Jamie Bish Selected as A&S Student Marshal for May 2020 Commencement

UNO senior Jamie Bish has been named a student marshal to represent the College of Arts and Sciences for May 2020 Commencement.

Motivated by a “passion for learning,” Bish let curiosity guide her undergraduate career on the path to medical school. She will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages and Literature with a concentration in Spanish, as well as minors in Chemistry and Psychology.

She starts medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the fall.

“I really like medicine, especially primary care, for the relationships that doctors can build with patients and the community,” Bish says.

She’s also really passionate about public health outreach, something that has been shown to be important time and again, but especially in the current wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bish has already put time and energy back into the community by volunteering at Nebraska Medicine for several years. She began by working in the cancer center and was there when they transitioned from the former patient care center to the new Fred & Pamela Buffet Cancer Center. She later moved into Child Life, assisting in hospital playrooms and entertaining pediatric patients with activities.

“My interest in working in healthcare started when I watched my dad beat cancer twice while I was young and grew in my first few years of college as I started shadowing and volunteering,” Bish says. “Some of the most gratifying moments as an undergrad came when I was able to use my Spanish when playing with kids at the hospital or talking with patients while shadowing. It solidified for me why I had chosen the path that I did.”

In addition to her time spent volunteering, Bish has been involved on campus working in the Health Careers Resource Center, and participating in the Spanish club, the Spanish honor society, as well as the UNO Honors Program since freshman year.

Though the May 2020 Commencement ceremony will be conducted virtually, Bish says it will be a nice way to cap off her time at UNO and celebrate what comes next.

“I am really grateful to be named a student marshal,” Bish says. “It's a nice way to leave undergrad, and is another reinforcement saying ‘You did a good job, and you're ready for the next step.’”