I grew up playing piano recitals and putting together science fair projects in fourth grade. In high school, weekends went to choir competitions and summers to surgical internships. Art and science lived in separate realms of my life, and I toggled back and forth, left brain right brain, art and science.
When it came time to apply for college, I automatically filled out the “prospective major” box with Biology. For a few schools with the program, I applied for the Public Health Science major. I was set on pursuing medical school at the time, so the these majors seemed to be the natural choice. I also loved both my introductory and AP biology courses and found tremendous beauty in the intricate workings of life science. I had never even toyed with the idea of the art side of me being a part of my future studies or career. Art was not practical, and art would not bring me closer to job security. It would remain an extracurricular and a side project.
So I began college as a Public Health Science major with a Biology minor. To be honest, I did not really know what public health was until my first course during freshman year. My professor had me at prevention, and something in my heart sparked when she described the importance of approaching health from all aspects of life, not just in the doctor’s office. My eyes opened to the broad field of public health which had one foot in the “hard sciences” and the other in the “social sciences.” It provided me what I had been thirsting for in my biology and chemistry courses—a clear connection and application back to society.
Meanwhile, I found ways to continue my creative pursuits through joining and eventually leading an a cappella group on campus, Audiosync. I became involved with The Stable, a club that provides a creative space for students through open mics and other gatherings. I often read my poetry there.
Open mic nights often ended with musicians and poets gathered around a group of rappers freestyling, diving into deep issues of race, privilege, college culture, and even environmental issues. With these students, we were able to share our raw perspectives and question the status quo in ways that are rare in the average classroom. I discovered in both my art and science circles a common passion and curiosity that drive those who I find most inspiring. Below is a Venn diagram I stumbled upon online, which captures the fascination I have with the beauty and power of science and art, especially in the places where the two forces intersect.
Through the arts, I have had the chance to form some of my deepest bonds with people, even if only for a moment. The personal and visceral nature of art is something many people connect to easily. It is harder to get people as excited about DNA expression or molecular interactions of chemicals.
For two weeks at the start of last summer, I trekked 225 miles from Ocean Beach, San Francisco to Yosemite with my sixteen fellow classmates in my Walk Across California course. It was an immersive experience into the environmental, cultural, historical, and social issues of a cross section of California. Organic farmers described their major setbacks from the drought, and we shared mass, dinner, and stories with migrant worker farmers in Stockton. These communities welcomed us in and opened up to us about the challenges they face everyday and the hope which drives their work towards change. As a student passing through their community, I felt helpless and disconnected from any means of realistically making any impact on the many structural inequalities these individuals dealt with. But the Walk broadened my worldview and enabled me to further develop my capacity for compassion.
Halfway through our journey, we arrived at the Me-Wuk Indian Reservation in Tuolumne. Carlos, our host and a leader in the cultural center, welcomed us. Before we had a chance to settle in, his young daughters ran among us asking each of us our names. I spent part of the afternoon showing Nora, Dora, and Diamond a couple instruments our group had with us, and they clamored for a turn to pluck the strings of the ukelele and to blow into the mouthpiece of the melodica.
Through play and curiosity, I shared an afternoon with the girls in a space that did not mind our different cultural backgrounds, ages, or languages. We were able to create something together out of mutual wonder. While I had a memorable time with the girls, I again left feeling incapable of bringing joy into their lives outside of that one moment. I would not be able to do anything to mitigate the prevalent diabetes and obesity within their community or make a lasting impact on the high rates of drug use among the Me-Wuk youth.
I realize now that my initial draw towards medicine originated from a desire to live a life of compassion. At the time, I characterized that with the work of a physician. A combination of my public health background and my first hand exposure to individuals living in disparity now fuel my dream to not only improve people’s lives on an individual level but also to hopefully make some changes in the structural forces working against them. The Global Social Benefit Fellowship and our introduction to social entrepreneurship have revealed to me a field where people dedicate their lives to putting compassion into action. Where innovators merge scientific methodology and technology with creativity and imagination for the betterment of communities. I know I am only a few steps closer to being equipped with the tools and opportunities to work towards my dreams for social change, but I believe I am headed in the right direction. And I have a lot to learn, as I am a work in progress.