My name is Patricia Fuentes and I will be graduating in 2017, and I will be attending Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. Growing up, I always knew I wanted to pursue a higher education and I would work to attend an Ivy League school. I remember being in Dr. L’s class my freshman year and she asked us, “Who wants to go out of state for college?” and I quickly shot my hand up with conviction.
Throughout high school, I have always been enrolled in Honors, AICE, and AP courses while taking Dual Enrollment classes at night and during the summer. I always took the highest-level class that was available in school and went beyond to take classes that interested me at Miami Dade College. Alongside maintaining my academic record, I have always been involved in extracurricular activities that have been closely related to my interests. I feel that everyone should find what they love and do it with a passion. It is more significant to do a few activities that you are very involved in, rather than being in dozens of clubs that your involvement is very minimal. When I entered high school, I knew I wanted to be a part of HOSA: Future Health Professionals and after my freshman year, I became inspired to do everything I could with this club. I became very involved by competing in the regional, state, and international level while becoming the President by my Junior year. But, you must stand out and be original! I then found out about running for a State Officer position, a position that HGHS had never held. I became elected my Junior year as the first student from HGHS to be in the Florida HOSA State team.
I want to become a neurosurgeon and I have always been extremely intrigued by the field of Neurology. The summer of sophomore year, I received the opportunity to shadow a neurologist from Palmetto Regional Hospital where I went on rounds, spoke to patients, learned to set up an EEG, and read MRI scans. By the end of the summer, the doctor recommended me to a professor at Florida International University because I had expressed my interest in epileptic patients and research. At FIU, I had an interview with the professor and then he took me in to do research with epileptic patients in his lab. This became one of the most impactful experiences in my high school years because I became very involved with patients, professionals, and medical students. I experienced the world I wanted to work in as an aspiring neurosurgeon and was able to share this with the universities I applied to. During this time, I went on to present my research, learn from other students, and spend my time at the lab during the summer while attending meetings during the school year. I recommend that if you know what you want to pursue in the future, do things in high school that will show colleges that you are passionate for that field or profession and that you are passionate enough to experience it so young. Most of the time colleges receive essays from students claiming how much they want to do “so and so” when they grow up, but they never did anything in high school that resembled that passion. So, if you know what you love or if not, always participate in clubs or experiences that you will be able to speak about with a passion because admission officers will see that in your essays!
I went through the application process for QuestBridge and that is how I was accepted in Princeton University with a full ride scholarship. I began this journey towards the end of my junior year when I applied to become a QuestBridge College Prep-Scholar and I was chosen! Then, I continued the application until the matching process and was fortunately matched to Princeton. I was also a part of the POSSE Miami group and was matched to Pomona College, but I opted out of this program before it became binding. However, this could be a great option for many because the schools POSSE offers are all great and could potentially be your dream school (even though they weren’t mine)!
At Princeton, I am planning to major in Biomedical Engineering because after working at FIU I realized I not only had a passion for medicine but I have a curiosity for subjects such as physics! My time in high school is quickly ending and I cannot wait to embark on this new journey ahead; however, reaching this point was not easy, I have had to sacrifice a lot in high school to be where I am today. Sometimes there are things in high school that we think are the most important, but you must stay focused on your future goals and do everything in your power to make it happen!
