Genetic Counseling Community by Megan

Genetic Counseling Community by Megan - April 2024 Scholarship Essay

My interest in genetics started early growing up with a Type 1 Diabetic father, who was diagnosed as an adolescent. However, my interest in genetic counseling peaked in high school when I met a family with 12-week-old twins, one with Angelman syndrome. Over the last eight years, I’ve continued to learn more about this rare disease and see firsthand how the entire family is impacted. This family has had to learn how to advocate for their boys based on their individual needs for success. My relationship with the family further fueled my interest in the genetic counseling field.
I enjoy lab work, but I want to be more involved in people's lives at a deeper level. I want to focus on making scientific concepts comprehensible while empowering and empathizing with my patients. This is what sets the field of genetic counseling apart from other healthcare professions and is one of the reasons I was drawn to this field. I recognize that genetic counselors are lifelong learners who value collaboration and teamwork, so I plan to continue learning and staying knowledgeable as the field rapidly changes. I hope to land in either the pediatric or cancer specialties right after graduation and learn more about the role of genetic counselors in public health initiatives.
After college graduation, I realized how much I enjoy working in a team of people from diverse backgrounds and different specialties. For this reason, I want to learn new ways to develop additional multidisciplinary teams to benefit patients more as the field grows and more information is discovered. These new teams will also help the overall goal of providing more opportunities for access to genetic counseling. Multidisciplinary teams expose more people to the field and create a greater sense of community.
With my drive to develop additional multidisciplinary teams, this scholarship would allow me to start the first step in achieving that goal. Receiving this scholarship will help kickstart my journey to pursue a passion I’ve had since my senior year of high school. I’ve had a lot of support over the years, and this scholarship will help provide the opportunity to further my education and be one step closer to passing the board exam, developing new multidisciplinary teams, and empowering patients with the knowledge they need to make hard decisions about their medical needs, which is what keeps me focused on my goal and pursing my passion.