Dr. Sherréa Jones is Completing her Lifetime Goal of Becoming a Physician at MCW
Every single day is different for Dr. Sherréa Jones especially since she decided to go back to school after her 10-year break. Just last semester, Dr. Jones enrolled at the Medical College of Wisconsin to complete her eight-year-old self’s dream of becoming a physician. She’s currently pursuing her doctor of medicine degree. Dr. Jones hasn’t decided on a specific medical field yet, but has five options she wants to get into: Maternal and Fetal, Medicine Radiology, Orthopedic Surgery, Anesthesiology and Trauma Surgery. But, going from teacher to student was mentally challenging for Dr. Jones, yet she knew it was time to go back.
“It was scary for me [because] this has been the only thing I wanted to do,” Dr. Jones said about pursuing her career. “To go from teacher to new student…I was very apprehensive. I went through every emotion possible.”
Dr. Jones was experiencing imposter syndrome like many Black women do.
Dr. Sherréa Jones. (Picture provided by Medical College of Wisconsin)
“You start to doubt all the values that got you here,” Dr. Jones said.
She felt because she was a nontraditional student and the age gap between her and her classmates that she didn’t belong. She had several breakdowns while trying to adjust to her new life has a student.
Eventually, Dr. Jones discovered that she wasn’t alone in feeling this way.
“I saw that everyone was scared and that kind of erased the age gap,” she said. “We were all experiencing the same conundrum of emotions.”
As a wife, mother, teacher and now student, Dr. Jones is constantly moving. According to Dr. Jones, some days are spent taking her two youngest children to school and making sure that each car ride is memorable, especially on the long days when she won’t see her children till the next day. And some days she has to wake up early to take a 7:45 a.m. exam while her husband takes care of their children.
Dr. Sherréa Jones and her first born. (Picture provided by Dr. Sherréa Jones)
At 16-years-old, Dr. Jones had her first child, but that didn’t stop her from going for her dreams. As a single mom and help from her mother, Dr. Jones received a PhD with a focus on molecular biology and biochemistry from Marquette University in 2009. Dr. Jones was excited about her accomplishment, but felt guilty because she had been in school most her son’s life, so she decided to wait until he graduated high school. Since then, Dr. Jones has became married and had two more sons. Even though her oldest son had graduated, she wanted to wait until both of her younger sons could at least communicate before returning back school.
Although she’s happy to be back in school, she felt the same guilt she felt with her first child. Dr. Jones doesn’t like being away from her family, but she said this time is a little bit easier because now she has double the support: her mother and her husband.
“I am incredibly humbled,” Dr. Jones said. “I don’t take any of this for granted.”
Along with inspiring her own students, Dr. Jones would love to help young, disadvantaged or struggling individuals pursing a career in the medical field. Although she’s at a good place in her life, she said it took a lot of hard work, persistence and consistency to make it here. And, she said she’s still not where she wants to be in life.
“A dream in progress is still a dream come true,” said Dr. Jones.
According to Dr. Jones, she’s been homeless, evicted, had to use food stamps and was once on state insurance. She said she wasn’t a straight A student and has been on academic probation before. She knows what it feels like it to be at the bottom and she’ll never forget that no matter how far she goes in life.
Recently, Dr. Jones started her own YouTube channel, “Med Mom Monologue” where she’s honest about her journey as a wife, mother and med student along with providing advice for those pursing the medical field as well. Over the years she’s learned so much and she’s always wanted to share her experiences with the world.
“I would love to help, to educate, to motivate, to inspire… to be that tangible resource in the city that I think is lacking,” Dr. Jones said. “[I want] to live as an open book to serve and to help.”
To follow Dr. Jones YouTube channel, click here.