Many times our choice of career is determined by our early life experiences. When I was young, my parents and I were forced to flee from Iran after the 1979 Revolution in order to escape religious persecution. The hardships we endured on our journey to a new life gave me the determination to make my lifeÆs journey something of personal and public value. Higher education and a career in public health became my goals. My parents were born into lower class families in Iran and both of them valued learning. My father, however, was forced to drop out of school at the age of 12 after his fatherÆs death in order to provide for his eight brothers and sisters. Financial difficulties also prevented my mother from attending the University of Tehran after high school graduation. Together they worked hard and achieved a measure of financial security that was destroyed when we had to leave Iran and all our possessions behind. We were fortunate to reach freedom in Canada where we lived without knowledge of the English language, friends, and money. In spite of this we were eager to start a new and better life, and felt we could do better in the United States, and in 1985 we moved to California and achieved our dream of a worthwhile life. These early experiences motivated me to obtain a better education than my parents received, and next year I will receive my B.S. degree from U.C. Davis.
I have always been attracted to the health care field, both human physiology and psychology. My other interests and skills lie in the fields of the arts and human relations. Since the age of nine I have played the piano and sculpted with clay, talents that continue to this day. My interest in the health field was prompted by stories of the poverty my parents grew up in that did not provide for adequate medical or dental care. I also discovered early in life that I possess excellent communication skills and the ability to interact extremely well with p...