What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?
When I left Bowdoin, I wasn't really entirely sure what I wanted to do with my major. I knew I wanted to work in healthcare, but I wasn't sure in what capacity. So, right out of school, I worked at a physical therapy (PT) clinic as a physical therapy assistant, just to get experience in the field, and then I decided that I wanted to apply for PT school. I worked for about two years at a PT clinic, and then, after being in the field for a while, I decided that I didn't want to go that route. I was considering the amount of schooling and the cost of schooling. I was kind of at a crossroads, and I wanted to get some more organizational and project management skills, so I worked at a charter high school as a project coordinator. It was really beneficial in helping me gain some of those professional skills that I didn't get working at the PT clinic, and I did it about for about two years and was really grateful for that experience. I still knew I wanted to be in healthcare, so I decided to get my foot into the door and went to school for radiology technologists. I also worked full time overnights at an urgent care center called Solace Health, which was also a really cool experience where I got the chance to work very closely with physician assistants, nurses, and radiology techs. I finished up radiology tech school in May, and, since then, I've been working as a radiology tech at a surgical center in New York. It's been good to finally work in the healthcare field, and, right now, I am setting my eyes on applying for physician assistant school next fall.
Why biology?
Since I was a kid, I've always been interested in science and how the body works. I've always been amazed with the feats that the human body is able to accomplish. I knew I wanted to do something science-related, and biology seemed like the perfect major for me—it doesn't get more specific than biology. I knew I also wanted to work in healthcare, and I was already thinking about what classes I needed to have in order to apply for schools to get into the healthcare professions. It definitely wasn't easy, and there are times when I wanted to reconsider my decision to major in biology, but I took people's doubts as a challenge. Regardless of what struggles I went through while pursuing this major, I knew I was going to stick with this to prove it to myself and to them that I could accept this challenge and get through.