Life before college: Every step of my journey has helped form my ambitions.
Empowering others to pursue their passions:
I grew up in the region of Florida referred to as the Space Coast. This unique name comes from the fact that the National Air and Space Agency (NASA) and now SpaceX find their home on our unique coastline. Because of this the Space Coast is where many engineers and astronauts call home. The unique experience of seeing rockets and space shuttles launch into space was a normal recess activity. I grew up surrounded by the most glorious and complicated demonstration of engineering in action and many of my neighbors were the engineers contributing to the success if these lift offs. Nonetheless I had no idea that I would be an engineer myself one day. I had many mentors and teachers that were champions for my success, but my senior year of high school was when I had my first teacher suggest to me that I should study engineering. Although all of my interests aligned so well with engineering, it was never suggested to be something that would be “for me”. It hit me like a crashing wave. I never even considered myself as an engineer because I unconsciously felt it was something I was not cut out for because of my gender. My experiences as a women in science and engineering fuels a fire in me to empower younger generations to disrupt barriers to diversity and inclusion in sciences.
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The role of culture in how we communicate our health:
Additionally, my Korean heritage has significantly impacted the way I interact with others and planted the seed for my interest in global health challenges. My mother grew up in a small village in South Korea and many of the hardships she endured emerged from the passing of my grandmother from cholera shortly after giving birth to my mother. Cholera was very common in her community at the time and still to this day when we talk about her passing my mother feels overwhelming frustration and despair over her death. Being Korean and being the child of an immigrant has made me cognizant of the way people view medicine, health and interact with health systems. For example, my mom feels deep anxiety about the idea of ever being sick and certain symbols in her dreams can either alleviate or exacerbate her feelings. This influences the way I explain different diseases to her. Walking the line between the American culture of my peers and the Korean culture of my family exposed me to the challenges immigrants face when seeking health care in the United States. This was one of the early factors and made me interested in how the effects of cultural context can impact essential health communication.
Discovering BME: Finding my passion in research
When I applied to the University of Florida, I wrote my personal statement about the excitement of discovery. I love learning about new things and widening my understanding of the world. During one of the seminars for my Introduction to Biomedical Engineering class is when I was overcome with wonder and joy. The presenter was discussing his work with nanoscale drug delivery. I had never heard of this kind of advanced technology and was overwhelmed with amazement. The joy ensued when I realized by the end of my degree, I would understand how this technology works. Now looking back, there have been so many breath-takingly exciting topics I have learned during my time at UF that I never could have imagined existed.
Biomedical engineering is such a broad field that basically specializes in being interdisciplinary. During my first year, I decided to explore image analysis through research under Dr. Walter O’Dell. I wanted to see how I could apply my background in programming to solve medical problems. This opportunity was a spring board for my research career. Although, I joined the lab because of my programming background I learned much more than I could have imagined. Dr. O’Dell provided opportunities for me to travel to my first conference, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting. I was thrown into a whirlwind of exciting scientific discussion and learned about topics within biomedical engineering that I did not even know existed.
I later fell in love with the shear complexity of the nervous system and this led me to begin work under Dr. Kevin Otto in neural interface research. This exposed me a whole new world of working with neural tissue and exploring the messy biology of nerve regeneration. This research allowed me to travel to another BMES Annual Meeting and the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting. Again, at both meetings, I learned about new advancement of science that I never could have imagined. I built connections with researchers from around the world and felt especially empowered by seeing Korean women in leadership roles. Importantly after all of the excitement of the conferences began to calm down, I was able to reflect on the patterns that would reappear in my wide-range of interests.
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I want to develop creative solutions that make medicine more accessible to the whole global community.
Discovering BME: Finding my passion in research
When I applied to the University of Florida, I wrote my personal statement about the excitement of discovery. I love learning about new things and widening my understanding of the world. During one of the seminars for my Introduction to Biomedical Engineering class is when I was overcome with wonder and joy. The presenter was discussing his work with nanoscale drug delivery. I had never heard of this kind of advanced technology and was overwhelmed with amazement. The joy ensued when I realized by the end of my degree, I would understand how this technology works. Now looking back, there have been so many breath-takingly exciting topics I have learned during my time at UF that I never could have imagined existed.
Biomedical engineering is such a broad field that basically specializes in being interdisciplinary. During my first year, I decided to explore image analysis through research under Dr. Walter O’Dell. I wanted to see how I could apply my background in programming to solve medical problems. This opportunity was a spring board for my research career. Although, I joined the lab because of my programming background I learned much more than I could have imagined. Dr. O’Dell provided opportunities for me to travel to my first conference, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting. I was thrown into a whirlwind of exciting scientific discussion and learned about topics within biomedical engineering that I did not even know existed.
I later fell in love with the shear complexity of the nervous system and this led me to begin work under Dr. Kevin Otto in neural interface research. This exposed me a whole new world of working with neural tissue and exploring the messy biology of nerve regeneration. This research allowed me to travel to another BMES Annual Meeting and the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting. Again, at both meetings, I learned about new advancement of science that I never could have imagined. I built connections with researchers from around the world and felt especially empowered by seeing Korean women in leadership roles. Importantly after all of the excitement of the conferences began to calm down, I was able to reflect on the patterns that would reappear in my wide-range of interests.
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I want to develop creative solutions that make medicine more accessible to the whole global community.
Global community: Continuing to grow and learn
I am drawn to the pursuit of knowledge; however, I realized that I need to prioritize what the impact of my work will be if I will develop of career that is fulfilling for my life goals. I wanted to utilize my engineering background to address domestic and international issues, yet I need to first understand these issues.
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Guadalajara
After my sophomore year, I felt lost. I did not know what my next step would be. I wanted to experience studying abroad, but I did not have the financial support in order to do so and I essentially gave up. Unexpectedly, I found out about a unique study abroad opportunity in Guadalajara, Mexico. The program provided scholarships from both UF and the University of Guadalajara for students to attend and it was focused on Spanish language and Mexican culture. As soon as I heard about the program, I wanted to pack my bags to go. Applying for the program and expedited my passport put me in a state of desperation. I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity so badly and the thought of it being beyond my grasp was heart-breaking. Coordinating my application documents and my scholarship applications came down to the wire, but it was all worth it. June 5th, 2017 I was on a plane to Guadalajara for an experience of a lifetime.
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Giving back to my community
After my study abroad, I wanted to apply my increased fluency in Spanish to help my community. I wanted to work with the Spanish-speaking in Alachua County that experience barriers to health care. Migrant farm workers that are undocumented are especially suspectable to health disparities. I began working for the Rural Women’s Health Project which has several projects focused on social justice and health advocacy. At the same time, I was enrolled in Introduction to Health Disparities and learned how health information can be more accessible. I utilized these skills when creating graphic flyers in Spanish and English for low-literacy. I also had to opportunity to connect with my community by helping participants during health fairs and performing outreach. Connecting with members of the community sparked my interest in public health and accessible medicine. I realized that I desire a research career that incorporates a focus on the social context of medicine as a fundamental design constraint. This has pushed me to explore graduate programs such as Master’s in Public Health and Doctorate in Public Health to supplement my graduate training in BME.
I also became involved in a program called Libros de Familia. This program I connected me with a primarily Spanish-speaking family with children that would like help with reading. I have had the privilege to witness the children in my family gain confidence in their ability to learn new things. While I have seen them master skills they once struggled with, I believe my greatest impact was empowering them. I was conscious about establishing an environment that encourages them to try even if they are struggling and rewarding them for jumping out of their comfort zone. Because of this experience, I realized how much I enjoy teaching and mentoring others.
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Peace Corps Panama
In response to my path of discovery, I grew as a student, researcher, and community member. I realized my passions for research, health communication, and mentoring others. Through my classwork and extracurriculars I became more emotionally and culturally competent. These experiences have prepared me for my goal of serving in the Peace Corps. I have accepted a position as a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Volunteer in Panama. Through the position I will have the opportunity to support access to clean water, health advocacy for supporting HIV/AIDs prevention and disrupting stigma and coordinating programs that empower girl’s through education programs. This unique opportunity allows me to combine my ambitions for science, medicine, and advocacy. Without the international experiences I have had through my academics at the University of Florida I would not have been as prepared for this exciting new chapter in my life.
