Alumni Spotlight

Brandon Tran’s journey since starting at UP has had, according to him, “lots of ups and downs”; he was not always sure about his future. He took it one day at a time, looking to just do the best he could in his courses. As he gradually started to gain more clarity about his decision to pursue medicine - and had a better grip on the academic side of college - he started really pursuing activities that were both enjoyable and meaningful. He played piano at a local assisted living facility, was an assistant coach for a nonprofit after-school soccer program, AC Portland, and tutored other UP students. He started a research project with Dr. Hall in Electrochemistry where he enjoyed his time with a lot of wet lab experiments and data analysis, and had the opportunity to present his research. He loved working in the lab, and many of the skills and experiences he had with research helped prepare him for the rigors of medical school. Early in his undergraduate years, he briefly volunteered at OHSU, refilling supplies, helping nurses with their errands, and keeping patient's company. During senior year and a gap year following graduation, he began to scribe at an emergency department, at which point he solidified his decision to pursue medicine. He was inspired by the confidence, intelligence, and leadership of the physicians he worked with, and the hospital environment energized him. Nothing motivates him more than being in the hospital, working with physicians, and seeing actual patients. He credits those clinical experiences as really being the final push and motivation for doing well on the MCAT, and spending hours upon hours perfecting his essays for the application. Keep on being amazing, Brandon!

1. Give a short description of your application process / tips for upcoming applicants.
Coming into Junior year of my time at UP, I knew I wanted to take a gap year for a variety of reasons. For one, I knew I wanted a break before I devote the next 8 years of life to school; it was unfortunate that that year coincided with COVID. But regardless, I still enjoyed the break from the grind that school can be. I also knew I wanted to gain more clinical experiences, mostly because I felt like the experiences I had at that point were not enough to really prepare myself for the rigors of medical school, and I wasn't quite sure I had a competitive enough application. On top of that, having a gap year allowed me to take the MCAT many months before I had to apply and write all my essays, so there was a lot of breathing room to do each step of the process rather than doing it all at once (on top of managing classes). My main tips for applying is to take your time to have a competitive application, submit as early as possible, show instead of tell, and most importantly, be yourself in every way you possibly can on your application!

2. How did your time at UP help you with your career choice, application, etc.? (involvement, academics, research, advising, etc.)
Some important things that UP helped me with in terms of my career choice was probably the faculty, especially the chemistry faculty. Being the small school that UP is, I came to meet, learn, and converse with every single one of the chemistry faculty and loved all of them in their own unique way. On top of being fantastic in teaching their respective fields, I found them to always have solid advice when it came to career decisions. There was a brief time where I was pretty unsure on if medicine was right for me, and through many conversations, they helped me figure out the right decision for me at the time, and I am happy that they did. They also prepared me pretty well for medical school so far! (though I'm just in the biochemistry and molecular biology block so far)

3. What are your favorite memories of UP / any highlights?
I've got two favorite moments at UP. My first isn't really a moment, but it's my entire research experience. From day one to the last day, I enjoyed every grueling moment. I learned so much about electrochemistry and loved working with Dr. Hall. It was an exciting experience that inspires me to continue doing research in the future. My second is all my time spent with Dr. Morton. She was my general chemistry professor when I was a freshman, the year after, I became her workshop leader, and later that year, she became my assigned faculty advisor. All of my interactions with Dr. Morton have either brought clarity to my academic struggles, cleared up any doubts I had in myself (whether that be career wise or academic wise), or just plain fun. I really have fond memories with both of these professors and hope they are doing well!

4. What general advice would you give aspiring pre-health types?
Enjoy the process and the journey. Don't do things as a means to an end. It's easy to say things like "it'll be worth it once I get into medical school" if you see medical school and all of the things that you need to do to get into medical school as a means to an end. But my advice is to try and set aside time to be yourself and live the life you want to live. As pre-meds, medical students, and medical professionals, we often get lost in our work and forget that life doesn't wait for you, life is happening right now. So, my advice is to remember that simple fact, put in the passion, work, and research to show that you are not only capable of being in medical school, but that you belong in medical school, and the rest will come with time. As long as you want to pursue medicine, the question isn't if, it's when.