Alumni spotlight

Christine Rittenhouse, MBS ’20

When she graduated from college, Christine (Chrissy) Rittenhouse, MBS ’20, knew she needed three things to strengthen her medical school application: a rigorous curriculum to prove her academic mettle, demonstrated leadership ability and research experience. She got all three from her Geisinger Commonwealth MBS degree.

“There were so many opportunities for research,” she said. “I got a lot of exposure to different areas including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and molecular biology. In fact, some of my classmates decided research or some other field was their true passion.”

In the years since her Geisinger Commonwealth graduation, Chrissy has worked for a pharmaceutical company that develops transdermal patches. By developing these transdermals, medication that is usually taken orally is now taken through systemic delivery, bypassing the gastrointestinal system and limiting GI side effects for patients.

“It’s amazing. It’s the best opportunity I ever thought I’d get,” she said, adding that she has risen to the title of director of product development. She said the leadership experience she gained at Geisinger has helped in this career. “I had no leadership experience at all coming into Geisinger,” she said. “Then I ran for and was elected Graduate Student Council president. If you asked me in undergrad if this was something I would do, I’d say I would never even try it. It was an amazing opportunity to work with faculty, staff and classmates.”

Although Chrissy said she loves research, she is still focused on medical school and is preparing her application. “The rigor of the MBS program at Geisinger opened the door to proving I can handle the rigor of medical school,” she said. “It opened my eyes to different fields and how they all work together in medicine, and that’s how it will be in my future. Being at Geisinger really encouraged me to become more of a team player and made me step out of my comfort zone.”