Perform competently in a professional setting.

Being professional is key to being a scientist and a future medical student. Many of the presentations, group interactions, etc. are often in a business casual setting, meaning being professional is expected. Understanding how to perform in this way is a key part to my future.

During my freshman year, I had many experiences with being professional. One of which being that I presented my independent research, with another student, at a science conference over the summer. This was an amazing experience, and definitely taught me how to perform in a professional setting. We also performed this research during Longwood’s research and inquiry showcase before that conference, which was good practice for it. Below is a picture of me and the other student with our poster presentation at Longwood’s showcase.

One of the more recent times that I had to be professional was when presenting at another conference with my senior thesis research. Unfortunately I had pre-recorded this presentation and was on a zoom call, but I still dressed the part and answered questions professionally as well. The youtube link to this research can also be found below along with a picture of myself that I took that day showcasing my professional outfit.

You can see between the two images that I didn’t just grow with my professional outfits, but I also grew in how to speak professionally. During my freshman year, going to a conference was a new and exciting, but also nerve-wracking since I was a freshman going to a conference. I ended up doing a good job, but I perform even better now and the nerves aren’t as bad when doing this performance.

In my future as a doctor, being professional is always expected, and acting any differently would be detrimental to my doctor-patient relationship. Even dressing the part is important. Learning these kinds of skills at Longwood, and growing in that aspect, was a amazing and helped me to learn more about being professional.