By John DiVittorio, Senior, Biological Sciences Major, Chemistry Minor
First off, let me just say that I love school and I really enjoy learning new things every day. I am going to be a senior pursuing a major in Biological Sciences and a minor in Chemistry. I clearly have a passion for the sciences and I would like to continue an education in medical school after I graduate. For my personal post-grad dreams I would first have to accomplish a lot during my time at Chapman and thankfully it is a school that encompasses a variety of resources and opportunities to guide me to be the best applicant I can be. The resourcefulness of Chapman’s academic life is what has helped me the most and what I appreciate so much.
Before I started my freshman year, I was jumping for joy at the idea of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. I still do feel this way today, but the difference is that three years ago I truly had very little knowledge of what that actually entailed, besides people joking that “you’ll be in school until you’re dead.” Once becoming apart of the Chapman community, I joined pre-med clubs that advised on application processes and the best way to get into your dream school. I had upperclassmen that acted as mentors in answering every question I could think of without any hesitation. I utilized professor’s office hours and mentoring hours in order to make, revise, and revise again my four year plan until I had all of my classes planned out. I took classes that challenged my knowledge, critical thinking, and work ethic to prepare me for more difficult course work in the future.
The list goes on and on of all of the resources I utilized in Chapman’s academia in order to set me up for the best future I could dream of, but what I really want to emphasize is that this is not specific to just Biological Science majors who want to go to medical school after graduation. These resources occur in every major, though sometimes slightly different, and can be used to plan for any future in any field.
Sometimes the thought of joining a new club or talking to a teacher that you barely know can seem intimidating. My recommendation for this is to utilize your peers who are in the same boat as you. The amount of information about medical school that I have obtained from my peers is priceless and was done so almost effortlessly. Every new student coming to Chapman this year will have Orientation Leaders (OLs) who likely have very similar academic interests, and who are not only very knowledgeable, but also have a huge desire to lend their advice to anyone who wants it. I became close with my OL and we are still friends to this day. He has been a mentor and a role model to me these past three years. These OLs are students who work extremely hard to make the transition into college academia, and life, as smooth and comfortable as possible, so if you are having trouble deciding where to start on your academic resource journey, I would advise starting with some of the first Chapman students you will meet, you won’t regret it—I sure didn’t!
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