In our alumni spotlight series, learn about Harvard graduates' most meaningful experiences from college, and how Harvard impacted their professional and personal paths after graduation.
Hometown & Current City: Cleveland, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee
House Affiliation: Adams
Concentration and Secondary Field: Molecular and Cellular Biology, Secondary: Global Health and Health Policy
What was your professional path after college? After college, I went directly to medical school and am now a current third year medical student at Vanderbilt!
What fills your time now? Professionally and otherwise? I spend most of my time in the hospital or in classes as a current medical student. Outside of the hospital, I love spending time on research, medical education, mentorship. I also love cooking, spending time with my friends and family, and hiking!
How did your academic experience at Harvard guide you in your post-grad pursuits? Harvard is, truly, a transformative experience. I had the most incredible mentors who guided me extensively throughout college. In fact, during college, one of my mentors gave me her phone number and told me to text or call her whenever I needed anything (which I did in the midst of medical school interviews for advice!) I had such supportive premed mentors in Adams house who helped me through the very stressful application process (all while during COVID and the transition to virtual interviews). Further, though certainly I was academically challenged and grew from the academic rigor of Harvard, I also learned how to learn. The skills that I gained at Harvard have directly translated to my experiences in medical school where I translate the skills of learning how to prioritize, working with my peers to learn, and utilizing many of the study strategies I gained at Harvard.
What was a favorite class you took and why? One of my favorite classes was PS2 (physics)! I had taken some higher level physics courses in high school and truthfully did not enjoy it that much. When I took this course, however, which was more of an application based course, I was able to see the clear translation of physics in biology. Further, I served as a teaching assistant for this course which was one of the most rewarding experiences. I loved being able to break down challenging concepts to make them a bit more understandable, and got to help facilitate creating a small online community among my students! I also took a psych course on emotions which I really enjoyed and I think very much highlights the liberal arts educational nature at Harvard - it was not a course that I was required to take, but one that I was genuinely interested and curious about and ended up being a really interesting course (where we also got to watch movies and interpret them) and discuss the intersection between biology and emotions!
What were you involved in extracurricularly? I was presidents of the Harvard Health Policy Review, Harvard Narravitas, and Harvard Cancer Society, was involved in Harvard Dharma, and volunteered at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter!
What is a favorite memory of Harvard House life? Carpe every week in Adams was one of my favorite traditions! I loved spending evenings in the dining hall studying (with lots of other Adams house members!) and we would all go to Carpe to destress after a long study session to bond with the rest of the community and eat some Nochs!
What is your favorite Harvard tradition and why? Housing day! Getting to dorm storm all the first years was one of my favorite memories - I loved seeing their anticipation turn into immediate excitement!
What advice do you have for someone applying to college? Keep an open mind and know that you will learn so much from your classmates when you go to college! College is an exciting (and simultaneously a bit scary) transition where you will have the freedom and autonomy to choose whatever path you want! Harvard allowed me the opportunity to take so many classes that I would not have even thought about taking as a high schoolers and really allowed me to improve my breadth of knowledge. You will also end up making life long friends (in fact, I was just a bridesmaid for one of my best friend's from college's wedding) who will inspire you and from whom you will learn so much from. Challenge yourself, try to learn as much as you can, and enjoy this new stage of life!