The Rejected Pre-Med Podcast: For Anyone Who’s Faced Rejection · Valeria Rusnak, BSc. Neuroscience, Mental Health Advocate & Speaker

Self-Rejection and Fear of Failure Caused by Impostor Syndrome and Perfectionism (with Dr. Rebecca Malhi)

·38 min·1 clip

Rejection is often redirection, not the end of your journey.

Valeria Rosnaff introduces the 13th episode as a conversation about rejection and resilience. She frames rejection as redirection before welcoming Dr. Rebecca Mollie. Mollie's story begins with a move from India to England and then Canada. She studied computer science and spent years as a programmer and systems analyst in Calgary's oil and gas industry. A layoff hit hard, but it also became a turning point. She stepped back and asked what she really wanted to do. She returned to academia and eventually completed a PhD in psychology. That shift let her lean into research and teaching. Until 2022, she worked as a research associate in the Cummings School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. She also continues to be involved in research, publishing academic papers, and supervising and mentoring students. She currently holds adjunct assistant professor appointments in psychology and community health sciences. The conversation then turns to what success means. Mollie argues that external markers matter, but internal fulfillment matters too. She describes looking in the mirror and liking what she sees in her work and life. Rosnaff and Mollie keep circling back to the idea that passion can fit into everyday life, even if it is not the main job. That leads into the Joyful Scholar podcast, which grew out of Lumino Writing Services. Mollie explains that many clients' writing problems were really broader issues like stress, time management, and procrastination. She says the podcast offers tips and strategies drawn from her own experience and from research, with references included so listeners can follow up on the studies themselves. The episode lands on a quiet argument for choosing work that brings joy, staying curious about the research, and treating rejection as material for a larger life reset.

As heard by us

A steady listen for anyone trying to turn a setback into a clearer path forward.

Self-rejection sits at the center of this conversation, but the hour also gives Dr. Rebecca Mollie a wider arc, from India to England and then Canada, and from computer science and oil-and-gas work into psychology after a layoff forced a reset.

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Why you'd press play

For the moment rejection starts feeling like a verdict.

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