How has JAMP helped you strive to achieve your goal of becoming a doctor?
During my JAMP internships, I had the honor of conversing with JAMP mentors and their wisdom helped me understand the journey during medical school. These mentors provided great insight into how to tackle certain problems like time management, MCAT studying, medical school interviews and how to cope with stress.

Moreover, the best way to simulate what a doctor’s life is like is to go on a preceptorship with a doctor. In my preceptorships during my internships, I got to experience and understand the responsibilities of a doctor and the stress that comes with it.  I came out of those preceptorships more motivated and the experiences reaffirmed my drive to become a doctor.

What advice would you like to offer current and future JAMP students?
Plan ahead and in detail. As a deadline approaches not only should you have a plan, but the plan should become more and more detailed. Building on that, students should work on their “timeline”. Planning when to obtain recommendation letters, finishing applications, registering for and taking the MCAT and applying for medical school is a logistical nightmare and planning really does save time and it kept me focused. Time management in all aspects, whether it’s managing time while taking the MCAT test or while balancing studying for classes and extracurricular activities, is vital maintaining a good academic profile and physical and mental wellbeing.

What aspects of JAMP has been most beneficial for you?
The Kaplan Test Prep MCAT classes and resources prepared me very well for the MCAT and it was given to us by JAMP. Effort and efficiency were the only things I needed to apply to those resources. Additionally, I had a friend who was also in JAMP and we studied most of the materials together and took all the practice tests together. If it were not for JAMP, I would not have done as well on the MCAT and would have not met my friend.

About Trung:
I was born in Saigon, Vietnam and immigrated to the United States when I was three. I owe a great part of my successes so far to my family. My sister, mom and dad have always pushed me to achieve great things. I especially would like to thank my sister for introducing me to the JAMP program in high school. She has always been my greatest mentor and motivator in life.

I am a Biology major at the University of Texas at Arlington. My first internship was at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and my second internship was at McGovern Medical School in Houston. I will be attending University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in August of 2017. I am ecstatic to start school at UTSW with some of my fellow JAMP classmates and I cannot wait for the life-changing journey ahead of me.