Matt Hentschel a senior in the College studying Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology on the pre-med track. We had a chance to sit down with Matt and ask him a few questions about his pre-health journey at Emory.
What have been impactful events that have led you to this pre-health track?
As a kid, the thought of being a doctor never really crossed my mind. The majority of my family is working class and some never even went to college. But looking back, I saw that the aptitude was there. In middle school, I received an award for my grades and projects in science and scored nearly perfectly on the ACT science section. More importantly though, I loved watching and learning from living things. I seemed to be the only one on the playground questioning why we can run, think, and play in the first place. Since none of family really has experience as a scientist, I never thought that science could be a career. It was always just me having fun and didn’t look like my dad’s desk job. I could go on forever, but the main things that told me I could do this were: my first internship in research and the first time I shadowed. I worked full time my freshman summer at the NIH in a neuroscience lab studying biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease. After some time learning how to work with the machines and technology, my mentor trusted me to look after some of his cell cultures. Looking in a microscope and seeing thousands of neurons growing new connections to each other getting stronger and stronger every day was the most fascinating thing I had ever seen. Life was beautiful and I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life learning more about it. As far as shadowing, I was very nervous to sit in on my first operation. However, after spending weeks learning from a doctor and watching the teamwork that went into every patient, I knew I could do this.
What was the most difficult part of your pre-health career?
The most difficult part of my pre-health career was definitely feeling out of place. At a school like Emory, there are some of the smartest people in the country coming from a long line of smart people. I didn’t have that confidence but after becoming friends with most of my pre-med class at Oxford, I started to feel like I belonged and was capable of myself.
What helped guide you to where you are now?
I would say my friends have been the most influential guides in my life. Going through long study days, exams, extracurriculars, and other hardships just brings you closer and pushes you forward. My faith has also been very influential in guiding me to where I feel most at peace.
What do you wish you knew 5 years ago?
I wish I knew 5 years ago that the world is so much bigger and better than my school back home. High school seemed like it was my entire world and it closed me off to a lot of opportunities, people, places, and ideas that make my life so much richer and better now that I’m in college.
If you could start over, what would you change?
If I could start over, I would definitely be more forgiving of myself. As a 1st and 2nd year, getting a bad grade or missing an assignment used to ruin my week. As a pre-med, there is always an element of perfectionism, but I wish I could’ve understood that that perfectionism is a reflection of how talented you are, not your failure.
Did you have a specific mentor that inspired you to get to where you are now?
I have “mentors” of all ages, which is such a blessing when trying to go into medicine. Rushay Amarath, a graduate from Emory has been my friend and mentor since he was a senior while I was a freshman. He is now at the Medical College of Georgia and is the person I call for academic, emotional, and any other support because he is so close to my age that he understands. My postdoc at NIH helped me understand the research aspect of medicine, and our PI was a practicing neurologist and took the time to explain everything to me.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
As far as challenges, I am still facing them and always will be. During undergrad, I struggled to find clinical experiences and a doctor to shadow. I ended up talking to Rushay (my older Emory mentor) and he put me in touch with a surgeon in Atlanta who ended up having me for upwards of 3 months. Another challenge I faced was my MCAT. It will be the most in depth time commitment you probably will ever have, so I struggled to balance my work and social life during the pandemic. I overcame that by being straightforward with my family and friends that this was really important to me, and the people who truly care about you will understand and celebrate with you when you get that score back.
What is the best advice you could give someone pursuing the same track as you?
Best advice: if someone inspires you whether it be a friend, upperclassman, doctor, ANYONE always keep in touch and cultivate that relationship. There are some incredible people in the world and if you demonstrate commitment to this profession, they will move mountains for you. I kept in contact with my postdoc mentor for years and he coauthored me on a big paper he was writing. Rushay is constantly giving me contacts and new advice, and doctors have an entire network of influence that they can share if you demonstrate that commitment. The most important thing though, is to never portray yourself as entitled. Be humble, work hard, don’t be a stranger, and doors will open for you.