A Career In Pediatric Oncology

There are two things I love more than anything else in the world: dogs and chemistry. Knowing the osmotic pressure of a 2 molar NaCl solution with a four-legged furry friend beside me is the ideal life. Luckily, I’ve found the perfect field that combines my two most treasured passions (no, it’s not a veterinarian), and it all started from a single picture.
About seven years ago when flipping through a magazine, a little, rectangular image stood out to me of a service dog with his owner who was a doctor in a Children’s Hospital. Instead of seeing the young man in a white coat with his well-groomed retriever, I immediately saw myself, stethoscope in hand, with my own mutt, Mason, by my side; at that moment, I knew I had found my future career. Although I had always considered becoming a pediatric oncologist because of my love for both, kids and science, dogs were always the love left out. Now, I could have all three: a therapy dog that
In fact, I loved it so much that I took not one, but two years of it. Because of this single class, I constantly find myself calculating partial pressures or writing molecular structures for every compound I know. The most fascinating part about chemistry is it’s everywhere! Whether it is understanding how biological chemistry keeps us alive or how the chemicals in our food nourish the body, chemistry is crucial to survival, yet, chemistry isn’t just fascinating in an anatomical way, it’s all around us. Take pasta, for instance, my favorite meal to cook and eat. Now imagine, making this dish at least three times a week for the past six years. Wouldn’t you wonder what chemical processes occur when cooking, or how to boil water the fastest? That’s what chemistry provided me--a platform to make the mundane process of cooking an exciting experience that I can fathom on a molecular level. I just can’t say it enough, I love