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statement
As my dad tightened the drawstrings of my oversized scrubs, I could tell his enthusiasm far outweighed mine. He and my mom were grinning from ear to ear at the sight of me in their work uniform. Meanwhile, I stewed with jealousy that I wouldn’t have as cool an outfit as my friend Jacob on Career Day: his dad was a firefighter. This was not the first or last time my parents’ profession of physician would fail to impress, if not outright disappoint me. I was too young to understand why they would miss my soccer games or be so exhausted on weekends...
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ANSWER
How would you manage a situation where a family member or close friend made a sexist, racist, or prejudiced comment in your presence?
I’m unfortunately familiar with how to handle insensitive comments from those I love, as I’ve dealt with my grandfather’s prejudices. Though I recognize that older generations’ generalizations were bred in a world of segregation, I still believe it is my responsibility to set an example and intervene. In several instances, my grandfather has told stories at the dinner table that were racist in manner and did not make me feel comfortable...
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Discuss a time in your life in which you have failed at something other than an academic experience. How did you confront the failure and what did you learn from it? Please describe how you typically approach challenges that you face in your life.
While an organic chemistry TA, my professor assigned me a group of students who had recently failed their first exam. I took my responsibilities very seriously, meeting with this group twice a week or more. Thus, I was annoyed when one of my students, “Michelle” didn’t treat our meetings with the same level of gravitas. Her attendance was spotty, and when she was present, she often derailed the group’s discussion with small talk. After a particularly unproductive meeting, I pulled her aside and said...