17-Year-Old Tamia Jackson Discovers Her Passion Through Her Biggest Struggle In Life
‘’I love the idea of learning something difficult,’’ says 17-year-old Tamia Jackson, a high school senior from Boston studying at Cristo Rey Boston who is currently in the midst of adjusting to online learning, juggling extracurriculars, perfecting Korean, and busy preparing for college.
Tamia is unapologetically and unabashedly herself when she talks about her hopes, dreams, and even struggles and fears for the future. Her life experiences and struggles are like armor and her source of strength. She takes pride and works hard to achieve her goals, be it playing soccer, engaging in a new academic project, or even self-teaching herself Korean.
From Battling An Illness To Finding Purpose
‘’I was diagnosed with Papilledema and Idiocratic cranial hypertension. While doing a spinal tap in the ER, they gave me a local anesthetic and injected it into my spine, and I felt no pain after that. That was when I decided that I wanted to explore that (anesthesiology) too.’’
Tamia wanted to become an anesthesiologist from a very young age, starting with a difficult medical procedure that fundamentally changed her life. When she was 17 years old, she was diagnosed with Papilledema and idiocratic cranial hypertension. She was immediately drawn to the effect of anesthetics and how they were used in complicated surgeries. The idea of such painful procedures being conducted painlessly was truly a medical marvel and miracle in her eyes!
Tamia’s own interest and fascination with the medical field comes from her desire to help people in a similar position feel secure and supported.’’I want to become an anesthesiologist. With my help, I will be able to assist and do other groundbreaking work and help with pain management and making sure people are comfortable and have another form of support,’’ she explained.
Tamia’s Love for Science And Challenges
Apart from her immeasurable strength and fortitude, Tamia is steadfast and hard-working in the face of challenges and is constantly working on improving herself and committed to learning. ‘’Even though I am intimidated by Science, I love Math and Science because it challenges me and I struggle a lot as it keeps me on my toes. When I understand one topic, it is on to another,’’ she explained.
To explore her love for Science and Math further, Tamia discovered Myntor, an online learning platform that specializes in providing students with high-school access to developing solutions for real-world problems. ‘’My teacher sent me an email about a Math Calculus summer program and that is when I discovered Myntor during the quarantine. I am so grateful for that opportunity,’’ said Tamia. Tamia worked on modeling the spread of COVID-19 throughout the world as part of a student-led team spanning New Hampshire, Boston, and London. ‘’I really love Myntor! I can walk into the world and say I have done projects with math and put it in number form and make it less scary. It also gave me a plan of what I want to do in the future,’’ she said.’’I love my teammates. They were very cool and it is great that people from so many diverse backgrounds come together,’’ she continued. Tamia did 3 presentations over the summer. She has worked on modeling the COVID-19 pandemic in her city as well as studied and mapped the incidence of Breast Cancer in her city, both of which she presented at Myntor’s Demo Days. As she pursues her career in anesthesiology, she will be working on more Myntor projects to give her a competitive edge when applying to colleges and for internships.
Through some of her own hardships and life experiences, Tamia has learned what most of us adults and grown-ups take years or even decades to understand. ‘’My biggest fear is probably doing something that does not bring me joy. In 10 years’ time, if I want to do a whole new thing, I want to have the freedom to do it,’’ she said firmly.’’ ‘’Do what makes you happy. Try not to stress yourself out. Will this really matter 5 years from now?’’ she concludes.
Perhaps, we can all take Tamia’s advice and understand how that extra bit of resilience, fortitude, and tenacity can truly go a long way and perhaps, make us more whole and happier people.
