Clariza's Residency Headshots. Toledo Studio, Headshot Photography.

Each fall I have the pleasure of working with a couple of medical students who are in need of headshots for their residency applications. Clariza had seen work I had done for another student and thought I would be the perfect person to take her professional photos. She visited my photography studio in Sylvania and we created some headshots with a gray backdrop.

Best of luck on your next step, Clariza! Read on to hear about Clariza’s goals and what made her want to be a doctor.

Get to know Clariza:

Tell me about your education journey, where you are now and where you hope to end up.
I am originally from the west coast. I went to undergraduate school in Seattle at the University of Washington, where, like many pre-med students, I completed a biology degree. I took a couple years off to work and pursue a master’s degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Toledo then started medical school in 2018. I am currently in my last year and am excited, anxious, and scared all at the same time to find out where I will be training for the next few years. Ultimately, my goal is to train in anesthesia with the possibility of pursuing a cardiac or critical care fellowship. I love teaching the younger generation and hope to be involved in some kind of academic practice, either at a medical school, undergrad, or high school, towards the end of my career.
What made you decide you wanted to be a doctor? What specialty/specialties interest you?
There was a summer I spent at the hospital volunteering 8 hours a day while my mom was working there as a nurse. I had spent a lot of time on the floors, making hourly rounds on the patients and asking if they felt comfortable or if there was anything I could get for them. I had a lot of free time, so I would spend it talking to the patients on the floor. I realized that I really enjoyed just talking to and getting to know them. When they had questions about their care, I wanted to be able to explain what was going on and how it impacted their health. I think it is important for patients to have a good grasp of the processes that are going on in their bodies and how we manage them. I wanted to be able to use my knowledge of the human body to help patients better understand their own bodies. Anesthesia is unique in that patients are usually introduced to their anesthesiologist for the first time right before their surgery. This makes it imperative that their anesthetist is able to answer questions in a way that reassures the patient so that they feel comfortable going into their surgery. I also enjoy the fast-paced environment of the OR and the hands-on care that anesthesiologists deliver.

What is one meaningful challenge you have had to overcome as you pursued career goals? Growing up as a first-generation Asian-American and first-born child, there was a lot of unspoken pressure to be perfect. As a result, I was always afraid to raise my hand in class or ask questions in fear of answering wrong or asking a dumb question. I was afraid to make mistakes and preferred not to try something than to fail at it. Medical school put me in a new environment where I found myself constantly having to adjust. It taught me that in order for me to grow, I would have to embrace my mistakes and fail forward. Especially during my first clinical year, I was surrounded by attendings who were experts in their field. It was nerve-wracking to present their own patients to them as I didn’t want to forget any details or make any mistakes. However, I found that I grew and learned so much throughout that year. I learned that it was ok not to be perfect and that it is much better to put yourself out there and learn than be afraid to try.

Why are professional headshots important to you?
Pictures have a way of capturing not only a person’s appearance, but also their energy and personality. Professional headshots are important to me because they can give interviewers a sense about who a person is before they even meet them for an interview.
What stood out about your experience with Rebecca?
Rebecca was super sweet and I loved her attention to detail. During our photoshoot, she would make sure that the little fly away hairs framing my face were in place before we shot the pictures. She gave me the opportunity to try tons of different poses to see which ones brought out the most “me.” She also tried different positions for her lighting. I appreciated the effort that she took to help my best and most authentic self show through in the headshot.