Health Professions Advisory Group

Mackenzie and fellow UVA OB/GYN alum Marie Bangura

Mackenzie by the Charles River.

Mackenzie Sullivan graduated from Roanoke College in 2015 with a double major in biochemistry and music.  He then proceeded to medical school at UVA.  He’s now a resident at Harvard Medical School and is crazy busy, but took the time to answer a list of questions we had for him.  Enjoy!  Dr. Sullivan is quite willing to answer individual questions: you can contact him at mwsullivan@bwh.harvard.edu.

What program are you in/did you complete?  What motivates you to go into this area?

I went to medical school at UVa and now I’m doing my OB/GYN residency at Harvard Medical School. My mentor in medical school is a gynecologic oncologist, and working with her made me want to pursue specialty training in OB/GYN with the goal of completing a gynecologic oncology fellowship.

What specialty or population interests you?

Gynecologic oncology is particularly special because we have the opportunity to take care of women in some of the most trying times of their lives, from diagnosis to end. We have longitudinal relationships with our patients, providing both their surgical and chemotherapeutic care, in addition to seeing them in follow-up for surveillance.

What classes or experiences (research, shadowing, extracurricular) at Roanoke College do you think were helpful to you in getting into your program, or helped you succeed once you got there?

The opportunity to have meaningful research as an undergrad was huge not only in the application process but also in terms of being independent enough to pursue research as a grad student with far less guidance. The extracurricular that always stands out from my time at Roanoke was the College Choir—lots of lessons to be learned about teamwork, dedication, punctuality, all of it. Definitely the thing I miss most from my days in Salem!

How did coming from a liberal arts background help you (or not)?

I think having studied two disparate fields in college (biochem/music) in the liberal arts model sets you up for having the mental flexibility to make it through rigorous graduate training. Being in a small school setting allows you to develop a lot of skills both in the research and interpersonal realm that translate to success in grad school—something you don’t necessarily get from a big school environment.

How did your major(s), minor and/or concentration help you prepare for your program or career?

Majored in music—was a benefit as a conversation starter on the interview trail. There’s also something to be said for being trained to have the mental flexibility to switch between fields easily—something Roanoke intentionally fostered.

What advice do you have for students who are hoping to get into and succeed at a program like yours?  Is there anything that you wish you’d known then that you know now?

Reach out to alumni! Even if they can’t be directly helpful, I got a lot of helpful advice from alumni just in terms of interview prep, choosing programs to apply to, etc. Work hard at being well rounded at Roanoke—almost all the serious applicants for medical school will have great grades and scores, etc. so work on setting yourself apart by bringing more to the table.

I sat down to talk with Dr. Kayla Mullins on October 5 about her path to dentistry.  Dr. Mullins graduated from dental school in 2017 and bought out a dental practice in Radford, so she’s been a working dentist for a couple of years now (and full disclosure, some of that work has been on me).

Her interest in dentistry emerged from a long-held desire to work in medicine. Having parents whose work involved being accessible 24/7, she also wanted a career with a fairly regular schedule.  Her own dentist suggested that she spend a day shadowing him to see what the work was like, and she was sold: “I knew from then on that was what I wanted to do”.

What made her fall in love with dentistry?  She spoke warmly of seeing families grow up and interacting with people that you know and develop relationships with, interactions that grow over time.  “I never expect someone to love going to the dentist” but it is gratifying to see people grow in their confidence and to be able to make them more comfortable.  An advantage to practicing in Radford is that she’s a Radford native, and provides these services to people she knows, which is a nice benefit…”it makes me feel really good”.  Clearly, dentistry is a good choice for someone who really values contributing to one’s community.

After four years at Roanoke College, she graduated with a B.S. in biology in 2013 (“the first year without the Bittle tree”) She spoke very highly of how Roanoke College, particularly biology, prepared her for dental school and she went back more than once to her college notes: they were often were better or clearer than the same material from dental school faculty.  Next stop: WVU dental school where there were plenty of challenges such as a day of classes that went from 8 am until 5 pm and a LOT of information.

Dr. Mullins offered several tips: In terms of getting into a school, contact the schools of interest early on and find out what classes they require or recommend, then work them into your schedule early enough that you’ll have a grade in them when you apply.  And don’t be afraid to email or call people at the school: there is something to be said for having one’s name recognized as interested and involved when the applications are reviewed.  Be prepared to translate the INQ curriculum to something the school recognizes.  And take advantage of the great resources that are the Roanoke College professors!

Once you’re in a dental school: find what kind of studying and note-taking works for you and stick to it, and don’t worry about what the other students are doing.  She was a big fan of getting solid sleep and having a strict bedtime, and doing something for herself each week that she could look forward to, and exercise.  The first two years were the toughest…after that, there was much more clinic work and contact with patient, which was much more gratifying than drilling plastic teeth in class.

Other questions about getting into dentistry? Dr. Mullins would be happy to talk with you…shoot an email to allen@roanoke.edu to be put in contact with her.

Congratulations to Dr. Kayla Mullins!

A beautiful setting near New Castle, Virginia.

We have to remove all the knots in the rope without actually letting go of it. What?

When you have a lot of students who are interested in careers that require a lot of teamwork, it seems appropriate to spend a beautiful day near New Castle having fun with team-building exercises.

One group had the job of getting 18 people to sing “Row Row Row Your Boat” without standing directly on the ground.  It was not that hard at first.  Then the allotted standing space got smaller.

The overlook was a great setting for the teamwork activities.Four groups vied to see who could be the fastest to toss a much-used soccer ball to the end of the field and back…using a sheet.

Untangling the rope

Another game

A beautiful day for team-building

Dr. Hollis ponders how this situation can be related to organic chemistry.

Rock, paper, scissors?

A team is formed!