Hometown: Maplewood, NJ

Undergraduate Institution: Syracuse University

Undergraduate Major: Public Health

UCSF Year/Class Of: 2020

Editor's note: Sikai Song's "The First Time" is the first place winner of the Synapse Storytelling Contest's personal essay category.

I was petrified my first time, my heart stuck in my throat.

It was dark in the patient room. I turned on the light to the lowest setting and apologized to the patient for waking him up. I asked about his pain and bowel movements and examined the incisions on his belly.

For Dave, who told me this story needed to be shared publicly as soon as I shared it with him When people find out I am from New York, they almost invariably ask if I plan on moving back after medical school.

All dressed up for the Halloween Party during BMS Retreat in Lake Tahoe!

Editor's note: Emily Yao earned an honorable mention for Bay Bridge and Boat, her entry into the Synapse Storytelling Contest, photography category. Cupid’s Span is a popular location to play with dogs, eat lunch in the shade, nap in the

Thoughts from the Trauma Bay is the second place winner of the Synapse Storytelling Contest's personal essay category.

In 2017, I skied for the first time. In 2018, I slipped on ice and broke my collarbone. My classmates got me through the next months, and we crowned my recovery by returning to the slope that started it all.