School, school, and more school. Ever since I was a young girl I was taught that the majority of my life would be centered around school because I had dreams of becoming a doctor. This became much more of a reality once I began applying to colleges at the beginning of my senior year at LWW in 2016.

In high school, I was a busy student. I was a three-sport athlete, and I was a member of the orchestra in addition to several different clubs. LWW had prepared me for college and for life with regards to time management and becoming a well-rounded adult. I sent out upwards of fifteen applications to different schools, and ended up deciding to go to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and psychology (shout-out to Mrs. Laack and Mrs. Krippel). During my undergraduate years, I earned my EMT-B certification, earned upwards of 100 shadowing hours, and volunteered at the hospital near campus. I quickly learned that applying to medical school required me to be the “perfect” student.

After my graduation from U of I, I applied to medical school twice, and twice I was rejected. Of course, as most students at LWW can relate, my morale began to diminish, and I began to feel disappointed in myself. I began to doubt myself and second guess my decision to pursue medicine. However, I decided to take their feedback and continue to improve my candidacy as a medical student.

Currently, I’m earning my Master of Science degree in molecular and cellular biology and working on enhancing my academic maturity. I’m happy with the path that my life has taken and the lessons that I’ve learned from LWW and the experiences I’ve been through. I feel with every obstacle I encounter, I become more resilient. I can’t wait to one day become Dr. Tanquilut!