Graduate school allows you, for a limited amount of time, to pursue what you actually love and pursue it with people who love it just as much as you do.
Getting a master's degree or getting a PhD, or whatever you want to do, is very important because you begin to specialize exactly what you want to go into. And I think having an advanced degree allows you to become more of an expert on a particular subject, and that was something that really captured my attention as something I wanted to go into, which was to be able to really specialize and really be able to get - you know, as an undergraduate, you kind of cover the basics, but as a graduate and as a master's student, you get a little more into detail.
ETSU has a surprising range of graduate programs, everything from the fine arts to the health sciences, and everything in between.
I really think just with an undergrad degree, I wouldn't have made so much of a difference. Just because a master's degree is more concentrated. It's helped me get that specific experience with that population that I want to work with, and it opened avenues for me to grow.
When I looked at pursuing my doctorate, I wanted to have options of going into different aspects of public health. I'm lucky enough that I got to stay at ETSU and work as a graduate faculty member now, so I can see what I went through as a graduate student, and now I can help other graduate students pursue their dreams with the same degree that I achieved while I was at ETSU.
