From an early age, I explored countless career paths from vet to teacher to EMT to actress, but none seemed to fit me just right. Eventually after years of brainstorming, I found myself at the end of my junior year at a loss, with no idea what I wanted for a future career. During a talk with my mom about the future, she encouraged me to think not about jobs, but about what I genuinely enjoyed about school. Her prompting pushed me towards my passions; writing, creativity, connection, and learning from others. After some brainstorming, I eventually landed on Strategic Public Relations.  

Once I was in school, I strived to gain a more comprehensive understanding of communication and writing, and extended my degree to earn minors in Marketing, Business Communication, and Digital Journalism.  

In my college career, I spent my summers at internships where I grew my love for my future career prospects, working with the Colon Cancer Foundation and Ronald McDonald House Charities Global respectively. These experiences solidified my dream future—a job where I could both do what I love, while serving a greater purpose.  

When I graduated from college, I found a job where I was able to hone in my marketing skills and gained valuable experience in website design and management, but I needed to seek something different. Amid the feeling of the need for a move, a family member was in a serious accident, and I encountered implementation science in a way that truly resonated.  

Though it’s clear to me that my first meeting with implementation science was far earlier, the clearest and most poignant memory of implementation science. A family member was in a serious accident resulting in a spinal cord injury. requiring care to return to normal life. From the start of his time in rehab, I was able to watch as physical, occupational, respiratory therapists, and more closely monitored him; his improvement, his problem spots, soreness, etc., and catered their care uniquely to him.    

Each time I visited, I watched the adaptability of his caretakers live and saw how they always had to have a solution in their back pocket. Each “quick” solution had a plethora of evidence to back it up. In this inpatient injury rehabilitation setting, he and his care team were able to align on a single goal: independence. By setting smaller benchmarks, watching his progress, adjusting strategies quickly, and creatively adapting evidence-based practices to his individual needs, his providers illustrated how implementation science can take shape in real-world care; using evidence flexibly and collaboratively to achieve real-world impact.    

In the afternoons and evenings I spent in those care facilities, I spent my spare time contemplating my future. I felt a drive to do work that would actually help people and serve a greater cause.  

This reflection led me to the implementation science center.