Arts & Sciences & Healthcare & Business

In our last post of the year, junior Zoee shares her excitement for a summer internship in healthcare consulting, not necessarily a position of her utmost expertise but one Arts and Sciences' holistic education helped her attain.  By Zoee D'Costa '19, Biology & Society major, Psychology minor

This summer I will be working in Chicago interning for a consulting company focusing on healthcare. While at first glance, business and finance might seem like dirty words to an idealistic pre-medical student with goals to serve communities across the world, they are concepts that are intertwined and dependent. As a student versed in both the humanities and sciences, I have seen the value in the connection of fields. Studying Biology & Society in the College of Arts & Sciences has helped prepare me for an internship in business in invaluable ways. I have developed skills in critical thinking and problem solving across disciplines, and I’ve been given the opportunity to see how understanding trends in healthcare and biological science affect patients and communities. These skills have clearly helped me gain employment in a field that is different than my training because the skills are transferable and make me a holistic candidate.

Furthermore, being exposed to so many contrasting ideas and fields in my undergraduate experience gave me the confidence to seek employment outside of my comfort area and be sure that I will find success in this field as well. Finally, combining business and health may seem strange but I think it is very important to try a wide variety of positions within the field before committing to a path so that you not only solidify your choices and lessen your regrets of opportunity costs, but also gain experience and knowledge that is applicable to a career in medicine. I am excited to learn about the business of healthcare and find out how to optimize practices so that I can bring that to my patients when I am a physician. Here’s to a great summer!