As the new year of 2019 started, I created a vision board; a collage of all the goals I wanted to accomplish for the year. I cut out Dell Medical School’s logo, and put it right at the bottom center of my board, as Dell was my first choice in medical schools.
On February 1st, 2019, I matched with UT Health Science Center of San Antonio – my second choice.
Honestly, I was just so happy to get accepted. UTHSCSA gave me the opportunity to be able to learn to save lives one day, and for that, I will forever be grateful and supportive of their school. Plus, they have an amazing facility, faculty and staff, curriculum, and program. The only downside was that San Antonio felt so far away from those I loved, and the fear of change slowly crept in. There was a part of me that said, What if I had gotten into Dell, instead? Of course, reality would always sink in, and I told myself that Dell had less than 1% acceptance rate, so why am I even in the slightest bit disappointed? I did receive an email from Dell that I was put on the waitlist, but every time I heard the word “waitlist,” I could not help but roll my eyes at the possibility of getting into Dell because what are the chances that a seat out of 50 will open up for me? Besides, I did not even know what number I was on the waitlist, so as a defense mechanism, I shut off all hope that I would ever get in.
As time passed, I slowly moved on and became content, excited even, with the fact that I was going to attend Long School of Medicine. I signed up for meet and greet weekend, set up an appointment for my required immunizations, met new pre-med and pre-dent friends who were also going to be in San Antonio – literally everything was coming together for me to move to San Antonio in July.
For some reason, I still had Dell’s logo on my vision board. I hung it up on my bathroom wall, and I stared at it pointlessly, every morning and every night whenever I brushed my teeth. I should probably take that down. But, alas, I kept putting it off, not because I was still hoping for an acceptance, but because I was too lazy to take it down and replace it with Long’s logo.
On April 29th, 2019, my boyfriend and I went to a new Thai restaurant for dinner. We ordered Tilapia, pineapple fried rice, and yellow curry to hit our macros for the day. We set up Netflix on my phone against the vase of roses to watch an episode of Friends. 7 minutes into the episode, a number from San Francisco calls me. Normally, if I still had a glimmer of hope that I would get into Dell, I would have immediately thought that it might have been the Dean of Dell Medical School who was on the other end of his personal cell phone, calling to tell me that I got in…but I didn’t have that hope, so I mindlessly answered the phone, expecting a Marriott Hotel Chain bot to tell me that I received a $500 gift card to any of their branches.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I’m calling for Ms. Maius Bermejo?”
“Yes, this is she. Who is this?”
“This is Clay Johnston, calling on behalf of Dell Medical School-“
This is the part where I put my hand over my mouth, completely in utter shock that this was the phone call I always wanted.
“We wanted to offer you a seat in our class of 2023, if you were still interested in our program..”
This is the part where I start crying, and my boyfriend gets really, really, really worried.
“Oh my gosh, a million times yes! Thank you so much!”
..and this is the part where my boyfriend gets really confused.
“Well, that is great to hear! We look forward to having you in our class. You were actually the first student to get off the waitlist.”
FIRST????? OUT OF ALL THE OTHER APPLICANTS WHO WERE PUT ON THE WAITLIST FOR DELL?? I WAS FIRST????????
“Wow, oh my goodness, really? Thank you so much! My mom is going to be so thrilled!”
“Well, you were very impressive, and before I get off the phone, do you have any questions for me?”
“No, I don’t, but I will be looking forward to the email with all the details, and I will go from there. Again, thank you so much!”
At this point, I was ugly crying, but I hid it very well over the phone.
“Okay, have a great rest of your day. I cannot wait to meet you. Buh-bye.”
“You too, thank you!”
…….aannnnnnnnnddd then I saved his number and made a small scene at Silver Thai.
Just like that, everything kind of just…fell into place.
Dell Medical School wasn’t my first choice because it had a <1% acceptance rate. It was my first choice because I wanted to pursue my MD and my MBA within four year’s time. It was my first choice because Dell’s vision is to “Rethink Everything.” They have the newest, most cutting edge program in all of Texas, and they see the field of medicine in modern times, the way I see it.
The way I see it, medicine can no longer be separated from the reality of healthcare administration and policy of America. Doctors can no longer sit on the sidelines, while healthcare administration and policymakers get the most say in what is best for the public as it ties into medicine. There can no longer be an MD vs. MBA battle, if we want to fix the issues of American healthcare today.
Dell Medical School was my first choice because they are rethinking everything and are taking steps towards modern medicine that incorporates a WOKE way of perceiving the practice, the new culture, and how medicine has evolved into what it is TODAY. I want to be a part of that bold vision, that innovation that Dell is successfully nurturing right now.
I am so blessed that I get to learn at Dell Medical School and pursue my MD and MBA. I will never take this opportunity for granted, and I will work even harder towards the bigger picture in the next four years.
To those who have always supported me, thank you. I will try my best not to let you down!
If there’s one thing you as my readers can learn from this is that there is nothing that can go wrong with just trusting the process. Work hard, let go, and let God do the rest for you. Things literally will fall into place the way they were always meant to. Work hard, but at the same time, don’t take life too seriously. Make good decisions, support and love one another, enjoy what this life has to offer, and your primetime will eventually come to YOU.
“My personal ambition remains the same – to be creative, to be modern, to stay one step ahead, and most importantly, to enjoy life.”
Once Upon A Pre-Med 