Being a professional pathologists' assistant is a respected position. Everyone seems to work as a team and value your education and thoughts -- that's why Mayo is really unique. It's everything I ever wanted in a job.

My job requires that I work in four different areas of Mayo
-- this is very unusual for a pathologists' assistant. For instance, Monday, I will be working in the frozen section lab at Methodist Hospital. Tuesday, I will be in the frozen section lab at Saint Marys. Wednesday, I will be in the gross cutting room analyzing tissue from placentas and liver and heart transplants. Finally, on Thursday or Friday, I could be in an autopsy documenting clinical findings for forensic cases. A responsibility that is constant between all these areas is that I'm cutting thin slices of human tissue or tumors to determine what's wrong with the patient. I'm the first person who cuts into an organ, selects tissue for microscopic review, and informs the doctor if the patient has a benign or malignant tumor or cancer.

Training to become a pathologists' assistant really starts with education and on-the-job experience working as a lab technician in Pathology or Hematology. I took a lot of college preparation courses in high school like honors chemistry, honors biology and calculus. In college, I received a four-year degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. After that, I applied and was accepted to a master's degree program as a pathologists' assistant. Don't let financial burden inhibit you from achieving a higher education because I put myself through this entire process. My parents had nothing. I'm the only one in my family with a master's degree, and I did it on my own ... it can be done.

I encourage students not to be narrow-minded about career exploration. Don't look and focus down one avenue and think that's the only way you can go. There is a whole world out there that you are unaware of.