Today, Jessica DeWitt holds a PhD in Development, Stem Cells, and Regenerative Medicine from the University of Southern California (USC) and is the Associate Director of Scientific Communications at Metabolon Inc., but her career journey began at APU as a biochemistry major and philosophy minor. “I originally wanted to be a medical doctor,” said DeWitt, “but I changed career paths by the end of my time at APU. I’ve always loved science and have been particularly fascinated by genetics due to my family dynamic.” DeWitt’s fascination grew deeper at APU as she worked with different professors and colleagues throughout her major and minor: “APU gave me the foundation I need to understand difficult scientific concepts. My philosophy minor taught me to make sense of these concepts and explain them in a logical way.” This skill turned into a role in Scientific Communications developing web content that communicates niche scientific concepts to broad audiences in ways they can understand.
Whether this work is her “calling,” however, is not really part of DeWitt’s concern. “I never felt a particular ‘calling,’” she said. “I discussed it with Dr. Jim White, an APU chemistry professor: I was waiting for a feeling of being drawn toward a particular career like when God calls people to do His will in the Bible, but Dr. White told me it’s actually a bit narcissistic to think that God ‘needs’ me to do something specifically.” As far as the concept of being “called” goes, DeWitt instead thinks about all those who weren’t called. “God can use anyone to do anything He wants,” she stated. “The important thing is to glorify God in whatever you choose to do.”
The choice to work in Scientific Communications didn’t come for DeWitt until she was doing postdoc work after graduating from APU in 2012. “I used the time for introspection,” she said. “And I found that of all the tasks I had to do in the lab, I prioritized writing. I’d much rather edit another lab’s grant application, for example, than analyze my own data, pipette a 96-well plate, or put a mouse through a maze.” Her affinity for scientific writing was certainly a good choice, as DeWitt has contributed her work to several research papers and publications on autism, gene expression, and neurobiology research since 2014. She was also recently awarded the T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award, a prestigious grant given by the National Institutes of Health to fund institutional medical research.
Despite her demanding career work and research, DeWitt maintained a servant’s heart from undergrad onward. “At APU, I taught Sunday school at a nearby church, and I participated in Mexico Outreach. At USC, I volunteer at a community garden, a food waste initiative, the LA Brain Bee (a neuroscience education competition), and Share a Meal. After USC, I was a mentor for STEP Goes Red (an organization to stimulate female participation in STEM), and helped start Dottiey’s Barnyard, an animal rescue sanctuary.” She has also returned to APU as a guest speaker on an alumni panel to help current students realize their career dreams. On that note, DeWitt offers some advice:
“The main efforts that helped my career are often overlooked by students,” she noted. “So, there are a few things current and future students should do: 1) Refine your resume, LinkedIn profile, and interview techniques (The Career Center can help with this!), 2) Network with people in your preferred industry as much as you can and get in touch with them through outlets like Facebook groups and LinkedIn. You can find people at networking events or cold-message them on LinkedIn to learn more about careers you find interesting. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to choose the “right” career path. Anything you decide to try, you can always change if you don’t like it.”
Interested in Scientific Communications, Philosophy, or biotechnology? Connect with Jessica through her LinkedIn and put some of that networking and career browsing into practice!
