Becca Bingham, a junior at South Salem High School in Salem, Oregon, knows in her heart that she wants to work in medicine.
A summer college prep course at UVM made her absolutely sure.
Last summer, Becca attended the four-week UVM Summer Academy program, which is offered to high school juniors and seniors who want to explore areas of study and earn transferable college credit.
Becca is the daughter of UVM alumnus Rick Bingham, who earned his medical degree at the UVM Larner College of Medicine in 1985. Becca hopes to follow in her father’s footsteps and pursue a medical career as well.
Becca decided to enrolled in UVM’s Summer Academy Health and Medicine course, designed to give students a chance to explore the world of modern medicine and bioscience through active learning in labs, lectures, demonstrations, and hospital visits.
We caught up with Becca to learn more about her experience at UVM as well as her hopes and dreams for the future.
Tell us more about your interest in health and medicine.
Health and medicine have been a passion of mine for a while. Although I don’t know specifically what I want to do with medicine, going to medical school and becoming a physician is something I am pursuing. The Health and Medicine course at Summer Academy confirmed my interest in the medical field and opened my eyes to the endless abundance of professions that exist in health and medicine.
What did you enjoy most about the UVM Summer Academy program?
I had a great experience and was able to get a taste of life at a university. I really enjoyed being able to learn more about health and medicine and to meet lots of people in different medical fields. My favorite part of Summer Academy was being able to meet new people from all over the country. When you spend every day with people, you create friendships that can last a long time. I still talk to many of the friends I made at the UVM, even though I live across the country in Oregon.
What do you love most about your home state of Oregon?
Oregon is a lot like Vermont in many ways. My favorite part of Oregon is how green it is. There are trees all over and you are never far from a great hike. I love being able to have so many places to go on outdoor adventures. I also love how unique Oregon is. The West Coast is very different from the East Coast, even more so than you would think. There are lots of places you can only find in Oregon, which helps keep Oregon unique.
What did you like most about Vermont?
My favorite thing about Vermont is similar to the reason that I like Oregon. Vermont is a very outdoor-oriented place. There is Lake Champlain, hiking, biking, skiing, and many other activities. Whenever I visit Vermont, I love being able to do these activities, and I especially love spending time down by the lake.
What are your plans after high school graduation?
The summer after graduation I’m hoping to do a program abroad in Togo, Africa, to work in public health with the local community—and improve my French. Then I plan on going to college to pursue medicine.
What characteristics do you admire most in other people?
Loyalty, kindness, motivation, and helpfulness. These are just a few, and there are many others. But I think those are all important and great traits to have.
In three words, how would you describe yourself?
Motivated, enthusiastic, and kindhearted.
