Jenna Mattingly Seawright BA’14 and Jonathan Seawright BS’14
Alumni couple Jenna Mattingly Seawright BA’14 and Jonathan Seawright BS’14 credit their University education with providing a foundation for professional success.
“We are both achieving our professional aspirations due in large part to our undergraduate education at UT Dallas,” said Jenna, who earned a sociology degree at the University before entering medical school.
Her original decision to attend UT Dallas was influenced by the positive experiences of her older brothers who also attended UT Dallas — Jeffery Mattingly BA’09, BS’09 and Michael Mattingly BS’10. Jenna says she witnessed the growth of the campus and the range of academic offerings while her brothers were undergraduates. Once on campus, she continued to follow in her siblings’ footsteps by turning to the Health Professions Advising Center (HPAC) for guidance in preparing for medical school and a career in medicine.
“Medical school is really hard to get into, but HPAC provided my brothers and me with the tools and information we needed to get accepted,” she said.
Alumni couple Jonathan Seawright BS’14 and Jenna Mattingly Seawright BA’14 visit the University.
In May, Jenna graduated from the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio and is beginning a four-year OB-GYN residency at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Jeffery and Michael are pursuing medical careers in ophthalmology and family medicine, respectively.
In addition to influencing her professional career, UT Dallas also provided the setting for Jenna and her future husband to meet. The two first connected as incoming freshmen at Comet Camp.
As an undergraduate student, Jonathan took classes in engineering and in arts and technology. His exposure to research and involvement in an engineering co-op provided hands-on experiences and broadened his perspective.
“It’s hard to get that kind of motivation unless you have that type of educational experience,” he said. “And it was such a great experience because I was able to figure out what I want to be doing with my professional career and I had so many opportunities open up to me.”
Jeffery Mattingly BA’09, BS’09 (left) and Michael Mattingly BS’10 celebrate the medical school graduation of their sister Jenna Mattingly Seawright BA’14.
He also found support beyond the classroom and credits the University’s Career Center with guiding his path post-graduation.
“The Career Center was so beneficial in getting my resume put together so I could go and get jobs,” he said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have gotten the internships that I did if I didn’t have their help.”
Jonathan recently accepted a remote position with a successful Silicon Valley startup that collects and distributes big data analysis for clinical trials.
“It’s such an exciting time for Jonathan, too, because he’s always had that dream of working for a Silicon Valley startup,” Jenna said. “Now he’s getting to accomplish a career goal while I work towards mine.”
— Alexandra Hopkins