Life After Mac: Real stories of alumni finding their way — Neha
I have always been a planner and known what the next step was. As far back as I can remember, I have been set on a career in medicine. I started my education at York University, where I majored in Biomedical Science, with a plan to apply to medical school after. In my fourth year, I stumbled on a course in the Sociology department titled Health Systems in the Global Society. It was an introductory level course with a reputation for being difficult. I loved every minute of it. I then decided I would apply to the one Global Health graduate program in the country, at McMaster University. I figured if I didn’t get in, I could use the gap year to gain experience through a job in research or healthcare.
I was simultaneously also working on medical school applications at the time, ensuring I had all the necessary components from research and extracurricular involvement to dedicated volunteer work. I had to figure it out as I went, as I didn’t have a mentor or even friends who were on the same path as me. At the time, I had professors who wrote my letters of recommendation tell me how competitive it was, and not to get my hopes up too high. By no means was I a perfect applicant, but I was passionate and determined.
Slowly, rejections started rolling in. I was finishing my very last course, a field research experience. That is how I found myself sitting on a bench at a nature reserve in northern California with no idea of what I was going back to in September, for the very first time in 22 years. I had to come to terms with the uncertainty of not knowing what was coming next and find genuine acceptance and peace in it.
Two weeks before the start of the program, I was taken off the wait-list and accepted to the Masters of Science in Global Health. My first day at McMaster University, I pulled into a parking lot on campus and cried tears of joy. The program took me from Hamilton to Maastricht, where I completed an exchange semester and traveled the continent every weekend, and ultimately to South India and Nepal. In so many ways, this program has changed my life. It taught me how to think critically, understand the world we live in, and see the intersections between politics and public health.
A month into my masters, I was accepted to start medical school the following year in the United States. I applied to about 15 schools, went to 1 interview and knew it was exactly where I wanted to be. The last few years have been the most challenging yet gratifying years of my life. Now, I am 8 months out from graduating, and applying to residency programs across the country. I hope to merge my interests in global health with medicine and pursue a fellowship in infectious diseases. One of my favourite quotes that I often think back to is, “Be open to it being way better then you imagined”. You have to dare to dream, and you have to believe in yourself, because no one else will do it for you. I remind myself of this now as I embark on a new journey, and am incredibly excited for the next chapter!
Neha Saini
MSc Global Health ‘17
