I was born and raised in Saint Pauls, NC, and graduated from Saint Pauls High School in 2003. I attended UNCP from 2003 until 2007 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. During my time at UNCP, I was a Resident Advisor in and then Resident Director of West and Wellons Halls. I was also a student member of the Campus Judicial Board. After graduation from UNCP I attended medical school at The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, where I received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in May 2011. I am now serving a three year residency appointment in Emergency Medicine at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Upon completion of my residency training I will be a board certified Emergency Physician and my intention is to return to North Carolina to practice.

I learned the value of using all available resources. Your professors, counselors, friends, even the housekeeping staff or the front desk clerks in the residence hall can all have a wealth of information to share with you. That is, if you would only take the time to ask, then slow down and listen. Sometimes the educational aspect of college isn't even the hardest thing you have to deal with. There are all sorts of other things that can happen in life that can affect your learning. Having people who understand where you've been and where you're headed can provide priceless direction and support through both good times and bad. UNCP is a small, very personal University where people know your name and care about who you are as a person, not just as a statistic. Use this environment to your full advantage.

Besides using your resources well, do some market research for yourself. Learning is truly a lifelong process. Some of us choose to take that literally and go to school for what seems like forever! There comes a time though when college is over and the real world happens. Spend some time researching job markets in your field of interest and see what is actually needed. See where the job openings are projected to be when you graduate. Then devise a way to combine your passion with a projected need, helping to ensure a greater chance of you being satisfied with the product of your educational accomplishments later in life. Your education becomes your selling point, and your objective is to make yourself a desirable asset to a company, school system, graduate school, or whatever organization your path leads you towards when your time at UNCP is over.