“San Antonio has taught me that education is not limited to the classroom, that sharing each other’s stories and cultures is what makes us human, and that everyone has a unique story to tell.”
“How do I balance my Indian and American identities? How do I navigate a society that judges children of immigrants for embracing their culture ‘too much’?”
“My father would reminisce on the hustle and bustle of Saigon. He once told me a story about how he crashed riding a motorcycle and almost died, leaving a giant scar on his forearm. Because of all these stories, I was excited to visit Vietnam.”
“There was an unadulterated sense of unity and camaraderie during 2020’s MLK march. It was a chilly morning, but hundreds of thousands of marchers still showed up.”
The role of being Miss San Antonio has two big prongs to it. One is being a leader in your community. Putting yourself out there, whether it be at schools, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, places where you can donate clothes- anywhere and anyway you can be a servant to your community. The other part is being a role model, setting the standard of what the modern woman is and what the modern woman is capable of.
“My mother is such an inspiration to me, and she is one of the reasons that I keep pushing forward. You fall down 7, you get up 8. You never count yourself out. It’s not about how hard you get hit. It’s all about if you choose to get up and keep going.”
“We don’t focus on the number on the scale – we work on why people do what they do and the habits, thoughts, and emotions that influence how they live their lives. We care more that our clients are happy in a deep way, whatever that looks like for them.”
I want to immunize these providers against the cynicism that can occur in medicine – the denigration that some patients experience because of their poverty, homelessness, mental illness, or substance abuse. I want to help them see the humanity and rewards of helping people that aren’t considered the special individuals of our society. They’re not glamorous, but they are people who need help. For those students or physicians who can help do that and who can really use their compassion and empathy for that, they’ll never regret it.
“Regardless of how niche your project is, you’ll learn to love it, provided you are in a supportive environment. Of course, the huge potential for this knowledge to change lives for the better also helps tremendously.”
“Building that rapport and having a really good connection with your patient allows them to trust you, and trust the process.”
