If applying to Harvard University was never Natalie A.’s plan, imagine her shock when she was accepted.
“The sky’s the limit,” she said, echoing her father’s words of encouragement. Looking to the future, Natalie reflects on the lessons that Bryan Adams High School Leadership Academy taught her, unlocking opportunities she once thought were out of reach.
“I know that no matter where life takes me, I’ll always carry the lessons and values instilled in me at Bryan Adams High School,” she said.
Natalie thrived at Bryan Adams, balancing academics, leadership roles, and extracurricular activities. She is a member of the National Honor Society, National Academy Foundation, chess club, and serves as her senior class’s council historian.
She credits her parents, who did not pursue higher education, for ingraining the value of learning and the importance of seizing opportunities.
“The one thing they always expected of me was to get an education,” she said. “They always regretted not going to college because they didn’t have the guidance I have now from teachers and advisors.”
In addition to her extracurricular activities and working part time, Natalie also participated in the South Korea Study Abroad program with CIEE K-Pop Immersion in Seoul. She says it was a transformative experience and is what inspired her to apply to Harvard.
“Seeing the beautiful culture of South Korea, it sparked an interest in meeting people from other cultures,” Natalie said. “I needed to branch out from my neighborhood to experience that, and that is what I kept in mind when I started exploring my higher education options.”
Despite her initial doubts and fears of rejection, she was met with encouragement by her parents and teachers, who never doubted her abilities and pushed her to take a chance and apply. When her acceptance letter arrived, Natalie’s excitement was indescribable.
Now, on the cusp of her Harvard journey, Natalie is set to pursue a major in chemistry and plans to become an anesthesiologist.
Her passion for the medical field was ignited during childhood when she went to work with her mother, who was a medical assistant.
After witnessing the palpable fear among people from her culture when visiting doctors’ offices, Natalie aspires to make a difference by becoming a physician herself. She believes that representation in healthcare will alleviate anxieties and encourage the Latino community to confide in medical professionals and seek assistance when necessary.
Eager to embrace the opportunities at Harvard, Natalie looks forward to learning from diverse perspectives and making a positive impact in the world.
“I hope that I can be a sense of relief to those that come to seek medical assistance by seeing someone that looks just like them.”
