Skidmore's Career Advisor Network is a Skidmore-exclusive database made up of alumni and parents connected with the college.  These mentors are eager to share their career experiences and advice with Skidmore students.

Shannon Rodriguez, who advises students interested in health professions, spoke with current medical student Brianne Cook '18.  Prior to pursuing studies at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Brianne was an active undergraduate student at Skidmore who majored in neuroscience. 

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What is your favorite piece of career advice?

 

Something that I see a lot of pre-med students doing is choosing their coursework, extracurriculars and hobbies based on what “looks good” to medical schools. Students need to do this to some extent since medical schools do have requirements and some strong recommendations, but this should not be the focus of their undergraduate career. Instead of thinking “will this increase my chances of getting into medical school,” students should be more focused on exploring new interests and following their passions. If a lot of these interests align with the medical profession, then it’s a sign that medicine might be the right path for you. If you realize that your interests are elsewhere, all the better to figure out before you commit yourself to a very expensive, difficult and long path to medicine.

 

For example, I came to Skidmore interested in reproductive rights and sexual health and so I joined groups like VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood and Peer Health Education. During my time as a leader of these groups, I discovered my love for health education, advocacy and social justice- all of which taught me invaluable skills and helped drive me to a career in medicine. So I would say to switch the mindset of doing activities based on what you think medical schools want, and instead do them based on what you’re interested in. This will give you clarity as to whether medicine is right for you, make you a more interesting candidate during application season, and will overall make you a happier person.

 

 

 

Why is it important to you to be a career advisor for Skidmore?

 

The path to becoming a physician is long, challenging and complicated. For me, it was daunting at first because choosing medicine seemed like such a big commitment that was based on an abstract idea of what I thought practicing medicine would be like for me. I also knew very little about what the path entailed, and did not know anyone or have any family members in healthcare to get this information from. However, I did know that I was passionate about science and helping others and so I joined HPAC and utilized the services at the CDC very early on at Skidmore. They helped guide me through every step of the process and were always there to answer my questions or give me advice. They gave me so many resources and opportunities to learn more about the field and figure out if it would be the right fit for me. I am so grateful to the people who helped me along this journey and could not have done it without them. I hope that I can help other students in the same way, by providing guidance and sharing my own experiences with them. I hope that this will make the journey clearer and easier for others.

 

 

 

Why should Skidmore students interested in public health reach out to you?

 

We now understand that the largest contributor to patients’ health are social factors, and that policy and politics play a large role in healthcare. It is no longer enough for healthcare providers to solely think about clinical care, but also how structural, socioeconomic, environmental and behavioral factors influence patients’ health. As such, I am enrolled in a dual degree program to get an MD and an MS in Urban Bioethics to gain a more well-rounded understanding of how to best help patients. As a medical student, I am learning the science behind how the human body works, and how to diagnose and treat patients. As a master’s student in urban bioethics, I am learning about social determinants of health, health policy and health inequities through a mix of public health, bioethics and social justice lenses. Although I have not followed a traditional public health path, public health has always been an interest of mine and something that I have been able to integrate into my undergraduate and postgraduate studies. I can share this unique perspective with students interested in public health or other health professions.

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Students who are interested in consulting, finance, and/or technology are encouraged to reach out to Marisa for advice.  Thank you to Marisa and all of our awesome career advisors!  If you're a Skidmore alumnus or parent and wish to serve as an advisor, please request an account here. 

Skidmore's career counselors encourage all students to take advantage of exploring the network.  Students can sign in to activate their account using their Skidmore login credentials.