I graduated from the University of Delaware in 2016 with an honors B.A. in philosophy and minors in medical humanities and Spanish. While there, I was fortunate to receive the Nicholas Freemont Plummer Prize and the Lucia Palmer Memorial Award, and my essay "An Ethical Defense of Meat Consumption" won the Ethics Writing Contest.

I went on to medical school and a urology residency at the University of Connecticut, then a fellowship in urologic oncology at New York University. Along the way, I’ve published and presented research on a variety of topics; while this has mostly focused on prostate, kidney and bladder cancers, I've also had the chance to return to medical ethics, with work on post-mortem sperm retrieval and the disposition of cryopreserved gametes and embryos after a donor’s death. I now practice as a urologic oncologist in Hartford, Connecticut, where I care for and operate on patients with urologic cancers and help train UConn's urology residents.

I have very fond memories of studying philosophy at UD. Beyond the material itself, the coursework taught me to work through problems methodically and to make sure the foundation of evidence was solid before reaching a conclusion. I've relied on those principles constantly in training and in practice, whether in evaluating outcomes of a research study or counseling patients on interventions with varying risk/benefit profiles.

A philosophy degree may seem like an unusual path to surgery, but it has served me well, and I am grateful for the education I received at UD.

Josh Davis graduated from UD in 2021, earning a double degree in computer science and philosophy and a minor in mathematics. During his time as an undergraduate student, he was named a Eugene du Pont Memorial Scholar (2017), received the Hatem M. Khalil Memorial Award (2018), the Outstanding Sophomore Award (2019), the Outstanding Junior Award (2020), and the Outstanding Senior Award (2021). He also received 2nd place in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) student research competition at the 2018 Supercomputing Conference (SC18) held in Dallas, Texas. Davis is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Maryland in the Parallel Software and Systems Group (PSSG).

Alumni Spotlight courtesy of Computer & Information Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Delaware

Read Alumni Spotlight: Josh Davis

Since graduating from the University of Delaware, I’ve built a career dedicated to public service and the law. I earned my J.D. from Willamette University College of Law in 2017 and began working in politics as a campaign manager for the Oregon State Senate before serving as an assistant prosecutor in Lafayette County, Missouri.

In 2021, I was commissioned as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, where I’ve served in diverse legal roles including legal assistance attorney, tax center officer in charge, special victims’ counsel, and special assistant United States attorney for the Western District of Washington. I’ve also served as trial counsel and brigade judge advocate for the 2nd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade. My military service has been recognized with multiple awards, including two Army Commendation Medals, and I’ve had the privilege of serving both stateside and overseas in Korea.

Outside of my professional work, I remain committed to community service through my church, tutoring immigrants preparing for citizenship and coaching high school mock trial teams.

Tara Rhoades graduated magna cum laude from the University of Delaware in 2010 with an Honors B.A. with Distinction in Philosophy and an Honors B.S. in Biochemistry. She was awarded the Plummer and Palmer Prizes in Philosophy for Most Outstanding Junior and Senior with Highest GPA.  She went on to earn her law degree from Yale Law School in 2014.