She got into Duke. She said no.

Jada turned down an acceptance from Duke and went to Campbell University instead, and I wanted to hear the reasoning because most people would not have made that call. Her answer comes down to fit, and to being clear-eyed about what she needed out of a program rather than what looked best on paper.

Before that she was president of her pre-PA club, and she rebuilt it into something much bigger than she found it. Then the pandemic hit and she had to figure out how to keep a club alive when nobody could meet in person.

We also talk about what she got out of undergrad that mattered, and what changed when she went from leading pre-PAs to being a PA student herself.

What we cover:

• Why she declined Duke and chose Campbell
• What program fit actually means when you're deciding
• Growing a pre-PA club as president
• Keeping a club running through the pandemic
• Undergrad experiences that shaped her application
• Going from club president to PA student

Resources:

PA Program Map: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-platform-map

Free Application Timeline: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-application-timeline

Free Resume Download: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-resume-download

Pre-PA Counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Mentioned in this episode:

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Okay, today's episode goes over a lot, but we're talking about Pre PA Clubs and I'm talking to Jada, who is so sweet.

And y', all, she turned down Duke.

Y' all are gonna think she's crazy,.

But I think she's awesome.

Welcome to the Pre PA Club Podcast.

If you want to learn how to.

Become a physician assistant, you're in the right place.

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Let's get to it.

I want to thank mypa Resource and PA School Prep for sponsoring the Pre PA Club Podcast.

So my PA Resource is a personal statement editing service that edits only PA school essays, only edited by PAs, and most of us have admissions experience, so I am one of the editors.

Definitely check them out if you need help with your content, grammar, flow, making sure that you are on track for turning in your application.

And you can use the code futurepa for a discount on any of their service options.

PA School Prep is an online course that focuses on the anatomy, physiology and med terms that you'll need for PA School to make sure you feel confident going into that first semester and that you are able to handle what PA school throws at you.

So check that [email protected] and also use the code futurepa for a discount there.

Welcome to the Prepa Club Podcast.

Thank you so much for joining me on this episode.

And I feel like the numbers don't show anymore, but we are officially on episode number.

I have to look to 151, so that's a lot if you've been binging and listening with me from the beginning.

Thank you for being here.

If you are brand new to the podcast, welcome.

Our goal here is to make sure that we are just encouraging each other and spreading the word about the PA profession and really helping to answer any questions that come up along the way and share other people's experiences, all that fun stuff.

So I'm Savannah.

I am a dermatology pa.

I have been practicing as of, I guess this week or last week for six years now.

I've only ever done dermatology and that's kind of where my heart is.

But I'm in Georgia and I also love coaching Prepa students, which is where the Prepa Club Podcast comes from.

But today we're going to talk to Jada and she is so sweet.

She, I think reached out on Instagram or email, but we talk about her experience being the president of a Pre PA Club.

I know that there's a lot of changes this year in Pre PA clubs and trying to figure out what to do with all this crazy Covid stuff.

So we talk about her experience and how she had a really great club and then also her experience getting into PA school and making that decision and trying to decide between schools.

And she at the time we recorded she was she had not started yet.

As of now she has started and she is sharing her experience on Instagram and she's being very honest about it and reading back through her post, it's a lot of how I felt starting PA school and going through it because it is rough at the beginning.

So I'll put her handle in the description.

It's Jadamarie.

Let me see.

Make sure I say this right.

Aidamarie PA and so she is at Campbell now.

But I hope that you enjoy hearing from her and I think you really will.

Like I said, she's just very, very sweet.

So that'll be fun.

A couple of upcoming events.

I think I talked about these last week, but next Thursday night at 8pm I'm doing the second day in the live series of the Shadowing series and I know the first one, the replay got messed up.

So I'm sending out a link today with the actual replay.

I'm not sure what happened there.

As I've said before, I'm not the most technological savvy, but I try to so I will send out the replay for that today, but next week there will be a replay as well.

And we are talking to Brian Palm from MYPA Resource, but we're not talking about personal statements this time.

We're talking about his experience as a nocturnal or night shift erpa.

And he's had he's worked in some different hospitals and had some different roles.

So I'm excited to hear from him about what his job is like.

I mean we talk about stuff all the time, but we don't ever really talk about our jobs that much.

So it'll be fun for me too.

And so that would be great.

The link to register is in the description, so check that out and then I'll talk about this a little bit more.

But on September 13th I'm actually doing a meetup for pre PA club leaders and so I've mainly been talking about that in the Pre PA club on Facebook, the Facebook group.

But I'll be talking about it more.

And if you are are the leader of a prepa club or have one that you want to send this to, whatever, let me know and I'll make sure that you get the invite and the link to that.

But that'll be fun.

I'm doing a lot of talking to a lot of pre PA clubs coming up in September.

I think I'm looking at my schedule, and I've got maybe, like, eight of them.

So that's really fun because I love talking to them.

But if your club needs a speaker, let me know.

Myself and all of my coaches are happy to.

To kind of speak to your club about our lives as PAs or pre pa stuff, whatever you need help with.

So, all right, I think we'll get into it with Jada, but thank you.

Again for being here.

If you enjoy this podcast, I would love if you could leave a quick review on itunes.

Drop some stars, help more pre PAs to find us and hear us.

So.

We can keep spreading the word about our profession.

All right, perfect.

Well, hello, my name is Jada.

I will be starting PA school in a week and two days, which is super crazy.

I've wanted to do it for what seems like forever.

I went to NC State for undergrad, and then I will be starting at Campbell.

So that is kind of where I'm at.

And I'm so excited to be here and to chat with you guys about all things TA related.

Yeah.

Okay.

Give us a little background on kind of your education.

What was your major?

What was your path like, as far.

As pre pa Figuring that out and then getting into PA school?

Yes.

So when I was growing up, my pediatrician.

She has been my pediatrician since I was 5 years old.

And I, like, loved her.

I loved going to the doctor's office.

I loved hanging out with her.

I remember she would draw things for me, so anytime anything was going on, she drew me pictures.

And so since I was five, I've always looked up to her.

And then I got into high school, and she was like, you can come shadow me in the summers.

And I was like, no way.

So I started shadowing her.

And so after about four years of shadowing for her, I was like, I have to go into medicine.

Like, there's just no other options.

And I loved kids, and I loved working with her.

So I started to explore my options, did a lot of research, and actually, my AP Biology teacher in high school was like, jada, you should look into paper.

And then I started looking into it, and I was like, wait.

Lateral mobility, less school.

Like, I was like, is this real life?

Like, can I actually do this?

And so the more research I did, the more I found out.

I was like, this is awesome.

I can't believe I actually get to do this.

So I went and I got my cna.

It was after I graduated senior year of high school, going into freshman year of college, got my CNA through a local place.

I did a four week course and then we had a week of clinicals and then I went to college.

So I didn't work until after my first year of college.

And in college I studied human biology.

And I also love nutrition, so I minored in nutrition.

And then because I like to keep myself busy, I also minored in psychology because I thought it would be really cool.

And what was really nice about majoring or having minors at NC State, you could tailor your minor to be whatever you wanted it to be.

So a lot of my nutrition minor was focused on nutrition and chronic disease and then my psychology psych minor was focused on child psych.

So super fun.

And then I started working as a CNA in pediatric home health, which I kind of like to call glorified babysitting.

I didn't really do much, I didn't really learn much, but I did get to really learn how to connect with patients and connect with families and work in a family dynamic, which is definitely new and something to adjust to.

I would say the biggest things that I got to do, that I felt like medical as I was changing feeding tubes and feeding and things like that, but nothing too crazy.

And then actually that doctor that I love, she ended up opening the first integrative practice in Charlotte, a pediatric integrative practice.

And so the one day I was at school, I was actually sitting in my RA training and I got a call from her and I was like, oh my gosh, my queen, like the woman that I love and look up to is calling me.

I was like, I gotta go.

So I walked out of training and, and I took her call and she said, hey, I'm opening this practice.

Do you want to come be my medical assistant?

And I think I nearly fell over.

So I was like, absolutely.

So that summer I worked with her and I got to.

It was her and I that started it.

And then eventually she got a nurse on board.

But it was so cool because I got to see the business side of things, I got to see the patient side of things.

I got to run her like, really small lab.

I got to run that in the back.

So it was just really cool, really great experience.

Plus I absolutely adore her.

So getting to work for someone who has been my mentor, my who life was the most amazing experience.

And then the last thing I did was I was like, maybe I should step away from kids For a little bit.

I love them.

That was really painful, but I was like, no, I want to have as much knowledge as I can before I go to school.

So I started down ICU in a hospital in Charlotte.

And that was so much harder than I could ever imagined.

I was working with kids who were resilient and got better and were happy.

And then I was in the ICU or stepped on ICU and that wasn't the case.

And I just remember, like, there was one day that There was like three codes back to back and they had us as DNAs.

Like we were the ones doing compression.

So like, I was doing compressions on this one woman and then like I walked out and literally ran to another code.

And that was so hard because I was, I was not used to that.

And so through that, anytime there was a kid on the floor, like, my eyes lit up.

Like, I was just so happy.

So I'm going to keep an open mind in school, but I think I'm going to end up with kids.

And then I think that's.

Yeah, that's my experience.

That's what I did at school.

And then at school we also had a pre PA club and I went to that my freshman year, fell in love with it.

And then I was the secretary my sophomore year and then I was the president the last two years.

And it was wonderful and I loved it.

Oh my gosh.

Okay.

Well, there's a lot to unpack there, actually.

I love how, I just really love how the pediatric, like, saw your, like, saw your interest in medicine and kind of like helped to nurture that.

And I think that's really cool.

I love when my like, little patients are super interested.

I think it's so cool.

Like, I think it was last week I had like a dad, he brought his kids and I was working on.

The dad, like freezing warts.

But his little six year old daughter was so interested, like, and I could tell she like, kind of wanted to look but like, didn't want to say anything.

So I was like, come watch.

And I mean, she was right there watching, thinking it was so cool.

And I just, I'm like, oh, I love that, like, go do medicine.

And so I think that's really cool that, that she, she pursued, like helps you pursue that when.

I feel like a lot of times opportunities are so much harder than that to get like, where you feel like you're bugging someone all the time, you know.

So, yeah.

How does she feel about you doing PA and not medical school?

So it's something I Worked with a couple of doctors, and I actually babies out for a lot of them, and I have gotten very mixed reviews.

The one doctor that I babysat for, she actually told me, she was like, jada, I will pay for your mcat.

I want you to take the mcat.

You have to go to med school.

Like, this isn't an option.

But Dr. Temple, the lady, she was like, absolutely.

I think that's wonderful.

I think that's a great option.

We talked about maybe in the future me working for her.

And so she was super supportive, 100% behind me and great about it.

But I've definitely heard the backside of like.

And I actually just made a post about this on Instagram that somebody said to me, like, you're too smart to go to PA school.

What are you doing?

And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I have put this PA career on this pedestal for so long and, like, you're saying something negative about it.

But through that, I was able to kind of have a conversation of, like, well, why do you think that?

Like, why do you think I shouldn't be a pa?

And their reasons generally weren't things that, like, upset me.

They're like, well, you're never going to be the boss.

And I was like.

And yeah, and it was.

It was more so, like, I like people.

I love people.

That's a huge reason why I want to go into medicine.

So I like the collaboration of it.

And that's.

Everybody kept saying, like, we shouldn't do that.

And I was like, there's really smart pas.

There's really smart doctors.

Your intelligence does not dictate what career you choose.

Like, you're going to be the best at your career and not necessarily with what title you have.

So that was.

It was definitely.

It was great when Dr. Temple was super supportive because I have adored her for so long, but it was definitely hard to hear from other people that were like, you're selling yourself short.

No, I'm not.

I love this.

Yeah.

No, I think they'll always be kind of the doubters or people who really just don't understand the appeal of.

Of the profession.

Can you explain or tell us, I guess, what your schedule looks like with doing school and work?

That's something that I feel like people struggle with a lot, is how do I get my patient care hours while I'm in college?

How do I balance everything?

Which I think, like, now as a 30 year old, looking back, I realize how much time you have in college that you will never have in your life again.

But obviously, you want to enjoy that time too, and not just be working 24 7.

So what.

What did that look like for you?

And that's definitely something that I look back on and I kind of wish I might have done things a little differently.

Yeah.

Because I did.

I was so.

When I was in school, I was so dedicated to becoming a PA because I discovered it when I was 14.

And like, since I was 14, I was like, this is what I want to do.

And so I definitely poured a lot of time into that because I was really passionate about it.

But looking back, I wish I could tell my past self.

Like, it's okay to relax a little bit.

Like, it will be okay.

Like, you need to work hard.

I might have taken things a little too far, but my schedule, I actually only worked full time in the summers.

Okay.

And so when I was working in the summers, I was often working two jobs.

So my pediatric home health job I maintained since I got it my freshman year.

And I did that on weekends and during, like, nights.

So that was when I was summers.

I was working upwards of like eight hours a week.

But I was happy and I loved it, so I didn't mind it.

And then during the school year is when I really focused more so on shadowing and volunteering.

And then on breaks I would go and work a couple of shifts and pick it up because, you know, for Christmas you have a whole month.

So during that time I would pick up a couple shifts.

But during the school year, I really focused on getting involved with different things in the area.

So I went to NC State, which is in Raleigh.

And so I was by Rex, hospitalized by Duke Hospital.

So.

And there were so many opportunities.

So I basically went on all of their websites and applied to all of their volunteer positions.

And I ended up, if anybody's in the Duke area, they have a Duke Regional Emergency Department ambassador program.

It's a mouthful, but it's a really great program and I recommend it to anybody that's in the area because you work a four hour shift just volunteering in the emergency department, doing whatever they need.

And then it's also coupled with shadowing.

So not only can you meet all the providers on the floor that are like, you can come back whenever you want to shadow me, but you also get to pick different floors to shadow on throughout the semester.

So there's a mother and baby, we got to go on the life flight.

Literally anything that you wanted to do.

The only thing they didn't allow us to go in was surgery, but everything else was fair game.

If you wanted it, they made it happen for you.

So I did that once a week, and then I shadowed probably once a week, depending on the week.

But as far as work goes, I really didn't because I was.

I was like, this is my classes, and I really got to do well in them.

But that part of me studying and being a perfectionist in my studies, if any of my friends listen to this, they'll laugh because they know I was crazy.

But it was because I felt like I had to be.

And I wish I would have realized it's okay to breathe a little bit.

Yeah, no, I'm in the same boat.

I look back and there.

There are definitely some things I would change as far as just lightening up a little bit, but it's okay.

We made it.

So.

So when it came time to apply, what was your plan there?

Were you thinking, I want to go straight into PA school or I want to take some time off?

Yeah.

So like I said, I wanted to be a PA.

I found the career when I was 13, so on it.

So I was like, if I can.

Go straight, like, I wanted this for so long, like, I'm ready.

Like, let's go.

And I kind of got to the point where I was working as a cna, where I felt like I wasn't really learning anything new.

I was going through the motions.

I was doing the same things, and I was learning occasional things, but I felt very centered in, Like, I really just wanted to challenge myself when I wasn't being challenged anymore.

So it was a huge thing that I was like, I think I'm ready to start school.

And so after I kind of got to that, I was like, you know, I'm going to apply my first cycle.

And knowing that it is so competitive, I mean, I had my hopes up to get in, but I also realized that if I didn't, then that was just a sign that I needed to keep working.

So I applied my first cycle, and I ended up applying to all the schools in North Carolina because I'm a homebody, my family's in North Carolina, and I did not want to be away from them.

So I applied to.

Ended up only applying to seven because different things came up with start dates or accreditation status.

And, you know, I was applying my junior year.

So it was my junior year of college.

So I needed it to start the fall after my senior year, the whole timeline of everything.

So I couldn't do the January start programs, which eliminated a couple.

So I applied to seven.

Interviewed at four.

Yeah, interviewed at four.

Was denied from two.

And then by the time I had my fifth interview invite, I was already set on Campbell.

So I was thank you, but no thank you, because I had been on all my interviews, and everybody told me to go on all my interviews, and Campbell was actually my second one, and I was accepted, and that was the school I wanted to go to.

But my mom and all of the PAs that I talked to, like, go to all of them.

But at that point, I was just.

I was so happy.

I was so sad.

I was like, there's no way I'm changing my mind.

So I was stuck with Campbell.

Oh, that's awesome.

Okay, so you applied, got in your first.

First cycle, which is awesome.

Were there any red flags on your application or anything that came up, even during interviews that you're like, oh, no, I don't want to talk about that.

Yeah, I think as far as red flags go, the biggest thing was, like, my hours.

I think that was the thing that people were concerned about the most.

I did hear from a couple people, not during my interviews, but when I was talking to them about applying.

They're like, you're so young, which I've heard.

But I also feel like if you're mature enough and you know that this is what you want to do, I don't think that you should wait just because you, like, quote, unquote, should.

Because I felt like I was ready for it, so I think that was a red flag.

And then the other thing, I wasn't expecting to be considered a red flag.

Sorry, my dog.

Let me let them out.

So I guess.

Dog friendly podcast.

Yeah, dog, baby friendly, too.

So.

Oh, yes, My one dog, she'll stay with me.

The other one's a puppy, so he wants to go out.

But the other red flag that I wasn't expecting was they would pull up my grades, and I did really well in undergrad, and they'd be like, you know, you're not going to get these grades in PA school.

And I was like, whoa.

Well, I mean, I guess, but.

So that was definitely something that I wasn't expecting to be considered to look at in a negative light.

But it was always like, this is your grades in undergrad.

You're not going to be able to get this.

Like, how do you feel about that?

Which is something that I didn't expect to even have to answer.

So from that perspective, I think Those were my biggest red flags, I would say.

But other than that, I felt pretty confident in everything that I applied with.

Okay, cool.

What?

Was there anything that you felt like, made you stand out?

I really think my.

My personal statement and my letters recommendation, I think they were really strong because my personal statement was about one of, like the most impactful patient experiences that I heard had.

And I know people usually pick themes, but mine was very just like kind of chronological.

I talked about how I fell in love with my pediatrician and then kind of the experiences that led me to knowing that this is what I want to do.

And my personal statement, I wrote a story about one of the girls that I had worked with who had batten disease.

So she was non verbal, had very limited motor skills, and she.

It was crazy because when I met her, she could kind of communicate in terms of like moving her hands a little bit or making some mute noises.

But because bad news is progressive, so it was slowly getting worse.

So we knew it was kind of.

It was getting to the end of her life.

And I was getting ready to go back to school, so I wanted to leave the family with something.

And they love decorative plates.

I don't know what it was, but they had decorative plates all over their house.

So I was like, all right, what can I do?

So I.

So all this time I thought that getting like a kit to make a hand print and a plate was going to be really easy.

It was not.

So I had to get everything from scratch.

So I, like, scratched out everything, got the paint, got the clay, got everything I needed to mix it.

And the parents were away, so they had left.

And so I told her, I was like, hey, this is what we're going to do.

And I mean, at that point, I don't know what she was comprehending.

And so I got the plate and I was like, okay, I'm going to put your hand in it.

And she sits with her fists clenched by her chest and she doesn't move them.

And when I put her hand on the plate, she opened her hand, which she can't do.

Like that was beyond what she was able to do at the time.

And I broke down in tears.

And it was just.

It was so powerful to see that and to know that at some extent my level of care had an impact on her.

And so I think that was one of something that was really big, was I had such powerful patient interactions that made me so passionate about this, that I think that was very clear.

And I think my letters were the same way.

They were My pre.

Not preceptors.

My professor wrote one, one of my bosses wrote another.

So they were people that have known me and that have seen me around people, and I think that was what really stood out.

Okay, those are all really good, good points.

That's fine.

Okay.

Did you use, like, any resources?

I know you said you use the PA platform, which is kind of weird to me, but what else?

Was there anything that helped you along the process to, like, figure stuff out?

Did you have a great advisor?

Anything that you just, like, think people.

Need to know about?

Yes.

So I.

Through my college, I went to the career development center and I initially had a rough draft of my personal statement and I asked him to read it.

What I wasn't expecting when I got there was a mock interview, but it wasn't like a plan mock interview.

I got there and he just started drilling me with questions and I was like, oh, my gosh, I've never practiced the question at this point because I was just applying.

I hadn't even submitted anything.

This was way before CASP open.

So interviews were so far off in my mind that I had never practiced.

And so when he started drilling me with questions, I was so taken aback.

But it helped me so much when I got to interviews because he asked me some really intense questions.

So I definitely, while that was like my only form of a formal mock interview, think that they're wonderful.

And then after I wrote my personal statement, I used the PA platform and my PA resource.

I know you guys work together on that, so I did that with my personal statement.

And the feedback I got was so helpful and so specific and very much.

I know that my spelling and grammar is not the best, but it was very content.

Like, how can I change this to make it more impactful?

Which I think a lot of editing services focus more on the grammar.

But this was.

You can make this more powerful, this more meaningful, this reach more people if you change it this way or if you reorder it this way.

And it was great because it was done in a way that didn't take away my voice, but it also made it more powerful to the reader, if that makes any sense.

Yeah, we're not going to write your essay or rewrite it.

Yes, I highly, highly, highly cannot recommend more using your services to reread your personal statements because it was wonderful.

Did you.

This is a question I see in our Facebook group a lot come up.

Did you have it edited once and feel like that was enough, or did you do the three time one?

I had it.

I Had edited once.

Okay.

And it did.

I did feel like it was enough, but I also had a lot of people read it beforehand, so it was like, polish and ready when you submitted it.

Whenever I submitted it to you guys, I felt very confident in it.

I had it edited by just about anybody that would read it.

But the caution I do have with that, that I didn't realize when I was writing it, is I had people read it too soon, to the point where, like, my friends and some of my co workers that knew me, they were like, well, you didn't talk about this or this experience or this or something that you did here.

And so I was very overwhelmed and I found myself getting very stressed about it because everybody had a different opinion.

So if I could go back and write it again, I would write it with what I care about and the content that I wanted and then have people read it for flow and to make it more powerful or whatever.

But not to say use this experience, don't use this one, because that was very stressful.

But, yes, when I turned it in, I felt confident in it.

And I think the one edit was enough.

Okay, well, that's what.

Yeah, they don't understand, like, there's.

You can't fit everything in 5,000 characters.

It's impossible.

Is there anything you would change about your application cycle?

Like applying to more schools, less schools, just doing something different?

I think so.

I think I kind of felt the pressure that it was gonna be so hard to get in that I kind of.

I mean, I only applied to seven schools, but I also applied to schools that I realized once I got there that I wouldn't have been happy at.

And so I wish I would have really taken the time to invest in the schools and invest my time into researching the schools, because I spent so much money on applications to schools that once I got there, I was like, oh, I'm not.

I don't.

This isn't it for me.

So I think from that perspective, I think your school really matters.

I've heard both that it's like, oh, you get a license wherever you go, so just like, go to get your education.

But, I mean, the reason I chose my undergrad career, the reason I chose the PA profession is because I really feel like people add so much value to our lives.

And so if you can find a school that has the people that are going to put the time into you, I think as a result, makes you a better provider.

So if I was going to invest all this money in my education, I wanted to invest it in the people that were going to put the most into me.

So I definitely would not have applied to as many schools just to apply to them.

No, that's great.

I mean, that's great advice, because it is hard when you do.

And I think, yes.

I mean, at the end of the day, you will have a license and be a pa, but, like, if you're not happy, there's something to be said for that too, because you need to be able to stay sane throughout PA school.

Okay, I want to talk a little bit about your pre PA club.

So you were.

Wait, were you president?

Were you.

I was.

I was just a member of my first year, and then I was a secretary and president for two years.

Okay, cool.

How so?

I mean, we have a lot of different.

Again, in, like, the pre PA club Facebook group, we have people who have a prepa club at their school or their officers, or they don't have one and they kind of want to get one.

So started.

What, like, was there anything that you found, like, worked really well for your club or, like, helped get people involved or spread the word kind of thing?

Yeah.

So when I was a member of the club, how it generally worked in the beginning was schools would come in and they would just present, and it was kind of a mix of a sales pitch and a Q and A, and sometimes they would bring students.

And that was typically pretty well received.

And it was really great for students to hear from different schools and hear what they're looking for.

And then also when the students from the school would come in and just talk about what their life looked like and how they made things work and why they chose that school, I think that was really helpful.

And then kind of when I took over and whenever I was with.

When I became an officer, we were like, well, what else can we do?

How else can we help students?

And I think we found that having a mix of schools coming in, I think that was probably the most important thing and one of the most helpful things.

But I also think it was helpful to have.

We had practicing PAs come in.

We actually had a nurse practitioner to come in to talk about how her experience was in contrast with the PAs.

We had different students come in.

Actually, Lorraine, the PA, she Skyped in or zoomed into us, so that was awesome.

And she was wonderful.

So I think just having a mix of that was great, because then again, you could kind of.

It was like a virtual shadowing, you know, you could see what their life looked like.

And then one of the other things that I loved, I loved Campbell so much.

And I became so close with them from working with them that we were able to set up like a visit to the campus because Campbell's only 45 minutes away from NC State.

So we were able to set up like an NC State day at Campbell.

And it was awesome.

We had almost 50 students come and they brought us lunch and we had.

There was a faculty presentation, there was a student presentation.

They took us on a tour of the facilities.

It was just awesome.

And I think the students really benefited from it because they got to actually see what a PA school looks like with people they were comfortable with.

So I think that was one of the coolest things we did.

And to organize that, we just did a bunch of Google forms and Google Calendars.

And then as the president, I wanted to make sure that things I was doing was the most helpful for students.

So I always was sending out like Google, are they like the questions?

So Google questions or like forms or surveys?

Yes, Google forms.

That's it.

I was always sending out forms and putting yes and nos.

Do you like this?

Do you not like this?

What suggestions do you have?

And I think that was really great.

And then before COVID hit the plan was our last meeting of the year.

I was going to do like an interview presentation on, you know, how I prepared for interviews, what I found helpful, what was thrown off, like what threw me off and all of that, which didn't happen.

So instead I sent out a form again and I said, okay, what questions in general do you have that didn't get answered this year?

And then I had a separate one that was interview related.

What I didn't expect to get back, I had over 186 questions.

Questions on just the Q&A one.

Oh no.

So I was just, I was so happy that people were so into it, but I was not prepared for that.

So that's actually what I made all of my PowerPoints on, which got me to start my Instagram because like that was actually kind of fun.

And so.

And I had a really great response to that, to making PowerPoints that had information on information on it.

And they liked that the interview on was specific to interview questions so then they could refer to that.

So I think it's a mix of having people come in, creating resources.

And once people found out what we did, I mean it wasn't.

We met once a month.

It wasn't super crazy, but it was so helpful.

And then you had contact information from the schools.

Another thing we did I forgot about is we would have local practices and Offices that were looking to hire CNAs or habilitation types or people looking for patient care hours.

They would come and present and be like, hey, we're hiring, please come work for us.

Which I think a lot of people have a hard time finding patient care hours.

But there was so many people hiring.

And then I would just reach out to different companies and be like, if you are hiring NC State students are great, please come talk to them.

And they did.

I was so surprised how nice people were and how many people wanted to come out.

That's awesome.

That's my next question.

How did you connect with the programs?

Do you recommend talking to the director or the admissions committee?

Like, who's the best person to kind of go to if someone's trying to get something set up with a program?

Yeah.

So I will say I would schedule the meetings for the entire year, the summer before that school year, just to make sure I gave the schools plenty of time to schedule and everything was fine.

And some schools said, hey, reach out to me six months, six months from now, which is fine, great, whatever.

But I wanted to make sure that everybody had that.

And the people who I reached out to is I would go on the school's website and find their like main point of contact.

So whoever came up first or whoever was like the first person on the list, that's usually who I reached out to.

It typically was an admissions counselor, an admissions coordinator, somebody to do with admissions.

And if I reached out to somebody who I came up with first and that's not who it was, most schools were really great about, oh, here, I'll forward you on to this person.

So that was definitely what I did.

And I just sent them emails and sometimes I would send a couple.

They probably got annoyed with me.

But after two weeks, if I didn't hear back, I would just send a follow up and be like, hey, just wanted to check in.

And if I didn't hear back from them, then at that point, then I just kind of left it go.

But after two, I heard back from almost everybody and again, like they, I was so surprised.

The feedback that I got.

I was very hesitant to ask people to like take all this time to come speak to us.

But I think one thing I've learned about the PA profession is how excited people are and how willing people are to mentor you and to help you.

And they were, they were so willing and so excited.

I mean, we did entice them with pizza, but that'll do it.

Yeah.

And it was great.

It was awesome.

That is awesome.

Okay, how did you do anything to encourage attendance of the students?

Yeah, so actually, whenever I took over the club, we had like a listserv that was set up through a resource that NC State gave us.

And when I got it, there was over 300 emails on it.

So there was already a lot of emails that I was working with.

But we also.

How NC State runs things is we have a pre health club that's just like this really big umbrella, and then underneath that there's pharmacy, dental, doctor, like, everything, any health career possible is under that umbrella.

So we would have access to that listserv, which had thousands of people's emails on it.

So if schools have like a really big listserv, I think that's a great place to start, is to start with a key huge email list and be like, hey, we're this pre PA club.

This is what we're going to do.

Because typically we didn't really advertise for it.

But like I said, we started with.

A lot of people.

But I think the idea of talking directly to admissions counselors, talking to students directly was super appealing to people.

I know.

That's how I.

That's what got me there the first time was that school was coming to talk.

And we did.

We always had pizza.

So if you were just coming for the pizza, like, more power to you.

But I think once people saw what we were doing, it was really a great response because it was so beneficial.

And then after the meetings, people would stay back and so they would get your card or you would be able to email them directly.

And I remember my freshman year at Campbell, there was one student and he was like, hey, if you need anything, here's my email.

Reach out if you have any questions.

I was like, yeah, you're a PA student.

You're really busy.

Like, okay.

And he got my email because he was like, if I have questions about how you do this club, so I can help Campbell set it up.

Like, can I email you?

I was like, yeah, of course.

Like, three months later, he emails me and he's like, hey, are you okay?

Is there anything I can do to help you?

That's so nice.

You're in PA school.

Like, you're really busy, and you're emailing me, like, what's happening here?

But that is the environment that I found with all of these schools and all these people was that they were just there and they just wanted to help.

And that resource to students, I think is invaluable.

So it's just getting access to a listserv and getting access to the audience, because once you.

Once people hear about it, I think.

I mean, they were always there.

Okay, cool.

So, yeah, that's really helpful because we do hear that a lot.

Just about kind of the difficulties of getting a club kind of up and running or figuring out what to do for meetings and all kinds of stuff.

So.

All right, so you start school in, what did you say, a week and a half?

Yeah.

Wow.

Is it going to be online or in person?

So it's going to be somewhat hybrid.

They haven't really.

Maybe they have worked out the kinks, but they haven't shared all the details with us.

From my understanding, we're getting split up into four groups, and there will be two groups in the classroom at a time, and then you'll rotate what other group you're with.

So we're going to get to meet everybody, but we're also going to be distance wearing masks.

We don't have our lab.

Our cadaver lab is gone.

But from some of the students, they said that wasn't a bad thing.

So I'm gonna hope that it's not a bad thing.

But yes.

So we're doing some kind of hybrid, and I don't know what it's gonna look like, but because it's hybrid and we do have to be in.

In the classroom at some points, I am moving there, so.

Gotcha.

Okay, cool.

Have you done anything to try to prepare or just, like, taking it easy?

Yeah.

So.

We get a mentor, a PA buddy, and she has encouraged me so often not to study.

So if she's listening to this, I'm going to tell her to look away.

But I did.

So my program, they gave us a book, and it was a medical terminology book, and they told us that we have a quiz in the first day on the medical terminology.

So I have been working on that book by just like, I just went through and read it.

Took a couple, like, simple notes on it.

That's actually.

I got an iPad for school, so I was learning how to use the iPad while I was taking notes.

My dog is bad.

But she was very adamant that I need to take it easy and it's not the end of the world.

And as long as I'm, like, refreshing myself.

So I did that.

I also got the Netter coloring book, and I didn't really do that very often.

It was more so when I started to kind of feel overwhelmed of how much I was about to learn and that I felt like I didn't know anything, like I would just color A couple pages.

And it.

It made me feel like I was productive.

Yeah.

And then last week, they emailed us a pre matriculate course.

So there is a time management course, and then there's anatomy and physiology course that we have.

And so I started working on that.

But it's all very, very basic stuff.

So with that, even.

Even that is not.

Hasn't been very hard.

So I've been trying to take it easy, which is so much easier said than done.

Like, I.

When I was in the thick of my undergrad, I was like, what I would do to have a break, and now I have a break, and like, what I would do to have schoolwork.

And I know.

I know that in two weeks, I'm going to be in the.

I'm going to be in PA school.

Like, oh, my gosh, why didn't I just sleep?

Yeah, yeah, no, it'll be good.

Some of my.

So I say my friends, people I've met on social media or done podcasts with, go to Campbell, and they love it.

So, I mean, I think you're gonna be in a good spot.

Why did you choose Campbell?

Why was that?

You're like, I have to go there school.

I do.

I did.

I was like, I have to go there.

And I had the opportunity with Duke, too, and so what?

Oh, you gave up.

You gave up Duke for Campbell?

Yeah.

Everyone's mouths just dropped.

I know, I know.

So I.

With Campbell, like I said, my freshman year was my first meeting that I ever went to, and Campbell was there, and they were just so kind, so encouraging, so just wonderful all around.

I just felt very at home with them, and I felt like you could feel how much they wanted you to succeed.

And I literally left the meeting and I called my mom.

I was like, mom, I want to go to PA school at Campbell.

And she's like, chill out.

You just started, like, you don't know that.

I was like, no, seriously, I love them.

And then over the years of working with them, I worked with so many schools because they were coming to our meetings.

And after working with so many schools, I just.

There was nobody like Campbell.

There was nobody that cared about us as much as from how I felt about it.

And then also working in the emergency department at Duke, that's what I did.

I asked all the providers, I was like, hey, tell me about what you think about these PA schools.

And I never heard a negative thing about Campbell ever.

Every single time I heard about Campbell student Campbell experience, it's always been positive.

And I liked.

I mean, the 54 was a little.

Was appealing that it wasn't super big, but also wasn't super small.

And like I said, when I was struggling with my decision, I was also thinking about ECU because it was so much cheaper.

I had professors and students and faculty reaching out to me, asking how they could help me.

And I wasn't even a student.

Like, I was just accepted.

Like there was nothing.

And so for the.

For them to reach out and to be so willing to help me before they even knew me, it was just.

It just felt like home.

And that's what I did with undergrad.

You know, it was between Chapel Hill and NC State, and I went to NC State because of the people, and I just felt at home.

And I felt so supported that I just love him.

I can't say enough wonderful things about them.

They've been so helpful.

And even in the midst of a pandemic, like, who feels confident going to PA school in a pandemic?

Somehow I do, because my professors have been so wonderful.

And we are here for you.

We're gonna do everything.

We can.

Have your back 100%.

And so just the personal relationship and how much they care.

I just love them.

They're great.

Well, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful experience.

And if you get to meet the class above you, tell Kathryn and Sean that I said hello.

Yes.

Love her.

She's wonderful.

They are great.

So.

And if you meet Sean's wife, because she is, like, the most sweetest, nicest person I've ever spoken to.

But.

All right, so anything else you want to add or where can we find you and kind of follow along on all your.

Quarantine project has been starting my Instagram to talk about PA things because I love it.

So I am on Instagram at Jadamarie Paul, and that's where I've just posted things that I found helpful and where I'm going to continue to post all of the good and bad stuff that happens during PA school, because I found just watching other students go through it and, like, talking about their daily updates and what their class time looked like and all of the things was really, really helpful to me.

So I'm excited to share it and hopefully help somebody else along the way.

But, yeah, so that's the only place I'm on right now is Instagram.

Got it.

Well, we'll make sure we put that in the description so everybody can find you.

But, yes, I'm excited to follow along, too.

Yeah.

And thank you so much for doing this.

Yes, thank you for having me.

It was so fun.