Career Development Program Students

John McGill

Hometown: University Park, Illinois
Undergraduate and major: Northwestern University, biochemistry
Best advice from parents: "No matter what you do, be the best."
Grateful for: "All the support I have from my family"

John is in his third year as a medical student at Northwestern University. He participated in the Career Development Program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona during the summer of 2007.

Did the program help guide your career path?
"The program helped me to realize how much I love the operating room. Previously, I hadn't had much exposure to that aspect of medicine, so the program definitely helped to steer my career towards pursuing surgery. Also, my mentors provided valuable wisdom about how to approach my third year and the application process for my residency."

What are your impressions about Mayo's commitment to diversity?
"Diversity seems to be a priority at Mayo Clinic. It isn't a second-tier component of the organization. It isn't an option. I never once felt like I was brought in as part of obligation to diversity. Instead, I feel like there is a genuine understanding that diversity adds to the excellence of the organization. I was very impressed."

Was there anything that surprised you about Mayo?
"I was surprised by how warm people were. Participating in the program made me feel like I was a part of the Mayo family. And not only that, but people sincerely asked me about my wife and family at home. In a lot of places, 'family' is kept separate from work, but at Mayo Clinic, there seems to be a lot of family involvement. I even met some of my mentors' families at events that were held for us during the program."

Cedric Pritchett

Hometown: Tacoma Park, Maryland
Undergraduate degree: Kettering College of Medical Arts in Dayton, Ohio
Likely to do on a free weekend: travel, read, golf, bowl, visit a local symphony, catch a movie, watch a favorite sports franchise play a game, or spend time with his wife and friends.

Cedric recently completed course work for a master's degree in public health as part of his medical degree program at Ohio State University in Columbus. In 2007, he participated in Mayo Clinic's one-week Career Development Program, and in 2006 he completed a 10-week Summer Research Fellowship.

"When I participated in the programs at Mayo, I was hoping to expand my perspective of medicine and to meet people who would provide additional direction for my career. I definitely accomplished both. Being at Mayo let me experience a world-class system that is conducive to academic pursuits and is very collegial. I found the sense of organizational identity, direction and mission very compelling. It was extremely rewarding to be on the inside of an organization that has influences as wide as Mayo Clinic."

Shaina Rozell

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
College and major: Stanford University
Major: Biomedical engineering with a Spanish minor
Best advice from parents: "Remember where you came from and always give back." Grateful for: "Just simply my life. Being able to speak and walk around without problems is huge. There are so many people who are not as fortunate."

Shaina is in her second year of an M.D./M.P.H. program at Northwestern University in Chicago. She participated in the Career Development Program at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville during the summer of 2007.

"Being a first-year medical student at the time, the Career Development Program offered me my first real experience in a clinical setting. Having the opportunity to shadow a clinician was definitely the highlight for me. I worked with real patients and began learning the art of presenting cases to colleagues. The mentors working with us were great. They taught us so much, and each night we would have the opportunity to go to dinner with a different group to ask them questions about their particular specialty. They gave us honest answers about the positives and negatives of their specialties to help us make informed decisions as we start thinking about residencies. The program definitely reinforced my desire to be a doctor. What a great prelude to my future in medicine."