My name is Olivia Harrison, and I’m a graduate of Mrs. Kalmath’s 2008 MWS class. As I attended MWS from K through 8th grade, the transition to a large public high school was quite the paradigm shift! I’m not ashamed to say I cried every day after school for the first 2 weeks. Luckily, I have wonderfully supportive parents and a love of learning instilled by my early education that helped me succeed in this very new environment. After high school, I attended the University of Rhode Island as a Biology Major and Art minor and completed the URI honors program. Additionally, I was on the pre-med track to prepare me for medical school. To gain more experience in the world outside my academic cloister, I took a gap year and worked as a medical scribe in Providence and Newport, and waitressed at a local diner throughout college.
In 2017, I began medical school at the University of Vermont Robert Larner College of Medicine. My personal essay for admission highlighted the nontraditional education I enjoyed at Meadowbrook, and it was clear that UVM would be a good fit. UVM LCOM is dedicated to educational innovation, including a revolutionary active learning curriculum which emphasizes small group work and team-based learning in its preclinical years. Needless to say, I flourished in this setting! In my years at medical school I’ve created educational modules, volunteered in numerous settings, and worked as a tutor. I am in my final year of medical school and am interviewing for residencies across New England. I am planning to be a psychiatrist and I’m especially interested in Women’s Mental Health.
My success in college and medical school is in part owed to my Waldorf education. I love and respect learning, I am trained to take creative approaches to difficult concepts, and I’ve always been empowered to be hands-on and ask as many questions as I need. Medicine is a competitive world, and it is easy to get lost in checking boxes and practicing multiple choice questions. However, since I was raised to revere education as the best investment and most noble pursuit there is, I am able to keep perspective and remember what an honor it is to be a healthcare provider.