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William J. Rivers, III

Biography

William "Ja" Rivers says he always wanted a career that would allow him to serve others. This desire led him to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps and later join an investment advisory firm in the hope of helping people avoid financial disasters. Ja says medicine is the career he has been searching for all his life. "The practice of medicine would allow me to have a direct, positive influence in the lives of others."

Ja says he was so set on going to Mercer that he said as much in his personal statement in the medical school application, effectively ruling out any other school that year. What draws him to Mercer is the emphasis on case learning, which helps students connect science with the clinical aspects of medicine. "I feel this method of learning better prepares physicians."

Ja plans to practice internal medicine in the small Georgia town where he and his wife grew up. He wants to incorporate teaching in his work. "I feel that passing on knowledge to future generations is one of the best methods of giving back to the community from which we came." Among his goals: instructing medical students during their clinical rotations and offering high school and college students the opportunity to shadow his practice to see if they want to become doctors.

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