A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
Placement: Richmond Community Hospital – Emergency Department

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

One summer, when I was 10, I spent a week with my grandparents up in the Connecticut. That Thursday morning, I made pancakes with my grandmother, notorious for her skills in the kitchen. After I flipped the first pancake, I went to flatten it with the back of the spatula, before my grandmother stopped me. She gently told me that smushing down the pancake would remove all the little air bubbles that make pancakes fluffy. Despite my impatience, I held myself back from flattening the rest of the batch. Although this advice may seem to simply apply to making pancakes (and it is advice I think of every time I make pancakes now), the larger lesson—of taking a step back and not interfering—is something I took to heart. Growing up, I was always an energetic child, eager to get my hands in everything and participate wherever I could. However, sometimes that eagerness crowded out other opinions and perspectives. Learning that sometimes less involvement can lead to a better outcome is something I thank my grandma for, especially now that she’s gone.

In my free time, I enjoy group activities like playing board games or merely catching up by chatting as well as more individual pursuits like reading or baking. I also enjoy staying active, whether that is by going for a walk at the end of the day with friends or family or being more active and going for a run or working out at the gym. One final activity I enjoy is singing. Although I tone it down when I am sharing a space, I enjoy passing the time when completing chores by singing along to songs from ABBA (my mother’s favorite band).