What is your hometown?
My hometown is Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I spent my entire life there until going to college at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
How or when did you become interested in science and medicine?
I think I’ve been interested in science for as long as I can remember. Medicine, however, is a different story. I didn’t really consider medicine as a career option until I was a sophomore in college. I guess my interest in medicine began with my involvement with gymnastics. I did gymnastics from the age of 6 until my junior year of college. My experience with all the injuries I had during this time piqued my interest in how the body works and shouldn’t work! After my freshman year, I did a two-year mission for my church in inner city Boston and then in Portugal. Those two years were the most incredible years of my life and I learned that working with people was very fulfilling. After I got back to the United States, I switched my major from statistics to exercise physiology and luckily got accepted to medical school.
How or why did you choose the UI to attend medical school?
Honestly, I thought I would have a better chance of being accepted here because I was a resident of Iowa and it would be a lot cheaper than an out-of-state school. I also had a lot of family and friends here at Iowa, and it didn’t hurt that Iowa is an excellent institution, either!
Is there a teacher, mentor or Carver College of Medicine faculty member who has helped shape your career?
There are several faculty members who have positively influenced me. One is Lois Albrecht, my Person and Professional Development facilitator. I appreciated how she took the time out of her busy schedule to sit with a bunch of stressed out, impatient medical students to help us explore real world medical issues. Another faculty member who has positively influenced me is Sanford Markham, who was my facilitator for Foundations of Clinical Practice II. He was very patient and informative with us, and he helped me become a better researcher and teacher of medical knowledge. A third faculty member is Robin Paetzold, who has done a lot to help me achieve my dream of gaining international health experience. There are several others, but these three come to mind.
What kinds of opportunities or advantages does being a medical student at Iowa provide?
I really like how the administration takes student opinions into consideration. We fill out what seems like hundreds of evaluations each semester, but I appreciate how changes are actually made according to our comments. I think this is an extremely student-friendly school. I also love all the extracurricular opportunities here. I believe the entire atmosphere here is friendly and very conducive to learning and becoming a great physician.
What kinds of challenges does being a medical student at Iowa provide?
I don’t think there are any major challenges inherent to Iowa in particular. Perhaps, due to the high quality students here, it can be a little frustrating comparing oneself to others!
How did you get involved with the community health project in Guatemala this summer?
I knew I wanted to do some international medicine over the summer, but wasn’t sure where or how. I heard about the trip to Guatemala and the Barry Freeman Scholarship only days before the deadline. Several of my friends were going, so I decided to throw my application together at the last minute. It was an amazing experience. The language school we were attending ran a daycare center in a largely indigenous community called Llanos de Pinal outside of the city of Quetzaltenango.
What was this experience like for you?
Those involved with the project went into the homes of the families that had children at the daycare center and conducted a public health survey. We asked questions about their nutrition, housing, health, etc. After conducting all the interviews, we compiled all the information and decided that, according to our experience and resources, the best thing we could do was hold weekly educational seminars with the women we interviewed. During the week, we would plan the seminars and prepare a healthy lunch for them. Then we would lug all the food and supplies to the village and hold the seminars. We taught them about hygiene, self-esteem and gender issues, contraception, nutrition, etc. I was surprised by the attendance that we had at these meetings. I think it was because we tried to invite local health professionals and community members to do some of the teaching and not solely enforce our own ideals about proper public health.
Please describe your professional goals and interests.
I love international medicine and would love to work for the WHO (World Health Organization) or a non-governmental organization providing health care to Third World countries. I also have a passion for preventative medicine and, with my background in exercise physiology, would love to help curb the obesity epidemic across the country and help people with smoking cessation.
Where do you envision yourself practicing medicine?
I think, realistically, I’ll probably end up being a family practitioner somewhere in the Midwest. My dream is to then retire at 55 and do medical missions for the rest of my life all across the world! We’ll see how that pans out.
What are some of your outside interests?
I probably have too many… and don’t spend enough time studying! I love sports, particularly gymnastics, running, and volleyball. I love the outdoors and could gladly spend a month in the Rockies camping, hiking, and rock-climbing/repelling. Traveling, church, music, gardening, trivia, and visiting amusement parks are other interests of mine. Spending time with family and friends is what I do to relieve stress.
Please describe any professional/personal experiences that have helped shape you as an individual.
One of the biggest influences in my life has been my parents. They work so hard to do what they believe is right and have sacrificed nearly everything for their kids. My experiences in gymnastics were also very influential. The numerous hours of training were brutal at times, but I learned perseverance and how to set goals from my coaches and teammates. Another is my faith and my missionary experiences in Boston and Portugal. I was only 19 when I went, so I was very young and had a rather narrow-minded view of the world. The work was very demanding and I was stretched farther than I have ever been.
What did this experience teach you?
I was blessed with the opportunity to interact with many different people and consequently learn about the type of person I wanted to be. I also learned to prioritize my life and realized what are truly the most important things for me.
Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your work?
I know it sounds idealistic, but I try to ask what Jesus would do in many of the situations in which I find myself. I guess I try to think about how I could be the most beneficial to society and those with whom I interact.
If you could change one thing about the world (or world of medicine), what would it be?
I think it would be to have everyone in the world really comprehend the potential that they each have. I believe the world would be a much better place if everyone understood who they truly are, who they could possibly become, and how much they could contribute to making the world a better place.
What one piece of advice would you give to students who are interested in applying to medical school?
Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. Make sure you are doing it for the love of medicine and helping others and not out of ambition or potential social status. Also, make sure that you keep your life well balanced.
What do you see as “the future” of medicine?
I think the future of medicine is bright. New technologies, studies and techniques will continue to make people’s lives longer and more livable. How people will continue to pay for the skyrocketing costs of medicine is yet to be seen, however. Maybe it’s due to my interest in public health, but I think largely due to the increasing number of preventable, chronic illnesses around the world, there will be more focus on promoting healthy lifestyles, screening and vaccinations.