Amy Hentschel

Cohort of 2024

Hi, my name is Amy and I’m from Victoria, BC. I graduated from the University of Victoria where I was a part of the co-operative education program and earned a BSc Honours in Biochemistry with a focus in genetics. For my undergraduate degree, I wrote a thesis on my research in Dr. Chris Nelson’s lab on the evolution of protein paralogs Fpr3 and Fpr4 in budding yeast. My creative outlet during school was my part-time work as a dance teacher for young children which I eventually expanded on to teach dance to children on the autism spectrum as a form of group therapy. As I was finishing my degree, I began volunteering at an emotional support and crisis chat line supporting youth across Canada, as well as working at a transition house supporting survivors of brain injury. All of these experiences pushed me to pursue a career in genetic counselling where I could combine my interest in genetics and passion for directly caring for and supporting others.

I continued my roles at the crisis line and with survivors of brain injury after graduation, and I supplemented these experiences by volunteering at a transition house for women and children escaping domestic violence which gave me a well-rounded understanding of different challenges people may face. In August of 2023, I started a full-time position at the Vancouver Island Medical Genetics Clinic as their first genetic counselling assistant after having volunteered in the clinic for a year. There, I gained valuable experience on the process of arranging genetic testing, on the dynamics of a genetics clinic, and shadowing genetic counsellors.

In my spare time, I love to be outdoors, read a good book, or do anything artistic and creative. I’m so excited to take the next step in my career and be a part of the UBC Genetic Counselling Cohort of 2024!