Hyein Jeon moved to the United States from Korea when she was in high school. During that time, she worked at a health clinic to help the underserved population in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. After high school, Hyein attended University of Rochester in New York. She then moved to Maryland and worked for the National Institutes of Health doing thymic epithelial cell research for three years. When she decided she wanted to go to medical school, she looked for schools that fostered the humanistic aspects of care. Drexel became a top choice. Hyein is currently a third year medical student at Drexel. She volunteers at a student-run clinic at St. Raymond’s working with homeless population who are battling chronic illnesses. She says the clinic is an important component of her education because it teaches things that you can’t learn in a textbook. She enjoys working with patients not only on their health but also thinking creatively in overcoming their barriers to health care such as transportation and nutrition. Hyein greatly appreciates Drexel’s commitment to service because she gets to interact with the community she hopes to care for after getting her degree. After graduating, Hyein wants to continue working in a clinic setting providing oncology services.

 My major was a Cell and Developmental Biology major, and I spent three years doing research. I had an exciting time, and got back to work.

 I've always worked at this free clinic. The patients that came in were underinsured, underprivileged and disadvantaged and had very little access to medical care. And I just found it very rewarding and cherishing for not only the patients, but as a physician and being able to give them hope in terms of what can they achieve instead of just only be able to offer the traditional methods.

 The school is very committed to having students work in community services. We do have to study at some point, but at the same time, I think the school gives us a lot of opportunities to interact with the community that we'll eventually be serving.

 There's one special professor named Dr. Wagner, who has just shown nothing but care and genuine passion. He just is living in that moment while he's at the clinic, and learning that is something that you cannot get from a textbook. This clinic serves an underserved population. Students from Drexel will come in and help screen different aspects of health, and it's so gratifying to see all of the smiling faces. Seeing that as a student and knowing that the impact that I can make as a student at Drexel, I think, is very rewarding for me. 

 
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