(00:00) — Getting started: Early interest and a high school health pathway with real certifications

(01:35) — Small border town roots: Del Rio, one high school, and limited options

(02:35) — Finding a “seed”: Family illness, cancer curiosity, and early research

(03:40) — Choosing a college: Looking for rigor, research, and premed support

(05:54) — Where guidance came from: Personal research and professional advising

(07:35) — Plugging in: Using a premed society to meet advisors and med schools

(08:18) — Competition culture: Staying in your lane amid big‑school premed vibes

(10:13) — Toughest premed shift: Independence, rigor, and learning to use office hours

(11:24) — College to med school: Fire‑hydrant learning and lingering imposter syndrome

(13:15) — Asking for help earlier: Seeing peers model it and dropping the pride

(13:55) — Biggest time waste: Grind culture and recopying notes vs smarter study

(15:15) — How hard to push: Pulling back without tanking performance and pressure talk

(19:00) — Pomodoro explained: Focus blocks, real breaks, and building stamina

(21:10) — Study tools: Anki, YouTube resources, and iPad drawings for anatomy

(22:40) — Sciences reality: Hating Gen Chem, loving visual organic chemistry

(25:06) — Getting through hard prereqs: Treating them as a rite of passage

(26:00) — App strategy: Using campus visits to set the bar and plan experiences

(27:10) — Interviews: First invite joy, MMI’s lack of feedback, and virtual hiccups

(30:27) — Acceptance: Texas pre‑match call and the relief of a safety net

(31:58) — No backup plan: Optimism, gap‑years okay, but eyes on the prize

(33:30) — Support in med school: Family, friends, and “trauma bonding” with classmates

(34:19) — Hardest part: Setbacks and remembering your why

(35:10) — Most surprising: Intensity you can’t grasp until you’re in it

(35:49) — Final advice: Return to your why and stop comparing

Kaylah, a fourth-year medical student, traces her path from a small border town in Del Rio, Texas to medical school by leaning into curiosity, community, and smarter studying. In high school, a career and technical education program let her earn healthcare certifications that sparked real clinical interest. As an undergrad at Texas A&M, she sought academic rigor and built-in research while learning to ask for help sooner—through office hours, professional advising, and a premed society that brought advisors and medical schools to campus.

She shares the toughest moments too: a rocky transition to college, being humbled by General Chemistry (but loving visual organic chemistry), and navigating a competitive premed culture by staying in her own lane. Inside medical school, she talks imposter syndrome, the fire‑hydrant pace of learning, and how Pomodoro, Anki, and visual tools on her iPad kept her grounded. She opens up about the stress of MMIs and virtual glitches, the relief of a Texas pre‑match call after three interviews, and the power of friends and family when things get heavy.

If you’re weighing how hard to push versus how smart to study, or how to keep your “why” front and center, Kaylah’s candid reflections will help you recalibrate.

What You'll Learn:

- How to plug into advising and support even at large schools

- Ways to manage competition by staying in your lane

- Smarter study methods: Pomodoro, Anki, and visual learning

- Handling MMIs when there’s no feedback or affirmation

- Keeping your why alive through setbacks and intensity

613: From Small Border Town to M4: Owning Your Path