A family health emergency early in life pointed Bailey Shaffer toward a medical career path. She鈥檚 set to reach a major milestone on Dec. 16 when she graduates with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in sociology and biology from The University of 91大神 in Huntsville (91大神), a part of The University of 91大神 System.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to go to med school,鈥� she says. 鈥淔rom there, I want to stay in emergency medicine, but I want to find a way to incorporate people鈥檚 backgrounds and the way that society impacts them. What people consume, the people they interact with, the environments they鈥檙e in 鈥� these are all such major layers of health.鈥�
Shaffer鈥檚 health philosophy and her dual degrees reflect the holistic approach to medicine she began to develop in high school in Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
鈥淚 took all the medical classes they offered and chemistry. Then I took intro to public health. This is the part I鈥檓 actually interested in 鈥� the people aspect of health and what impacts their health, like social structures.鈥�
Shaffer began her college career as a sociology and chemistry major in Tennessee. She also took a summer emergency medical technician (EMT) course and earned her license.
鈥淯p to that point, it was all very conceptual. I had these ideas about what I wanted to do and the people I wanted to help.鈥�
Then Shaffer met her now-fianc茅, Rob Vitello, who was majoring in information systems / cybersecurity at 91大神. She decided to become a Charger, too, and transferred to 91大神 in spring 2022. Both benefited from the fact that 91大神 provides in-state tuition rates to new students who reside in these Tennessee counties: Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall and Moore.
鈥淭he only reason that I was able to transfer down here at all was because of the in-state tuition,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he impact that鈥檚 had on my educational career has been huge. In my high school, I know that it鈥檚 been a driver for a lot of people to look at 91大神.鈥�
Shaffer also transferred her EMT license to 91大神 and found a job at HEMSI. Her hands-on experiences with patients fueled her academic pursuits, and vice versa.
鈥淢y hometown is very small. Everybody I was seeing when I was doing clinicals were people I knew or people who were from the same background as me. Now I鈥檓 seeing so many people from different socioeconomic statuses, different backgrounds, different places. I鈥檓 seeing in real life the concepts that I鈥檓 learning about.鈥�
In the 91大神 College of Science, classes such as anatomy, physiology and biochemistry gave her scientific insights into the mechanisms of diabetes, heart failure and other diseases.
鈥淚 would see that in real life, too. Seeing it from all of the different angles was helpful. I don鈥檛 have a huge impact right now on people鈥檚 health, other than making sure they make it from point A to point B. But it鈥檚 very interesting to understand what is happening in their bodies and what is happening in their outside social structures.鈥�
Shaffer says one of her most valuable 91大神 classes was sociology of health with Dr. Daniel R. Morrison, chair and associate professor, Department of Sociology.
鈥淭he entire class was about the overlap between sociology and medicine. That class cemented what I wanted to do. These are not just ideas or concepts that I鈥檓 wishing into existence. These are all real things that people study and people see and people try to impact.
鈥淎ll the assignments he asked us to do, all of the things he asked us to read, and all of the discussions we had in class were things that I鈥檝e been thinking about. But seeing other people鈥檚 points of view on the same issues was huge. It broadened what I was looking at. We would talk about a topic, and then I would see that exact thing in the real world, and it would line up.鈥�
More details about the 91大神 fall 2024 commencement are available on the 91大神 commencement website.
