I would like to start by saying this blog is dedicated to Small Sam. You can blame her for its existence.
Who am I?
My name is Lillian and I am a first year student in the WVU Pathologists' Assistant Class of 2025. I grew up in Greenfield, IN before moving to Davenport, IA for high school and then Iowa City, IA to attend the University of Iowa. I graduated in May 2023 with a BS in Microbiology and worked as an MLT for the 7 months between graduation and the start of PA school.
I would say I'm an outdoorsy person but only if its below 78 degrees with ample shade. I enjoy cycling but you'll never see me run. Most of my free time is spent indoors either reading, crafting or lifting weights. My favorite microorganism is Psudeomonas aeruginosa because I like a good pus-filled abscess. I'm a dog person but until I have a home with a yard I have my pet turtle Bubbles to keep me company.
Left: My brother's dog modeling my embroidery Right: My handsome little man in a sweater
How did I get here?
It was a pretty straightforward path to be honest. In high school I worked in a public library shelving books. There were a series of books about careers I had shelved before and on my break one day I flipped through them looking for "Pharmacist" because I was young and foolish and thought chemistry was fun. The careers were listed alphabetically so before I got to "Pharmacist" the word "Pathologist" caught my eye. I don't remember what those 3 paragraphs of information contained but it was enough for me to go shadow the pathologist at my local hospital. From there I shadowed other lab personnel. All of their labs were in one large room which is how I ended up in the gross room which was more like a gross closet. The PA I met in that gross closet was so cool that I came back a few times to shadow her and my fate was sealed.
I did spend time in college waffling between becoming a pathologist or a pathologists' assistant but I chose PA for several reasons:
1. Med school is gross and not the fun kind of gross. I love learning but I don't love it enough to put myself through 4 years of coursework that does not particularly interest me.
2. I like hands-on work. I worked many jobs in college in both lab settings and clinical settings that informed my decision. I spent a lot of time with many types of healthcare workers, and doctors spent too much time in front of a computer and not enough time in front of the cool stuff in my opinion.
3. I want to enjoy my youth while it lasts. Plenty of med students and residents buy houses and start families and all that jazz but that's all while their education looms over them. I would much rather have the last half of my 20s dedicated solely to enjoying life and not worrying about grades and loans.
Why WVU?
WVU was my first pick school and the only one I applied to so thank goodness they let me in. Here are some reasons I chose it:
1. It does not require the GRE. I was willing to take the GRE before I saw it had algebra on it. I hadn't looked at algebra since sophomore year of high school and had no intention of ever looking at it again.
2. It is a well-established program. There aren't many programs to choose from but I felt more comfortable attending one that had been around longer and was therefore more likely to have its act together.
3. It is not located in or near a large city. I'm not a city gal and like a short commute and small community vibe.
4. I liked the curriculum the best out of the programs I looked at and was excited that they let students gross real patient specimens in the first semester.
Who is the Class of 2025?
They're a pretty cool group of people from all over with a variety of educational and career experiences. This is not a complete list but it should give an idea of the kinds of experiences and education that can lead to PA school.
States | Degrees | Jobs |
Indiana | BS Cellular and Molecular Biology | Supervisor Forensic Technician |
Arizona | BS Exercise Physiology, MS Health Science | Optician |
Florida | BS Biology | MLS (Blood Bank) |
New York | BS Forensic and Investigative Sciences | Pharmaceutical Technician |
Missouri | BS Human Biology | Research Assistant |
Louisiana | BS Medical Lab Science | Bench Tech (Microbiology) |
Wisconsin | BS Microbiology | MLT (Microbiology) |
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