Summer Series: Back to School (again)

We are excited to kick off our summer series of blogs about going back to school (again), which will focus on students who have taken some time off prior to returning for graduate school. These students worked in a variety of fields and jobs and bring an interesting perspective for those who are considering making the plunge of going back to school. 

For this series we will cover the following topics:

How did you decide to go back?

How did you prepare to apply to graduate school?

How has it felt to be a student again?

What recommendations do you have for surviving graduate school?

Would you do it all over again? 

And finally, what advice do you have for those considering going back to school?

We hope you will find our experience to be helpful! So without further ado the first part of our series will cover how students made the decision to go back to school…

How did you decide to go back?

I think there were several opportunities that came together and brought me to the decision to go back.  I had been volunteering at a hospital and found it was incredibly professionally satisfying.  A group of cancer genetic counselors in the hospital system was very welcoming and gave me the chance to shadow them in action.  The more I read about the genetic counseling profession, and the University of Pittsburgh genetic counseling program and the Medical Center specifically, the more enthusiastic I became about applying.  I had a very specific end goal in mind and Robin and Andrea and Candy gave me the opportunity make it a reality.  When I spoke with Andrea over the phone about accepting the offer to study here I found that I didn’t need to think about my decision.  A “Yes, thank you!” burst out and I felt as if the decision was so perfect it made itself. – Sarah Brunker

After college, I planned on working a few years and then going back to school for something specific that was not genetic counseling. But I learned quickly that while I had a good idea of what was interested in, I had no ideahow I wanted that interest to manifest itself in a career. At least, it was not what I had originally thought. I tried out quite a few things and honed in on what qualities I prioritize most in a career, as well as my life in general. When I learned about genetic counseling, it was kind of “ah hah” moment. I shadowed a few genetic counselors. From there, I really had no second thoughts as I prepared to apply to programs, because I knew it was the next step to get there.

—Caitlin Russell 

During my undergraduate program, I was able to secure an internship at a biotech company. This opportunity turned into a full-time work position, which allowed me to gain invaluable professional experience. It was during this time, I realized I wanted more from my career than just science. I was missing the connection with people and I knew genetic counseling would offer both of these things. I decided to take a leap of faith and began strengthening my resume in order to apply to programs. It was a year long process for me but I knew the sacrifice would be well worth it! —Alyssa Azevedo

I knew I wanted to go back to school, because I knew I didn’t love what I was doing at the time. I also knew I didn’t want to come back to school unless it was for something I knew I could see myself being involved in for the rest of my life. I already had a graduate degree and realized that it wasn’t the career path for me so I knew I didn’t want a degree just to get one, but one that would take me where I wanted to go. Once I found genetic counseling I felt like it might be a good choice, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to ‘hack it’.  Luckily, I had a very supportive environment to do my prerequisite classes, which really helped me know that going back to school was the right choice for me. I also spent a lot of time discussing going back to school with my husband, who agreed that life is better when you love your job. He encouraged me to read a textbook about genetic counseling (thinking if I could make it through the textbook and still be interested that is a pretty good sign) and I made it through the green book and loved it. --Natasha Robin Berman

I had always planned to pursue education beyond a four-year degree, but didn’t feel ready to commit to more schooling after finishing up a B.S. degree in Biology, and a Chemistry minor. A few years after graduation, while working as a cytogenetic tech in a clinical genetics lab, I discovered genetic counseling. I loved my job, so it was hard to leave, but when I had mastered my position as a cyto tech, and begun to feel like it was no longer helping me grow, I knew it was time to go back to school- and genetic counseling was calling my name. –Charlotte Skinner

 

Honestly this was more of an ease back into being a student.  After undergrad, I joined Teach for America to become a middle school science teacher.  After several years in the classroom, I had to decide whether to continue teaching or return to research.  As a sort of middle ground, I took a leave of absence from my position and pursued a research Masters program in the UK. The accelerated program allowed me to really “try on” being a researcher. – Kelsey Bohnert