A Life Devoted To Helping Others: A Sample Personal Statement For Inspiration & Mimicking

What is the meaning of life? Throughout history, people have asked themselves this question, coming to answers that vary greatly. In my case, I have seen that helping others is my true calling. In my personal history, there have been many significant events that have led me towards one path; particularly, some have had to do with my African ancestors, including my grandfather’s very impacting death. From my volunteer experiences, I have learnt the value and personal satisfaction that come with lending a helping hand to those in need. Then, after working at a hospital, I saw that I could aid other people in an extraordinary way through the profession of medicine.
I was born in Accra, Ghana and immigrated to America at age 5. In general, Ghana has limited resources when compared to America, including healthcare. I experienced this when I visited because my grandfather was sick, the lack of resources in the hospital he was staying in being astounding. It was very painful and shocking to see my father constantly receiving advice from friends who work in American healthcare to help treat his father, because the patient was not improving with the treatment in this African country. He died within six months after the onset of illness, something that was very painful for my whole family, and for me at a personal level. It was pretty obvious that my grandfather would have had a greater chance of survival had he been in the care of American doctors. This led me to realize that this is something that I could do the rest of my life, not just to give it personal meaning, but to aid others, as well. Between that personal experience and my love and success in mathematics and sciences all throughout school, I knew that healthcare was a field that I wanted to be in, working hard to achieve this goal.
One of my first meaningful experiences in helping others was as a volunteer to Franklin County Children Services Malaika program. I was a mentor to two underprivileged African American seven-year old sisters. I am very proud of my African heritage and it was very significant and emotional for me to be able to give back to this culture that had given me so much. This was a very important chance because it allowed me to see the impact that my actions begot, something that one does not necessarily always see as a medical doctor.
Throughout high school I began to shadow family doctors, volunteer in hospitals and in hospice care. For example, I shadowed Dr. Earl Walker, a dermatologist, once a week for 8 weeks. For the first time in my life I had an opportunity the see a doctor’s life from the inside, including how to treat patients, diagnose, give advice, address health threatening concerns, perform small surgical procedures in office, etc. This was a very important experience for me, as it consolidated the way that I related to the world. I saw how he helped people out, completely changing their lives, something that was really miraculous. I finally saw that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life: help people out through the power of medicine.
Furthermore, hospice care showed me a side of healthcare that I had overlooked. This showed me that to be a successful healthcare provider, one needs to have compassion. Patients are humans and person-to-person empathy during sickness is just as important as administering medicine and the other more scientific aspects of health care. In this sense, volunteering in the kitchen of Mt Carmel St Ann’s Hospital gave me a chance to interact with the suffering and gave me experience in a hospital setting. I also performed research at Ohio State School for the blind with Dr. Irene Hatsu. There, the research purpose was to provide nutrition intervention and education for the disadvantaged. I saw that the potential was almost infinite; if I could have such an impact as only a volunteer in the kitchen, what could I do as a medical doctor? For the time being, I am an Undergraduate Social Work volunteer at Columbus Free Clinic. After communication with those people I also mentioned that they were more ready to fight for their health, which is an important element in a curing process. I realized how it was important to help patient not only with medicine but also to support them spiritually, showing them perspectives for future, making them forget about their illnesses at least for a minute.
I continued these volunteer experiences throughout college, but had many road bumps which in the end showed just how significant being a doctor was for me and how motivated I was. Due to personal issues, I struggled in school. Between spending 4 months sleeping on a friend’s couch and working up to 40 hours a week to make ends meet, my grades did not reflect the amazing potential, dedication and motivation that I had. This made me almost gave up my dream of becoming a doctor.
It was then that I traveled to Malawi to volunteer in Africa again. There, I was once again reminded of my grandfather, African healthcare and my hospice experience and I saw that my petty life struggles would not make me a terrible doctor, but an even greater one. Volunteering in an AIDS clinic reminded me that even a little help could go a long way in this profession.
In this sense, even though my background and volunteering experiences showed me the importance of helping disadvantaged people out, it was only through actual health care experience that that led me towards the desire to be a medical doctor, propelled by my African heritage, including my beloved grandfather. From the beginning, I worked with underprivileged populations and saw how important and consequential my interventions could be. Given my African ascendants, I know that it is crucial to help the underprivileged out, something that many people are not aware of. Then, working in a hospital allowed me to get a feel for the people that live there, seeing the importance that any grain of sand can make for them. As one can see, my whole life has been motivation towards finally being a medical doctor.