Time to Get A Lot Done

Over the course of the past few weeks, I have found a mentor, figured out my original work, and completed invitations for research showcase. Finding a mentor this year has been a struggle for me considering the difficulty to contact professionals in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. However, after a lot of persistence with emailing and calling secretaries and doctors, I was able to land an interview with Dr. Kelley Hutcheson. I knew from the moment I walked out of the interview that she would be the perfect mentor for me. Not only did she provide me the medical knowledge involved in surgery and research, she also talked to me about her journey to finding her passion in medicine. Therefore, I asked her to be my mentor before the school break, and she said yes. I am extremely excited about the surgeries I would get to watch and perhaps the research that I can observe as well.

In addition, my original work that I have decided to complete is to find out the reason for heart conditions and inevitably surgery. What I have heard the most is that people either self-inflict bad decisions that they regret causing illnesses, or such conditions arise from a family history. This is something that I am truly interested in because understanding the cause of heart conditions, specifically, will allow for a knowledge of how to prevent illnesses. Furthermore, I have completed my invitation for the research showcase, which was quite difficult to craft because I had to incorporate my color theme and required items. Also, it was quite shocking to hear that research showcase is coming up really soon. Therefore, for the coming week, my goals are to schedule my first mentor visit, talk to my mentor about my original work at the visit, schedule more interviews, update my website, and get prepared for research showcase. All in all, this is a lot of work, but I know that this is going to be possible to complete by being on top of my work.

Best Regards,

Anuja Jayachandran