“While theater heavily influenced me to follow my interest in psychology, I quickly adapted the lens of wondering how the world around me would be different if mental illness was seen as equivalent to physical illness."
The following is an interview from when Jessica was a student in the College of Health Sciences at Midwestern University.
Hometown:
Monee, IL
Undergraduate degree:
B.A. in Psychology, minor in Criminal-Social Justice, Lewis University
What inspired you to pursue a healthcare career?
I have always found myself energized by the presence of others. This aspect of my personality led me to pursue group-oriented hobbies, such as acting. Albeit unconventional, it was theater that ignited my interest in psychology and ultimately healthcare. In life, we have very few opportunities to truly put ourselves ‘in someone else’s shoes,’ as the saying goes, and so few chances to say, ‘I can imagine,’ and mean it. When you are asked to play a role in a show, you must become someone else, if even just for a moment. You must ask yourself, ‘What would my character do in this situation, and why?’ It is the why that always piqued my interest. Before deciding how to depict their actions and expressions, I would think about each character’s upbringing, relationships with others, cultural influences, and whatever else I knew. The process of character exploration across many years and roles allowed me to fully realize my empathetic personality. My castmates always seemed astonished by how I could find a reason to love or commiserate with a show’s most disliked character. Having acquired this interest and empathy for others over the course of my youth, I leaped at the opportunity to explore how my passion for people and how they become who they are may influence my future career. Several psychology courses later, it has been everything I thought it would be and more. Not only do I get the opportunity to learn about and understand people, but I also get to watch them grow and overcome their most substantial challenges.
How did your background and history factor into your career choice?
Approximately one in four U.S. adults suffer from a mental illness in any given year. Like millions of other Americans, I have been touched by mental illness in various ways throughout my life. Whether you realize it or not, everyone has either experienced mental illness themselves or has loved, cared for, or known someone who was or is in a mental or emotional battle. Yet, mental health is a domain of healthcare that, especially growing up in a rural area, was not readily discussed or even acknowledged for me. I joined my twin sister as the first in our family to graduate from college, ironically both of us in healthcare. My sister graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and my bachelor’s degree was in psychology. At the end of the day, we both have the same aim in our careers, ‘make people feel better.’ It is just how we may go about doing that which differs.
Why did you decide to attend Midwestern University?
Midwestern University is an institution that shares the same vision of treating mental healthcare as healthcare. Psychologists are given a seat at the table among other medical professionals, and their insight into patients is highly valued and respected. The interdisciplinary care model that Midwestern values aims to treat people from a holistic approach rather than placing different domains of healthcare into silos, never to interact or intersect. That aspect of their training was so valuable to me.
What about a Midwestern University education do you want to carry forward in your career?
I hope to take Midwestern University’s emphasis on interdisciplinary care with me into my career. Everyone benefits from working as a healthcare team or system. Further, it is essential to understand the bounds of my competence and expertise and to acknowledge when other healthcare professionals may be better suited to treat or assess a concern. I have learned so much at Midwestern about what other healthcare professionals can do for my patients, and that has been invaluable.
