“BYU was just the right school for me,” says Jeffrey Clancy (BIO ’23). “I liked the spiritual aspect, and it is more undergraduate focused for research.” He knew BYU offers more opportunities to undergraduates than he would find elsewhere, and Clancy values working efficiently and intelligently.
Clancy is graduating from BYU in just three years and paid for his schooling himself. He attributes his accomplishments and expedited graduation to planning well and prioritizing sleep, exercise, and church responsibilities and advises other students to do the same. “I learned to budget time fairly well. Everyone has the opportunity to plan things out and get it done ahead of time. Get enough sleep. I think that made a big difference to my productivity. I feel like I was able to work full-time and do classes for three years straight because I was in my bed for at least eight hours each night.”
Clancy’s advice to other Life Sciences students may be surprising. “I was really focusing on year-round classes and good grades because I thought that’s what people care about, but most careers in biology care about your lab skills and your research.” He goes on to say, “I took summer classes to graduate quicker, which isn’t a bad thing to do, but a better opportunity during that time is to get more research hours and experience. Those skills are more important than how fast you graduate.” Clancy took advantage of research opportunities by working as a research assistant. He feels his lab experience was good preparation for his future.
Outside of academics, Clancy enjoys spending time with friends and playing sports on the weekends. He also started a club—the Short Story Club—where student members “explore the literary world through the only medium they have time for: the short story.”
Clancy is a big fan of BYU football. The first game he ever attended was their famous 2021 match-up against Utah. He remembers rushing the field as BYU broke the losing streak against the rival squad.
Clancy is grateful for his undergraduate experiences and is looking forward to his continued pursuit of education. Though undecided on what school to attend, Clancy plans earn his PhD in genetics and go into the biotech industry. He looks forward to the myriad of options that his education gives him.