We quickly realized that baking for an income just wasn’t as magical as hobby baking, and running our bakery wasn’t suitable for pursuing our other ambition of attending graduate school. Christine is in her fourth year of optometry school and living in Huntington Beach, California. We still bake for fun and share photos of our bakes on Instagram. We like it better this way. In junior high, high school, and college, I became obsessed with biology. Sounds typical for a medical student, right? But before the seventh grade, I was terrified of the human body. As a self-diagnosed hypochondriac, the thought of learning about Ebola and brain cancer almost crippled me — cancer seems to run in my family. But before long, I realized the more I learned the hows and whys of biology, the more empowered I felt. Demystifying my previous fears became my new goal. Before I decided to attend medical school, my original plan was to become a junior high school biology teacher. At that point in life, I was married to my husband Levi and was attending Utah Valley University, where I got my undergraduate degree. I applied for the Biology Education program at UVU and was accepted. Yay! On my first day in the program, I knew it wasn’t for me. That night I told my husband I wanted out. Come again? “But you’ve only given it one day,” he said. It was one of those moments when you can’t explain why, but you just know. After that, I’ll admit, I didn’t have a solid plan. I was working as a customer service manager for a mail-order pharmacy. I was teaching English to students in China. I was still baking cakes for weddings here and there. But with each side job, I missed biology. One night, I found myself talking to my husband in our kitchen, washing dishes, when it clicked. I should go to medical school. Again, he was shocked. He wasn’t exactly dumbfounded — he knew how much I liked science – but I had literally zero experience in healthcare. But once I get a good idea in my head, I’m hard to dissuade. I am stubborn to a fault. I knew the path was ambitious. I knew I had a lot of work to do to be application-ready. However, with my new sense of purpose, I made a U-turn, which led me to “Ann.” “No! No! No!” Ann said while pointing at me. As I cautiously approached, I saw the panicked look in her eyes. I introduced myself as a hospice volunteer and asked if I could sit on the couch beside her. “No!” continued to be her reply. Ann’s daughter told me not to take her mother’s words personally due to her frontal-lobe dementia. “Yes” and “no” were the full extent of her vocabulary those days. Determined to gain her trust, I played the piano, drew in connect-the-dot books, and cooked her lunches week after week. I’ll never forget the day I was “in.” I asked if I could take her hand as she apprehensively stared at the stairs in front of her. “Yes!” Such a simple word, yet it was music to my ears. Driving home that day, I realized a couple of things. First, there is nothing more gratifying than comforting fellow humans in their most vulnerable moments. Second, I had chosen the right path. Becoming a doctor is my life’s calling. Applying to Noorda was a no-brainer. It is close to my current home in Lehi, Utah, where I live with my husband and our two King Charles Cavalier dogs, Rupert and Daphne. I adore them. From the convenience of location to the excitement of being a torchbearer at a new and innovative school, the breadth of Noorda’s appeal meant that I would be set up for a successful medical career. I believe the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine was founded on the idea that medical education does not have to be torturous. Rather, it should be suitable for the modern student. The mother with a family. The athlete who runs professionally. The dessert person obsessed with baking brioche. Although it is still early in my medical school career, I am highly considering family medicine. When I ask myself, “what do I want to accomplish as a physician?” I think of being someone who provides the foundation for people to live their healthiest lives. In French cooking, there are four “mother sauces.” If you master the mother sauces, you can make nearly anything. I suspect family medicine would be like the mother recipe in healthcare. Patients in all stages of life — exciting or scary — would come to rely on and trust in me again and again. Although it is still early in my medical school career, I am highly considering family medicine. When I ask myself, “what do I want to accomplish as a physician?” I think of being someone who provides the foundation for people to live their healthiest lives. In French cooking, there are four “mother sauces.” If you master the mother sauces, you can make nearly anything. Medical Student Spotlight| Continued from page 21 UtahAFP.org | 22
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