Emily Peery grew up in Roanoke, VA, and graduated from Virginia Tech in May of 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise and a minor in Integrative Health and Wellness. She studied abroad in Cork, Ireland, at University College Cork, where she took classes in anatomy, psychology, and public health. She stayed involved in several honor societies throughout undergrad and worked as a certified nursing assistant in a nursing and rehab center. Although Emily was on the pre-physician assistant track throughout undergrad, she continued to explore alternate career paths while working as a medical scribe in Nashville, TN, post undergrad.
After being introduced to genetic counseling during this period, she immediately knew this was the career she had been searching for and started working as an oncology genetic counseling assistant and intern at a cytogenomic and molecular lab. Through her genetic counseling assistant position, she communicated with patients and genetic counselors daily and performed such tasks as scheduling patients for pre-test and result appointments. As a cytogenomic intern she evaluated hundreds of abnormal microarray results for submission to ClinVar and observed how different types of genetic test reports are analyzed to characterize chromosome abnormalities and their clinical significance. She also volunteered with two Down syndrome organizations and volunteered as a Crisis Text Line counselor. Through shadowing and gaining experience, Emily realized that genetic counseling was the perfect combination of patient relationships, mentorship, research, and medicine.
Emily enjoys working out, being outside, going to country concerts, trying new restaurants, drinking coffee, and being with dogs! As an applicant, Emily attributes much of her success to reaching out to current and previous genetic counseling students and would love to help prospective students!