Jo is an incoming M1 in David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She grew up in Beijing, China, with a mother who ironically raised her hoping for her to become an artist. Believe it or not, her interest in medicine first sparked when she started watching Grey's Anatomy to improve her English in middle school. In 2019, Jo graduated from UCLA college with an honor in Neuroscience and minors in Biomedical Research and Civic Engagement. In college, she connected with the community of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles when she volunteered to serve food on the street, and from there became passionate about serving underserved communities. She has helped out establishing a free farmer’s market in a food desert neighborhood, volunteered in health fairs in linguistically isolated Asian American communities, held campus phone-banking events to advocate for food welfare legislations, and found a way to combine her passion for community service and traveling by leading service learning trips via an organization called Alternative Breaks. Towards the end of her college years, she became interested in the mechanisms and treatment for substance use disorders -- a perfect combination of her interests in neuroscience and social determinants of health -- and published her thesis study on interracial relations within residential treatment facilities. During her 2 gap years, Jo has been working in providing harm reduction services for the community of People Who Use Drugs, first through syringe exchange and street outreach, and then in an acute care setting in a local hospital. Onward to medical school, Jo is especially interested in exploring global health and health technology innovations. Talk to Jo about a community service focused medical school application, gap years, mental health through this journey, and anything about medical school!