Meet Our Incoming Class

Taylor Cabral was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She attended the University of Southern California (Fight On!) and graduated in 2018 with a bachelor's in Human Biology and a minor in Forensics and Criminality. Since graduating, she has worked in various positions within the medical field, including being a Patient Liaison at a busy integrative health clinic in her hometown of Honolulu, a disease investigator with the Department of Health during the height of the pandemic, and currently works for a health tech company that specializes in vital measuring wearables and remote patient monitoring. 

After undergrad, she originally applied and was accepted to medical school before disenrolling in 2021. The pandemic allowed her to reexamine her priorities and the lifestyle she envisioned for herself, ultimately leading her to realize that becoming a physician was no longer her goal. Serendipitously, she learned about the career of genetic counseling in one of her very first lectures in medical school when a genetic counselor gave a guest lecture on BRCA1/2. After further exploring the career, she knew genetic counseling was right for her. 

She currently lives in Los Angeles with her cat, Oscar, and as an avid animal lover, she always takes care of her friends’ dogs until she can have one of her own. She loves being outdoors, whether enjoying a sunny day at the beach, going on a hike, or just walking around her neighborhood.

Taylor is so excited to be a student once again and embark on this next phase of her journey to becoming a Genetic Counselor!

Emile Cook is from Northeast Ohio and resides in the Nordonia community. She graduated summa cum laude from Baldwin Wallace University with a degree in biology and a minor in psychology in December of 2023.

Emilie has always felt drawn to both the education and medical fields. She first learned about genetic counseling at DNA Day during her freshman year of high school, when a genetic counselor spoke about the evolving field. After doing more research, she realized genetic counseling provided her with a unique opportunity to combine both of her career interests to educate and empower patients along their medical journey. 

Emilie has volunteered with the Crisis Text Line, afterschool programs for at-risk youth in Cleveland, Ohio, and STEM education programs in her home school district. She has also been fortunate to speak with and shadow several genetic counselors. Each of these experiences further solidified her desire to pursue a career in genetic counseling. She is extremely grateful and excited to continue her journey at Bay Path University.

In her free time, Emilie enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, reading, puzzling, and shopping.

Lauren Elliott grew up in De Pere, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse in 2023 with a BS in Biology and a minor in Psychology. Throughout her undergraduate career, Lauren was a member of many different organizations where she took on many leadership roles, including the President of an honors society and Philanthropy Vice President of her sorority. Lauren also participated in undergraduate research in which she helped identify genes involved in the secretory pathway of plants and was a psychology teaching assistant. During this time, she also worked as a skills specialist at a counseling center, where she worked with children and adolescents to come up with individual goal plans. 

Lauren is currently working as a Medical Scribe at an Electrophysiology clinic in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through this role, she is able to interact with patients and collaborate with medical professionals every day. Working in the medical field has only strengthened her desire to become a genetic counselor, something that she has had her heart set on since she was a sophomore in high school. 

In her free time, Lauren enjoys reading, golfing, and spending time with family, friends and her puppies. 

Laura Ellis grew up in Westwood, MA. She graduated from Boston College in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Minor in Applied Psychology and Human Development. During her undergraduate career she devoted time to tutoring children in the Boston Public Schools and leading a mentor group for women in STEM. She also worked as a Biochemistry Intern at a biotech company, developing an efficient color change test for the presence of COVID-19 proteins. Laura had the opportunity to study abroad in Cork, Ireland her junior year of college and obtained insight on the field of genetics through the context of a different healthcare system and country.

After graduating, Laura worked as a Genetic Testing Coordinator at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, supporting GCs while also gaining clinical experience seeing cancer patients through the RAPID program. In her free time, Laura loves spending time outdoors running, hiking, or at the beach. She also enjoys reading, puzzles, and ice cream! She is thrilled to further her education with Bay Path University’s Genetic Counseling Program.

Veronica Fisher grew up an hour south of Boston in Somerset, Massachusetts. She first learned about genetics in eighth grade, psychology in high school, and genetic counseling in her sophomore year of college. Immediately, she knew genetic counseling was her career. During her junior year of college, she studied abroad for three and a half months in Barcelona, Spain. During this time she volunteered at Barcelona Biomedical Research Park’s (PRBB) Open Day and found the community's excitement in learning about science very inspiring. She was the VP of the archery club for 3 years and was involved in numerous other clubs on campus. In her senior year, she interned at Axonis Therapeutics for seven months, working on nerve regeneration in rats. In 2021, she graduated from Wheaton College (MA) with a BA in Biology and Psychology and a minor in Hispanic Studies. Since graduating, she’s been working at Solvias USA, LLC in Quality Assurance and as Pharmacy Coordinator. Regarding professional goals, Veronica hopes to educate the public about genetics and help make genetic counseling more accessible to those who need it. 

In her free time, Veronica enjoys being outside, crocheting, reading, listening to music, dancing, and spending time with her friends, family, and fiancé.

Deilan Griego was born and raised in Whittier, California. She continued her education in Southern California at San Diego State University, where she graduated with a degree in Biology. While at university, she discovered her passion for genetics and teaching after realizing how much she enjoyed teaching her classmates about complex genetic topics.

After graduation, Deilan worked as a yoga program coordinator and instructor for senior residents with genetic disparities living in physical rehabilitation and memory care facilities. There, she formed a great sense of empathy for individuals, friends, and families experiencing the real-life impacts of genetics. She also volunteered in hospice care and served as a coach for her alma mater’s high school girls’ volleyball team. She feels truly fulfilled when she can directly impact individuals. Her background and experiences have uniquely positioned her to understand and empathize with diverse populations, contributing to an environment where individuals feel comfortable, informed, and empowered.

Deilan loves hiking, exploring new places, and traveling in her free time. She is thrilled to join the Bay Path community and looks forward to this new chapter in her life and career!

Anna Kataeva grew up in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. At nineteen, she immigrated alone to the United States, settling in New York City. She graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with a degree in Psychology. During her undergraduate years, Anna found fulfillment in serving the underprivileged youth of New York City, dedicating her time to roles as an intake coordinator working with homeless youth and as an SAT tutor through New York Cares. After graduation, Anna pursued a decade-long career in Human Resources, first in New York City and then in Hawaii.

While working as a recruiter for a hospital system in Honolulu, she discovered genetic counseling, a field that combined her aptitude for science with her passion for supporting others. For the past two years, Anna has worked at a breast and gynecologic cancer center and volunteered at a crisis text line.

Today, Anna lives in Honolulu with her husband and their nine-month-old daughter. Anna is excited to embark on a new chapter as a student in Bay Path University's Masters of Science in Genetic Counseling Program. Eager to contribute to the community that offered her a warm welcome, Anna looks forward to becoming a genetic counselor and serving the population of Hawaii. She hopes to alleviate the shortage of genetic counselors in the state and ensure that every individual has access to the support and guidance they need. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, and hiking.

Moanam Khalid is from San Francisco, California. She graduated from UC Davis in 2021 with a Genetics and Genomics degree and a Public Health minor. Initially aiming for medical school, she volunteered extensively to gain medical experience. After graduation, she worked at an ENT clinic and developed a deeper interest in patient care and healthcare beyond physical diagnosis.

Moanam is actively involved in community service as the Director of Education First and a certified sexual assault counselor with Rape Trauma Services. She is passionate about providing care in regions with little awareness of genetic counseling, where people often suffer from disabilities and misplaced blame on women for genetic conditions.

Excited to start her Master’s Degree in Genetic Counseling at Bay Path University, Moanam hopes to expand her knowledge and skills to better serve communities in need. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies and cooking, which allows her to explore new cultures and cuisines.

Alexandra Kloss grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, with her three younger siblings. Her interest in genetics began in middle school when she first learned about Punnett Squares. It was not until college that she began exploring careers in the genetics field, leading to her discovery of genetic counseling.

Always desiring to learn and grow as much as possible, she graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2021 with four minors, a bachelor’s in genetics, and a master’s in biomedical sciences with a focus in genetics. 

Alexandra went on to work as a clinical research coordinator in a cardiogenomic study at UAB which gave her the opportunity to shadow genetic counselors at UAB’s Cardiogenomics Clinic. Now, she is looking forward to making her genetic counseling dreams reality. 

During her free-time, Alexandra likes to crochet, read, and play games (video and board!) with her friends.

Jessica Lioy is from Syracuse, NY but currently resides in Long Island, NY with her husband and dog Watson. Jessica attended SUNY Fredonia where she earned her B.S. in Molecular Genetics. Following, she pursued her PhD in Genetics at the start of the pandemic.

Jess first learned about genetic counseling in High school through an advanced four-year academic curriculum offered by Project Lead the Way (PLTW). She understood her passion revolved around the field of genetics, but wanted more than what she was experiencing in the laboratory during her PhD. Jessica decided to make a career pivot and focus on genetics as a genetic counselor instead of remaining at the lab bench. 

Jessica is excited about her career change and to be part of the class of 2026! She is hoping to translate her previous experiences to her work as a genetic counselor as the profession is quickly evolving. 

Faith Loggins was born and raised in a small north Georgia town outside of Athens. She earned her B.S. in Biology at Armstrong State University in historic Savannah, GA.  She was a research assistant during her undergraduate studies, aiding in ecological epigenetic studies. After earning her B.S. in Biology she completed an M.S. in Biology at Georgia Southern University while working as a teaching assistant. Her research focused on optimizing a technique to screen epigenetic markers in a species of songbird in an effort to do behavioral ecologic epigenetic studies on the species.

After graduating, she gained experience working in medical and environmental testing labs. She then pivoted into an instructor position teaching biology at her alma mater. This experience helped her develop her interpersonal skills and allowed her to impact her students’ lives positively. While serving as an instructor for two years she underwent mental health training focusing on crisis intervention and how to utilize campus resources to better serve her students. 

In this process, she was reinvigorated to pursue a goal she had formed in her undergrad,  to serve as a genetic counselor. While researching the field and shadowing for months with a cancer genetic counselor, the compassion and guidance she saw offered to patients during this time validated the path she was on.

In her free time, Faith enjoys exploring the coastal region with her husband, practicing yoga to stay grounded, and spending time with her two black cats. She is extremely excited and grateful to join Bay Path’s genetic counseling program, and is looking forward to these next steps in her journey! 

Kari D. Loomis grew up in Massachusetts, where she graduated from Duxbury High School.  Following her love of biology and desire to help people, Kari pursued her BS in Biology Education from Clemson University. After graduation, Kari worked as a middle school and high school biology teacher in NY and CT while gaining experience in research by working at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in Ridgefield, CT, during the summers.

It was through this pharmaceutical experience, Kari realized she wanted to go deeper with her genetic studies. This was when she decided to pursue a doctoral degree in functional genomics at North Carolina State University.  Kari focused on cancer genetics, cell signaling, and cell cycle regulation as it relates to a transcription factor, C/EBPα, and its role as a tumor suppressor in squamous cell carcinomas of the skin. Kari was awarded her PhD in 2008 and has gone on to teach genetics, cellular and molecular biology, cancer genetics, and other related courses at a number of colleges and universities, including Mars Hill University in NC, Curry College in MA, and UMass Amherst in MA. 

After about 20 years in genetics education, Kari is excited to transition her career in the clinical direction as a genetic counselor.  As a mother of four children ranging from kindergarten to the Air Force, Kari appreciates the flexibility allowed by Bay Path’s online program and looks forward to working with the excellent group of faculty and students and Bay Path University! 

Jordyn Mensh was born and raised in the DC area until she ventured off to the state of Ohio, where she graduated cum laude with her Bachelor of Science in Biology and minor in Psychology at The Ohio State University.

During her time at OSU, she conducted research on the impact of a gene on the development of the optic cup in mice. Additionally, she volunteered to teach at various high schools around Columbus about DNA and performed experiments with the students.

She discovered the profession of genetic counseling when she was doing research on careers for biology majors. She found that genetic counseling had the potential to be patient-facing and utilize her love for genetics, which had only grown since she had first learned the Punnett Square in middle school. She realized she could help guide families through difficult genetic situations similar to what her own family has experienced.

After graduating, Jordyn took a gap year to prepare as much as possible to apply for genetic counseling programs by volunteering at the Crisis Textline, working as an endocrine lab technician at a fertility center, and interviewing genetic counselors. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach, reading, crossword puzzles, and learning about geography.

Jordyn is excited to become an active member of the genetic counseling community, learn more about the psychosocial effects of genetic testing on family members, and help others make informed decisions about genetic issues.

Rochelle Nisam grew up in Marin County, California, and studied biology at the University of Santa Cruz, California. Initially planning to pursue veterinary medicine, Rochelle engaged in various volunteer and research experiences pertaining to animal care, evolutionary biology, and wildlife conservation. While completing her undergraduate degree, she developed worsening chronic health symptoms and re-evaluated her career path.

After graduation, she explored vocational endeavors within education, medical administration, and advocacy. She completed an advanced biosciences certificate and is pursuing a master’s degree in biomedical ethics. Her experience navigating the medical system inspired her to volunteer in patient advocacy, iatrogenic awareness, chronic pain support, and crisis counseling. While researching her condition, she discovered a passion for genetic counseling. Rochelle is stoked to begin Bay Path University’s Masters in Genetic Counseling and eventually aims to serve patients with rare diseases. Besides her professional aspirations, Rochelle is a nature, audiobook, and cat enthusiast.

Justin Pham was born and raised in Orange County, California. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a B.S. in Biotechnology and a minor in Chemistry.

Since then, he has worked as a clinical laboratory scientist in the blood bank and education setting at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. In this role, he was a part of the trauma team, assisting the underserved population of Los Angeles. He also discovered his passion for teaching as the point of care coordinator for the hospital.

He first gained an interest in genetic counseling after serving in the Special Needs Ministry at his church. He realized that pursuing this career would allow him to combine his laboratory skills with the heart that this ministry has given him to help children with disabilities.

During his free time, Justin loves to play racket sports, listen to jazz, and travel!

Sarah Rice is from Pike Road, Alabama. She graduated summa cum laude from Auburn University in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science degree in genetics and a minor in psychology. As an undergraduate, she was a learning assistant for organismal biology and microbiology, conducted research at the Harrison College of Pharmacy, and earned a Genetic Assistant Certificate through the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She served as a member of her sorority’s executive board and held an officer position every year as a member. Sarah enjoyed volunteering with two organizations for youth and young adults with moderate to severe disabilities.

Sarah has been fascinated by genetics since high school when she did an activity related to genetic counseling. She is interested in the field of telehealth and psychiatric genetic counseling. In her free time, she enjoys exercising, embroidery, and spending time with her family and pets.

Christina Zonia San Martin, born and raised in the sunny city of Miami, Florida, graduated summa cum laude from Florida International University with a B.A. in Biological Sciences and a minor in Psychology. During her undergraduate studies, she dedicated her time as a peer support volunteer with the Cancer Hope Network and served as a Patient Advocate Leader with FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered. Through her work with FORCE, Christina discovered a profound passion for advocacy, collaborating with inspiring individuals within the hereditary cancer community.

In addition to her advocacy efforts, Christina gained valuable experience as a Registered Behavior Technician, where she provided crucial support and facilitated development and learning for children on the Autism Spectrum. One of her most cherished moments was hearing one of the children proudly exclaim her name, "Christy!” for the first time.

Now, Christina is thrilled to join Bay Path University’s Genetic Counseling program! She dreams of making genetic services more accessible and providing compassionate care to all who need it. In her free time, Christina treasures moments spent with her wonderful mom, her sweet 15-year-old chihuahua, and her loving family and friends.

Kensie Speed grew up in Kenmore, Washington, and has always been fascinated by genetics. As a kid, she did Punnett squares for fictional conditions for fun. She originally pursued a career in veterinary medicine, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2020 with a bachelor’s in Animal Science and a minor in Biological Sciences. While at Cal Poly, she worked as a veterinary technician, a science mentor for high school students, a lead teacher for children’s summer science classes, and a research assistant in an animal nutrition lab. Through genetics courses and a family member’s experience with genetic testing, she realized her passion was for genetic counseling.

Since graduating, Kensie has worked at Oregon Health and Science University as a Genetic Counseling Assistant in their pediatric and metabolic genetics clinics. She works closely with clinicians and patients and served as the lead GCA. She has also volunteered for the Chronic Illness Hotline. She currently enjoys pediatric and metabolic genetics but is excited to see how her interests develop throughout the genetic counseling program and beyond.

She now lives in Vancouver, WA with her husband, son, dog, and cat. She enjoys going on family walks, baking, and collecting thrifted art. 

Constance (Connie) Traugher was born in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. Connie spent her early life in South Jersey and graduated from Millville Senior High School in 2014. Following high school, she attended and graduated from Cedar Crest College with a B.S. in Genetic Engineering and a minor in Psychology.

Throughout her undergrad, Connie was involved in laboratory research for the genetic engineering and chemistry departments. Connie also served as a mentor to middle and high school students interested in attending college and/or the STEM fields. After Graduating, Connie spent two years working as a registered behavior technician and three years as a genetic counseling assistant.

In her freetime, Connie enjoys crafting, cooking, and spending time outdoors with her family. She
looks forward to becoming a genetic counselor and contributing to research in the field, as well as
continuing student mentorship.

Brianna Turchetti grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island, where genetic counseling first caught her eye. Science, specifically genetics, had always been her favorite subject in school, but she always had a passion for healthcare and working directly with her community. Therefore, genetic counseling always felt like the perfect fit.

After graduating high school, she moved to Tampa, Florida to pursue a bachelor's degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of South Florida. She graduated in May of 2023 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Since then, she has volunteered with Moffitt Cancer Hospital and worked with TGH Imaging to actively engage in the fields she is passionate about. She has had the pleasure of shadowing and learning from genetic counselors across the coast and is so excited to join Bay Path University’s class of 2026!

In her free time, Brianna enjoys thrifting, baking, and going to concerts. She plans to return to New England this summer to spend time with family before moving to Boston, Massachusetts for her journey to becoming a licensed genetic counselor.