How do you manage to stay balanced and healthy in spite of the busy med school schedule? 

Medical school is certainly huge and worthwhile commitment, but I have tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle with a balanced perspective and thoughtful priorities. I have taken up a regular yoga practice, which has helped me feel physically and emotionally balanced. I have also become involved with coaching basketball and swimming for Special Olympics of Orange County. The time I spend with the athletes on my teams is incredibly rejuvenating and joyful. I’ve also found that reading for pleasure in a book club and cooking for friends are great ways to balance the busy study schedule of medical school.

What’s the most important piece of advice you would give to an incoming MS1?

The admissions committee selected you to come to medical school at UNC because the could see your ability to become a competent and empathetic physician, not because they thought you would do well on a particular exam or excel in one block or another. Remember, if you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed out, that you are here for a reason beyond passing a test. Our curriculum is designed to allow you the flexibility to pursue passions and hobbies that make you feel fulfilled while engaging with the material enough to pass exams—but you never need to ace an exam. So enjoy the freedom extended to you by this system, and feel comforted with the knowledge that your classmates and faculty are confident in your ability to make a great doctor one day.

What is your favorite artery, organ, or nerve; and why?

I like the cutaneous branches of the second thoracic spinal nerve because they are responsible for lots of laughter from a very ticklish arm region.

Tell us one of your favorite memories from your first year of med school in the form of a haiku!

I’m the only girl
Dissecting spermatic cord
With cringing lab mates

Tell us your favorite joke.

What did the fish say when it swam into a wall?

Dam!

If you had a theme song that played every time you entered a room, what would it be?

Lovely Rita, by the Beatles. I’ve met very few people with my name, so having a song with my name in it (and a great song, at that) makes me really happy.