Zoe Spearman joined the Harvard Medical School Office of the Dean as a project administrator in September 2022. MyHMS talked with Spearman about her background, her interests, and working at HMS.
MyHMS: What brought you to HMS?
Spearman: My team is what really brought me to HMS. I applied for the project administrator position in the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine because I was interested in getting involved in higher education. However, I accepted the position because I enjoyed meeting my team during the interview process. I knew that this job would challenge me and that I would constantly be learning.
MyHMS: What did you do before you started working at HMS?
Spearman: Before I started working at HMS, I was a paraprofessional for one year at the Pierce School in Brookline, where I worked with first-graders in two vibrant classrooms. In the spring of 2021, I graduated from Occidental College, where I studied biology, with a concentration in environmental science.
MyHMS: What’s the most interesting or unusual job you’ve had?
Spearman: The most unusual job I have ever had was raising Isthmohyla pseudopuma tree frog tadpoles as a student researcher in Monteverde, Costa Rica. I hiked up a mountain and collected tadpoles from an ephemeral pool near the Continental Divide and raised them in low and high densities while analyzing their weight and body length. This climate study assessed the effects of the lifting cloud base on amphibians that are now being annexed into smaller areas.
MyHMS: How would you describe your new role to someone unfamiliar with what you do?
Spearman: I would say that I manage a wide array of projects and events for the Office of the Dean. Currently, I am becoming involved with climate and sustainability initiatives at HMS as well as supporting the Subcommittee on Artwork and Cultural Representations. I also work closely with the chief of staff and help to manage her calendar.
MyHMS: What do you like best about your job and working at HMS?
Spearman: My favorite part about working as a project administrator at HMS is that I am surrounded by people who love what they do and that I am always meeting new people. I am never bored, and I feel like a valued member of the HMS community.
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MyHMS: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at HMS?
Spearman: I am currently training for the New York City Marathon as a charity runner fundraising for the Red Door Community. This amazing nonprofit supports all individuals affected by cancer, including the newly diagnosed, patients both in and out of treatment, as well as their families.
MyHMS: What are three things most people don’t know about you?
Spearman: I am an Irish citizen. I also love to scuba dive, and I have traveled to five continents.
MyHMS: If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be and why?
Spearman: If I could meet any fictional character, it would have to be Calcifer from the movie Howl’s Moving Castle. I have always loved Hayao Miyazaki films, and as a child was fascinated by Howl’s resident fire demon.
MyHMS: What’s your favorite meal to prepare at home? Why?
Spearman: I love making pasta at home with my mother, Jane. When I was growing up, she taught me how to roll out the pasta and make sauce with tomatoes from my nana’s vegetable garden. The pasta is fantastic; however, it is really the time spent together that I enjoy most.
