Mother of Mercy High School
Cincinnati, Ohio
Biomedical Engineering 

Academically I’ve always known what I wanted to do, but USC helped me discover who I am outside of the classroom and gifted me with some amazing friendships along the way. 

Impactful experience: 
One experience that was particularly impactful for me was being able to participate in a cadaver lab for one of my engineering classes. We went into the first years’ cadaver lab at the medical school and were able to see and feel the anatomical structures that we were learning about firsthand. It was an unmatched experience to have as an undergrad and solidified for me just how much I want to be a doctor.  

Enjoy most as a TS: 
My favorite part of being a Top Scholar has been living with Nancy Jones. We are in completely different majors, our hometowns are 450 miles apart, and our career goals could not be more divergent. It is unlikely that we ever would have met if not for Scholar Weekend, and now she is one of my closest friends! I will forever be grateful for the Scholar program for bringing us together. More generally, my favorite part of being a Scholar is being surrounded by highly motivated, intelligent people of all different fields and learning from them even while we’re just having fun together.  

Story: 
I’ve wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember, and my time at USC didn’t change that. USC did however help me discover who I am. I found my people here, and the friendships that this school and the Top Scholar community fostered helped me become the happiest that I’ve ever been. I will carry the memories that I’ve made with these friends with me for the rest of my life. From losing our voices cheering for our football team in the Willy B student section to sprinting to catch the sunset at Horizon; from shag dancing late at night in the Honors dorm to even the mundane moments spent studying or eating together, I will hold onto all of them. 

Post-graduate plans: 
I don’t have a job lined up yet, but here’s a placeholder: Following graduation, Alex will be working for a year to gain clinical experience before applying to medical school.  

Career goals/professional aspirations: 
Following graduation, I will be working in a two-year Medical Career Design Fellowship in the Division of Orthopedics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.