Senior Reflection: Maura Dianno

I came to Emory University, like many others, with the dream of becoming a doctor — one who listens and advocates for patients with compassion. As a young girl with a chronic illness, I was constantly broken and let down by the medical system. I came to Emory to be part of the change. When I lost my passion and motivation for learning and completing the hard classes on the pre-med track, I thought I failed her. 

Everyone at Emory has probably heard a story like this. They may have even felt lost after changing their own mind about what they wanted to study or falling out of love with something they were passionate about. By the end of my sophomore year, the curriculum and the system broke me down and made me feel like I was not smart or hardworking enough to be here. I spent a lot of time regretting not following my original plan, blaming myself for not working hard enough and comparing myself to others. When I stopped pursuing the pre-med track, I felt like I had wasted my college experience by not following through with my original dream, and I was uncertain about my career path moving forward. 

But, fortunately, my story took a positive turn. Empowered by focusing only on the things I could control, I explored new passions and tried new experiences that I did not have time for before. This helped me find purpose in everything I did. I was feeling adrift after quitting the pre-med track without a clear plan forward, but meeting Associate Professor in the Center for the Study of Human Health and of sociology Rachel Hall-Clifford during my sophomore year  helped anchor me. I found her “Foundations of Global Health” class interesting, but her work in health equity inspired me to learn more about public health. Participating in her Co-Design Lab for Health Equity was a second chance for me. I began learning how I could pivot my focus and use skills I gained in pre-med classes, like data analysis, ethnography and research, to address issues that I was passionate about in healthcare. In Hall-Clifford's lab, I learned about the impact of public health and changing healthcare policies at the population level. I realized that exploring these new passions in the healthcare field would allow me to help a greater number of people and communities than I would at the provider level. By taking Hall-Clifford’s class, something I would not have considered if I had stuck to the pre-med track, I opened the door to a passion that drove the rest of my undergraduate work. I learned that I could follow a path that still let me work in my dream field, but in a different capacity. For the first time, I realized that my “failure” was really just a stepping stone.

The public health path also led me to the anthropology department, humanities classes and a wealth of professors who have changed my worldview and gave me unique perspectives on research, culture, social norms, health disparities and so much more. Listening to these perspectives has shaped my current mission of making healthcare equitable for all. Looking back at my four years at Emory, I accomplished so many things — from working with local doctors in Amhara, Ethiopia, to developing a clinical screening and completing a pilot study for relative energy deficiency in sport syndrome for my honors thesis. I can confidently say I never would have found myself in these classes and opportunities had I not abandoned the pre-med track. 

Most importantly, by exploring my passion for public health, I found a purpose in every class, research project and opportunity I have been part of at Emory. Every day, I strove to learn more about a new topic, issue or culture. I stepped out of my pre-designed plan and met people I never would have otherwise. 

As I reflect on my experience at Emory, I am thankful I “failed” at my initial career path. That is because this failure was actually a second chance for me to broaden my horizons, challenge my viewpoints and find new passions I never would have considered. Imposter syndrome will never be louder than passion — unless you let it be. 

I hope future Emory students can take what they need to hear from this story, especially that it is okay to change your mind and go a different route in college and that you are not alone in feeling lost. These are all things that I wish I could have heard right before I took the leap and found my new passion.

Maura Dianno (25C) is an anthropology and human biology major and a quantitative sciences minor from Philadelphia. During her time at Emory, she was a member of the Emory women’s track and field team. Additionally, she was involved in the Co-Design Lab for Health Equity, the Honors Program and the Honor Council, and she was a member of the Data Interpreters Association. After college, she plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health for a master’s in public health in applied epidemiology and data analytics.