Caroline Shagena was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and moved to Georgia to attend the University of Georgia. She graduated from UGA in 2023 with a bachelor’s in public health. During this time, Caroline learned her passion for advocacy through her roles as a hospice volunteer and intern for the East Georgia Cancer Coalition. Once she discovered Genetic Counseling and realized she could combine her passions of advocacy and disease prevention she pivoted to this career path.
Caroline spent her gap year continuing to work for the East Georgia Cancer Coalition in Athens as a Community Health Worker. During her time as a CHW, she was able to increase awareness on cancer prevention through a variety of events and even incorporate genetic education into this. Moreover, she gained experience learning how to operate a nonprofit clinic at Shifa Clinic in Duluth where she worked closely with the clinic manager and enjoyed interacting with patients.
In her free time, Caroline likes to attend workout classes, read books, go to concerts, and try new restaurants. She is excited to explore Atlanta and Emory. Caroline reached out to several GC students during the application process and would be happy to share any advice she has for any prospective students!