This blog post examines why experience running a medical volunteer club enhances the credibility of biomedical engineering applicants. It specifically explains how field understanding, responsibility, and collaboration skills connect to major suitability.
Academic Experience and Reflections
“Cell, Tissue, Molecular Biology, and Neuroscience Exploration”
My first encounter with terms like ‘cells’ and “nerves” was through General Science. While studying General Science in my first year of high school, I developed a deep interest in the life science unit, which led me to study life sciences in depth. I also selected Life Sciences for the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test). To study the elective subjects more smoothly, I started early and progressed ahead of schedule. While most students study Life Sciences 2 later, I studied both Life Sciences 1 and 2 simultaneously, using this approach for previewing material. This became my secret to learning science research.
Meanwhile, I studied using textbooks as a foundation to acquire basic knowledge and read reference books. Especially for science research, textbooks alone were insufficient. So, I sought out and read the reference books listed in the textbooks to fill gaps in my understanding, striving to gain more knowledge about cells, tissues, molecular biology, and neuroscience. I first aimed to grasp cells in detail, understanding that cells are fundamentally enclosed by a lipid membrane and that the cellular molecules within them work together to form the society that is the human body. Describing it this way broadened my understanding beyond the textbook’s explanation.
After grasping the characteristics of cells, tissues, and the human body’s structure, I explored proteins. Proteins are essential for organ function; when unraveled, they resemble a string or chain forming a three-dimensional shape. We also explored why they adopt this shape. Next, we studied the information-carrying molecules used for communication between cells. We learned that miscommunication can sometimes lead to conditions like obesity, diabetes, and even cancer, and gained knowledge about the types of drugs used to correct this communication. In the genetics section, we studied antibody genes, DNA and RNA, the relationship between genes and genetic diseases, and personalized medicine tailored to gene characteristics. Studying these topics rekindled my interest in basic medical science.
Writing about major school activities and reflections
“Planning medical volunteer group activities at the class level”
Upon entering my sophomore year of high school, new interests emerged, leading me to decide I needed to create a club myself—specifically focused on medical activities. My interest in the medical field, along with my fascination with the technology and engineering involved in disease treatment, solidified my resolve to engage in medical volunteer work. To put this resolve into action, I wanted to join a club. However, since club recruitment had already concluded for sophomores, I decided to found a new club.
While most clubs typically recruit first-year students, my club targeted second-year students. I aimed for peers interested in the medical field who had career plans in medicine and gathered those eager for volunteer work. Coincidentally, my class was in the science track and had chosen the biotechnology course, so many classmates intended to major in medical fields. This allowed us to form the club within our class and recruit members.
I was delighted that many friends shared my vision for the club. To honor their support, I planned diverse activities. We decided on every volunteer activity through discussions with friends, holding meetings for that purpose. We even created a meeting procedure specifically for volunteering. We registered our individual information with volunteer organizations to receive activity introductions. Furthermore, we created a community platform to share details like participant numbers and schedules for the introduced activities with everyone. The entire process, records, and outcomes of every meeting were shared on this community platform, ensuring no single member felt left out.
Even when planning a single volunteer activity, we meticulously documented the process and finalized details through meetings. We made efforts to incorporate all opinions, even when a minority view was expressed. For instance, on one occasion, we planned to provide medical volunteer services at a local senior welfare center. This involved assisting with various tasks needed at the clinic while doctors and nurses operated a free clinic. During this planning, one member suggested preparing a small performance, and another proposed bringing cleaning tools in advance. In practice, the volunteer site required many cleaning tools, as well as disinfectants and antibacterial products for hygiene.
Since we had more members than the number of products provided, our preparation proved highly effective. Because we conducted our volunteer activities by reflecting each member’s input and thoughtful suggestions like this, our club received very high praise on-site. Doctors and nurses even commented that the free clinic operated smoothly thanks to us. Consequently, the more medical volunteer work we did, the more rewarding it felt, and the more we repeated the activities, the more we strived to be helpful to those around us. As the club leader, I particularly found great joy and fulfillment in expanding the scale of our activities.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
“Conducting a Campaign for Cancer Prevention in Daily Life”
Since joining the medical volunteer club in my second year of high school, I’ve come to understand how crucial efforts to prevent cancer in daily life truly are. I also learned that many diseases, beyond just cancer, can be sufficiently prevented simply by improving daily habits or dietary patterns. This made me realize that rather than keeping this information to myself, I needed to spread it widely to those around me. In reality, many people are vulnerable when it comes to medical benefits, systems, and information, and students especially often don’t fully grasp the importance of health management during their formative years. So, we first launched a campaign within our school to improve students’ daily habits.
The name of the campaign we started was ‘Cancer Prevention in Daily Life’. Our first decision was the type and format of promotional materials. We considered how to effectively convey the message and decided to hold a slogan and poster contest within the school. We pooled club activity funds to offer prizes for the contest and collected slogans reflecting diverse perspectives. Examples of winning slogans included ‘Eat food that isn’t salty or fried’ and ‘Run for 30 minutes, at least 5 times a week’. We incorporated the selected slogans into posters, creating promotional materials that were easy to hear and read.
The promotional materials were displayed at a temporary booth set up for the campaign. We also placed picket signs outside the booth, allowing people to read the large text and understand the content. Since the content was specifically targeted at students, we included methods for maintaining a healthy weight appropriate for one’s body type and introduced efforts to improve eating habits, such as eating plenty of vegetables and fruits and creating a diverse diet. Additionally, we encouraged quitting harmful smoking habits from childhood and provided guidance on avoiding secondhand smoke. We also noted efforts like getting regular health checkups and receiving hepatitis B vaccinations in advance, striving to improve student awareness through collaboration.
Motivation for Application and Future Career Plans
“Graduate School Admission for Biomedical Engineering Technology Research”
I established concrete career plans starting in my second year of high school. It began with a small spark of interest. Seeing people dedicated to developing biomedical technology through media coverage was the catalyst. I wanted to become someone who contributes to treating society’s illnesses and decided to become a specialized technician with knowledge in medicine and nursing. Therefore, to become a leader in biomedical engineering technology, I researched biomedical engineering departments and confirmed that Konyang University offered such a program, leading me to apply.
If I am accepted into Konyang University’s Biomedical Engineering Department, I will study with the goal of advancing to graduate school to pursue a master’s degree. Biomedical engineering itself is a highly specialized field at the intersection of technology and mechanical engineering, requiring substantial medical knowledge. In such a field, undergraduate-level studies alone will likely prove insufficient. Therefore, I intend to pursue graduate-level learning beyond the undergraduate scope. At the graduate level, I plan to join a research laboratory focused on targeted therapies for laser treatment of neural tissue. Targeted therapy is an area I have consistently researched and gathered information on since developing an interest in medicine. When setting the goal of cancer treatment, targeted therapy research represents the most cutting-edge technology available.
Cancer treatment in the modern era remains a formidable challenge, and a definitive solution has yet to emerge. Targeted therapy, however, is a treatment that extends survival in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. It involves the use of targeted drugs that block or interfere with tumor growth. This approach is recognized as an effective treatment against many types of cancer. Therefore, I aspire to work as a research assistant in a graduate lab deeply engaged in this field of research. To achieve this, I will diligently complete all required undergraduate major courses. Furthermore, I aim to grow into a researcher capable of conducting specialized studies, such as research targeting cancer stem cells.
