As told by David Nelson
There are people at UVU here for you. There are advisors and faculty members who are just waiting to help you.
Photo by Kennedy Evans
I was really scared to come to school because moving away from home and starting somewhere fresh is a frightening experience. But I made friends instantly. I remember my very first history class in college. History was just something that's been a difficult concept — I’m not very good at it. I was really struggling with the course, and I remember someone sat down next to me. I'd never met him. He was a senior, and I was just in my freshman year. He took me under his wing and helped me learn how to study at UVU and how to be successful in my classes. I think that made a big impact on me because it changed how I approached my classes, and as a result, I've been more successful at UVU.
I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do in my life. I just knew that the healthcare field and science were some things that were interesting to me that I tended to be good at.
There are a lot of great majors at UVU. From biology and chemistry to microbiology, there is everything that someone could desire. But when I was taking one of my first healthcare administration classes, I found that I enjoyed learning not only about the health side of healthcare but also the business side as well and how that can be used to benefit patients and help them be treated in better ways.
One of the most impactful professors at UVU has been Dr. Heather Thiesset. Heather is one of the best mentors that any student could ever ask for. When I was looking to go and progress in my career to become a physician after my undergraduate degree here at UVU, I had a lot of questions for her. She was able to answer them and take time out of her busy schedule to meet with me and really answer my real-world questions, not just help me in class.
I've been able to serve as president of the healthcare administration club here, where I've planned service projects and events and seen the impact of healthcare administration in the real world. In addition to working with the healthcare administration club, I did an internship at the Utah Association for Community Health. It was a great experience — I got to work in the real world, helping people apply for grants to help underserved communities throughout the state of Utah. It was very eye-opening; I would not have been so aware of the health disparities that exist in the state of Utah without that experience.
Healthcare administration has helped my future career of being an impactful physician in people's lives. I've learned that there are a lot of aspects that go into the treatment of a patient beyond just prescribing medication. I think that that's made me a better candidate for going and treating people and helping them and understanding that we all have complex issues in our lives that we need help with. And UVU really helped me realize that in part, because I've had great professors and mentors that have helped me recognize different aspects of treating patients.
I have been very blessed to work on some research with Professor [Merrill] Halling here at UVU, where we have worked on looking at plant endophytes and the applications that they have in the real world. A lot of plant endophytes are used to make medicines, such as antifungal creams and anti-cancer treatments. My research has been looking at plant endophytes of the Norwegian maple tree, in part because I love the Norwegian maple tree and because there's not a lot of research done on that tree, and it could contribute to medicine. Hopefully, my research is going to add to that, and maybe we'll find some sort of new medicine from it.
Working with Dr. Halling has taught me how to do research, and that's a vital aspect because medicine and science are always changing and improving. By learning how to research in my undergraduate degree, I feel like I will be able to use that in my future career to help better treatments of my future patients.
I would like to be an oncologist. I've got some family members who went through some tough cancer-related experiences when I was growing up, and seeing how they interacted with their physicians and responded to their treatments inspired me. Oncologists get to help people when they're at some of the worst moments of their lives. I want to be able to fill that role and help somebody who really needs it.
I think my biggest advice would be, “Don't ever give up.” It doesn't matter how tough things can be. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. There are people at UVU here for you. There are advisors and faculty members who are just waiting to help you.
I think if I went back to start my college career over again, I would get excited and take advantage of the opportunities I had with the teachers and the clubs at UVU. There are unique opportunities for service and internships that are associated with those. Above all, it's important to remember that you're going to get out what you put into your schooling.
