A year ago I was preparing to embark on a new journey. I moved away from home to pursue a professional career that would challenge me on a daily basis. As of today, I have completed half of the training program at Quinnipiac University and can honestly say I could not be happier. The transition into a fast paced learning environment was quick and challenging, but I, along with my classmates, survived to talk about it.

The standards we are held to at Quinnipiac University allow us to demonstrate our abilities, not just to ourselves, but to those who teach us, learn from us and those who are looking to pursue a graduate-level education. Upon completion of the first year, about a week ago, we quickly transitioned into the second year of the training program. The second year consists of rotating through different clinical affiliations in 5-8 week blocks. The majority of our affiliations are in Connecticut, but we also have four sites in different states. All of the affiliations are in top medical institutions which help us develop our training and ultimately shape our professional careers.

My experiences in the last year as a pathologists’ assistant student have allowed me to grow and mature into the professional I will be upon graduation. All of my experiences have also earned me a scholarship to attend the annual conference held by the American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants in San Francisco. The scholarship was awarded to twelve students, two from Quinnipiac -- Congrats Nicole St.Pierre!--, from the nine pathologists’ assistants program in the nation based on an essay. The essay topic asked the students to describe why we felt we were deserving of the scholarship and how attending the annual conference would benefit us. I decided to write about all the wonderful opportunities I experienced as part of the reputable pathologists’ assistants program at Quinnipiac University. As a scholarship recipient, I will have to present a poster at the conference. I have decided, with the help of my current mentor, to base my poster presentation on a practical aspect of our profession as it relates to neurological tumors.

I am confident that the in-class training I received as first year student will allow me to succeed as I rotate throughout our program’s clinical affiliations. I know this year will be filled with new experiences, opportunities and mentors that will continue to shape me as an individual and a professional. I am so grateful to be able to represent Quinnipiac University at all of these top hospitals, teaching centers and the AAPA conference.

-- Nancy

Nancy graduated in 2009 from Baylor University with an undergraduate degree in Forensic Science and a minor in Chemistry. Subscribe to our feed for more posts from Nancy!