Senior Stories: Priyana Patel

Facilities Supervisor by day, studying for the MCAT by night, senior Priyana Patel effortlessly found her footing early on within Rec Sports. Working her way from Customer Service Attendant to Facilities Supervisor, Patel created lasting memories and relationships all the while. 

“I have met a lot of my friends in this position; it’s a really good environment to meet people. I have been involved in a lot more opportunities that I would not have had had I not worked here. It has definitely helped expand my network. With school, I haven’t really had a lot of time to go out and join a ton of organizations and meet people, so this was a great way to have a job and get experience like that while also meeting new people and network in that way.”

Patel also recognizes how impactful her job with Rec Sports will be to her future medical school and career endeavors. 

“The most valuable information is customer service and working with patrons and working as a supervisor with people under you or people above you. No matter what you’re doing, you’re always going to come into contact with certain people that you don’t work well with. In my case [in the future] it would be certain patients that don’t always want to listen to you. Patience and respect are the two main takeaways I have from here. You have to be patient with someone and also no one is going to listen to you if they don’t respect you.”

After graduation, Patel will be working as an emergency room scribe in Northern Virginia prior to going to medical school.

“It’s a job a lot of people going to med school want because you get a ton of experience. I’m excited to see that aspect of it because most of the jobs that I have had are very customer service or research related, but now I’m ready to throw myself into it. It’ll only be short term, so I’ll be able to see if that’s really what I want to go into.” 

In an attempt to leave as many doors and opportunities open as possible, Patel is not narrowing her sights on a career path too early. 

“A lot of people go through their residency and their undergrad knowing what they want to do but then change it, so I’ve tried not to narrow myself. Recently, due to personal issues and what I know about the medical field, I’ve been wanting to go into cardiology. I’m not sure what specifically; I don’t know if I’m surgeon material, but I think that’s the field I want to go into. I’m letting myself change and learn more. You don’t want to get stuck doing something you don’t want. It’s a lot of work, but it’ll definitely be worth it, and that’s what I keep telling myself.”

Story: Emily Dages, Marketing Supervisor

Photos: Jackson Sirbaugh, Marketing Assistant