When my most recent biotech workplace shut down, I found myself at a crossroads. I still had the energy to dream of building a biotech startup, but after watching two companies I worked for shut down, I couldn’t even convince myself it would succeed.
So, instead, I took a different path. I enrolled in a free nursing course, a CNA program near my home, because I wanted to learn how I could continue helping others. That choice took me back in time to 1997–1998, when I worked with my college seniors in the psychology therapy club Torch Band and visited juvenile detention centers and psychiatric hospitals. Later, in 2008, I also learned about sandplay therapy. Those memories resurfaced as I began my new journey in nursing. After receiving my CNA certification, I worked at a nearby memory center while also preparing for pre-nursing courses. Since my previous college studies hadn’t included all the required U.S. nursing prerequisites. For example, I had taken animal physiology but not human physiology, so I needed to fill such gaps. At the memory care where I worked for a while, I noticed that quite a few seniors struggling with memory loss also had glaucoma. I can’t say that’s scientifically proven. I just noticed that some studies failed to show significant statistics on the connection. Someday, if I have the time, I’d love to dig into Korea’s public medical insurance datasets and explore the common mechanisms behind these conditions in more detail. What made me truly happy was seeing positive changes in the seniors with memory problems I cared for.
Maybe my interest in nursing was also influenced by my first daughter. In high school, she joined a medical club, and before college, she even took part in a high school internship program at Scripps Hospital. Later, even after choosing computer science as her major at UC Davis, she pursued EMT training. But in the summer of 2025, both of us stepped away. I quit my role as a care manager, and she stopped EMT training. That early summer, she was struck by a virus and diagnosed with meningitis. For nearly a month, her life was at risk, and I stayed by her side, helping her fight to survive. It brought back memories of my own hospitalization, when I spent a month with a high fever and no diagnosis. I still remember that near-death moment. Even in that split second, the experience remains etched vividly in my mind.
Even now, I still want to learn more about clinical care, but at the age of 50, it feels too late, less enjoyable, and not quite aligned with my current situation. While taking some pre-nursing courses, I also began exploring computer-related courses online and still hope to keep learning new things. My dream of starting a biotech company inspired me to explore publishing ventures, try self-publishing, and eventually start a nonprofit with my younger daughter. She is actually the founder and guiding force behind the BunnyPals Foundation. BunnyPals started as a small club for kids who had bunnies, but now it has grown to include writing and craft clubs, as well as Korean language learning. I hope to help children nurture creativity, compassion, and environmental awareness through artistic expression, storytelling, and community engagement. I also dream of helping them become authors of their own creative works.
Part of me still dreams of returning to research or building a research-focused nonprofit or startup. I wait for that dream.
Looking back, my life has been a journey of choices. Some I treasure, some I wonder about. For example, I once had the chance to pursue medical school or clinical psychology, but I didn’t. Do I regret it a little? Yes. But deep down, I know that even if I could go back, I might still choose this same path.
As an undergraduate in Korea, I never knew clinicians could also be researchers. I simply wanted to discover something new and contribute to patients’ well-being as a scientist. Also, I know if I chose a different path, I would have never researched. Now, though, I believe that for most people, education and lifestyle changes should come before medication.
To my juniors, including my daughters, I hope you’ll always find the resources you need for your career paths and that you’ll follow not just ambition but also your heart. May you always be wise enough to find balance between life, work, and money.
Life and Biology stories with Sooyoung and Others 