In our series of alumni spotlight articles, we speak with Pia Herrera Padilla, one of our graduates who is currently working as a Junior Doctor at the Royal Melbourne Hospital having completed her Medical Doctorate. She’s currently on her pathway to commence her specialty training in Internal Medicine.
It’s evident from Pia’s interview below and from her yearbooks that Pia was indeed a performer throughout her time here, and it’s interesting to read how she had a couple of very different career choices, ultimately opting for the one which she felt ‘Y13 Pia would hoped for.’ It’s clear that Pia received incredible support from the staff here at NAIS Pudong as she made her way through the important IB years, and she has some great advice for our current (and future) IB students about the value of that programme in terms of preparation for university and for general self-development and progression. Being both a performer in her younger days and now in a high pressure work environment certainly takes an incredible amount of confidence, undoubtedly embodying one of our school’s values, while a career in medicine is a very considerate pathway.
Congratulations to Pia on the life-changing work she’s undertaking within her career, which will undoubtedly flourish as she continues her pathway through the field of Medicine. We hope your story will inspire many of our other students to follow your example.
Biography – Pia Harrera Padilla (2015 Alumni)
Pia is originally from Chile and moved to Shanghai when she was 15 years old, attending NAIS (formerly BISS) Pudong from Year 10 to Year 13. She then moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she completed a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Human Structure and Function. She later completed a Doctor of Medicine at Deakin University, undertaking yearly placements in both rural and metropolitan Victoria. She now lives in Melbourne, Australia with her partner and is working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as a junior doctor, about to commence specialty training in Internal Medicine.
Q1. What years were you here at NAIS Pudong, and which year group were you in when you left?
I was at NAIS Pudong (back then called BISS Pudong) from 2012 to 2015, being part of the 2015 graduation class.
Q2. What memories do you have of the school while here?
I actually have the best memories of school - I genuinely had the best time. I still stay in contact with a lot of my friends and teachers (all spread around the world). You create amazing connections when they’re your family away from family. We had a great year group with very special memories I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
Q3. When you were very young, can you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up?
When I was very young, I remember wanting to be a singer and dancer. If you ask my family, there was always some performance at home on weekends for them to watch. I was always very interested in the arts, joining school choirs and musicals for most of my school years.
Q4. As you got older, did those aspirations change? If so, in what way?
As I grew older, maybe in the last 3-4 years of high school, I started to get serious about careers and the stress of choosing IB subjects and thinking about universities. I went into IB with two career options: Medicine and Design. They are obviously very different career paths but surprisingly a common dilemma amongst people. I’ve met a lot of medical people throughout my studies and work and many of them were actually delving between artistic and science based careers.
During IB, we had a great career counselor that helped me ultimately decide on medicine. It was a tough decision, but ultimately doing what you enjoy and going out of your way to try and make as best of a decision possible is all you can really do. During Year 11/12 I went on work experience placements - design and architecture ones with some family friends back home, and then to Tanzania for a rural hospital placement.
Q5. If you stayed at NAIS until graduation from Year 13, what support and encouragement were you given by your teachers to follow your dreams in terms of career/life choices?
As I said above, we had a great careers counselor who helped us navigate career choices and explore university options too. Ultimately, the decision is yours and no one can make if for you, but having amazing resources definitely helped me make the right choice.
Q6. What job/career do you have now? And is it the same as your aspirations when at school?
I am currently working as a doctor at a big city hospital in Melbourne, Australia. I’m just about to start my internal medicine specialty training. We rotate every few months to different teams in the hospital, getting plenty of exposure and learning. It’s been a very long and hard journey, but I think this is where Year 13 Pia would have hoped she was by now.
Q7. How do you feel NAIS Pudong helped you get closer to your current career/job?
From an educational standpoint, it prepared me very well to start university. The school helps you build skills which a lot of other students will actually need to develop during university. We come out with great critical thinking (yes, you can thank all those essays you’ll need to write), creative and language skills, as well as social skills.
Annoying things like the extended essay will make big university essays seem like just another thing to write. Starting university is daunting, but having these extra sets of skills under your belt will make that transition so much easier.
Having all these skills will help you navigate university better, whilst opening the door to opportunities that will help you get closer to your future career/job.
Q8. Do you have any tips for any of our students who might want to also explore your current/planned career?
Definitely research, research, research. Medical shows glamorize this career but the day-to-day life is a lot more challenging. Saying that, it is also a lot more rewarding too. But don’t go into this career if you’re not 100% sure this is what you want to do. I’d encourage everyone to seek placements; shadow doctors back home; reach out to current students doing the degree you are interested in; reach out to people working that profession etc. You can never have too much information to make a decision.
←Swipe to view English
在我们的校友聚焦系列文章中，我们采访了一位毕业生Pia Herrera Padilla。她目前在墨尔本皇家医院担任住院医师，已经完成了医学博士学位，并正准备开始内科药学培训。
从以下对Pia的采访和她的年刊中可以看到，Pia在就读期间表现非常出色。有趣的是，她曾有几个非常不同的职业选择，但她最终选择了“13年级的Pia会期待的”职业。显然，Pia在这里的IB关键学年里得到了NAIS Pudong教职工的极大支持，她还为当前和未来的IB学生提供了一些很好的建议，说明了该课程在大学准备和个人自我发展方面的价值。在年轻时作为表演者、现在在高压工作环境中工作，Pia展现了无与伦比的自信，无疑体现了学校的一项核心价值，而从医之路也是一条充满关怀的职业道路。
祝贺Pia从事了改变生活的工作，随着她在医学领域的发展，这份事业无疑会更加光辉灿烂。我们希望她的故事能激励我们的学生追随榜样。
简介 – Pia Herrera Padilla （2015届校友）
Pia来自智利，15岁时移居上海，从10年级到13年级就读于NAIS（前身为BISS）浦东校区。之后她搬到澳大利亚墨尔本，在墨尔本大学完成了生物医学学士学位，主修人体结构与功能。随后，她在迪肯大学完成了医学博士学位，期间每年在维多利亚州的乡村和都市地区实习。她目前与伴侣住在澳大利亚墨尔本，并在墨尔本皇家医院担任住院医师，即将开始内科药学培训。
Q1. 你在NAIS Pudong的学习是哪些年份，离开时是哪个年级？
我在2012年到2015年期间就读于NAIS Pudong（当时叫BISS Pudong），是2015届的毕业生。
Q2. 你对在这里上学有什么记忆？
我对学校的回忆真的是最美好的——我度过了一段非常愉快的时光。我仍然和很多朋友和老师保持联系（他们现在遍布世界各地）。当你远离家人时，这些人成为你新的家庭，会建立起强大的联系。我们年级的同学关系很好，有许多特别的回忆我将铭记一生。
Q3. 小时候你记得自己长大后想做什么吗？
小时候，我记得自己想成为一名歌手和舞者。如果你问我的家人，他们会告诉你每到周末家里总会有演出等着他们观看。我一直对艺术非常感兴趣，学生时期大部分时间都加入了学校合唱团和音乐剧。
Q4. 随着年龄的增长，你的这些志向有变化吗？如果有，是什么变化？
随着我长大，也许在高中最后3到4年，我开始认真考虑职业规划，并因选择IB课程和大学感到压力。在进入IB时，我有两个职业选择：医学和设计。这两条职业道路显然非常不同，也通常是非常难做的选择。我在学业和工作期间遇到的很多医学人士也曾在艺术与科学类职业之间徘徊过
在IB期间，我们有一位很棒的职业指导老师，最终帮助我选择了医学。这是个艰难的决定，但最终，做自己喜欢的事情并尽力做出最佳决策就是你所能做的一切。11、12年级期间，我参加了很多实践活动——包括回国和一些家人朋友一起的设计和建筑实习，还有在坦桑尼亚的一个乡村医院实习。
Q5. 你在NAIS Pudong上到13年级毕业，老师们在职业和生活选择方面如何支持和鼓励你？
正如我上面提到的，我们有一位很棒的职业指导老师，他帮助我们探索职业选择和大学选项。最终，决定权在你手中，没人能替你做出决定，但有了这些资源确实帮助我做出了正确的选择。
Q6. 你现在的工作/职业是什么？与你在校时的志向相同吗？
我目前在澳大利亚墨尔本的一家大城市医院担任医生，即将开始我的内科药学培训。我们每隔几个月轮换不同的团队，获得丰富的经验和学习。这是一段漫长而艰难的旅程，但我想这就是13年级的Pia当时希望自己能达到的地方。
Q7. 你觉得NAIS Pudong如何帮助你更接近当前的职业/工作？
从教育角度来说，它让我在开始大学时准备得非常充分。学校帮助我们培养了很多其他学生可能需要在大学阶段才能发展的技能。我们具备了出色的批判性思维（是的，这要感谢你需要写的所有论文）、创造性和语言技能，以及社交技能。
一些令人头疼的作业比如拓展论文会让大学的长篇论文看起来只是另一篇要写的文章而已。虽然开始大学很艰难，但有了这些额外技能会让过渡变得更加轻松。
拥有这些技能将帮助你更好地适应大学生活，并为你未来的职业/工作打开机会之门。
Q8. 你对任何可能想探索你当前/计划职业的学生有任何建议吗？
一定要进行充分的研究。医学类电视节目美化了这个职业，但日常生活中的挑战更多。不过，尽管如此，它也非常有回报。但如果你不是100%确定这就是你想要的职业，不要轻易选择。我鼓励大家寻找实习机会；在家乡的医院跟随医生实习；联系正在学习你感兴趣学位的学生；联系从事该职业的人员等等。决策信息永远不嫌多。
声明：本文由入驻国际教育网公众平台的作者撰写，观点仅代表作者本人，不代表国际教育网立场。如有侵权或其他问题，请联系举报。
电话咨询
入学测评