Eighteen-year-old Adina Reyes-Williams has dreamed of becoming a doctor for as long as she can remember. She recently graduated from high school and, starting this fall, she will be pursuing post-secondary education to complete her prerequisites for medical school. Below, Adina shares her story and motivation for pursuing a career in health care.
I was only five years old when I thought about becoming a doctor. It was a thought I’d been holding onto for a long time. Finally, at my preschool graduation, we had to announce what we wanted to become when we grew up. It was then when I announced to the world that I wanted to become a doctor.
In the last year or so, I’ve done much research on what it takes to become a doctor. Honestly, it’s overwhelming! Nevertheless I’ve never lost the motivation to become a doctor.
“I aspire to become a doctor so that I can make a positive change.” – Adina Reyes-Williams, Squamish Nation
With hard work, passion, and determination, I believe that I can achieve my dream of becoming a successful doctor. I am not afraid to take on new challenges, and when I discovered that, that’s when I convinced myself that becoming a doctor wasn’t an impossible dream.
Encouragement goes a long way. I simply want to be encouraged throughout my education. As to being valued as an Aboriginal student, I want to be able to share my culture. Last year, my vice principal asked me to do a First Nations opening prayer for our grad ceremony. It really made me feel valued as a First Nations student.
I feel that it is extremely important to give back to my community. If it wasn’t for the endless amount if encouragement from my family, my educators at Sutherland Secondary, and my community of the Squamish Nation, I wouldn’t have the confidence to continue on with my journey. I dream of coming back and making all aboriginal communities cancer free and diabetic free. Perhaps some just need to be educated on ways to prevent it. Perhaps it may take a little more. Whatever the case, I want to help make Aboriginal communities the healthiest they can possibly be!