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Devin Brown
Pre-Med Track, Planned Program: Foundational Sciences of Life in the Universe
Class of 2022
Hometown: San Antonio, TX

Q&A with OU Senior and STEM Student Devin Brown

With the resources, opportunities, and support of OU’s faculty, staff, and students, OU senior and STEM student Devin Brown has not only shaped a successful and meaningful college career but also found his home with the OU family.

Growing up, Brown’s father taught him that success was measured by how willing a person is to reach back and shape a path to success for those who come behind them. Brown has lived by that advice and has worked tirelessly to build bridges between Black communities and higher education.

“You belong on this campus just as much as any other student. As soon as you can, please make it your priority to find your people and your family here on campus — whether they are your fellow classmates or the staff that are here to see you succeed. This journey isn’t meant to be traveled alone, so the quicker you find those people, the richer your time here will become.”

Q: What is your OU story?
Devin: With the financial support offered by scholarships and grants, I have had the incredible privilege of getting involved all over campus. As I close out my senior year, I hold leadership positions in Miracle Mindset, an early outreach college access program aimed specifically at first-generation and low-income high school students in Oklahoma; Withrow Leadership Scholars in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences; and High School Leadership Conference, a leadership conference hosted at OU for high school juniors. My involvement has been inspired by the desire to pay forward the resources, opportunities, and privileges I had during high school and those I have here at the University.

Q: Where are you serving as an intern this year?
Devin: I am a research assistant for the Center of Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. In that project, we are utilizing behavioral economics approaches to increase medication adherence for Black patients with hyperlipidemia and hypertension, both of which are major risk factors for heart disease. It has been especially gratifying to work toward eliminating health disparities and working alongside pioneers in behavioral economics.

Q: How did you choose your major?
Devin: Coming to OU, I had a deep passion for both psychology and astrophysics while also being very interested in entering the medical field. I took advantage of the unique opportunity offered in the Dodge Family of College of Arts and Sciences and created a major that combined my pre-medicine coursework, the psychology classes I had already taken, and the astrophysics courses that I wished to take. This is how I landed on the Planned Program major called “Foundational Sciences of Life in the Universe” and this is the major I will be graduating with.

Q: What are you looking forward to most after graduating and what are your plans post-graduation?
Devin: Before coming to OU, I couldn’t have predicted the incredibly challenging yet enriching experience I was going to have at this university. With it came so much growth and development, allowing me to become a version of myself that I am proud of. In starting the next chapter, I will enter worlds with new challenges, joys, and families where the opportunity to grow in life and experience will continue to be the greatest privilege. After graduation, I am pursuing a master’s degree in public health. I am still in the admissions process, so I have not yet decided where my new home will be!