Name: Anne C.
Hometown: Barnstable, MA
Major(s): Psychology
Current job: Veterinary Student, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Tell us a little about the path from graduation to your current job/career: After graduation I moved to California with my now-husband, also a JHU grad. I worked for several years in higher education, but left my job as Director of Admissions and Outreach at a graduate school in order to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. I completed a post-bacc program at UC Berkeley to pick up some pre-requisite courses I hadn’t taken previously, then applied and was accepted to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. I am currently in my second year and I am pursuing the small animal medicine track.
Any internships/pre-professional experiences at JHU? I did an internship in the JHU Office of Undergraduate Admissions in my senior year. I loved getting the chance to work with prospective students and hone my professional communication skills.
What extracurriculars were you involved with at JHU? Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, undergraduate admissions tour guide & student interviewer, and Throat Culture sketch comedy troupe.
In what ways did your Hopkins education prepare you for your career? At Hopkins I learned to think analytically and perform high-quality research, and I went through a great deal of personal growth. I learned how to be a critical consumer of information and gained an appreciation for learning directly from primary sources. These skills have been very helpful in my medical training.
Any classes, faculty members, or involvements at JHU that helped to shape your career interest? I took several courses on Animal Behavior that really excited me, and ultimately helped solidify my interest in veterinary medicine as a career.
Favorite Hopkins memory: I have so many! My husband, sister, and all of the women who became my bridesmaids are all Hopkins alumni, and I’m so grateful to have had the chance to spend those years on campus with them. When people ask me what I loved most about JHU my answer is always, “The people I met there.” Favorite memories include camping out on the quad for Relay for Life, Bid Day with my sorority sisters, seeing Will Ferrell speak at the MSE Symposium, sledding on cafeteria trays on the hill near the physics building, and exploring Baltimore with the fellow student I later went on to marry.
What about being a Hopkins student do you miss the most? I miss being immersed in the Hopkins community each day. It’s such a privilege to live, work, and study alongside some of the brightest, most ambitious, and most interesting young people in the world.
How did going to school in Baltimore affect your college experience and opportunities for pre-professional experiences? When I began searching for my perfect college I knew I wanted to be in a city. Hopkins (and Baltimore) fit the bill. My self care ritual was visiting the National Aquarium downtown, and I have many fond memories of late night dinners with friends at Tamber’s or Paper Moon Cafe. It really is a charming city. Several of my friends fell in love with Baltimore so much that they never left.
Knowing what you know now, what would you want to tell your pre-college self? Keep an open mind. While many students come to college believing they know exactly what they want to do with their lives, I would say an even greater number change their plans entirely within a year or two. Hopkins was a great fit for me because it offers excellent learning opportunities in a wide variety of areas. You have room to explore – take advantage of it!
