Disclaimer: The views expressed by our interviewees are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of GradSimple. We only edit these responses for clarity. All opinions remain those of the interviewee.
- Name: Aleecia G.
- Year Of Graduation: 2018 (B.A Degree) & 2020 (M.S Degree)
- College/University: Arizona State University
- Major: Global Health (B.A) and The Science of Healthcare Delivery (M.S)
What do you do for a living? Can you share what a typical day at work (and/or school) looks like?
I am a current post-bac pre-medicine student at Columbia University. My typical day involves studying a lot of chemistry, catching (and missing) subways, and trying to make time for my other passions (i.e. creative writing) while juggling such a heavy course load. New York is expensive as well, so I’m prepping to begin an EMT program alongside everything else.
Can you tell me about your job search experience after graduation? Does your job have anything to do with your degree? If you’re still in school, what’s your plan when you finish?
I finished my master’s degree during the COVID pandemic, with my last semester being fully online. The job search experience after graduation was discouraging, to say the least. Many offices were shut down, and once they opened, finding work in my field was difficult without substantial experience. Many entry-level jobs called for 3+ years of experience, which was lacking in my resume. My original goal in my undergraduate years was to go to medical school and become a physician, but due to medical reasons, I was unable to take the necessary prerequisites that required me to be on campus.
I’ve had the experience of being completely lost in terms of what to do with my life a couple of different times. The first was upon graduating from my bachelor’s degree (where I decided to get a graduate diploma) and then upon completing my M.S. degree. I was able to work for a local youth group home for a few years, which I’m incredibly grateful for as it confirmed the type of people I want to work with now. However, I was still unable to find work in my specific field and felt as if the current position I had was not leading to where I truly desired.
Still hoping to become a physician, I pulled one last hail Mary during COVID and applied to Columbia University, where I was thankfully accepted. Now, my goal is to go to medical school and become a pediatric psychiatrist. I still am on the search for careers though and am looking for unique ways to make money as a student. Emergency medicine is great because you work three days a week, but I am really aiming for something that allows me to develop my written skills as well.
Why did you choose your undergrad major? Would you still pick this major now, if you could go back in time?
Honestly, as much as I love healthcare, I chose my undergraduate major because it seemed like the thing to choose. I was interested in learning about various cultures, and though I’d have preferred to learn about them through a more artistic lens, I thought applying to medical school meant I needed a scientific or healthcare-related major. Now I know medical school is so diverse in terms of majors and applicants, and so long as you finish your pre-reqs, it’s perfectly alright to study what you want. If I could go back in time, I would study English literature, for sure. I love literature and love learning about the written word. That was a part of me I abandoned for a long time as I didn’t know how to balance being in both scientific and artistic fields.
If I asked you 3 years ago, what would you think you’d be doing right now (in life/career)?
In life, I would have assumed I’d be working a job I wasn’t passionate about in hopes of paying the bills, likely still living in Arizona with my parents, and just sort of getting by. Career-wise I imagined I’d be in some sort of office setting, which I always swore I’d avoid (My ADHD just won’t permit it).
What’s your biggest struggle right now?
My biggest struggle right now is definitely my mental health. I’m diagnosed with Bipolar II with treatment-resistant depression. It took a long time for me to be diagnosed, and once I was, the medications just weren’t working. I was put on so many of them at once, that during school I actually got serotonin syndrome, which is where your brain gets too much serotonin and you lose your ability to walk, speak, etc. I had to take a yearlong medical leave from my program, which was frustrating as the road to medical school had already been so long. Alas, we journey on. It will take time, but we’ll get there eventually, and I have a great therapist now who’s really helping give me the tools I need.
If money was not a factor, what would you be working on or spending more time on?
My writing! I write speculative fiction and poetry, and it’s difficult to make time for it when you’re worried about everyday life/responsibilities. I would study, then go to the library and write, write, write, for hours on end.
What does a fulfilling life mean to you?
To me, a fulfilling life is a life of love, service, and creativity. I want to appreciate the loved ones in my life and cherish the moments I have with them, whilst assuring I work to devote my life towards the betterment of humanity. I believe we’re all given certain gifts, passions, and experiences to guide us in the best way to do this. For me, my own mental health struggles have given me a unique point of view on how certain disorders work, and my lifelong enthrallment with the written word has given me what I believe to be an outlet for my own experiences and a medium to which to help others through theirs.
If we traveled 3 years into the future of your life, what would you hope we’d see?
In three years, I hope to be done with my certificate program, in medical school, and have finished at least one or two novels. I’ve been really into narrative journalism recently as well, and while EMT work seems very rewarding, it would be great to have a creative addition to how I make my monetary gains.
What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
Everyone has their own path and comparing your journey to someone else’s is pointless. I graduated high school at sixteen and being ahead from such a young age put me into such a rushed mentality. All my life, I wanted to be the first and I wanted to be the best. Now, I know being the best means being the best version of myself, not better than anyone else, and there is truly a time for everything and everyone. I wish I’d known earlier to take it one day at a time, to do all of what I could in the moment, and not be too hard on myself for not being exactly where I thought I should be.
Any other thoughts you’d like to share?
Regardless of your journey, I’m sure there’s been a lot of difficulties in it. I know what it feels like when life seems to give you every reason to give up. I say keep going. It could take years to get where you want to be, and who knows what will come up. Still, even if life isn’t quite what you expected, there’s a way to make it work out, somehow, some way, eventually.
Connect With Aleecia:
- LinkedIn: @AleeciaGray
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