Coming to Wright State was an easy decision for me—it was the closest university to my home. College surprised me because unlike in high school where I was told what to study, college gave me the opportunity to study the subjects I was passionate about. My favorite thing about WSU was the faculty, staff, and students who went above and beyond the expected to help me advance my career. These connections are by far the greatest benefit of my time at Wright State.
My typical day involves going to work at one of my multiple jobs (working as a paramedic or EMS faculty at Sinclair) where I normally work 12 to 24-hour shifts. I worked a minimum of 36 hours a week throughout my entire undergraduate education.
While working as a landscaper, I started to realize I did not want to landscape for the rest of my life. One of my co-workers volunteered as an EMT and I thought this sounded like a pretty interesting job. I began working as an EMT and enrolled in college to become a paramedic. During my paramedic education I was given the opportunity to work side-by-side with physicians; these experiences made me realize I wanted to become a physician myself. I have volunteered as an EMT/paramedic/firefighter for the past seven years. I have also worked as a Patient Care Technician on the medical-surgical unit at Good Samaritan Hospital and Emergency Department Technician in the emergency department at Miami Valley Hospital. I have shadowed several Emergency Medicine physicians, an Orthopedic Surgeon, a Pediatric Neurosurgeon, and an Electrophysiologist. These experiences have been invaluable to my education and career choices. I am motivated by the desire to succeed and be the best I can be.
My advice to high school students is, don't get so caught up in where you want to be that you forget to have fun where you are. I believe all students should find something they are passionate about and volunteer in that area. You don't have to know exactly what you want to do right now. I started out wanting to be a nurse, switched to becoming a paramedic, and my time as a paramedic made me want to be a physician. Even though I am older than many other medical school applicants, I have been given the opportunity to do a lot of awesome things the traditional applicant has not been able to do.
