Kristy Moss ’24 juggled a love for teaching and an interest in health care while in college. As a dual major in cellular and biomedical biology and secondary education, her experiences ranged from being a part of the STEMTeach program to sports medicine and lab research. She graduated with an offer to teach high school at Mount Paran Christian Academy. Although she was excited about the classroom, Moss felt the pull of medical school, so she took the MCAT and applied. After teaching high school biology and anatomy, she will become a student again, beginning medical school at the Medical College of Georgia this fall.
Moss graduated from high school in 2020, a year when graduations were postponed and proms canceled because of the pandemic. Accepted to several colleges, she wanted a home away from home that emphasized community, so she chose Berry.
“I constantly tell my students how grateful I am for the community at Berry College,” Moss says. “As a student there, you are mentored in almost everything you do. People invest in you and your success, and in turn, you will want to do the same for others.”
From the get-go, Moss was interested in biology and education. A professor from the STEMTeach program encouraged Moss to try teaching biology at a nearby high school to get a sense of whether it was a good fit. Immediately, Moss loved engaging with students, helping them grow and sharing a subject she was so passionate about.
At the same time, she shadowed physicians in hospitals and took the pre-med courses essential for medical school. She also began to explore health care through the sports medicine program at Berry College. Assigned to work with the women’s lacrosse team alongside athletic trainers, she was asked to become the student program director by the end of her freshman year.
Even then, Moss recognized her role as a caretaker and educator. “Sports medicine utilized knowledge of anatomy, but also involved helping athletes understand,” she says. “I believe education is a major part of health care. One day I hope to care for and educate patients about their conditions and treatment options. Just as I try to meet my high school students where they are, I will need to meet patients in their understanding.”
Beyond sports medicine, Moss’s lab classes, as well as her research with Assistant Professor of Biology Caitlin Conn, provided opportunities to solve problems in hands-on settings. “In undergraduate experiences, we were doing more than exploring in lab; we were working on true discovery. I’ll never forget isolating soil microbes, trying to determine whether they had antibiotic properties.”
Looking back, Moss is grateful Berry helped her try out and navigate her different interests. “I want more students to know that there’s not just one path to where you want to go,” says Moss. “Pick a few things you really love and invest deeply.”
