Honors Student Spotlight

To Prospective Sophomore Honors Scholarship Students:

My name is Kevin Zhan and I am the 2008 recipient of the Jerry & Leslie Gough Pre-Med Scholarship. Please take this opportunity to review and think about applying for a sophomore scholarship because no matter which scholarship you pursue, you will experience a similar application process and realize the importance of self-evaluation and career-focused thinking—especially at the sophomore level. Furthermore, I cannot emphasize enough the value of international experience in today’s job market. With each scholarship, you have the potential of traveling abroad to work in an international setting and gain perspective from sources unavailable inside the United States. In the competitive job market for the top paying positions, international experience will separate you from the other applicants. Career issues aside, let this trip experience and application process elucidate who you really are and what you seek to become; at the very least, let it ascertain if your desired career path is really right for you. Knowing your path through college awards you advantages and helps you make the most out of your undergraduate experience. Embrace this chance to learn and do exactly what you want, as oftentimes after undergrad, your learning is somewhat limited and specified towards a career. Lastly, realize that even if you don’t win the scholarship, it is possible that you may receive partial funding for your trip. What is there to lose to applying? If you’re a committed and hardworking honors student who seeks to stand out from the competition, the sophomore scholarship is right for you.

Although your application and trip experience will be unique in its own way, I hope that sharing what I’ve learned from my trip and the application process will impart a glimpse of the possibilities of a sophomore honors scholarship.

The Gough scholarship is designed for pre-medical students to investigate any aspect of healthcare of their choosing through a summer trip, immediately following the sophomore year. Each applicant must petition for an intern-like position at locations pertaining to the desired area of study. For example, I wanted to focus on how we deliver healthcare to the poor and compare how free clinics operate in different demographic and cultural settings—I petitioned for work at various free clinics and programs for the underserved across the United States which I thought were appropriate. Don’t think of the application process as a long and tedious chore, because the rewards far outweigh the work required to apply. Most emphatically, the application process oftentimes reveals to applicants their deepest passions associated with their career aspirations. In addition, applicants are required to introduce themselves into the professional world, reinforcing communication skills necessary for a successful future. Towards the end of the application process, critical interviewing skills and techniques are taught usually by mentors or honors faculty. A successful interview, along with a good academic record and test scores, is critical for matriculation to graduate schools and landing job positions.

My trip was originally designed for me to work in three locations: Connecticut, Herndon, Virginia, and Christiansburg, Virginia. The two winners in 2006 and 2007 of the Gough scholarship traveled to hospitals in Venezuela, surgery centers in Spain, and healthcare clinics at the southern U.S. border. In Connecticut, I interned for the W.Y.A. (Wherever You Are) program of the Community Health Centers, traveling around to various food clinics, homeless shelters, women centers, and corrections facilities to provide free primary medical care. There, I shadowed family practice physicians, organized state-sponsored community events to end homelessness, attended healthcare symposiums to discuss the future of American healthcare, observed substance abuse counseling programs, and experienced, first-hand the chaos of delivering medicine to the neediest patients with limited financial resources. Living in Middletown, Connecticut, and observing its surrounding towns of New Britain and Meriden was my first real exposure to people living through destitution. Narcotics abuse and drug-seeking behavior is prevalent in those areas.

Originally, I planned to work for the Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic in Herndon, Virginia, as the second portion of my trip but my stay was cut short. Their volunteer coordinator had recently left, and the clinic director was too swamped with work to devise a detailed schedule for me. From this experience, I realize how difficult it is to manage and run a free clinic as well as depend on inconsistent volunteers to assist. Sometimes no matter how much you plan, things simply don’t work in your favor.

The remainder of my trip was held in Christiansburg, Virginia, working for the New River Valley Free Clinic. Immediately upon arrival, I was caught in a storm of unfinished administrative work left by other volunteers and staff that recently left. As a full-time volunteer, I was granted extra permissions to learn many of the duties performed by volunteers in various sections of the clinic. Ultimately, I worked in the medical area, performing patient histories, taking vitals, running basic labs, and learning much of the extensive protocols associated with appointments, referrals, and other procedures. Unlike the Connecticut portion, which was primarily observation, my work in Christiansburg was more hands-on. Through my work here I realized that my passion for medicine and healthcare was a reality, and not something that I hoped would be there. After this experience, there is no doubt in my mind that becoming a physician is the path for me.

So what has this entire ten-week experience taught me? It has taught me professionalism, given me the opportunities to create connections to the professional world, taught me critical interviewing techniques and skills, helped me learn more about myself and who I want to become, given me perspective and understanding of healthcare in general, as well as healthcare for the poor, taught me where the future of healthcare lies and what reforms are necessary to consistently provide affordable and quality healthcare, and of course, given me a productive and exciting summer.

Once again, if you’re a hardworking sophomore honors student who aspires to achieve, consider applying for this great opportunity. If you’re a freshman, please ask your advisors and the honors staff for more information and apply the following year.