Meet Catherine...
 Class: 2007
Hometown: Riverside, Connecticut
Undergrad: Georgetown University
Major: English
Program: Post Baccalaureate Program; M.D.
Though trite as it may seem, I have always wanted to be a doctor. There are no doctors in my family and so I set out to explore my fascination with medicine by volunteering in hospitals
throughout high school and college. Over a period of 5 years I worked in New York City with pediatric HIV and AIDS patients and eventually I became involved in research. Medicine, however, has
never been the exclusive focus of my life.
As an undergraduate at Georgetown University, though I completed the necessary pre-medical courses, I chose to major in English and minor in Italian. I had spent a great deal of time in
Italy growing up and so I studied in Italy during college and returned there following my graduation to teach a writing course about Italian culture. When I returned, I spent a year working as
an international operations analyst in a government bonds trading firm. I was then accepted into UConn’s Post Baccalaureate Program to prepare for medical school.
I was initially drawn to the UConn Health Center by the immediate sense of community that I felt when I visited the campus. The students seemed genuinely happy to be here. The faculty knows
us as individuals and not just as medical students sitting in an auditorium. Never did I hesitate to approach a professor with a question or problem. There is a sense here that we are expected
to succeed and for me this nurturing has helped to drive my desire to learn.
 |
 |
|
“We are encouraged to balance our lives while in medical school and not to abandon those things which are important to us.”
|
|
|
As a UConn student my love of medicine and appreciation for physiology and pathophysiology has developed to new levels with the help of not only my professors, but that of other students
and most importantly patients. Medical knowledge began in the lecture hall and moved on to become ridiculous pneumonics created at 2 a.m. with friends. Eventually, however,
it transcended these places and evolved as it was applied to patients. At UConn, this connection begins early as students have the unique experience of the Student
Continuity Practice, a program that enables us to begin seeing patients within months of beginning medical school.
Service has always been a factor in my decision to become a doctor and as a medical student I have been able to continue with this aspect of my life. I have spent time working in clinics
with both children and adults. As a teacher for Hartford Health Education, I helped in providing health education to Hartford middle school students. I have also worked side by side with
faculty members building houses for Habitat for Humanity.
We are encouraged to balance our lives while in medical school and not to abandon those things which are important to us. I have managed to continue to spend time with family and travel
when possible. Having studied voice, I have even been able to continue singing, participating in events at school including convocation and graduation. I have weaved these things into my time
here which, although not always easy, had made my experience that much richer. |
