Bintou Berete (MS/PA ’20) grew up knowing that hard work was essential to succeeding in life. As the child of immigrants from West Africa, Ms. Berete was always motivated to make her parents proud. From her career as a collegiate basketball player to her wide variety of experience in the medical field, Ms. Berete has committed herself to her passions, relying on her family for constant support.
“I always knew that I wanted to go into medicine,” shared Ms. Berete. “My parents were not given the chance to get an education, but they did everything in their power to ensure that my siblings and I pursued every opportunity available to us. As the youngest of ten children, I was also fortunate to have my siblings to turn to when I had questions about my education,” she continued.
During her time as an undergrad at Ramapo College in New Jersey, Ms. Berete explored a variety of positions within the healthcare field. From working as an EMT to volunteering at local hospitals, Ms. Berete saw firsthand the wide landscape of the healthcare field.
When asked what inspired her to pursue her Physician Assistant education, Ms. Berete shared, “My family loves to help people, I love to help people. I always
knew that I wanted to go into the medical field, but my decision was not just for
myself. I want to be able to serve my family and my community both here and in my
home country of Guinea in West Africa.” One of Ms. Berete’s goals in life is to open
a medical center in her home country to provide reliable care for the residents of
the community.
Speaking of her time at PCOM, Mr. Berete says that the decision to enroll in the PA program felt right from the very start. “When I stepped on campus, I felt like I was home. The faculty members in the PA program are very caring and I always felt like I had someone to talk to, even when times were rough,” she continued.
Upon graduation, Ms. Berete will go on to pursue her career as a physician assistant. Her immediate goal is to focus on opportunities within the family medicine, pediatrics or OB/GYN specialty. Ms. Berete had this piece of advice for students beginning their PA today, “Anything in life worth having is not going to be easy; if it was easy then everyone would do it!”
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