graduate spotlight: former student athlete carleigh short begins her pa career
new role for alumna after nearly seven years of working toward her lifelong goal of practicing medicine and actualizing her “why.”
keely hagan | 615-966-6491 |
short with her brother (austin), parents (john and heather) and boyfriend (sawyer) at the white coat ceremony, february 2022.
carleigh short has been a bison for almost seven years, in which time she has played several roles at lipscomb. she was a student athlete with a starting position on the women’s basketball team; a major in the rigorous biology program with minors in chemistry and psychology; and a graduate student in the master of physician assistant studies program. no easy journey.
after receiving her master’s degree at the december 2022 commencement ceremony, she will be ready to begin her career as a physician assistant at the end of january. she will work in orthopedics at the franklin bone and joint institute of tennessee with dr. michael mcnamara, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in the treatment of spinal disorders.
“i will always be a bison at heart,” short said. “i cannot imagine going through this process without the support i’ve received from undergrad to athletics to the pa program.”
her undergraduate experience as a student athlete prepared her well for the demands of lipscomb’s pa program that requires a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication from students with rigorous curriculum and clinical rounds.
“i chose a challenging path for sure. being a biology major while playing division i athletics was no small task; however, i completed my basketball career before i started working on my master’s degree. it would not have been possible to make it through the physician assistant program while playing college athletics at any level – the time commitment is simply too much.”
short has had a simple, three-word statement on her wall since her freshman year that motivates her: “remember your why.”
“this statement was so powerful to me in many cases because i know that the lord has called me to this path and place to take care of his people. my ‘why’ has always been my future patients – they kept me motivated.
“i’ve known i wanted to be in the medical field my whole life,” short said. she is thankful for the good experience she had at lipscomb on her journey to reach that goal and is ready to start her life-long aspiration to impact patients’ lives with compassionate medical care needed during some of the worst difficulties of life.