An aspiring doctor
Victoreya McKissick is on a mission: to become a doctor so she can figure out what’s causing someone pain and then help them get rid of it. That might seem like an oversimplification of the direction where the Clark Honors College graduate is headed but it’s close.
Consider her own situation. She suffers from lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that prompts her body’s immune system to mistakenly attack healthy tissue and organs.
In her Honors College career, she has dealt with intense pain – sometimes on a daily basis – while managing a tough academic schedule that included research work on how to repair muscle tissue in the Willett lab at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.
“I get a lot of joint pain and fatigue,” McKissick says, ardently dismissing that the affliction is something that might slow her down. “My baseline used to be living with pain constantly. Most days it was a problem. But I have lupus and what I have learned to do is not make an excuse.
“I manage my stress. When I feel the pain coming on, I figure out ways to proactively take control of my situation. There are stressors out there for everyone. I just try not to let things get to me. I have things to do.”
Victoreya McKissick
Hometown: Locust Grove, Georgia
Major/Minor: Multidisciplinary Science/ Bioengineering and Chemistry
Coffee or tea: Tea. I love a good Chai.
Song on repeat: “Hard Fought Hallelujah” by Brandon Lake
Favorite experience from the CHC: Taking HC 221 “Top Velocity of Gesture” with Brian McWhorter. In the beginning, I wasn’t really feeling the class. “What do you mean we have to perform?!?” “What do you mean there’s no rubrics?!?” That changed when I performed an air guitar solo to “Old MacDonald,” lip-synced a love song, wrote a reflection paper in the form of a resume, created my own song, and so much more. This class definitely forced me out of my comfort zone. More importantly though, I was forced to grow. I evolved as a student, as a thinker, as a classmate, and most importantly: I grew as an individual.
Thesis title: “Investigating a Novel Pro-regenerative Therapeutic to Treat Volumetric Muscle Loss”
Advice for incoming first-years: Take ownership of your journey. Put in the work— go to office hours, talk to your professors (they’re just people too), talk to your classmates, step outside of your comfort zone, and try something new.
This summer, I can’t wait for: The time I get to spend with family, continuing to do research in the Willett Lab, and new experiences.
I’m grateful for: My family. They’ve been my main support system throughout all of life’s uncertainties. I know that I can always turn to them when I need a pick me up, to vent, to laugh, and am in need of Godly advice.
Next steps: I will be applying for medical school, advancing my research experience, traveling, and most likely moving.
The multidisciplinary science major who has minors in bioengineering and chemistry carried tough academic courseloads throughout her time in the Honors College. She was a member of the Asklepiads Pre-Medical Society, a student-run organization where those with an interest in the health field learn from physicians, grow with and mentor each other, and take on the healthcare journey together.
She also attended workshops and other activities sponsored by the Minority Association for Pre-Medical Students. And she delved into research at the Willett Lab to help with her Honors College thesis, “Investigating a Novel Pro-regenerative Therapeutic to Treat Volumetric Muscle Loss.”
Hard to believe this young woman disliked science labs and the thought of doing research when she was in high school.
“She is a student who does an excellent job in the lab,” says Nick Willett, an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the Knight Campus. “She is determined. She has experience in the medical field. And she has the passion to help people and improve their health.
“If you look at how she handles herself in her research, this field will only be better because of her. She will continue to be a force with her work.”
Her thesis earned her the 2025 Applied Research Award from Clark Honors College administrators for its in-depth analysis of how to improve muscle regeneration after significant injury.
Originally from Locust Grove, Georgia, McKissick was born the younger of two kids. Her older brother has his own clothing brand company back east called Yerot Vica.
McKissick attended a career prep academy for high school and followed the healthcare pathway. As she routinely visited the doctors and nurses who treated her lupus, she felt moved by how they tended to her.
“They listened to me when I was down,” she recalls. “They worked with me and didn’t try to hide things. Their care made me think, ‘I want to do this.’”
She was certified as a phlebotomist in high school and later was hired by her primary doctor’s office as an assistant. She encountered patients who faced difficult and sometimes scary situations. McKissick could relate to what they were going through.
“I think it’s easy for me to put myself in their shoes,” she says. “I know how to get on their level. I understand that kids have their feelings and just want to understand what is happening with them. That’s why I want to go into medicine because I want to be on that team that encourages and supports them, even in hard times. I want them to know that they’ve always got someone fighting for them. I will always be in their corner.”
McKissick credits CHC instructor Yalda Asmatey as the main reason she stayed in the Honors College after meeting her two years ago. She described her freshman year as “boring.” She was outgoing, she says, but spent much of that first year in her dorm room. “I was just doing my own thing,” she recalls.
She didn’t participate in much, sticking mostly to herself. She only attended one football game and wasn’t into the party scene that some students sought out. Her second year was a little better. “I had to make a commitment to be outgoing,” she says now. “I started talking to more people and developed more friendships.”
She had planned to leave the Honors College but a chance meeting with Asmatey led to a lasting relationship that helped change her mind.
Asmatey says she remembers seeing McKissick and she thought she may have been lost. McKissick recalls that she was looking for her advisor but couldn’t find the person.
“We started a conversation and just hit it off,” Asmatey says. “What I appreciate about Victoreya is that she is so easygoing. You can’t help but get along with her. She also is very charismatic and asks a lot of questions. And she has high expectations of herself.”
Another thing about McKissick that Asmatey found impressive was how she took full advantage of the resources that are available to help students succeed.
“She knocks on doors. She asks questions. She goes to office hours and gets to know the people teaching her,” Asmatey says. “I think she – of all the students I know – knows how to advocate for herself and make connections. Whenever I see that she’s on my calendar, I get excited because I know Victoreya is going to come in and tell me something new.”
After graduation, she plans to spend the summer continuing her research in the Willett lab, and she will start preparing to apply to medical school. She will also move back to Georgia.
McKissick is clear about the direction she will go in when it comes to a career as a doctor. She wants to be a pediatrician with a focus on surgery or rheumatology.
“I know I’ll be a good doctor,” she says. “I won’t ever forget what my doctors and nurses have done for me. I appreciate everything I have learned from them.”
