Personal Narrative: How Microorganism Changed My Life

At the age of 13, shortly after the death of my grandmother, I experienced an existential crisis. I pondered the meaning life and at the time the inconsequentialness of our life on the pale blue dot in the vast cosmos. Life seemed pointless when the reality of death constantly loomed. From biology classes I took in high school, I learned about microorganisms and there found the answers I had been seeking. The parallels between my life and these organisms were astounding. Although these microorganisms lived relatively short lives and seemed inconsequential they made a huge difference in the vast ecosystems they inhabited: either causing it to flourish or decline. My life gained new meaning. I realized my actions, however little while I lived,
Coming from a humble bucolic family luck finally shone my way when my mother won an American lottery which enabled her to start the immigration process for her and my family; it changed our lives. Following my newly found purpose and a new opportunity at life, I applied to volunteer for the courier unit at the Hackensack University Medical Center shortly after we moved. My time there further cemented my philosophy and shaped my aspirations. I got acquainted with Maria, one of the patients at the hospital, fighting a losing battle with a metastasized breast cancer. She often broke down in tears while she spoke of the pain of chemotherapy and the loss of self-esteem from losing her breasts and her hair. The cancer not only took a toll on her but on her family as well. I was strongly moved by the experience and at some point during our conversations seeds of curiosity and interest in cancer were sown and I learned as much as I could about the disease from TEDtalks, articles, and conversations with other patients. Two years later while in college, my appreciation for biology, my philosophy developed from that and my experiences from volunteering influenced my decision to pursue a career in
The institute which is joined to the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital offered a unique opportunity to visit and interact with cancer patients. Witnessing firsthand how the collective efforts of everyone at the institute was making a difference in the lives of patients touched me and convinced me without a doubt that this was what I wanted. Currently, with the guidance of my lab mentor, I’m working on developing a suitable biomarker to detect drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer patients after successful treatment with erlotinib, a drug used to treat patients with epidermal growth factor resistant patients. I’m hopeful that my work will help another live longer to do what they can for their families and