Subin Cho, Stanford Plastic Surgery CARE Research Fellow

My family immigrated from South Korea when I was two years old to Nebraska, so it was a big culture shock and adjustment. Years later, we moved to California, so now Southern California is where I consider home.

My mom is a nurse, and so I grew up listening to stories over the dinner table of what she would do at work. I think that piqued my interest at a young age of wanting to go into medicine, specifically to help underserved communities and people who looked like me or who had similar experiences to me.

Then I learned I really liked the science behind medicine too — the anatomy and the academic side of it was interesting as well, which I’ve just been continuously discovering throughout each level of my education. I remember taking this unique class in college about superheroes and how their powers could potentially be realistic using genetics and other principles. I think the potential, the creativity, and the application of science is interesting.

Because I developed an interest in this diverse side of medicine, when I got exposed to plastic surgery specifically, I thought it was a unique combination of all my interests and passions — academic, social, and creative — working with so many parts of the body and with so many different surgeons and so many different creative ways I thought was amazing to me. 

Medical providers have a unique position where they work with people regardless of what they look like or what socioeconomic status they come back from. I think being in that position where you get to work with so many different people, meet so many different people, and be the friendly face in a hospital is important.

Specifically coming from a background where my parents had to learn English when they came here, and seeing people who are non-native English speakers in the hospital, really resonated with me in terms of being like a future physician who can make sure I’m being attentive and sensitive to understanding those positions.

Many different mentors have helped me along the way. I think mentorship takes a unique form for me because no one I knew was a physician, so I’ve had to rely on people above me in older classes, residents that I work with, nurses and other medical staff. Many attendings have been willing to give me advice and to connect me with people when they don’t know themselves, which is very supportive and a unique aspect of being in medicine that I really appreciate.

About the author

Catherine Wu is an undergraduate student at Stanford University interested in biology and the humanities. On campus, she enjoys writing for The Stanford Daily and other ways to learn and share stories of members in her community. She hopes to pursue a graduate or medical degree on a pre-med track.