Though he didn’t know it at the time, Mark Schmidt, Jr. took the first step on his path to a career in medicine at the age of five, when he was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. He got accustomed to being in medical settings over the years, and the physician assistants (PA) who cared for him made an especially big impact.

Danielle Chamberlain had never set foot in Iowa when she applied to the Physician Assistant (PA) Program at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, but her experience feeling welcomed during the interview process spoke volumes about her future home.