S-STEM Scholar Anthony Miller's Blog

Hesitations with my Career Choices I have wanted to be a doctor since I was about 4 years old. I specifically wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon at a young age as well, I don't quite remember the age to be perfectly honest. But nonetheless, I've always thought of becoming a physician. All through elementary, middle and high school it has been my mission. But all that became fuzzy when I started college. I took a wide variety of classes and the experiences I had in those classes made me interested and thought I that the jobs in those fields would be fun. Also, doing well in the classes made me confident to want possibly pursue those careers. One of the careers I considered was becoming a professor, specifically for chemistry. I would still consider practicing medicine along with instructing a class if I had time for it. There were many other careers that came into my head like engineering, mechanic, laboratory technician, etc. but I always considered physici...

Why Orthopedic Surgery is my Dream Job Breaking my leg at 14 months old was my first experience at a hospital, other than being born, and after that I had many more due to my health condition, specifically in orthopedics. Due to this health condition I have broken many bones in my lifetime and have seen many doctors that have either set the broken bone in place or have performed surgery on me to set it in place with plates and/or screws and going through all of this in my life made me want to go into the practice of orthopedic surgery.  I have been lucky enough to have had amazing doctors that care about my health and well-being. So much so that they have set up seminars for me and my brother to speak to medical students about our condition and how it is living with it on a day-to-day basis while balancing school. One doctor offered me the opportunity to shadow him while he went to Honduras to treat patients, some of them having my health condition. With ...

Why Choose a Career in STEM I chose a career in the field of STEM not because it is popular, trending, or have an increasing demand for their careers but because I felt I could help the most people through STEM. Although the money that these STEM jobs pay is good I wouldn't want to be paid for something if it wasn't helping someone improve in their life, and I believe careers in STEM do this the most. I believe my career choice, Orthopedic Surgeon, can help many people physically, emotionally, and mentally. I also chose this career because I like a challenge. Going to the hospital or clinic to see a doctor can be nerve racking and making the patient comfortable with you can prove challenging along with having their health in your hands, but the end result being improved health of the patient makes that challenge very worth it.