As a graduate of Slippery Rock University’s biology program, Jenna Kriley, ’23, is establishing her medical career while enrolled at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, joining the ranks of SRU alumni who are persevering in competitive fields and achieving success.
Kriley is currently working at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown in the rotation period of her medical education, experiencing different areas of medicine and beginning to select her specialty. After her rotations, she plans to pursue a residency in internal medicine.
A native of Butler, Kriley knew that she wanted to pursue medicine from a young age.
“I was always interested in science when I was little,” Kriley said. “I was one of those kids with play science kits, and I had my own microscope. Then in high school, I took (advanced placement) biology and medical anatomy and really enjoyed those classes. Then I worked as a candy striper, which is a volunteer position, at Butler Memorial Hospital. So, all of that helped me to decide that I wanted to be a doctor.”
With her goal of pursuing medicine determined while still a high school student, Kriley pursued early acceptance for medical school at LECOM, successfully attaining an acceptance for her graduate program prior to starting her undergraduate education. With that acceptance came the requirement that Kriley attend an institution for her undergraduate studies that was affiliated with her graduate program. Conveniently, SRU was one of those associated universities.
“I liked SRU because it offered a lot of opportunities without the overwhelming environment of a really big school,” Kriley said. “I liked that SRU had all of these opportunities that you could take advantage of as early as freshman year thanks to the smaller class size.”.
Some of those opportunities that Kriley was able to pursue included on-campus laboratory research, travel for presentations and conferences all around the country, and even a research position abroad in Switzerland, a position that Kriley was selected for due to the skill she developed in microflourescent research through her laboratory work with Evan Guiney, SRU associate professor of biology.
Kriley said that her experiences as an undergraduate prepared her well for her graduate work today and that SRU laid a solid foundation for her professional life.
“Because SRU offered the same opportunities of larger universities, and because of the mentorship that I was able to have here because of the smaller class size, I was able to take advantage of the opportunities that came my way that might not have at a bigger school,” Kriley said. “When it comes to opportunities and mentorship, you really get the best of both worlds at SRU.”
More information about biology at SRU is available on the program’s webpage.
