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I came to Taylor University in the fall of 2016 from a little town in Wisconsin, planning on majoring in chemistry and using that degree to apply to medical school. While at Taylor, God grew me in so many ways: professionally, personally, and spiritually. I received my diploma from Taylor University (a BS from the chemistry department with a minor in honors) in early 2020 right before the pandemic hit America. I had been engaged to my longtime girlfriend (since high school!) for a year at that point and returned to our hometown in WI to make money in order to pay for the upcoming wedding. On June 6th 2020 we married (in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by many Taylor friends and our family); I started medical school at the University of Wisconsin that August and completed the preclinical curriculum December of 2021. I am now completing the clinical portion of my medical school experience and am currently set to graduate in May of 2024.
Taylor University has blessed me in so many ways. Here’s a list: 1) The Chemistry Department: the department is run by some truly great scientists and Christians. I was mentored early on by the chemistry faculty who regularly held “chemistry dinners” (pro tip: never skip a chemistry dinner if you can help it) and other “extra-classroom” department events. Both inside and outside the classroom, my chemistry professors went above and beyond to make sure that I understood the material, that I was tracking along towards my career goals, that I was having fun, and that I was growing in my faith. 2) The Honors Guild: the Honors Guild at Taylor was an extremely important organization for my TU experience as well. The Honors Guild (and the people running the Honors Guild) did an AMAZING job of fostering an environment where robust debate could occur. Much of my current political philosophy was shaped by friendly arguments that I had with other members of the honors program at Taylor University. I have yet to encounter a more liberating intellectual arena than that of the Honors Guild from my time at Taylor University. 3) Residence hall life: Taylor University has a unique residence life experience in several ways. For one thing, TU is located in a very rural (even by my rural WI standards) area and events off campus tend to be lesser in number than that of a university located in a more densely populated area. The upside to this is that you have the opportunity to grow very close to your student neighbors in the dorms; some of my most growing experiences at Taylor University came from my dorm mates. One other way that TU dorm life is unique is that for the most part dorms are integrated with students from all four years in school. When I was freshman I was neighbors with seniors and could benefit from their wisdom and experience. When I was a senior I experienced the flip side of that. TU dorm life allows you to grow with and mentor fellow students in a way that just isn’t possible at colleges with a more traditional residence life set up. 4) the Philosophy Department: although I was not a philosophy major or minor (my wife was though, and she won the department award for the 2019-2020 school year… humble brag) I attended a few philosophy events and was invited to philosophy faculty’s houses on several occasions. These experiences helped grow me into a more thoughtful person and gave me a more reflective attitude towards my own areas of study (chemistry and medicine). Dr Seeman and Dr Diller were excellent academics and great hosts who worked hard to make me feel accepted in their classes (and worked hard to teach me philosophy). Physicians (in my experience having spent much time in very close proximity to many of them) tend to lead unexamined lives; because of my experiences with the TU philosophy department I am determined to not let me be one of those physicians. The above are only a sample of my most valuable experiences! I don’t know that it is possible to do justice to my TU experience in just a small writing sample; doubtless I have skipped dozens of experiences from TU which have helped shape the person I am now.
My professors, whether for my major classes, foundational core classes, or Honors Guild classes, all worked hard inside and outside the classroom to make sure that I both understood the material and was growing in my faith. Professors in all three areas (chemistry, Honors Guild, and foundational core) did things like meet after hours with me to discuss classroom topics, join faculty panels to speak to larger groups of students at extracurricular events, tutor me outside the classroom if I struggled with a concept inside the classroom, and stay with me after class just to check in. Specifically I’d like to highlight my interactions with Dr Dan King and Dr Patricia Stan from the chemistry department for this. These two professors move mountains for their students to make sure that they are on track to meet their professional goals and to make sure that they are personally flourishing at Taylor University. So much of what it means to me to be a person of science and a professional comes from my interactions with them. They bless every student that they come into contact with.
So much of being a good physician (in my observation of good physicians—I’m not a physician yet!) is being able to relate to your patients and understand them. My interactions with Taylor faculty as they mentored me gave me a template for how to do that with patients; that’s the real benefit of Taylor education: the faculty are exceptional educators and scientists but the most valuable thing Taylor has given me is an example of how to treat other people in Christian manner with loving-kindness.
1) Get to know your professors. Your time at Taylor will mandate that you interact with experts in Chemistry; you should take advantage of having access to that expertise while it is so especially accessible. 2) Get involved in extracurricular and interdisciplinary activities to grow yourself academically outside your major. Taylor University made me a much more well-rounded person than I would have been otherwise and a big part of that was extracurricular interactions. 3) Never skip a chemistry dinner if you can help it. And if there is mention of liquid nitrogen ice cream… well then your attendance just became EXTRA-mandatory!
