When such stories make you feel positive and prepare you more for the life ahead. Life is not bliss for all, some go through extreme struggles and try hard to overcome but in the process, they fall prey to the adversities of life. Such people extended hands in the process and exceptional support to fight against it. Here, is a student who looks forward to empowering people.
Zachery Dereniowski, a medical student at the University of Sydney in Australia who aims to empower and educate people for the betterment of their lives. His formula is “Vulnerability = Relatability = Empowerment”. He is providing a voice to people battling with mental health issues.
Zachery’s story started when he decided one day to tell his freshman year story on Instagram. He received one particular response from a student going through a similar situation and found that through his story, he was able to relate to people. From then he started to post daily. He also began working as an MCAT tutor. Fortunately, he received a job opportunity from Examkrackers and he accepted it as this provided him greater reach. At present he is currently one of TikTok’s top mental health advocates with over 400K followers. He also got an opportunity to get interviewed by the Sydney Herald regarding his platform.
“I hope to continue to remain transparent and empower others to use their voice to do the same. To speak up for support from family/loved ones and seek professional support when concerned. I am by no means a doctor yet, and my goal is not to diagnose anyone ever.
I hope people recognize that they matter, that they are not alone and they are worthy of recovering from whatever they are going through”, he remarked.
He got inspired when he failed to achieve a good score in his first year of college. With lessons learnt after failing out of college, he came back refocused and committed to complete his studies and scored over a 510 in MCAT on his first attempt. He has done a Bachelor of Human Kinetics and Post-Baccalaureate in Pre-Medical Studies. He plans to pursue residency opportunities in either orthopaedics, paediatrics, or psychiatry once completing medical school. Also, he looks forward to helping students get into medical school and continue to raise mental health awareness.
Furthermore, he being a dual U.S. and Canadian citizen has experienced living in a busy border city. He told he has seen gaps in the system. US care has quick access but is not affordable whereas Canada has affordable basic care but it takes a long time.
He is fond of playing basketball, working out, watching horror movies, and travelling the world. New Zealand is his favourite destination. He is inspired by Kobe Bryant.