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Dear Future Bruin…

Hello Everybody!

My name is Hedieh (she/her/hers) and I am a third year Biochemistry major from
San Diego, California. Being admitted to UCLA was a huge accomplishment of
mine, and since the moment I read the acceptance letter, I knew I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity I could get my hands on through this school.

It all started on a random day in the winter quarter of my freshman year. I was on my way to class when a flyer was swung at me as I walked past a club advertising their pre-health research conference. I took the flyer, read it, and marked it in my calendar to remember to go.

At the actual event, I got to talking with presenters at their different booths. Some
students were presenting their research, other tables had representatives from graduate and medical schools there to answer questions. As I was making my rounds, I ran into one of my old biochemistry professors. After a lengthy conversation, I asked him if his research lab was taking undergraduates. While I was initially disappointed when he said he was not, he did inform me of other labs he knew were taking undergraduates. Though I went to the conference not knowing what I would get out of it, I left that experience with a newly gained network connection.

Another opportunity I took advantage of at UCLA was the proximity of the Ronald
Reagan UCLA hospital. In search of volunteer work, I was able to find a volunteer
program called Care Extenders that took place in the hospital. My duties were mainly to assist the nurses and I found a great interest in seeing how the units I worked in functioned in the background. One of the more interesting scenarios I got to assist with was when a patient needed to be brought down to the bottom
floor for an emergency CT scan. Helping navigate the bed around corners and elevators in a timely manner earned me the trust of the nurse I was helping.

As I progressed through the program, I got closer to that nurse I had gotten to work with. She began trusting me with more tasks after the CT patient. When it was time to switch units, she offered to write me a letter of recommendation for whenever I would need it. All in all, I have UCLA to thank for presenting me with the opportunities that have allowed me to explore my interests and career goals.