What attracted you to the profession you are pursuing?
The PA profession allows me to have lateral mobility throughout my career, the work-life balance that I want in life, and high job satisfaction. I have never met a PA that doesn’t love their job and the PA profession!
What have been strengths of your program and/or DMU that have shaped your experiences as a student here?
DMU focuses on all 8 aspects of wellness when you are a student here. From physical, to emotional, to social, I could tell that the faculty here really cared about me as a person and wanted me to succeed in all aspects of my life. I also love that DMU holds the 50 and Better Fair! I have a minor in gerontology and adore the fact that DMU cares about their older adult community around them.
The PA program has done a fantastic job transitioning to online learning. We started in May before the other programs and I was blown away with how prepared our faculty were to teach us over Zoom.
What have you most enjoyed?
I have really enjoyed getting to know my classmates. As president I have been able to interact with all 50 of them, even through Zoom. I have found life-long best friends and I could not be more thankful for these incredible humans I get to call my classmates and peers.
How would you describe your interactions with faculty?
Our PA faculty are amazing! They are such role models for us students and we can really tell they care about our learning. I look forward to getting to know them better as the year goes on.
What do you think applicants should know about Des Moines?
I am from West Des Moines, born and raised. I absolutely love the Des Moines area. It is a growing city, as new restaurants, new concerts, and new events are always popping up everywhere! Des Moines is surrounded by many smaller suburbs, so it is fun to go explore those as well. Des Moines is also in a drivable distance to Kansas City, Chicago, and Minneapolis for a fun weekend trip to take your mind off school for a bit!
Describe some of the extracurricular aspects of your experience that you have valued.
I am involved in Student Ambassadors, so I am part of the interview process for potential PA students. I love interacting with these students as I was just one of them last year! It is fun to talk to them and answer their questions about our program. I am also a member of the Geriatrics Club and a mentee for COATS (Connecting Older Adults to Students) in which I am paired with an older adult from the community. We learn about major topics related to aging and we interact 1:1 to learn more about each other! As president of my class, it was my job to plan PA week in October this year! I planned a yoga social for my class on the lawn of the SEC. Over half the class showed up and it was so much fun to get to know my classmates and laugh along with each other as we attempted yoga moves!
