Ewomamobuho Eto '17

Your Name: Ewomamobuho Eto

Graduation Year: 2017

Major: Biology

Your Story: Growing up in Nigeria, I attended a high school which was a closely knit community with less than 300 hundred students. So when it was time to apply for college, Gustavus was on the very top of my list because it had most of the values that I cherished in my high school. I started Gustavus in the Spring semester of 2014. This was a huge change for me. Not only was I moving to a different country, this was also my first time experiencing the cold Minnesota winters. The educational system was different than I was used to and it took some time and effort to adjust to it.

I spent my time at Gustavus engaging in activities that were of interest to me. I built meaningful relationships and connections with students, staff and faculty which I still maintain to this day. I developed a huge interest in healthcare and this made me decide to get a degree in Biology. Although I knew I wanted to work in healthcare, I wasn’t sure what aspect of healthcare I was interested in. After graduation, I decided to work as a medical scribe. I scribed for a year and this was a very meaningful opportunity. It gave me insight into the physician-patient relationship. This experience made me decide to apply to medical school. After scribing, I also worked with health insurance companies in order to understand the dynamic between insurance companies and physicians. By doing this, I was able to understand how physicians made their decisions on which treatment plan to implement for their patient, especially if there were multiple treatment options for the diagnosis. I also learned some of the main reasons why insurance companies deny coverage for some treatment plans that were prescribed by physicians.

Top Five Activities/Experiences: (in no particular order)

1. Januar Interim term Independent Chemistry Research course

2.Volunteering at the Mayo Clinic Emergency Department

3.Intramural Soccer team captain

4.Member of Pan African Student Organization

5.Christmas in Christ Chapel

Advice:

1. For pre-medical or biology students who are not sure of what career path to take I would recommend they engage in shadowing programs in areas they might be interested in. Applying to jobs and working in healthcare areas where they might be interested in can also be very beneficial in deciding your path. Working as a medical scribe helped me decide that I wanted to be a physician.

2. Make good use of the relationships and the connections you have made when seeking any opportunity. You never know which of your connections might be looking for your skill set or knows someone who is.

3. Learn to enjoy the little victories by taking time to relax and engaging in activities that will take away the stress and help keep you prepared for the task ahead.

Future Plans: I will be attending Ross School of Medicine, Barbados, starting in September 2020. Currently, I am interested in Orthopedic Surgery/Sports medicine as my speciality because I love sports and I would like to work with athletes. There is a good chance I might change my mind, but until then, I am looking forward to being on the beautiful island of Barbados.