Aaron is about to start PA school at Marshall B. Ketchum University, and his road there started with his dad.

His father came to the US as a Cambodian refugee and became a PA. Growing up around that shaped how Aaron thinks about medicine, but it didn't push him straight into it. He spent time in film and media first and wasn't sure a medical career was for him at all.

What changed things was actually getting into healthcare. He worked as a medical assistant and as a scribe across different specialties, and that hands-on time is what turned a maybe into a yes. It's a good reminder that you don't have to feel certain at 19. A lot of the best applicants I talk to figured it out by doing the work.

What we talk about:

• Growing up with a PA parent and what that taught him
• Taking a detour through film and media
• Working as a medical assistant and a scribe
• How patient care experience clarified his decision
• Applying to MBKU and what stood out about the program
• His advice for anyone coming from a non-traditional background

Resources:

Free application timeline: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-application-timeline

PA Program Map: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-platform-map

Free resume download: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-resume-download

Pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Hey guys, Today for episode 48 we have an interview with Erin, a very soon to be Marshall B. Ketchum, PA student.

Welcome to the Pre PA Club podcast.

If you want to learn how to become a physician assistant, you're in the right place.

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Let's get to it.

Alright guys, we've reached the end of our webinar series and that's all my webinars, but I have some ideas for some other ones in the future.

If you're just tuning in and you missed the webinar series, go back and listen to those episodes.

And I'm Savannah by the way.

I am a dermatology PA and I'm currently on maternity leave because I had a sweet baby girl in June and she is doing awesome.

We are doing awesome.

If you follow me on Instagram, my HEPA platform account, you probably saw that we had some bumps in the road as far as some postpartum complications, so that wasn't the most fun.

But we are all good now and she is sleeping so I get to come and work on podcast.

But anyway, today's interview and I'm really excited to get back to interviews.

If there's anyone that you would love to see an interview with, please let me know and I'll reach out to them and tell them they need to do it.

But today we have an interview with Aaron.

And Aaron, I guess I met him on social media as I meet lots of these PA people and he is about to start PA school at Marshall B. Ketchum.

He has a really cool story which I'm gonna let him tell you about.

But he has such great advice as a RE applicant and and someone who went from applying one cycle with zero interview invites to the next cycle, receiving four interview invites and essentially declining some of them and pulling his application because he got into his top choice.

A great story, great example, great advice and so I'm really excited for y' all to hear that he does mention in his interview mypa.

But so let's jump into our interview and I think you're really going to enjoy it.

Here we go.

Hey everybody.

My name is Aaron Hunro.

I am an incoming PA student at Marshall B. Ketchum University in Orange County, California.

I was born and raised in Southern California, spent a little bit of time in the Bay Area, but I've always lived in California my whole life.

I do enjoy traveling though.

I'm on my current US Summer tour before PA school and definitely just trying to enjoy the free time before PA school.

Comes into play.

And I'm just enjoying meeting all these new people, spending time with my friends who I haven't seen since high school, and, you know, being on Savannah's podcast right here.

So I'm excited.

Well, we appreciate your time.

Give us a little background on just how you got to this point.

So why pa?

A little bit about your education and, yeah, kind of what brought you here.

Sure.

So first and foremost, my dad's a PA.

He had come to California in the early 80s.

He came here as a Cambodian refugee survivor of the Khmer Rouge.

And, you know, he worked his way up to become a pa. And, you know, so my whole entire life I've kind of had that exposure to the PA profession.

And medicine never really was like, oh, I'm absolutely going to be a pa.

When I was younger at least, and, you know, I was dabbling in a lot of film stuff, a lot of, like, music video editing, stuff like that.

That's why I still enjoy doing my YouTube stuff.

But at the same time, I did have, like, you know, some affinity towards medicine.

He definitely inspired me to, you know, give back to the community and, you know, care for fellow humanity, essentially.

So when we were.

When I was maybe like in middle school, we started a project, thank youk, America, in which we served Thanksgiving meals to the homeless neighbors in the Inland Empire.

And so he was always about, like, you know, the well being of other people.

And so that kind of resonated with me a lot.

And then once I started college, I was really thinking about, like, where I can fuse, you know, all my passions together.

And at that.

At that time, I was really passionate about sports.

So I was thinking something along the lines of sports medicine.

And he was kind of pushing me towards, you know, like, medical school or something, quote, unquote, higher than just a master's degree.

But at the same time, I felt like he was such a great clinician for some of his patients.

And the way that I saw him practicing medicine, I was like, wow.

Like, I don't.

I'm not sure exactly what capacity it would be either as a doctor or an NP or a pa, but I want to be able to practice medicine like my dad, you know, and so being able to see him thoroughly explain things to his patients, genuinely care about them, I was just like, I really wanted be like him.

Right.

And so, you know, started getting more exposure and experience in healthcare field.

Worked as a medical assistant.

I was trained on the job.

Then I started working as a scribe in various specialties such as occupational health, orthopedics, pediatrics and currently in cardiac electrophysiology and also worked as a behavior interventionist with kiddos, had autism.

So just kind of built up like a broad exposure to various aspects of medicine and decided to go full steam ahead for PA school and didn't get accepted my first cycle.

But I didn't let it deter me.

You know, I just kept working more, took a lot more classes, especially as a non science major in undergrad at UC Riverside, and so essentially got accepted, got my first acceptance in October of last year, and then got my second acceptance earlier this year, and here I am.

So that was one of my questions is, do you consider yourself a traditional applicant or a non traditional applicant?

Sure.

So from my dad having that background and me having that exposure, people would think, oh, you know, like, you should be a traditional candidate, like science degree.

You get all your hours, get all your grades, and you're in.

But for me, I kind of.

It was what I spoke about when I went back to my alma mater and my postbac program.

I was telling them, you know, I kind of took the scenic route.

At one point in my life, I didn't want anything to do with medicine.

I just enjoyed being around people and enjoyed helping people.

And once I decided PA was the right choice for me, I was in my postbac program or like my.

I was graduating as a fifth year at UC Riverside and did my postbac program and all that.

And again as a non science major, so I would definitely say I was non traditional.

So what was your degree again?

So it was actually the major was theater and the emphasis was filmmaking.

Okay.

Okay.

So early in.

Early on in college, when they were handing out YouTube partnerships left and right, I became a YouTube partner.

And then I kind of just like, didn't do anything with it.

And so I was like, well, I'm just gonna go back to trying to do something in the medical field.

So.

Interesting.

Yeah.

Did that come up at all in your interviews or anything?

Did anyone have questions about that?

Yeah, it did, actually.

So at my catch.

Yeah.

Marshall B. Ketchum interview, my interviewer asked, so why theater?

Why filmmaking?

And, you know, so I was explaining to her that, you know, I enjoyed making videos, I enjoyed making film, working with film.

And I guess as a younger.

When I was younger, I played with Legos and, you know, so it was kind of like you build something out of nothing.

And for me, film was kind of like that too.

Like you get all your shots, you edit everything, and then you finally make a final product and it's Wow.

I made this out of nothing.

So for me, that was.

That's kind of what I enjoyed.

And the fact that you don't have to necessarily be a science major or anything like that to get into PA school.

It was like, for me, it was kind of like the icing on the cake, just because I knew I could handle science rigors, at least later on.

But I definitely had to prove it through extra classes and a postbac program.

But at the same time, I enjoyed doing what I did.

Okay, so you applied twice.

Talk to me a little bit about kind of those application cycles, how many programs you applied to, what you did differently between cycles.

Sure.

So the first time I applied, I had one discrepancy, which was my microbiology course.

So when I took it in my postbac program, it was a microbiology lecture and lab.

However, it was only three quarter units.

And so that was like a huge discrepancy with a lot of the programs.

So I applied to maybe about like 12 programs first, and I was like automatically rejected by like half of them just because of that class.

So the second time around I definitely addressed that.

Got ended up getting an A in lecture in lab.

Took about like 7, 8 more classes just to boost my science GPA up and also prove to them that I can pharmacology, pathophysiology, medical terminology, and a few other courses that helped boost my GPA and also make like a bigger and stronger foundation for didactics.

And at the same time, I was, after being really down on myself for not getting into school, I used that as motivation to just work even harder.

So from like April until November, I was working literally like 52 hours a week just to increase my patient care hours and networked with people, reached out to people for advice and, you know, help and all that.

So definitely didn't let the rejections stop me from getting into PA school.

Okay, cool.

Do you.

What do you think made your application stand out?

What made a strong application because obviously now you have multiple acceptances.

Right.

So what, what, what made that happen?

I think the fact that I was just so dedicated into trying to get in and into the profession, just getting CAPA memberships or AAPA memberships, even as an affiliate.

I think me showing that I was seriously invested in wanting to become a PA and just kind of through my track record again through those classes and those hours of work and networking with the right people and whatnot.

So I think they genuinely saw that I was like headstrong on trying to get into pa school and become a PA and not any other profession.

So all that accumulated with, you know, trying to be an all around candidate.

So I was like volunteering as, you know, a youth coach and I was like doing that project that my dad and I came up with.

So we consistently did that.

And so just kind of doing a lot of things that were genuine, I guess, geared to shaping me into a future clinician.

So they all worked out.

It sounds like you.

So this is one thing I've noticed with RE applicants or people who are applying.

And my general advice is if you're applying to PA school, especially the first time, go into it planning on reapplying because it's so competitive and little things can just knock your application out.

So it sounds like you actually, you were very proactive and really took steps in every single way you could so that the next time going into it, your application was that much stronger.

And then I know I've seen on your social media and just from, from speaking with you that you did use some stuff from the PA platform as well.

Do you feel like those kind of gave you an edge over other candidates?

I think that it did.

First and foremost, like I, like you said, I was applying and reapplying as if I wasn't going to get in.

And so for me it was like, if I don't get in and I didn't do anything to improve, then I only have a short amount of time to improve.

And so the improvements, of course with the grades and the hours were one thing, but also with the personal statement.

And as soon as I got my first interview that one, I only utilized the Andrew Rokin interview book and also had like my dad grill me and like my mentor Anthony Gothier grill me.

And so while I was waiting on that interview or waiting on the decision from that interview, I also got an interview invite for Dominican sorry for Sacred Heart University, in which I did the mock interview with Sam.

And for me, I think I was down on myself a lot.

I obviously didn't have the best grades, but at the same time I still had a lot of strengths that I wasn't really showcasing.

And you guys really brought that out.

And so just the thing that I kind of figured out was that everybody has their own story, everybody has their own strength.

It's really how you put a spin on it, how you present yourself.

And the way that you guys were coaching me to do that, I was just like, like, wow, this is amazing.

Like, I went from zero interviews to like four interview invites and I was like wow, this is.

This is awesome.

So, yeah, confidence is such a big part of it.

And we don't tend to like to talk about ourselves one or brag on ourselves.

So sometimes it takes somebody else helping you to.

To see what your strengths are a little bit more.

And like you said, it's all about how you spin it and go about exploring, explaining things.

So you had four interviews and then at least two acceptances.

Yeah, so I.

The two interviews that I went to, I got accepted.

The other two interviews I actually declined.

Okay.

I declined Secret Heart.

After I found out, I got accepted to Dominican.

And then after that I got Ketchum as an interview and then I was waiting for them.

I got in ready for usc and then it was kind of the same thing with Sacred Heart in terms of I had my spot already and I knew I wanted to go to those schools and so I wanted to give my spot up just in case somebody else could use that or if they got called off the waitlist, because that's what happened to me.

For Ketchum, the admissions director called me on a Monday and was like, hey, we have interviews on Saturday.

You're on the waitlist to interview.

Are you so interested?

I was like, yes, absolutely.

So she's like, well, we'll let you know latest by Friday.

And here comes Friday afternoon.

She's like, hey, a spot opened up.

Do you want it?

And I'm like, absolutely, I'll be there.

So thank goodness.

Like it's like a 40 minute drive from my house.

But I was just super lucky and fortunate that I got off that wait list to interview.

And so for me, it was kind of like, well, I already have my spot.

Maybe somebody's on the waitlist to interview at USC and they can use that spot.

So that's why I declined my interview over there.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

And people always ask, how long do they.

How much notice do they give you before an interview?

And just, you have to be ready to go.

Absolutely.

Just ready to do it.

So after you're accepted to Marshall B. Ketchum, what were your deciding factors as far as deciding not only what school, what school you would be the best fit for, but would also fit you best.

I mean, I fell in love with Dominican when I interviewed there.

The faculty there is amazing.

The students there, they spoke highly about it and it was definitely like a close, tight knit family.

And that's kind of how I felt like I.

That that's one thing that was on my priority list for a program.

The smaller class size definitely Appealed to me a lot more than like the large class PA programs just because, I mean, I came from like a pretty big high school and a pretty big college and, you know, people can get lost within the mix of everything.

So for me, I was like, I kind of want something tight knit, so I know I don't slack off, you know, some, so people can keep me in check.

And another deciding factor was proximity.

That was the reason why I chose Dominican over Sacred Heart at that time.

Just because, you know, I wouldn't be able to focus too much if I'm in Connecticut and my family's all in California and I wouldn't be able to see them often, at least northern to Southern California, it's not too bad.

But then when it came to Ketchum and Dominican, like, as.

As torn as I was, I knew in the back of my mind I was going to stay home, stay local, because, I mean, every.

That's something that everybody ideally would want to do.

And I was fortunate enough to be in that position.

And so, like, my mom was super thrilled that I chose Southern California.

So.

Yeah.

Oh, that's fun.

Yeah.

Location was big for me too.

And that's why, honestly, why I chose my that in cost.

But location was a huge part of that.

Now that you were accepted, what, if anything, have you been doing to prepare or have you just been enjoying your time?

What have you done since your acceptance?

So something that I.

This was kind of like already in the works.

So when I was applying, I applied to a lot of programs this past cycle and my fees were a lot and obviously I was going to pay for it anyway.

So I used that credit card in which you spend like a certain amount, then you get like air mileage.

Oh, like the Southwest card or something.

The Southwest, yeah, yeah, exactly.

So I was like, well, you know, I might be able to use this on like my flights for interviews if I have to fly out far.

But fortunately after I got in, I was like, whoa, I have all these miles.

What do I do with it?

So I just decided to book my, like, mini vacation trip.

And it worked out because for the doctor that I work with, work with right now, we have a system to where I can actually work remotely.

And so it's like, some days I'm just like chilling, hanging out with my friends and visiting and spending time with them.

Other days I'm just like, in the zone.

I'll find a coffee spot or something and just work.

That's awesome.

So it worked out perfectly.

Things to prepare.

I went to AAPA to network with some people, kind of get some more resources, kind of get some advice from PA students.

Reviewing my anatomy and physio.

I brought my, like, anatomy coloring book on my trip and just I've still been, you know, working, so at least I have, like, it's not like I shut my brain off completely from anything medically related, but at the same time, I just wanted to relax and enjoy, like, the change of scenery, change of pace from California, especially, because I know, like, once I'm in school, it's gonna be, like, all gas, no breaks.

Yeah.

We'll have to check back in once you're sure, and you can share your advice as far as that goes.

Oh, yeah.

I've been following you on Instagram and seeing all of your adventures, your Disney World.

I'm super jealous.

All kinds of fun stuff.

Oh, gosh.

I had a question the last moment.

Oh, you talked about aapa, so, yeah.

You mentioned being a member and going to the conference, which, again, I'm super jealous that you got to go to that and hang out with so many fun people.

How did you feel going to the conference as somebody, I guess, who's still technically pre pa?

Like, did you feel like it was a great experience, maybe not helpful?

I don't know.

I thought it was an amazing experience.

To the California Academy of Physicians Conference in August of last year.

And that was in the middle of my application cycle.

And I found that super helpful just being able to network with my mentor and a couple other PAs he introduced me to.

I even ran into, like, my program director over there.

So it was just like the networking itself was.

It kind of paid for the admission to the conference to just, like, being immersed in that, like, environment in that field, you're just.

Because as pre PA students, it's hard enough to find PAs to, like, shadow or network with.

And over here, it's like, there's PAs everywhere that you can, like, you know, go up to and talk to.

And it's almost like it gives me motivation to be, like, wow, going to be one of them one day, you know, so it.

That also kind of made it worthwhile.

And then also going to some of the talks.

I know, like, the CME credits don't, you know, they have nothing.

I can't use them or anything right now, but just being able to sit in the talks and, like, realize that I understand some of this stuff already through my patient care experience, and I'm excited to learn more about it during PA school.

So at Kappa and at aapa, like, sitting in on Some of the seminars and sessions, like, it was great.

Two of my favorite things that was amazing and definitely worth it for pre PA students or PA students.

Pre PA students and practicing pas was the general session speaker.

The speaker this year was PA Jeff Evans.

And his story was just remarkable and very inspiring and very motivating.

And one thing that he said was, like, you know, he climbed Mount Everest with his friend who was blind, and this is, like, kind of the synopsis.

Yeah.

And he said during his, like, few minutes that he was up on the summit, he didn't learn anything, really.

But what he learned was everything that it took to get to that summit.

You know, those months of climbing and, like, hardship, and that really resonated with me as a prepa student.

And I think a lot of pre PA students need to hear that, because it's like, once you get accepted, it's like a weight is lifted off your shoulders.

Yes, you feel accomplished, but everything that took you to get to that spot is really what helped shape and mold you as a future PA and a future PA student.

So I feel like that message was amazing to hear and kind of like to validate, like, all my struggles and success.

I've.

All my struggles and obstacles have led to that success, but I learned a lot through those struggles.

Yeah, I saw some stuff about him.

It sounds like we need to try to get him on the podcast.

Oh, yeah.

He's so inspirational.

I'm like, you really did all of this, and you're a PA like, amazing.

Yeah.

Apparently there's a PA the other night on.

What is it?

American Ninja Warrior or whatever.

Okay, I need to.

I need to.

I'm gonna look her up, too.

But.

No, you're right.

I think was amazing, too.

Who?

The Challenge Bowl.

Oh, yeah.

That was really fun to see.

And then again, regardless of where you are, what stage you're at, it's exciting to see, and it's really.

It inspired to me.

Inspired me to try to be on the Challenge bowl one year.

Yeah.

I don't think my program.

My program went to gapa, which is like the Georgia P. I don't really think anyone went to aapa.

Oh, okay.

So maybe now they're.

That was a few years ago, but maybe now they're more involved.

I don't know.

But, yeah, I don't.

I don't know that we've ever won the Challenge bowl, unfortunately.

But no, I'm sure.

I'm sure one.

One year we'll meet up at AAPA whenever I make it there.

But, yeah, definitely worth It.

Yeah.

Are you.

Is that something you plan on trying to do again later?

I mean, hopefully in school and things like that?

I mean, hopefully, like, I'll be able to go as maybe, like, a student rep for my program, but.

Next year is Denver.

Yeah.

Yes, Denver.

Nashville.

Okay.

Nashville is close to me.

That sounds great.

Yeah.

A little less dry weather.

You're probably sick of our humidity, but.

I'm getting used to it.

We're good, though.

Okay, good.

Yeah.

It takes me a while to adjust when I go out west.

Yeah.

But, yeah.

Okay.

I wanted to ask you.

So sometimes I'll ask, like, what would you tell people if they're on the fence about becoming a pa?

But I think I kind of want you to address, like, what would be your advice?

Especially somebody right now who's pre PA who kind of like you were feeling.

Is feeling just, like, defeated.

Like, maybe they did get some rejections, which is so hard.

Like, this is such a random process.

I always tell people you can get a rejection in an interview, invite the exact same day.

Yeah.

Because it's so random.

Like, what would be your advice or motivation to them to either do something or keep going or.

Yeah, I think the broad advice that I can give is just keep working hard.

You know, if you're passionate about it, just don't give up.

Don't let it, you know, deter you.

I know a lot of people have different stories and people are inspiring in terms of, you know, oh, they have such a high GPA or they have X amount of hours.

Like, I wish I could be like them, but at the same time, I feel like everybody has such a unique story that it's like, if you generally just keep working hard, do what you got to do to get into school, schools will look at it.

And a program, the.

The program that fits you best, that sees you as a fit and you see as a fit is gonna accept you.

And it may be the first year, maybe the second year or the third year or later, but if you're genuinely, like, working hard towards it, the universe will reward you for it, you know?

And so for me, I, like, I sacrificed time to hang out with my friends and my family, working, like, again, 52 hours a week.

I was dead tired, but at the same time, I still found time to, like, study for my classes or study for the gre.

And for me, I think making the excuses wasn't going to do anything, so I had to make the effort instead.

And it all paid off in the end.

But regardless of where you're at if you're starting out or if you're in the middle or if you're very close, you know, like, waiting on last minute interviews and stuff like that.

Because some of my friends actually just got interviews like within the past couple weeks and got accepted.

So I mean, like, regardless of where you're at, just.

Just keep at it.

And then we're gonna look back and be like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe I was stressing out over trying to get into PA school like that.

No, I do that.

I actually found an old journal from college and, man, I was rough on myself.

You're never gonna do this.

You can't do it.

Like, it's so.

But now it's so funny.

Like, it was so dramatic.

So where can people find you as far as your social media?

Are you still in YouTube stuff, website?

Like, where can we follow along and connect with you?

Yeah, so my.

I guess my brand is kind of just like everything rolled up in one.

Like my PA stuff, my rap stuff, my travel stuff.

So my website is aaronancor.com.

So Aaron A A R O N A N G K O R dot com.

Funny thing about that is, like, a lot of people are like, I can't pronounce it, so I don't really know, like, how to look it up.

But it's essentially off of Angkor Wat from.

In Cambodia.

Encore is like my unofficial middle name, my family middle name.

So that's why everybody calls me like, aa.

And I was thinking about maybe changing it later, but for for now, it's Aaron A N G K O R. And that's also my Instagram handle and my YouTube channel.

I don't really have many PA stuff on that yet, but I might have maybe some vlogs here and there, but later on.

But for the most part, people are more than welcome to direct message me on Instagram or shoot me an email.

My email's on that website as well, as well as my blog for, like, all my different PA school posts and stuff like that.

Okay, perfect.

I'll put all links to everything in the description and all that so people can find you, but.

All right, well, any.

If there's anything else you want to add, go for it.

I think we've covered some good stuff and thank you so much for taking the time to share with us.

No problem.

Thank you, Savannah.

You're welcome.

All right, y', all, that was our interview.

So like I said, it feels really great to get back to interviewing and we'll be covering lots of stuff in upcoming podcasts.

If there's something you want to hear about, please let me know either on here or in a review.

If you have a question, let us know.

And make sure you check out Aaron's website and follow him on Instagram.

I'm sure he'll be posting tons of great stuff as he starts school very soon.

It's almost fall, so.

Alright, I'll see you guys next week.

Have a good weekend.