Graduating during a pandemic

A final virtual semester before medical school

By California State University, Bakersfield

April 30^th, 2020

Spending the spring semester in lockdown and finishing final classes online is hardly the way any senior would have imagined their time at California State University, Bakersfield coming to an end. But when times get tough, Roadrunners adapt, and graduating biology major Luke Kim is no different.

Like the rest of CSUB students, Kim’s campus classes have all moved online due to the public health concerns around the coronavirus. Learning at home via video classes and online exams isn’t exactly the symbolic victory lap a student likely envisions their final semester to be.

“It’s definitely sad because I won’t be able to see everyone before we graduate,” said Kim, 21. “It just comes down to missing everyone that I’ve known throughout the years.”

Though Kim will finish his undergraduate courses from the comfort and safety of his home, his academic journey will continue on at another campus when he starts medical school at the University of California, San Francisco in the fall.

Kim feels like learning during lockdown has helped him become a nimbler student, ready to take on whatever medical school might throw at him. As a biology and religious studies double major minoring in chemistry, Kim is no stranger to a busy schedule.

“It requires planning, a lot of planning,” Kim said. “It’s a heavy workload. I was full-time and sometimes overloaded every semester.”

From Washington to Bakersfield

Originally from Yakima, Washington, Kim moved to California with his mother and younger sister following his parents’ divorce. He graduated from Stockdale High School, spending only his senior year there. His experience moving between multiple high schools informed what he said was a personal decision to attend CSUB.

“I knew that because I had gone to so many high schools, I wanted to stay in one spot for a little bit,” he said. “CSUB offered that. I wanted a small school as well; that was a big advantage. I applied pretty broadly to some of the UCs, but I eventually decided against that because I knew I needed a smaller school.”

Kim was drawn to a smaller school because he would feel less like a number, he said.

“Classes are smaller, and you have many more opportunities to form relationships with professors,” he said. “I think as long as you put yourself out there, you can get involved with whatever you want, whether it’s clubs or research.”

In his four years at CSUB, Kim has been active on campus as part of the pre-med club, in plant microbe research with Dr. Kane Keller, and as a peer mentor in the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering’s Pathways program, which supports a small group of first-year NSME majors as they navigate college life.

“Luke’s ability to organize his priorities to give his all as a peer mentor while achieving his own academic success is to be commended,” said Jaimi Paschal, Advising Center and Pathways coordinator.

A virtual world

The move to virtual learning hasn’t been without challenges for Kim. It takes a lot of discipline, he said, especially when it comes to staying on top of homework and required reading. He was initially worried about his upper-division biology labs but said they have been going well so far.

“For one of my classes, it’s a lot of dissections, so the professor is dissecting and then posting labeled photos online, so we have to study from that,” he said. “I have another microbiology class where she uploads test results and we have to make our own conclusions. It’s just a little different because you’re not in lab actually carrying out the tests. That does help students retain the information better. Lab activities are supposed to reinforce certain concepts, and we don’t have that anymore.”

An unexpected benefit of online learning just might be the strengthening of students’ initiative to take a proactive role in their classes, something that will serve Kim well when he moves onto medical school in the fall.

Kim isn’t yet sure what kind of medicine he would like to practice but plans to decide once he is in the clinical component, typically the third and fourth years of medical school.

“That’s something I’ve been thinking about since I have more time to myself,” he said. “There’s no way that I can know until clinical, when I will be rotating and living the life of (doctors in specific fields). You get the full experience of what it’s like to work in that specialty.”

Kim won’t be the first doctor in his family: his father is a cardiologist and his mother is a pathologist, recently back in practice after spending around 20 years as a stay-at-home mom. But while Kim will be following in his parents’ footsteps, going into medicine was not something they ever pressured him to do.

“It’s not like my dad was just gushing over how much he loved his job or brought us in everyday to see all the cool stuff he was doing,” he said. “As kids, we’d go in on the weekends and sit on the floor of his office and sort paperwork for hours. I think all of us hated it. Those experiences weren’t necessarily pushing us toward medicine.”

With a realistic view of what the life of a doctor entails, including its more bureaucratic duties, Kim is just about ready to start the next phase of his education. Though he might not be in town for the yet-to-be-rescheduled spring 2020 graduation, that doesn’t mean he can’t celebrate at home, in a socially distant way.

“I’m going to cook something nice to eat.”

SUPPORT CSUB — GIVE NOW

Footnotes

Story by Kelly Ardis, communications specialist for the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering; Photos by Hannah Banks, student assistant, and provided by Luke Kim

Button Label

FootNotes

Story by Kelly Ardis, communications specialist for the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering; Photos by Hannah Banks, student assistant, and provided by Luke Kim

Migrant education champion shaped thousands of students’ futures

Graduating during a pandemic

A final virtual semester before medical school

FootNotes

Janie Flores to be inducted into Alumni Hall of Fame

Awards honor CSUB alumna and beloved Bakersfield community member

Fred Plane to be inducted into Alumni Hall of Fame

David Zulfa to be inducted into Alumni Hall of Fame

Two biology, two chemistry students presented their research

Thirteen-day trip 'opened the door to more knowledge and wisdom' for students