Simeon Holmes

Hello, my name is Simeon Holmes and I am currently a Junior majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry on a Pre-Med path. This was not always the case though. Over the course of my duke experience I have faced many challenges that have made me question on many occasions what I would like to do in the future. Initially, before coming to Duke, I had my mind set on becoming biological researcher. This was something that I had wanted to do since middle school. Upon coming to Duke, I still had this goal in mind an took the necessary steps to put myself in the right position to achieve this goal. Upon signing of for the BSURF program at the end of my freshman year, I was extremely excited to conduct the research that I wanted to do for so long. Over the course of the program I slowly started to realize what they everyday life was like of a biology researcher or really anyone who does research. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the research, but I knew I could not imagine myself coming to the lab and doing the same thing over and over again for the rest of my life. Something else was missing that I knew I needed if was going to do it for the rest of my life. I started searching for other options that I believe could fulfill my needs. After a year of realization and thinking of what else I could do that not only provided the opportunity to conduct research, but also some variability in the workday, as well as some interaction outside of the people who I work with. I chose medicine because I want to help others in a way that’s personal and I can see the direct effects of my work. In addition to this, I serve every week at the boys and girls club as a way of connecting with the younger individuals in Durham and hopefully inspiring them to dream big.