From Farming to Forging a New Path in Medicine
After several years working in organic agriculture on rural farms and in urban settings, Devon Gingrich’s interest in public health and nutrition manifested into a desire to pursue medicine. She left behind her previous career and enrolled in the Columbia University Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program at GS in the fall of 2019, and hopes to expand the positive impact she was making in farming through pursuit of a medical degree.
When Devon Gingrich graduated from college, she did not expect that volunteering on an organic vegetable farm in the Adirondacks would have such a profound impact on her career trajectory.
“After a whirlwind summer of 12-hour days picking strawberries, hoeing onions, trellising (and eating way, way too many) tomatoes, I realized I had fallen madly in love with the work. I was drawn to farming for the deep satisfaction that came with hard physical labor, the fast-paced and multitasking nature of the work, the constant need for efficiency and systems, and the endless beauty of my surroundings and its ability to serve as a constant teacher,” Gingrich recalled.
Gingrich initially focused on pursuing nutrition and public health during college, majoring in environmental studies, and as her interest in the connections between humans and environmental health grew, her focus shifted to sustainable food systems. This is how she found her way to the farm.
Gingrich spent the next several years working on and managing small-scale organic farms in upstate New York. Over the course a few seasons, though, Gingrich found herself wanting a career where she could make a broader impact than she could with farming. Her ambitions brought her to New York City, where she began managing school gardens for a non-profit that focuses on edible education. While this work was fulfilling, Gingrich still felt unsatisfied.
"My desire to pursue public health and nutrition manifested into a greater need to pursue medicine in earnest," she said. "The work showed me how much I truly desired to pursue a career that would challenge me intellectually and would allow me to constantly form, tend to, and develop relationships with those in my community."
It’s not the easiest decision to give up a perfectly functional career, the relative ease and comfort of the working world, and the social niceties of being a young professional in a big city, but I know that this is the right choice for me.
This realization led Gingrich to the Columbia University Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program.
"I decided to take the leap and come back to school when I started to feel the pull towards a career that would challenge, satisfy, and sustain me for a long time…the idea that I don’t have to take on this whiplash-inducing career change by myself is a huge relief," she said.
Though Gingrich admits it has been a while since she was last in an introductory chemistry class, she is looking forward to being back in the classroom during her first semester in the Program, diving into STEM classes, and figuring out where this new path will lead her.
"I’m really excited to get some hands-on experiences, talk to physicians, and get a better sense of what every potential path in medicine might look like," she said. "It’s not the easiest decision to give up a perfectly functional career, the relative ease and comfort of the working world, and the social niceties of being a young professional in a big city, but I know that this is the right choice for me."