Creating the Competitive Edge

Jessie Willey ‘20 has a busy month ahead of her; in just a couple weeks she will decide where to attend pharmacy school, and she has her pick of the litter. Jessie is already accepted to University of Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and Northeastern; and she is also looking forward to an interview with Chapel Hill.

Pharmacy school wasn’t Jessie’s original plan. After an internship at the Peninsula Regional Medical Center in the Cardiac Recovery Unit in Salisbury, she realized being a doctor wasn’t her calling.

“I was working in the cardiac ward as a volunteer position as a nurse’s assistant, where I shadowed on Mondays. I would do rounds with different surgeons or physicians, they’d check on wounds, it was a lot of blood. That's when I realized I didn't want to be a doctor, the whole idea of rounds and bouncing around from person to person and you don’t have a lot of extended patient contact,” she says. “I really learned a lot, but one of the most important things I learned was that I didn’t want to be a doctor.” 

Jessie’s passion lies in working with underserved populations, using her scientific findings to better their lives. Jessie credits her liberal arts education to opening her up to a world beyond the Eastern Shore, and is grateful to her professors who seamlessly connect biology to real-life situations.

“I’ve developed a better world sense and world view since being here. In understanding that not everyone is coming from the same background or is impacted by the same factors, I’m more confident in my knowledge and appreciating I'm getting such a great education here.” 

Public Health program director Prof. Libby Yost has been a key force in helping Jessie make these connections.

“Public health connects what I learn in biology about infectious diseases to the perspective Prof. Yost brings of ‘there's a person behind that patient’ and I learn more about disparities and access—really understanding how important population-based medicine is.” Jessie continues, “I think about the world in a more well-rounded way now that I think will help a lot in my career.”

This past summer Jessie worked at the John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth where her perspective on medicine crossed international waters. 

“My role in particular was to be in the nurse's office distributing medications; a lot of students take daily medication which they can’t keep in the dorms because they’re minors,” she says. “I learned a lot about the different types of medicines. It was interesting to gain perspective on how the international students were treating the same things the American kids were treating. The international students had almost no prescription medicines, it was a lot of herbal remedies such as green tea supplements.”

Jessie is also considering choosing a graduate program where she will continue to build off of her liberal arts education receiving not only a doctorate in pharmacy, but also a masters in public health. 

“I think a liberal arts Bachelor of Science makes you a more competitive applicant. It gives you better interdisciplinary skills, developed scientific writing skills, and confidence interacting with scientific journals. You can bring so much as a liberal arts student into the medical profession. You’re going to have the best communication skills on a team and the best appreciation for everyone else’s work. When I go to interviews now I know that I am a dynamic applicant and that I can compete intellectually at that next level.”

 

11/19/2019 Editor's Note: Jessie is excited to share that she will be attending the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy.