It’s hard to believe, but this week marked the official end of my senior year Independent Study and Mentorship journey. From my decidedly rough first few phone calls contacting local pediatricians for research interviews, to the excitement I felt after reading Dr. Gerlacher’s email where he agreed to be my mentor, and to the stressful yet infinitely rewarding experiences of Research Showcase and Final Presentation Night, this year in ISM has shaped my personal and professional individualism in ways that surpassed anything I could have imagined. On Friday night, crowds gathered through Liberty High School to support ISM as each student presented their own final products and research under their mentors over this year. After the showcase portion in the gymnasium and the mentor recognition in the auditorium, it was time for the individual presentations in the classrooms. This was my opportunity to expand on the processes I went through to create my original work and final product, and I loved getting to share the details of my work under Dr. Gerlacher with my friends and family members. The feeling at the end of the night when my presentation was over and my volunteers were helping me clean up the room was bittersweet, as I was sad that the year of ISM had come to a close, but also so glad that the end of my hard work here at Liberty these past four years had ended on such a high note. With two short weeks left before we walk the stage and begin the next chapters of our lives, I can’t help but feel blessed that I have been surrounded with supportive and selfless individuals who have helped me through my four years of high school and been introduced to programs, like DECA, Youth and Government, and of course, ISM, that have provided me with invaluable opportunities to grow as an individual and future college student. Here’s to a great year in ISM and a memorable high school journey, and to an exciting next four years in sunny San Francisco!
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I have come to the conclusion that high school is a true testament to how well a person can balance their responsibilities. These past few years of my life have been filled with experiments in the different amounts of time that I can devote to different priorities in my life. Simply stated, being able to make time for homework, a job, a social life, and simple downtime to relax is a feat that is not easily accomplished. Oftentimes, certain things have to be compromised in order to focus your efforts on other tasks. Time and time again, I have found myself struggling in one aspect due to the sacrifices I’ve had to make to prioritize other responsibilities. Reflecting back on my senior year so far, I have definitely felt the pressure of wanting to fulfill all the different things I devote myself to amongst the craziness of high school. These upcoming few weeks in particular will test my balancing abilities. In ISM, there is a 15-minute speech rapidly approaching, in which I will present my original work process and pediatric urgent care center business plan. This week will also be filled with major grade tests in my physics, calculus, literature, and economics classes, which will of course require a healthy amount of studying and preparation for. Something to definitely look forward to is my trip to San Antonio in two weeks for the DECA State Conference! I am so excited to be able to explore the city with fellow DECA members and participate in competitive business events with my partner, Shivani. The rest of this month will require a valiant effort on my part in terms of prioritizing and getting things done to the best of my abilities. Hopefully my balancing act pays off!
So many great things have happened in these past few days that it is almost hard to believe. Wednesday was a big day, with Research Showcase taking place at the Ford Center at the Star that evening. I had the help of my amazing friend Shivani, who helped me in everything from loading my presentation board and props into the car at 3:00 pm to buying us Chipotle before the showcase to helping me clean up my table on the field at 9:00 pm after all visitors had left. The atmosphere in the stadium was buzzing with excitement and anticipation for this high-energy and eye-opening event. When the doors of the stadium opened, I felt a pang of uncertainty as to what to expect when people began entering the field. However, any nervousness dissolved immediately as I began seeing familiar faces from my classes at Liberty. After getting to speak with visiting friends and graduated ISM students who are now in college, I became swept up in the adrenaline and blood-pumping energy of sharing my passions in pediatrics and business with anyone interested. Dr. Gerlacher, my mentor, was able to stay for the entire event, which I appreciate so much. I have learned more about both pediatrics and the business of medicine than I ever could have imagined knowing in my short month of mentorship so far, and I am genuinely excited to continue this growing experience through the rest of this year in ISM. At Showcase, the two hours seemed to fly by as I spoke with a wide variety of people, ranging from middle schoolers who asked about advice for success in high school to my teachers from middle school and now to my friends and classmates. Research Showcase as a whole was an unforgettable experience that has been by far the highlight of my ISM journey thus far. On Friday, I was given the exciting opportunity to speak about the ISM program to eighth grade GT students at Fowler Middle School. I still remember the presentation about ISM that I had listened to as an eighth grader in Mrs. Arndorfer’s GT class, and it was an honor to be able to leave this impact on these students. After my middle school presentation that morning, I joined my AP Art class on a field trip to the Kimball Art Museum and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. It was a beautiful day and the art, especially the KAWS exhibit, was breathtaking. On Saturday, I tutored at Kumon after not being able to work for the past few shifts, which reminded me of how much I love being around the smiling faces and contagious laughter of children. For the rest of the day, I went on a nature walk at a local nature preserve and spent time relaxing and enjoying the warm winter that Texas has brought us this year. It has been a great week, and I am looking forward to exciting things to come in the future. If the last few blog posts I've written made it seem like I had pushed ISM to the back of my mind, this week has reversed that idea completely. With my first ten-minute ISM research speech presented on Friday, this week had consisted of preparation, a few nervous breakdowns, and of course many holiday-themed Starbucks drinks. On Thursday of this week, I went on a research interview at a local Starbucks with Dr. Gary Gerlacher, a well-known pediatric urgent care business owner and former pediatrician. I was extremely excited going into this interview because Dr. Gerlacher was so different from any other professionals I had met with. He blends business and pediatrics into his own company, where he helps to open pediatric clinics across the nation that maximize profits and effectiveness. When I began speaking with Dr. Gerlacher about my desire to create an original work related to both pediatrics and business, he introduced me to PediaQ, an innovative company that uses a mobile app interface to create an on-demand service for pediatric urgent care. Dr. Gerlacher was gracious enough to introduce me through email to Mr. Jon O'Sullivan, the founder and CEO of PediaQ, to arrange a meeting and learn more about his company. My research interview with Dr. Gerlacher was an eye-opening experience, and I learned more about pediatrics in that hour of speaking to him than I had in weeks of online research. I presented my research speech on Friday to my ISM class just as I had practiced multiple times in front of my family the night before, and I felt relieved and proud as I finished my first-ever ISM speech. I know that the speeches in ISM from here on out will only be longer in length and more comprehensive in content, but I feel confident that I will be prepared and ready for the challenges when the time comes. As the second month of school approaches, I am starting to ease into the daily routine of school again. Lessons in my classes are starting to shift from concept review to brand-new topics, a nerve-wracking yet exciting change. My ISM teacher, Mr. Wysong, has been preparing us for the upcoming Business Symposium in October. This highly-anticipated event will consist of all the ISM students in the district in one building, interacting with local professionals through mock interviews. I am looking forward to the Symposium because it will be an eye-opening experience that will give me valuable insight to aid me in my future research interviews with pediatricians. To help establish my professionalism before Business Symposium, I have set up a new voicemail greeting as well as phone and email templates to help me when I contact professionals. I have also revised my resume and asked my classmates for advice on how to improve it. Once Mr. Wysong approves of my completed work, I will be able to start contacting professionals in Pediatrics and hopefully scheduling meeting times. So far, my experiences in ISM have set an amazing standard for the rest of the year! I'm excited to see the growth that my classmates and I undergo as we begin to delve deeper into our fields of study. With the third week of school coming to a close, it still hasn't fully settled in that this will be my last year at Liberty High School. Being a senior means that as of now, I have experienced eleven action-packed years of education, more standardized tests than I could ever keep track of, and countless lighthearted memories with lifelong friends. This year, I am a member of my school's Independent Study and Mentorship Program, where I have the opportunity to delve deeper into a career path that I am interested in studying in the future. Trying to nail down a field that I wanted to pursue this year was so difficult for me because there are so many potential fields that I am interested in! Ultimately, I decided that pediatrics would blend my love for working with kids with gratifying feeling of knowing that my actions are bettering others' lives. Throughout my ISM journey this year, I plan to find a mentor who will teach me the inner workings of working as a pediatrician, conduct research and execute projects within the field of pediatrics, and become a more professional and well-informed individual who is ready to take my next step into the future. While I am aware that pediatrics may not be the field I end up having a career in, but I am confident that my experiences in ISM this year will shape me into a more polished and experienced student who has the ability to succeed in whichever field I end up pursuing. I am excited and ready to see what my senior year has in store for me! |
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