Wright State grad to pursue physician assistant degree at Yale

Kelly Hunt, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a minor in biological sciences from Wright State in May, will pursue a master’s degree in the Physician Assistant Online Program at the Yale School of Medicine.

After graduating from Wright State University in May, Kelly Hunt is ready to take the next step in achieving her lifelong goal of working in the health care field.

Hunt, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a minor in biological sciences, will pursue a Master of Medical Science through the Physician Assistant Online Program at the Yale School of Medicine.

“I have always had a love for health care since I was a little girl. My sister-in-law is a pediatrician, and she was really the one that I looked up to and that inspired me to follow in her path,” Hunt said.

Hunt plans to work as a physician assistant in a functional medicine office, where she can treat patients as a whole and investigate the impact of fitness and nutrition on health rather than simply prescribing medication to mask chronic disease symptoms.

“I will be able to get to know my patients on a very personal level and help them to achieve a healthy and happy lifestyle that is free of chronic diseases,” she said.

Working as a physician assistant will allow Hunt to serve both her community in a health care setting and her family, she said. It gives her the flexibility needed when her husband, Logan, an active duty Army officer, has to relocate with a new assignment.

After graduating, Hunt moved to Watertown, New York, near Fort Drum, where Logan is stationed. She is working as a medical assistant at the Samaritan Wound Care Clinic and coaching CrossFit at a local gym before she begins the physician assistant program at Yale in January 2020.

Kelly Hunt with her husband, Logan Hunt, an active duty Army officer.

“I am so glad that I have been given the opportunity to pursue this education while also supporting my family and military community at Fort Drum,” she said. “My husband and I are very excited for me to begin this journey and pursue my passion.”

Hunt grew up in Springfield and graduated from Northwestern High School in Clark County. She attended Wright State because it was close to home and she received scholarships to cover of all her tuition and room and board.

As a student, Hunt participated in research projects in the labs of both David Goldstein, chair of biological sciences, and Tarun Goswami, professor of biomedical, industrial and human factors engineering. In Goldstein’s lab, she focused on the fundamentals of biological science research, while in Goswami’s lab, she completed her Honors project on the chemical design and function of zinc air batteries in hearing aid devices.

Wright State’s biomedical engineering program helped her develop a new way of thinking about the human body not found in most pre-medicine programs, she said. And the rigor and intensity of the biomedical engineering program prepared her well for Yale.

She was extremely active outside the classroom, participating in the Tau Beta Pi, the National Engineering Honor Society; Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society; Zeta Tau Alpha sorority; Love Your Melon, which supports and raises funds for children with cancer; and the Sport Club Council. She served on the Student Advisory Board of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and for two years was a president’s ambassador. She also founded Healthy Haven, which promotes a healthy lifestyle to students through fitness and nutrition.

“This club allowed me to share my passion for health with many different students and also helped me to confirm that I want to specialize in functional medicine as a physician’s assistant,” she said.