Introduction

Hi guys! I am so happy that you are here and interested in my journey to medical school. My name is Denise and I am a single mom of two beautiful children ages 7 and 9. I was born and raised in NYC but I currently reside in NJ. 

I am a licensed nail technician. Being a nail technician can be very tiring as it involves long hours of work. 

On my free time I usually like to relax, watch Netflix, spend time with family and brainstorm ways I can move forward to achieve my goals. 

I am an alumna of CUNY York where I obtained a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology. My education journey has been a long, rocky one. I started college at the age of 17 (2003). At 18 I moved out on my own and had to attend school part-time and sometimes I would even skip a semester. 

In January 2014 I finally completed my Bachelor's program. 

It took me 11 years! 

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When did your dream of becoming a doctor begin?

Honestly, as a child I was always the "pediatrician" during pretend play. I didn't really know what this entailed I just knew thats what I was at the moment. When I entered high school I was in the "health" program. It was just title because I don't recall doing anything health related or having any activities that supported health careers. However, my goal was to apply to college and complete the Nursing program. 

As things got hectic at home, I decided to move out and continue working a retail job while I went to school. Living in NYC is expensive and I had to work many hours to survive, consequently pushing school work aside. I finally graduated Bronx Community College in June 2012 with an Associates of Arts in Liberal Arts. 

In 2011 is when I decided I wanted to take this grueling journey, little did I know exactly what I signed up for. Summer of 2012 I found out that I was pregnant with my daughter, I continued to go to school pregnant and even after I gave birth. I only took about a week off from school to recover and spend a little time with my daughter. Having a child didn't deter me from following my dreams but I did take a 6-year break to focus on raising my children and making sure they weren't being neglected by me. 

Fast forward to 2019, something was missing in my life and I needed more. I decided to look up schools near my home and found a community college that offered the basic pre-requisites for medical school. I started my DIY Post Bacc in Fall 2019. I took General Chemistry I and after a long, stressful semester I earned an A in the course. Chemistry is one of those subjects that I just dread. However, I was determined to pass with a B or higher. I did all the homework assigned, went to every single lab (prepared), watched countless YouTube videos on the lessons assigned, woke up early and went to sleep late. Needless to say, it was all worth it.