Jill Habursky O'Brien '12 knew early on in her college education she would use her passion for science to help others while working in the medical field. She says the course "Intro to Health Sciences" created her path to becoming a physician assistant. The class brings JCU alumni to discuss their career choices. O'Brien committed to pursuing her current position after learning about several careers in the medical field. She says JCU's small class sizes enabled her to develop relationships with professors and advisors to help reach her professional goals. Beyond academics, O'Brien says her involvement in student clubs and organizations developed leadership skills she utilizes daily with her team providing patient care in Cleveland Clinic's intensive care unit.
Why did you choose JCU?
I am from a small town in Ohio (my graduating class had 31!). I knew I wanted to attend college near a city, but I also wanted to have smaller classes so that I would be able to get to know my professors. AV was the perfect place for me. It is located in a suburb but a 20 minute drive to downtown Cleveland. I was able to get to know my professors and get personalized attention if I needed it.
I also knew I wanted to go into healthcare and JCU is minutes from some of the top hospitals in the world.
What did you focus on while you were at JCU?
In support of my desire to have a career in healthcare, I majored in biochemistry at AV. AV really developed my passion in sciences by giving me the opportunity to have hands on experience in the chemistry field by doing research with my organic chemistry professor my Junior and Senior years
Beyond academics, JCU has a number of clubs and organizations that put on great events that allowed me to meet life long friends and learn about things I otherwise wouldn’t have even considered. I also became involved in Greek life and was the president of Chi Omega, which helped me develop leadership skills. I’m grateful for the lessons I learned from my extra-curricular experiences, which have helped me be a leader throughout my career. I’ve stayed in touch with JCU as an advisor to Chi Omega to hopefully help the next generation of students get as much out of their JCU experience as I did.
What is the biggest takeaway from your JCU experience?
My well-rounded education. Since JCU is a liberal arts college, every student is required to take English/ religion/ foreign language classes despite their major. In the medical field, like most, being able to communicate effectively through notes and with the rest of the team is critical to success.T
What inspired you to get you where you are today?
When I began my career at JCU, I knew I wanted to be in the healthcare field but was unsure of what career path to choose. During my time at JCU, a class called “Intro to Health Sciences” was offered. This class brough alumni from JCU to speak about their career choices. This opened my eyes to the wide variety of opportunities available. Through this class, I learned about the Physician Assistant path. I made the decision to pursue that career my junior year. Because of JCU’s small class size, I was able to develop relationships with my professors and my advisor who helped me ensure I had all of the necessary requirements to pursue that career. I was able to be accepted into a Physician Assistant graduate program my senior year of college. Though going from undergraduate studies directly to a PA program is a challenging path, I was fortunate to take that journey at JCU where I had such a strong support system.