resilience and situations that have had unfavorable outcomes. For those, I can potentially talk about being cut from the bhangra (indian dance team) at my college and what I did as a result. I've never been a good dancer, so it wasn't a huge surprise. But bhangra was the main avenue through which I was able to engage with the South Asian community at my school (a small liberal arts college with an unsurprisingly low south asian student population). After being cut in tryouts, I invested my energy towards other interests/hobbies, like learning how to play the piano (started group classes) and joining a music/comedy campus event planning committee. The latter involved working with an incredibly diverse and awesome team of students; we made it a priority to bring underrepresented acts to campus in order to actively promote diversity and inclusion within the larger campus community.

Diversity (I want to weave a narrative that demonstrates my community-minded perspective as a culmination of my cultural background, identity, experiences.):
I would talk about a family trip to my dad's home village in Kenya (his side of the family for a couple of generations were brought up in Kenya, immigrated from India), exploring many facets of Kenyan culture in the process. One thing that stuck out, not just with my dad's upbringing in Kenya but also my mom's in India, was everyone's strong sense of community, where food was used as a way to bring people together. I only had the chance to visit Kenya in high school, so until then my only exposure to that aspect of my background was through the Kenyan dishes my grandparents would make. Growing up, I became a "foodie" of sorts (following in my dad's footsteps). We would find small, relatively unknown places and seek to learn the story behind different foods/cuisines. In frequenting many Thai and Latin American restaurants (our favorite cuisines!), we gained insight on the struggles and successes of restaurant owners who took risks to share their passion for food and inspire others to learn about the culture behind it. I absolutely love hearing about the life stories of people and value the connections made through meaningful conversation. This is something I will bring to my bedside manner with patients.

I'm thinking I can also weave in my college experience, where for the first time I felt like I was part of a community of people I deeply connected with. I connected with new friends through group cooking/potluck sessions once a month and community members through a shared commitment and active citizenship mindset towards helping the underserved in the rural region surrounding our campus location. I'll also mention how my LGBTQ identity founded my desire to contribute to community initiatives that serve LGBTQ individuals and to also continue educating myself with the knowledge and tools to better serve those populations.

What do you think?

I think your LGBTQ story still fits a lot better into a diversity essay. The fact that you faced adversity because of being LGBTQ is important, and it fits extremely well into a diversity essay. I think maybe it could be in an adversity essay, but you haven't faced the true adversity of being publicly out, and that means that the adversity is "within yourself", so to speak, and doesn't to me fit the bill for the essay. I hear that it was difficult to be out to your teachers. But for diversity? This kind of essay makes me think you're going to be someone who is going to serve the community and be a great advocate for my community (I am a gay cis-male physician, just for context).

I think you need to dig deeper for the adversity essay. I'm sure there's been some difficulty in your life. It can still be related to being LGBTQ; I just think the example that you gave doesn't do it for me.