Like an intriguing plot twist in a best-selling book, Arija Weddle’s career path took some unexpected turns before she arrived at the UConn School of Medicine.
Weddle, this year’s medical school commencement speaker, graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. But instead of delving into the origins of humankind, she immersed herself in the literary world of New York City. She built a career at HarperCollins Publishers by working with authors of children’s books, and later a small literacy agency that catered to both established and up-and-coming authors.
After three years in the city, Weddle decided to change direction and pursue her interest in science and medicine by completing a post-baccalaureate program at Fairfield University.
“I come from a scientific family,” says the Fairfield native. Weddle’s father is a chemistry professor and her mom went back to school to become a nurse when Weddle turned 18.
“After three years of office work, I knew I wanted a job that was more face to face. And with medicine, there’s something new every day.”
UConn was Weddle’s first medical school interview.
“I loved it from the beginning. I had an amazing day when I came here for my interview. I was surprised at how much time they spent getting to know me,” she says.
When Weddle was accepted at UConn, she knew her interests would go beyond the classroom. Through the years, she has devoted her time to various organizations: Hartford Health Education writing a curriculum for adolescent sexual education; American Medical Student Association creating a pamphlet about pre-pubertal sexual health; working with the Urban Service Track, Medical Students for Choice, Pathways-Senderos in New Britain, and serving as a physician liaison for the UConn pediatric homeless shelter clinics.
“I really like volunteering,” says Weddle. “It’s really important to me to get out of the classroom.”
She was also among a group of medical students who travelled to Guatemala providing care to those in need. The students took language courses in the morning and in the afternoon, participated in clinical rotations that involved home visits and treating patients without the modern technology that is readily available in the U.S.
It may be the anthropologist in her, but Weddle says she has always taken a special interest in the urban poor who often struggle to meet their medical needs.
“It’s amazing how much harder it really is for some people in this country,” she says.
Her interests also include working with children. In high school, she was a babysitter; in college, she worked as an AmeriCorps member for JumpStart; after graduating, she worked with authors of children’s books; and during her post-baccalaureate studies, she taught pre-school classes and hosted birthday parties part-time.
“Adolescents need all the nonjudgmental answers they can get,” she says.
Weddle will be starting her pediatric residency in July at the University of California, Los Angeles. She says she plans to take with her all that she has learned from UConn, including what wasn’t taught in the classroom.
“They weren’t just teaching us; they were shaping us as people,” says Weddle. “That’s part of what I want to include in my speech.”
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