Emory Genetic Counseling Training Program’s Student Blog

Kristen Akialis

Kristen grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Biology in 2017. She got her Master’s in Education from Arizona State University in 2019. In her free time, Kristen enjoys watching football, reading, hiking, and spending rainy afternoons at coffee shops.

Erin Beasley

Erin Beasley grew up in Lubbock, TX and graduated from the University of Denver with a BA in Molecular Biology and Psychology. Outside of class, Erin enjoys watching Schitt’s Creek and Brooklyn 99, baking desserts, and listening to a wide variety of podcasts. She is currently having a great time exploring parks and nature preserves in Atlanta!

Gabriela de Morales

Gabriela de Morales is half Guatemalan (¡que chilero!) and half Costarican (¡pura vida!). She graduated from Missouri Baptist University in STL with a B.S. in Biology and later from Universidad Fransisco Marroquin in Guatemala with an M.D. Oh – and she was also a high school science teacher somewhere in between there (first gray hairs at 21). Life has been quite a journey but overall, its been good. She loves to eat, drink a good cup of coffee, cook, read, write, SLEEP, spend time with her family -especially her hubby and son -and of course her little Westie, Henry.

Kelsi Hagerty

Kelsi is from a small town outside Chicago and received a BS in Genetics from Iowa State University in 2018 (Go Cyclones!). She enjoys rock climbing, watching The Office on repeat instead of anything new, and buying new plants each time another one dies. If you ask her nicely, she can play any song you like on the ukulele, as long as it’s Stairway to Heaven. She hopes to be a mountain dweller someday, but she is in awe of Atlanta’s beauty and wide variety of delicious food and can’t wait to explore more.

Aaliyah Heyward

Aaliyah Heyward is an Atlanta native who graduated from Emory University in December of 2019 with a B.S. in Anthropology and Human Biology. She enjoys any and all activities involving food, cats, or some combination of the two. In her free time you can find her bingeing 90 Day Fiancé, feeding the neighborhood cats, or trying out new recipes.

Bonnie McKinnon

Bonnie grew up in Cumming, Georgia which is located an hour north of Atlanta. She began her college experience at Kennesaw State University enjoying her time as a college cross country athlete before transferring to the University of Georgia to pursue a degree in Genetics. She has experience in research using model systems of paddlefish and lizards, and is excited to be studying in a more clinical setting. Bonnie also was an active member of both UGA Relay for Life and UGA Miracle. Bonnie is looking forward to her time as a student at Emory! 

Ryan Mooney

Ryan grew up in Salt Lake City Utah where he graduated from the University of Utah with a BS in Psychology. In his free time, he likes Hiking, Snowboarding and anything outdoors. Ryan is excited to be in Atlanta to continue his genetic counseling training.

Stacy Partin

Stacy Partin is from Eastern North Carolina and graduated from NC State University with a BS in Molecular Biology and a minor in Biotechnology. In her free time she likes to run, do yoga, travel, and try new restaurants. She’s excited to explore the food scene and all of the exciting trails in Atlanta!

Harleigh Quick

Harleigh is from a small, rural town called McColl, South Carolina. She attended undergrad at Coker University, which is about an hour away from her hometown. Harleigh is used to super small towns, so now that she is in Atlanta, she is enjoying all things a big city has to offer. When she isn’t procrastinating on assignments, Harleigh can be found spending time with her husband, Dylan, family, and friends. She also enjoys reading, cooking, and learning new hobbies just to quit them a month later. Feel free to reach out to her with any questions!

Nina Sheridan

Nina Sheridan is a Temecula, California native and graduated from UCLA with a degree in Molecular Biology. During her time in LA she also focused on Queer Studies, sex education, and finding the perfect oat milk latte (shoutout to Ministry of Coffee!). Ask her anything about classic literature, musical theatre, or the Netherlands, and you’ll be the best of friends in minutes 🙂

Maggie Slater

Maggie is from south Florida and enjoys all things related to the ocean and marine mammals! She studied biology and psychology, specializing in animal behavior. She is excited to be back in Atlanta and can’t wait to visit her dolphin friends at the aquarium. She loves musicals, wine, funny memes, cats, and everything Disney. When she’s not studying for class, you can find her on a nature trail, out for a run, or planning her trip to Six Flags (currently on hold, thanks a lot COVID). 

Class of 2021

Emily Furno, Jennifer Pagano, Emily Brown, Eric Johns, Srika Amin, Smriti Singh, Tatiana Garrison, Kia Hutchins, Julie Rice, Jay Qui, Sunauna Kapur

Class of 2020

Jessica Vaughn, Brittany Hodge, Bryan Mak, Laura Davids, Lacie Mehr, Hannah Davis, Katie Bruder, Tina Truong, Lee Kugelman, Peri Cavusgil, Audrey Schlachter

Class of 2019

Suzy Cahn, Virginia Casola, Olivia Juarez, Tina Kushary, Chelsea Leonard, Georgia Loucopoulos, Merlene Peter, Matthew Walsh, Ellie Westfall, Mike Zinsmeister

Class of 2018

Gill Chao, Dillon Davis, Janette diMonda, Rebecca Hicks, Rachel Logan, Laina Lusk, Brianna McDaniels, Roa Sadat, Karen Wernke, Tiffany Yip

Class of 2017

Julie Baskin, Jinny Eun,  Morgan Simmons, Karen Compton, Liana Smolich, Cristina Flanagan, Erin Pigott, Brianna Pruniski, Bojana Pencheva, and Kelcy Smith 

Class of 2016

Class of 2015

Amy Bradley, Rachel Donnell, Whitney Espinel, Allison Foley, Samuel Hyde, Marisa Jendras, Maria Keever, Christine Tallo, Deena Wahba, Shrutika Yeola

Class of 2014

Aishwarya Devarajan, Miranda Chergosky, Alex Holmes, Rebecca Napoliello, Kacie Riley, Elizabeth Schmitt, Yunru (Kathy) Shao