Since she was young, Jessica has had a passion for the medical field. Whether it was helping animals or helping people, she’s always known her future would be in the medical field.
Because of this, Jessica joined Frederick’s Biomedical program. The program allowed her to take on a rigorous course load in diverse areas of study while also diving deeper into her love of medicine.
Starting as an underclassman, Jessica took AP Human Geography, AP Sem, and APUSH, along with her biomed program classes. Her junior and senior year she continued her high level academics with AP Chemistry, AP Language and Composition, AP Biology, AP Government, and AP Statistics.
Throughout her time at Frederick, Jessica looked back and said, there were “so many advanced classes, but my favorites were AP Chem and AP Bio.” She contributed this interest in the sciences due to her love of STEM.
However, her favorite teacher is Ms. Eichner, her old English teacher and swim coach. “She understands me as a student, an athlete, and a person.” Jessica described. “I feel like she really cares about how I am doing.”
Outside of the classroom, Jessica is a three sport athlete; competing with both Frederick and with club teams. Jessica ran cross country, swam, and ran track all four years – making state in each of the programs. In swim, her primary event is the 50 free and in track are the 800 and the mile.
With all of this on her plate Jessica needed to focus on how to optimize her time, something athletics largely helped her do. Jessica noted how “[sports] have taught me time management, communication, and most importantly, how to be passionate. Being a student athlete taught me how to work hard, have grit, and be flexible. Not everything works the way you want it to, but it’s important to keep your head up.”
Jessica utilizes this mindset of prioritizing passion outside of school too. One of her favorite things is being outside. She said, “Snowboarding, hiking, camping, and paddle boarding are my go to’s!” She also enjoys spending time with friends and animals, working out, and competing in triathlons.
After high school Jessica plans to attend a Montana based University to study premedical sciences, with biochemistry as a major. She explained how “I have always wanted to do something medical. As I’ve grown older I’ve realized how much I love helping people get back up when they fall. My goal is to give people a second chance to do what they love, because everyone deserves a second chance.”
One of the moments that Jessica realized she wanted to go into this area of study, specifically to be an orthopedic surgeon, was when she got the opportunity to shadow Dr. Elise Hiza. “I really fell in love with the profession and the duality of being both a clinical doctor and a surgeon.” Jessica recalled.
As Jessica continues towards graduation, she looks back at her time at FHS and the memories she’s made. Her favorite being a cat dissection lab she did in Anatomy her junior year. “We had a small class so I had my own cat and was able to totally nerd out.”
Finally, she left some advice for underclassmen as they make their way through high school: “Be passionate. Find something you care about and give your all to it. The passion you have for one thing will spill over into other aspects of your life which will help you be successful in many ways.”
