Katilyn Dodd

“Mercer Health is the main influence and inspiration for my ambition to continue my education in biology. As a freshman, I began volunteering in the Emergency Room and eventually moved to the Childbirth Center. The Childbirth Center was a mesmerizing place that I looked forward to visiting each week. Sophomore year, I decided to job shadow over my Christmas break in the inpatient and OB units. I enjoyed the inpatient unit, where I watched a patient’s lung fluid drain into big glass bottles. However, my life was altered in the OB unit, where I watched a natural birth for the first time. The birth was the most beautiful, emotional event I had witnessed, and in that delivery room, I knew I wanted to become an OB/GYN. This past summer, I was fortunate enough to gain an opportunity of a summer shadow with a phenomenal OB/GYN at Mercer Health, Dr. Torres. In those three months, I witnessed incredible clinic procedures, C-sections, and pregnancy appointments. The summer shadow experience proved to me how much I wanted to continue a career in medicine, particularly in this specialty.”