Aspiring Physician Dreams of Opening Own Medical Clinic

By LaTina Emerson

ATLANTA — Liya Moges (B.I.S. ’23) is one step closer to fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a physician and opening her own medical practice.

Her academic training as a Biomedical Science and Enterprise major in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences has equipped her with unique tools to achieve her goals.

“What I love about the program most is how it combines other aspects behind science, such as business and law, that can be useful outside of the healthcare/science setting,” Moges said. “In my future endeavors, I hope to be able to open my own clinic.

“The information I’ve learned from my business and law classes has really helped me define the important steps I need to focus on outside of getting a medical degree in order to make that dream come true.”

After graduation, Moges plans to take a gap year to apply to medical school. To gain experience in the medical field, she is employed as a medical scribe in the emergency department at Northside Hospital Gwinnett.

“Spending time in the emergency department (ED) has shown me that I really do enjoy the fast-paced environment of the healthcare profession, along with the investment and empathy it requires to understand the patients who come in seeking medical help,” Moges said.

Also interested in exploring a future career in medical journalism, she volunteers with Pennington Publishing writing a monthly article for the company’s medical blog on any healthcare topic that she feels should be addressed. She’s also a co-author, along with several peers, of a book discussing mental health care.

Raised in Atlanta, Moges is a first-generation child of immigrants from Ethiopia, and she’s also the first in her family to graduate from college. Her family is very supportive of her dreams, but being a first-generation college student had its challenges.

“It was often difficult to find anyone to look up to or ask for help or advice when trying to figure out how to pursue medicine as a career,” Moges said. “Not having any connections to the industry made it very difficult to get myself exposed to my passion for both medicine and research.”

Moges has also been busy with extracurricular activities at Georgia State. She has served as vice president of two extracurricular clubs, the Healthcare United Group and the Biomedical Science Student Alliance (BMSSA), which she established along with four peers to build community within the Biomedical Science and Enterprise major. Their goal was to foster a tight-knit community for students who wished to find friends and networking and career opportunities.

“I wanted to get involved in our major in a way that would allow me to help those who are new to this major find their way,” Moges said.

She chose to attend Georgia State because she found the campus welcoming and beautiful. The university also has a large community, and it provides many opportunities and resources.

“It also offered a variety of majors that I had not heard of compared to other universities, and I felt the university’s flexibility and willingness to be creative when it comes to learning possibilities was a huge plus,” Moges said.

She switched to the Biomedical Science and Enterprise major because she was seeking classes that she could be invested in and passionate about.

“As I scrolled through the required classes, I honestly found myself becoming very excited about the content being taught in the major, and instantly knew this was the major that I wanted to graduate with,” Moges said. “I’ve also been exposed to the world of research ever since switching into this degree and have found myself enjoying the critical thinking and logistical processes that it takes to participate during my lab classes.”

Moges has received training on laboratory techniques, such as Western blots, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), spectrometry and more.

She has also learned how to properly communicate scientific ideas.

“I find that this skill has been essential in my understanding of how to best present information in a digestible manner so that others, who may not be as knowledgeable, are able to participate and understand the discussion and its relevance,” Moges said.

The institute also provided a supportive environment that contributed to her success.

“I’d like to thank my professors Dr. Adani Pujada and Dr. Zachary Saylor for their support and encouragement during my journey at GSU,” Moges said.

Photo by Carolyn Richardson