Graduate Profile: Emma Hand
If there was one thing that Emma Hand was certain of coming out of high school, it was that she wanted no part of running cross country or track and field in college.
After suffering through shin splints, and the stress and anxiety that come with running, Hand simply wanted to go to college and focus on her studies in emergency medical care. That was until former 51看片 cross country/track and field coach Danny Williamson convinced to her join his team in Cullowhee.
Her decision to attend 51看片led to competing on the cross country and track and field teams during her freshman and sophomore years before focusing solely on the EMC program during her final two years. Following graduation, the Honors College student will begin her dream of attending medical school at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine 鈥� Carolinas in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
鈥淚鈥檓 really glad I came,鈥� Hand said. 鈥淢y time on the cross country team was amazing. The EMC program has been amazing. I feel like I couldn鈥檛 have gotten this great of an experience at another school. Western makes you feel welcomed and supported. It鈥檚 been a great four years.鈥�
Free time has come at a premium for Hand, who is from Concord. During the summer before her freshman year, she received a letter inviting her to participate in Catamount Gap, an Honors College learning community that would give her the opportunity to earn Honors College credits.
鈥淚 remember tossing it aside and being like, 鈥楴o, I鈥檓 definitely not going to spend my summer at school when I鈥檓 going to be starting there in the fall. I want to use the summer to say goodbye to all of my high school friends,鈥� 鈥� Hand said.
However, her parents found the letter and convinced her it would be a good idea to participate. Once again, it was a decision Hand would come to enjoy as she met new friends, while picking up seven credits along the way.
Hand studied abroad during the summer of 2017, traveling to Argentina to participate in the medical Spanish program. Hand learned the basic terminology in Spanish, shadowed at a hospital and learned about the health care system in Argentina. Her final project was to write about the differences between the health care systems of Argentina and the U.S.
鈥淚t was really pretty interesting how different they were,鈥� Hand said. 鈥淏eing immersed in a different culture for a month was invaluable.鈥�
Last summer, Hand took part in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at 51看片where she researched how not having cell phone access in a rural location would affect patient related to heart attacks and cardiac arrest.
鈥淚t turned out to be a really successful topic,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 get as much data as we hoped, so the results weren鈥檛 very comprehensive, but the project itself was a hot subject to talk about.鈥�
Hand presented her research at the EMS World Expo, which is a national conference, as well as the Southern Conference Undergraduate Research Forum and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
鈥淲hen I first came to school, I didn鈥檛 think I was going to be interested in research,鈥� Hand said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think that was my thing. Doing the project last summer made me realize it鈥檚 actually interesting to me. I like doing projects like this and coming up with results that mean something. It makes me want to continue on doing research in medical school.鈥�
While at WCU, Hand also served as a tutor at the Writing and Learning Commons and was a Chancellor鈥檚 Ambassador. After completing medical school, Hand hopes to become a pediatrician.
