Zachery Dereniowski, born on June 27th, 1993 in Windsor, ON Canada. At present, he is a medical student at the University of Sydney in Australia and a well-known Social Media Influencer motivating and guiding not only medical students to maximize their MCAT scores but also helping people to beat mental illness and assuring them life is much more than the struggles.
It was difficult for him to score well on the MCAT and get into medical school after he underachieved in college. In the first year of college he scored 0.59 GPA, as a result, he was Required to Withdraw from the Biochemistry program. He pumped inspiration in himself with this failure. He completed his studies and scored a 4.0 GPA over his next 9 consecutive semesters, and over a 510 on the MCAT on his first attempt.
He started one day telling his freshman year story on an Instagram post. He received a response from a stranger who shared his story in return. Zachery recognized his vulnerability allowed him to relate and connect with others. From then he started to post daily. He also began working as an MCAT tutor. Fortunately then, he received a job opportunity from Examkrackers and he accepted it as this provided him much greater reach. At present he is one of TikTok’s top mental health advocates with over 500K followers. He also got an opportunity to get interviewed by the Sydney Herald regarding his account.
Five years down the line, he sees himself in his second year of residency in either Australia or North America studying either orthopaedics, paediatrics, or psychiatry. He looks forward to continuing to help pre-medical students getting into medical school and raise mental health awareness.
When asked about his interests, he said,” His inspiration is Kobe Bryant”, he loves playing basketball, staying active, exploring the outdoors, and is a scary movie buff. Zachery indulges himself in spontaneous road trips with New Zealand being a favourite destination.
Zachery’s purpose in life is to empower others, inspiring and making an impact on others’ lives. At present, along with his studies, he is inspiring, motivating, and guiding pre-medical students entering medical school and helping people who are struggling with mental health issues and want to become a voice for those who are suffering from mental health issues and to disseminate a message of hope and support. He believes in the formula, “Vulnerability = Relatability = Empowerment” and wants to empower pre-medical students entering medical school.
He revealed, “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.”