My favorite part was my professors and fellow students. The small class sizes meant we all got to really know each other and cheer one another on.
Journey to GMercyU
In 2005, Maddie Lydon graduated from Holy Ghost Prep. At the time she was looking for schools, Maddie hadn’t heard about GMercyU. It wasn’t until after she came back from being in the military that she learned about GMercyU.
“I decided on GMercyU because the school took my GI Bill, which was important, and also because after talking with Dr. McEliece it seemed like the school would be a good fit for my personality,” Maddie said.
Experience in the Biology Program
Despite the program being difficult, Maddie and her classmates pulled each other along. Their professors were there every step of the way.
“Honestly, as hard as it was, I had a blast,” Maddie said.
They treated me like a person with real needs and concerns, and I’m extremely grateful for their support.
Why GMercyU?
“I really benefited from the small class size. My professors didn’t just know who I was, but knew me, what I needed, how I would respond to a problem. That meant that when it was time to decide what to do next, I got excellent advice instead of just generic truisms that I would’ve gotten in a larger program,” Maddie said.
Post-Graduation
After graduating in 2014, Maddie started as an Industrial Hygiene technician for the Air Force. Shortly after, she worked as an Industrial Hygienist working for the CDC.
In 2018, Maddie moved to her current role at the National Institutions of Health. There, she is a safety Training Program Manager and Industrial Hygienist.
Maddie earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and commissioned in the U.S. Public Health Service in 2020.
“As a USPHS officer I work my day job doing safety nerd stuff at the NIH and also deploy to public health disasters,” Maddie said.
Since commissioning in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Maddie has been deployed to a number of fairly serious public health emergencies.
