Interview with Sarah Mulhall, Health Sciences Major

Interview:

  1. When and why did you choose this major?

I choose health sciences as my major during the summer after my freshman year. I was taking Chem 1220 in summer school and met an upper classman who was a Health Sciences major. She was wanting to pursue PT school and was telling me all about health sciences and how it became a perfect fit for her and her graduate school goals. I was originally in psychology, but wasn’t really sure about if it was the best fit for me. I originally had plans to go to PT school like my friend that summer, but those plans have changed to go to OT school now. A great thing about the major is that it allows you to get all your grad school prerequisite classes in without being stressed out and having to take 18 credit hours each semester. Another unique thing about the major is that you have to have a minor. I chose women’s gender studies, which I loved, but if you don’t know what minor I would suggest taking up one that has prerequisite courses you need for grad school. Overall, this major is best intended for students who have plans of going to graduate school for any health professional career.

  1. What was your favorite major course, and why?

My favorite major course was The “aging, death and dying” elective with Monica Robinson. It was a very interesting course about important topics that are not always discussed.

  1. What was your favorite course outside of your major, and why?

My Women’s gender studies course called intersections with Maurice Stevens. The course discussed topics that are so culturally important and explain a lot about our world and how we need to question more about why things are the way they are and what changes could make a huge difference in today’s society. It is a combined comparative studies class too – so a good one to take if you need to fill a general education credit.

  1. What kinds of extracurricular experiences (research, internships, co-ops, student organizations, study abroad, etc) have you had? Why did you choose those particular opportunities? How have they benefitted you? What were your plans for after graduation?

I was a pretty involved student, and honestly a lot of things were not directly focused on OT or health sciences, but I have been able to gain valuable experiences from all that have helped with my OT applications. I am currently in the process of apply to OT programs now. Things I was involved in were being president of the health and rehab sciences school student council, I held positions in my sorority, I volunteered at the Student wellness center as a HIV/STI test Counselor, I was a sports medicine intern this past summer in Miami, FL, I studied abroad may-mester my freshman year with the psych department and did buckeyethon three years.

  1. How engaged/accessible are faculty in your department?

The Health and Rehabilitation faculty are amazing! They’re always willing to help and are also easy to build relationships with, which is always great for when you need to ask for letters of recommendation.

Response:

Sarah was very friendly, and was more than happy to share her experiences in the Health Sciences major with me. She was very informative, and was able to give me a lot of information.

I initially chose Sarah as my interviewee due to the fact that both her major – Health Sciences – and her minor – women’s gender studies – were interesting to me. Since the Health Sciences major requires that students declare a minor, I looked over all the minors of the health sciences students in the senior bank, and Sarah’s was one that interested me. After contacting her, the punctuality and enthusiasm with which she responded to my interview request really drew me in, and made me want to follow up with her and interview her for the assignment.  

While I am still not fully prepared to make any final decisions, the interview did solidify my current desire to pursue a Health Sciences major, and eventually go on to some post undergraduate medical education. Currently, this means med school, but other postgraduate medical options may be of interest to me. Sarah claimed that “…this major is best intended for students who have plans of going to graduate school for any health professional career.” Given my current future goals, this is a great fit for me, as it ties in both my short term and long term goals, and would allow for me to prepare for admission to medical school without adding too much stress to my major specific workload.

Sarah told me that “A great thing about the major is that it allows you to get all your grad school prerequisite classes in without being stressed out and having to take 18 credit hours each semester.” This is an additional bonus for me; once again, the Health Sciences major would allow me to balance out the course load required for my major and that required for med school prerequisites. This balance would make the course load easier to handle, thus increasing my chances for success both within the next four years, and, even more so, with admission to rigorous and competitive postgraduate medical programs.

The accessibility of the Health Sciences faculty and staff is also something that really appeals to me. Sarah stated that it is really easy to form relationships with the faculty, and, as someone that tends to benefit greatly from working one on one with faculty members, this really appeals to me. Being apart of an academic community where I would be able to work closely with my professors and the faculty from my major is very important to me, and would greatly assist me in the formation and realization of my future goals.

Sarah told me about a course called “aging, death, and dying,” which she took as a part of her path in the Health Sciences major. This course sounded really interesting to me, and was something that further intrigued me to the major. The idea of learning about health as a broader field – and looking into the moral, ethical, and philosophical aspects of the health field, instead of just the scientific aspects, was unexpected and exciting for me.

I have been thinking about medical school a lot, and have looked into several careers that could result from this. However, medical school is obviously a huge commitment. It’s extremely competitive and difficult, entails a lengthy process, and is very expensive. While I am sure that everything would pay off in the end, I am still trying to weigh if med school is the best option for me. This is a huge factor for my interest in Health Sciences, as its current appeal to me is the ability to tackle med school requirements while still focusing on coursework related to the major.

This activity – the interview – and the resources that went along with it – the senior bank – were two of the most useful resources used all semester. Hearing from another student that went through the major I am currently interested in was a fantastic way to affirm my feelings about the program, and really helped me to continue to formulate my own goals, aspirations, and plans for my time here at OSU.