Alumni Spotlight

Connor Vinyard “absolutely loves UP”. His path to medical school was, in his opinion, “pretty straightforward”. He shadowed after his first year at UP, while enjoying his first few years of college and considering what he wanted to do in a career. He started to get more serious during his third year and began to scribe in the ER. He also started some volunteer research at OHSU. During his last year, he started doing ornithology research with Dr. O'Reilly, which was something he aspired to do and believes that this helped set his application apart from other students. He also volunteered with a group called Portland Street Medicine, which was helpful in rounding out his pre-med experience. Connor is now a first-year medical student at Washington University St. Louis & we wish him all the best!

1. Give a short description of your application process / tips for upcoming applicants.
I applied the summer after I graduated. I started studying for the MCAT my final semester and took it right after graduation, then began the application process. A HUGE tip for this process is to get everything done early; be ready to submit your application June 1st, and pre-write all of your secondary essays so you can submit them within a few days of receiving.

2. How did your time at UP help you with your career choice, application, etc.? (involvement, academics, research, advising, etc.)
The pre-health professions class really pushed me toward a career in medicine. I was on the fence my freshman year but hearing from several doctors, and then shadowing, helped me commit. The advising was also great… in fact I met with Dr. Flann numerous times even after graduation to have lunch and to chat about the process. He was a great resource for finding opportunities and helping me choose between experiences. Overall, UP does a great job at providing pre-med opportunities, you just have to jump on them. Scribing and research at OHSU were both experiences through UP. One of the best things UP offers is the opportunity to work directly with professors on research. At many other universities you might be the 8th or 9th or 20th researcher on a project, but at UP you can be a first, second, or third researcher/author. Professors are always looking for students to do research, so make some connections and just ask. Research is a huge part of the medical school application and I highly recommend doing it at UP, it will look much better than most other research opportunities.

3. What are your favorite memories of UP / any highlights?
Some highlights include summer ornithology with Dr. O'Reilly. It's a super, super fun class with many field trips. Also, if you like exercise/fitness, take the exercise biology class with Dr. Flann, I learned a ton of information that is incredibly pertinent to health, medicine, and fitness, and it's really fun. Also, shoutout to UP for introducing me to my fiancé.

4. What general advice would you give aspiring pre-health types?
Make sure your pre-health profession is what you want to do before committing. Get some shadowing experience and talk to some MD/DO/DVM/PT/OT's to get an idea of what the career and life is like. Start volunteering early and find something you enjoy. Make connections with professors and do research at UP, it's one of the best options for research. Finally, enjoy your time at UP. Stop studying for a bit and do something fun with your friends.