David Morris ’13 -- From Army Medic to Hunter Pre-Med

What brought you to Hunter?          

Honestly, a little bit of random chance. My fiancée got a job here, so I moved to New York and I applied to the best school that I could get into, and it really worked out that it was Hunter.  

How has your transition to Hunter been?

It's been good. The people I associate with in the pre-med/pre-health program are some of the best students I've ever been around. It's really helpful to be in that atmosphere with students who are hardworking. Hunter in general is a pretty unassuming place, which it made it a really easy place to transition to.  

What's the best part of attending Hunter?

The quality of the professors. I've had really good professors and a few exceptional ones.  There's not a whole lot of gaps.  With other schools, you can get gaps; gaps meaning in your schedule you have that one teacher that isn't helpful and doesn't teach you anything, that's your gap.  

What's your plan after graduation... career, grad school, travel, etc.?

I plan on taking the MCATs this summer. I'll apply to medical schools next fall and begin in the fall of 2015.  

How do you plan to honor Veterans Day?

I don't do anything public.  It's my Army friends and me who talk to each other.  So, doing stuff for Veterans Day and Memorial Day, I don't really do anything like that. We sort of have Veterans Day and Memorial Day every day.

What did you learn while serving in the military that has helped you succeed at Hunter?

I've learned to appreciate things more. You get the opportunity to live wherever you want, plan your own life, and I learned to not take things like school for granted. You can see the value in things like school more. I became interested in pre-med while in the Army. I was a medic, which was frustrating at times because you know what to do a lot of times, but not how or why you're doing it. It was frustrating looking at people who are sick and feeling responsible for them, but not feeling you can do enough for them.  So I felt I needed to go further.

What advice do you have for other military veterans considering going back to college in general?

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GI BILL! That thing is a gold mine. If you do the math, you are throwing away so much money if you don't use it. It's just too good of an opportunity to turn down. Everybody who qualifies for the GI Bill EARNED that money.  So, you've already paid for college. Why wouldn't you take advantage of something you've already paid for?  

About attending Hunter?

Talk to the Veteran's Office. Not every school has one. The Veteran's Services Office at Hunter has always been helpful.