Hannah Innis-Skinner

What made you want to come to Lewis & Clark?

Going into college, I knew I wanted to attend a small West Coast school. After visiting L&C, I fell in love with Oregon and knew I wanted to go here. I loved the idea of a liberal arts school because I have always been someone with many different interests and L&C allowed me to take a wide variety of classes.

What have you been doing since graduation?

Since graduation, I have been working in the Veterinary industry. I started off in specialty medicine, working in Veterinary Neurology, and then moved to a general practice clinic in order to develop my technical skills. I love seeing pets every day and am very happy at my current clinic. My current goal is to master blood draws and get better at reading cytologies!

How did Lewis & Clark prepare you for your career?

While my current job is not in the field of my major, I by no means regret majoring in Psychology. I feel as though I use my major every day in my field of work. I love challenging myself by trying new things, and L&C allowed me the opportunity to explore many different subjects and spheres of interest. While I am very new to the Veterinary industry, I get excited to learn new things each and every day. My Psychology major is also surprisingly useful in the Veterinary industry as I am often discussing emotionally challenging topics with owners. I have had a couple of Veterinarians describe their roles to me as a form of social work.

What would you say is the most important thing you learned at Lewis & Clark?

This is a hard question, but broadly speaking, I think L&C taught me that almost anything can be interesting as long as you are asking the right questions.

Why did you major in Psychology?

Going into school, I was unsure whether I should major in Psychology or declare as Pre-Med to get the prerequisite courses for vet school. I ultimately decided on Psychology because I loved my Intro to Psychology course, and I loved learning about the subject. While I am currently working in the veterinary industry, I could definitely see myself returning to psychology research in the future.

If applicable, why did you minor in Health Studies?

I minored in Health Studies. I am especially interested in the biological side of Psychology, and this minor helped me explore this interest in depth. I was also lucky enough to be one of the first Health Studies minors as the wonderful Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell introduced it in my junior year of college.

How do you stay connected to Lewis & Clark as an alum?

The friends I made at L&C are some of the best friends I’ve ever had. I stay connected to the school by surrounding myself with the interesting and fun people I met there.

What was your favorite class? How did it expand your knowledge?

I had so many courses I loved while studying at L&C, it’s hard to pick just one! I loved taking Health Psychology with Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell. This course taught me about the incredible connection between the mind and body. I think motivational interviewing will be ingrained in my mind forever. I also loved Cognitive Neuroscience with Todd Watson. Neuroscience is incredibly exciting because there is so much we have yet to learn about the brain. Another one of my favorites was Medicine, Healing, and Culture with Sepideh Bajracharya. I truly think every medical professional should take a medical anthropology course. This course explored some of the most important questions surrounding the relationship between the caregiver and the cared for.

If you studied overseas while at Lewis & Clark, how did you choose your program? What did your overseas study add to your L&C experience?

I did the England Fine Arts program! My original overseas program got canceled due to Covid-19, but I knew I wanted to study abroad. While I was definitely saddened to have my initial program canceled, I was grateful for the opportunity to try something new and get out of my comfort zone. I learned a lot while studying abroad and had the opportunity to see some amazing performances in London.

Psychology Health Studies