Name: Julia Anna Lyn Parker

Class: Junior

Major: Microbiology

Minors: Psychology and Chemistry

Hometown: Moncure, North Carolina

Clubs & Organizations: Health Occupations Club President, Beta Beta Beta President, Chemistry Club, Psychology Club, Omicron Delta Kappa, Graduation Marshall, Resident Hall Advisor, Lady Monarch’s Basketball, smallTalk, SGA and Lector Club.

Favorite thing about MU: The attention that the professors give to each
student individually! They really care about you as a person.

Best moment at MU: I guess right now.. the beginning of my senior year!

Favorite thing to do in Fayetteville: rock climb at the climbing place and sip coffee at Java café, and don’t forget the MALL!

Internships, independent study or other interesting academic endeavors
you’ve done while at MU: Medical Missions trip to Dominican Republic and
Hati, Several trips to Brazil on Sports Based Missions trip, and I am about
to complete an internship at Wyeth Vaccines in Sanford, NC.

Career aspirations: To attend MU PA program, do medical missions, and
maybe a Ph.D. in epidemiology.

Something about yourself that people would be surprised to know: I love to
fish and I can drive a tractor better that I can my own car!

Favorite movie: The Lord of the Rings Movies

Favorite TV show: CSI

Favorite book: The Oath by Frank Peretti

Favorite color: Carolina blue and green, it’s a tie

Do you prefer the beach or the mountains? both

I recently had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic and the Haitian border as part of a medical mission team with my church. My professors at Methodist not only encouraged me to go and allowed me the time off; they actually made cash donations to make the trip possible. I wasn’t really prepared for the poverty I saw there—seeing it changed my life. We take for granted so much in this country. Thanks to my medical core classes at Methodist, I was prepared to assist in surgery. We rotated through surgery teams, and I got to be part of about 12 operations a day.

I’m in the admissions preference program for the Physician Assistant program at Methodist. My plans are to enter MU’s Physician Assistant program after I earn my bachelor’s in microbiology. From there, I want to do medical mission work. I found that my honors class helped me too— you can’t do mission work if you are judgmental. In honors class, Professor Rohrer-Walsh drove me crazy making me question myself, making me think through my religion, my beliefs. In the end, the class opened me to the fact that different people think differently. That’s crucial to being able to work with people.

My education at MU has enriched the things I want to do in my life. I have a trip planned back to the Dominican Republic to build a clinic and out-patient surgery facility. My education has given me the knowledge to accomplish my calling. At Methodist, you have someone believing in you. The professors are interested in your personal development as well as your academics. I think you have to have someone like that behind you to be successful.