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Meet Jill...

Class: 2009
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Undergrad: Cornell University
Major: Animal Science
Program: M.D./M.B.A.

My passion for science began at a young age when I assisted in a zebra autopsy at a game farm near my home on Long Island, New York. Originally planning on veterinary medicine, I attended Cornell University which afforded me the opportunity to study abroad in Kenya and make a critical career change.

Although medical school thoughts always percolated in my head, it wasn’t until I was in Africa and witnessed first-hand the global inequities of health care and the challenges of providing affordable and effective care to developing countries that I felt compelled to enter medicine.

After graduation, I worked at Columbia Medical Center as a lab technician in an HIV clinical trials support lab. Here I recognized a crucial factor in the development of effective health care: the need for medical professionals to understand and play an active role in the business behind health care systems.

“UConn fosters a cooperative mentality amongst its students and faculty...”

Medical school applications were put on hold as I subsequently immersed myself in the world of finance by spending three years as a consultant for a financial services consulting firm. I kept in tune with the medical community through hospital volunteer work. When the time came to join these two seemingly divergent paths, I targeted schools offering a joint M.D./M.B.A. program and UConn quickly jumped to the top of that list.

I wanted to find a place that would facilitate and support my career growth in international health care. UConn fosters a cooperative mentality amongst its students and faculty – a team effort where everyone works together to ensure the success of each individual student.

Future plans include participation in a UConn affiliated Spanish immersion summer program, earning my M.D./M.B.A., and entering an internal medicine residency.

I am confident I chose the right school. Armed with an internal drive to obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to affect change in the current tumultuous health care industry, a student can only thrive in the UConn environment.