(00:00) — Welcome and origin spark: Kiki’s path starts without an “aha” and a teacher’s nudge changes everything.

(02:24) — First shadowing, open-heart: A six-hour quadruple bypass leaves her captivated.

(03:48) — Type B and present: Owning a goal without over-planning in high school.

(04:29) — Balancing D2 hoops and premed: Small-school community and time management pay off.

(07:19) — Burnout and a late college switch: Signing in July and embracing a non-linear path.

(08:55) — Making premed work: Professors, small classes, and athlete study groups.

(10:03) — The grind of student-athlete life: Exhaustion, rigid schedules, and living by the calendar.

(11:38) — What gave way: Long-distance friendships and less family check-ins.

(13:24) — First app cycle misses: 506 MCAT, six-week prep, content over practice, and low volunteering.

(17:17) — Reapplicant moves: Earlier timing, pharmacy tech year, and next-day secondaries.

(19:54) — Widening the net: Adding DO schools and securing acceptances.

(20:53) — Discovering HPSP: Out-of-state sticker shock leads her to the Navy.

(23:39) — Parents’ buy-in and commissioning: From doubts to pride; acceptance to October commissioning.

(26:16) — Military match realities: Deployment risk and the “assignment” mindset.

(30:29) — Final takeaway: Keep trying—“what’s meant for you won’t miss you.

Kiki didn’t have a dramatic origin story—no early illness or single defining moment. A high school anatomy teacher’s question and a mesmerizing first shadowing of a six-hour open-heart surgery nudged her toward medicine. She kept living fully as a type B student who played Division II basketball, learning time management the hard way: rigid schedules, constant travel, and studying through exhaustion. In this conversation, Kiki unpacks being a reapplicant after a 506 MCAT and limited volunteer hours, what she fixed the second time—earlier timing, practice questions over rereads, quick secondaries—and why she initially applied to only two schools. She explains how medical transport and later working as a pharmacy technician broadened her clinical lens. When out-of-state tuition topped $80,000, she took a hard look at Navy HPSP, did her homework beyond recruiter promises, and chose the scholarship—even after getting off a local waitlist later. Kiki shares how she reframed setbacks, how much community mattered, and what realistically concerns her about the military match: deployment and accepting “assignments.” Her closing message to premeds is clear and steady—keep doing the work, stay intentional, and trust that what’s meant for you won’t miss you.

What You'll Learn:

- How a D2 athlete built time management without sacrificing premed

- What went wrong in her first cycle and how she changed it

- Why she chose Navy HPSP and how she evaluated the trade-offs

- Ways transport and pharmacy tech roles expand clinical exposure