College Admissions Essay: What Can I Do To Help

“What can I do to help?” Throughout my life I have asked this question many times. As a child watching my father interact with patients, as a Marine serving in a war torn country, and even now as a college student looking toward the future I ask how I can help. From a very early age, I remember looking up to my father in his optometry practice. From about the age of 8, I knew I wanted to help people like he did. I remember how he could comfort a patient by listening to what they had to say. It was always a treat for me to watch him work with a patient. He usually began by just speaking with the patient about their life and how they were doing, and then he would conduct the exam with such a fluid and calm demeanor that nearly every patient was completely at ease. I remember thinking how great a feeling he must have had when he helped them and how they must feel to know their doctor cares for their well-being.
As a teenager, I was lazy, and I knew that with my high school grades I would not get into college, let alone become a doctor.
However, I still had a desire to protect people. With the misguided mind of a youth, I decided to do that through the military. I chose the Marine Corps because it is widely believed to be the most challenging branch of the military, and in hindsight that was exactly what a lazy, irresponsible, and unreliable boy needed. The Marines instilled in me fundamental skills and values that transformed me into a responsible adult with an even stronger conviction to help those in need. I learned how to provide emergency medical care in the Combat Lifesaver course, and applied these skills in stressful and hazardous conditions. While deployed, I saw the devastation the war reaped on the people of Iraq, and I asked myself “What can I do to help,” so after much consideration, I became close friends with the corpsman (medic), and ultimately decided to help him in caring for Iraqis in
need. My most meaningful experiences in my deployments were during humanitarian aid missions for the people of Iraq. I obtained my greatest sense of purpose while distributing food to remote and impoverished villages and providing medical care to children who normally might never see a doctor or a nurse in their lifetime. These were some of the most rewarding times of my service, because after each mission I knew I had made a difference in the lives of those people, and maybe even changed some perspectives, as well. As this chapter closed of my military service closed, I again asked “What can I do to help?” I wanted to do something to better the community around me, and to do that, I determined college was the best path. I decided that with the discipline, tenacity, and grit I had acquired in the Marines that I could not only complete college, but ultimately fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor. During college, I had the opportunity to shadow a physician and participate in a health coaching program. These experiences helped me realize the importance actively listening to what those patients have to say. In closing, everyone searches for something that gives them the greatest feeling of value, and I find that most when I am helping other people. I want to enter the medical field as a doctor so that I can provide help to those for whom it seems out of reach. This reason, in particular, is why I want to be a family practice physician in rural and underserved areas. I believe the leadership and life experience I have gained has prepared me for this next challenge. I look forward to bringing my skill set and values of honor, courage, and commitment to the medical community.