The Graduate School is featuring eight students and their unique paths through higher education. The essay below is written by Isabella Warmbrunn, a master's student in the basic medical sciences program in the School of Medicine. 

I decided to enter the basic medical sciences (B.M.S.) M.S. program at WSU School of Medicine to further my scientific knowledge and enable time to dedicate to research prior to entering medical school. I had always planned on doing a gap year prior to starting this program, and as an undergraduate student at Wayne State, I discovered the B.M.S. program through chance when researching physiology-focused master’s programs in Michigan.

My previous exposure to Wayne State as an undergrad made my decision to pursue my graduate degree here an easy decision. I was already aware of the research opportunities and community organizations in Detroit, and I was able to continue utilizing these connections that I had already made.

Having some comfort in knowing the environment I would be studying in made the transition to graduate school much smoother. There were difficult moments early on in my program where I felt a significant amount of imposter syndrome. I was unsure if I was qualified or deserving of my place in my program. This was alleviated when I expressed my concerns to WSU faculty, fellow peers and mentors who helped me realize that I was excelling in a graduate level program while conducting research and volunteering. The evidence of my success was clear in my actions.

This degree will help me in furthering my knowledge of advanced graduate-level physiology and prepare me for succeeding in medical school curriculum. I intend on continuing to conduct community-based research in medically underserved populations. The courses I have taken will be extremely beneficial in my first two years of medical school. Additionally, my experience as a research assistant in Family Medicine and exposure to a variety of clinically relevant courses from this program will be extremely advantageous to have as a physician. The additional research and academic experience from this degree are invaluable in my career as a future physician in academic, clinical and research facets.

I intend on practicing in rural and underserved communities, both domestically and internationally, with the intention to assist in community-based interventions, as well as novel research studies with focuses on infectious diseases and primary care.