As a psychology concentrator, Bercu says he has an intense interest in the human element of medicine, and says he hopes to bring this to his future career.

“My philosophy is that medicine is about people, bringing all different backgrounds together, the gamut of human potential to a field that is really about human beings,” he says.

Bercu says that he is not typical in that he has not treated his pre-med career with the intensity of many others.

He says there is truth to the stereotype of a “pre-med mentality” at Harvard.

“It’s the idea of obsession, competitiveness and it’s intimidating,” Bercu says.

He has been heavily involved in many campus extracurricular activities such as the Undergraduate Council, tutoring, Harvard Hillel and several student-faculty committees, all of which have taken away time from studying.

“I could work all day, my marks would be off the board, but to me it’s important to do extracurriculars and interact with people. That will make me a better physician,” he says.

He says he looks forward to the future as a constant process of self-discovery.

“I’ll be closing the loose ends of my intellectual grapplings here at Harvard, figuring out the next step, and ultimately finding out who I really am,” Bercu says of his final year.

Social Causes, Healing People

Carrie E. Tuten ’04 describes herself as primarily interested in the “social aspects of medicine.”

She says she wants to be a doctor to help people heal and become productive members of their communities.

She works with Project HEALTH, a Harvard volunteer program focused on pediatric health, and plans to work for a homeless shelter this summer.

Her interest in medicine coincides with her concern for the underprivileged and social causes.

Tuten says she considers her choices for summer employment “not traditional” because they keep her far from the lab bench.