Zachary Bay
Zachary Bay
Current Year: M3
Hometown: West Bloomfield, Michigan
Undergrad: University of Michigan
Advice
Find a place where you fit in and go. For example, I liked NU because of its great international programs, its active student groups, and the diversity of the Chicago community.
Life in Chicago
I really enjoy life in Chicago. One thing that I appreciate specifically is that you can go from the Westside in a primarily Spanish-speaking population, head north and reach a mostly Polish-speaking population and go south to reach a predominantly Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) -speaking population in Chinatown. The importance of this to me is a very clear display of the diversity of Chicago – the confluence of many different cultures and religions which speak different languages and have different traditions. Why is this great? I believe that diversity has the potential to lead to understanding and acceptance between people who would normally have no reason to interact. And I don’t think that there is any better place in the world to see this extent of cultural diversity and acceptance.
Why Feinberg?
I chose Northwestern, not only for its prestigious reputation, but because of its location in downtown Chicago. The diversity of people in Chicago leads to many different options to volunteer and to serve. One of the most important things to me is to be able to reach out to people who I would not normally have the opportunity to interact with.
NU also has amazing Global Health programs. I would really like to volunteer abroad after my 3rd year and do a clinical rotation abroad and NU provides many opportunities with our international partners to do this.
Classmates
I am not going to lie. There are some people who are very silly. There are some people who I don’t know if I could ever see eye to eye with. But, rather than finding this as a negative, I find it as a great positive. Disagreement has led me to really think about what I believe and this challenge has strengthened my beliefs about how I choose to live my life.
That being said, the majority of my class is not like this. I get along very well with 99% of them. And I’ve had the chance to volunteer or study or just spend time with many of them. For the most part, they are genuine, sincere and devoted to helping those in need.
Experiences with patients
Working with people is the reason I wanted to become a doctor. The first time I walked into a patient room (at one of the clinics that NU students volunteer at), I was very nervous. But I soon realized there was no reason to be. My studies and my classes had prepared me well on how to interview and work with patients.
Career Goals
My only goal with medicine is to serve people by giving them what I consider a basic necessity. I hope to one day serve an underserved population that would not otherwise receive care.
Involvement inside and outside of school
Clubs I’m involved with and what I do:
- NLVS: Student-run clinic: President
- NU-AID: Student international volunteer group: I help to plan the health fairs we hold here in Chicago.
- AMSA: Student-run group devoted to social justice and serving the underserved: President
- CMA: Christian Medical Association: Christian fellowship member
- Patient Perspectives: NU opportunity to interview patients during the first year: participant of the PP Psych program.
- Volunteer at free clinics: Community Health Clinic, Devon Clinic, NLVS Clinic, Chinatown Clinic.
- Dialogue Group member – students get together to talk about difficult issues in medicine especially those that have to do with diversity.
This page last updated Sep 13, 2011