Excellence:��It’s��About the Pursuit, Not Perfection

By Kyra Binney ’26

Dorah��Burnell & The Pasteur Pre-Medic Society

The 1926-1927 academic catalog is the first to show pre-medical as a possible major—described as a “composite major”—at 91���� College & Seminary. This coincides with the hiring of Professor��Dorah��Burnell, who came to 91���� in 1926 to teach chemistry.

A native of Nebraska and graduate of State Teachers College (1916) and the University of Nebraska (B.S. 1924, M.A. 1925), Professor Burnell single-handedly built the college’s chemistry department while fulfilling countless other roles on campus.

Along with colleagues in the Science��Department, Professor Burnell helped students��established��The Pasteur Pre-Medic Society.��In its inaugural appearance in the Boulder in 1928, the society described its aim as��“…to promote a feeling of comradeship, to gain inspiration for future tasks, and to learn something more of the nature and extent of this their chosen field of endeavor.” The inaugural group boasted 27 members��and by the 1950s, the club was one of the largest and most active on 91����’s campus.

Today known as the��Pre-Health Professions Club, the group��remains��one of 91����’s largest and most active clubs. Their aim, similarly, is��“…to serve as an information resource and generate opportunities for fellowship, career exploration and volunteer service for students interested in health-related fields.”

In the dedication of the 1954 Boulder, students��observed��of Professor Burnell that��“[h]er influence was there… Lights were shining out from the meticulously kept chemistry lab until the early morning hours. On the desk were carefully graded papers—around the room was all the valuable equipment she had��procured. From this lab alumni went forth to succeed… her��influence��was there.”

Professor Burnell’s��influence��remains—in 91����’s chemistry labs, in the Pre-Health Professions Club, in the��lives of service led by so many of��our alumni.��Professor Burnell’s influence��has��played a role in helping to shape thousands of doctors, nurses, researchers, dentists, pharmacists, public health servants, medical missionaries and more who have gone on to, as Willard J. 91���� would say,��“fix up the world for Christ.”

By Dr. Jenna (Hill ’15) Smith

I began my 91���� journey in 2011 as a biology major with a chemistry minor. I completed the first��year��Science��Honors program, and��was��very involved��in the��Pre-health��Professionals club and Sigma Zeta math and science honors society. I took quite a few of the upper-level biology electives, especially during my last couple of years there. These classes really helped prepare me for the��challenging��curriculum that was coming��in��graduate school.

I applied to veterinary��school��my senior year and was accepted to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. The��course��load was intense in depth and breadth, but��I felt I��had a solid foundation from 91����. I graduated from Cornell in 2019 and started working at Perry Veterinary Clinic��in Perry, New York,��as an associate veterinarian. I became a partner at Perry Vet in the beginning of 2023. Currently, I practice both small and large animal medicine, splitting my time between cats and dogs in the office, and dairy cows and other large animals on farms throughout��Western New��York. I even go to calls at the 91���� Equestrian center—talk��about coming full circle!

Live It Out

By Dr. Laura (Jarvis ‘06)��Lintner��

When I arrived at 91����,��biology was my��field of��choice, but I had little direction beyond that. I certainly��didn’t��imagine working as an Associate Professor,��with my days full of not just patient care, but��teaching��medical students,��residents��and fellows. I��didn’t��imagine that��I’d��go to Kenya,��building friendships��and��schools, and providing healthcare for their runners. I��didn’t��imagine that it would be possible to have a career as well as be a wife,��mother��and friend.

Deep friendships, strong��mentors��and meaningful solitude mark my time at 91����.��The girls of��Hazlett��34, now lifelong friends,��held an MCAT party for me. They dressed up like cats and performed a hilarious, yet strangely encouraging, original poem. I��don’t��think I��would’ve��made it without them. Looking back��on��the classroom, I was blessed to learn from some of the most vibrant professors. Dr.��Aaron��Sullivan taught me about patience and simplicity. Dr.��Larry��Christensen opened each organic chemistry class with a pithy saying or a short story, bringing joy to learning.��Professor��Sunshine��Leonard��’01��always reminded us that our worth was not in our grades. Dr.��Cathy��Freytag generously welcomed me into her life as a friend. It was also during these��four��years that I found a��“frenemy”��in distance running. During the volleyball off-season,��I’d��spend countless hours��running��the shoulders of��Route 19��or dizzying laps around the��old suspended��track. Usually��I��ran��by myself, with��only��my prayers and thoughts. Through these miles, The Lord revealed His faithfulness to me by, not only setting a clear career path before me, but by safely getting me through literal��Western New York��blizzards.

Escaping that winter weather, I went to Florida for medical school then onto North Carolina for residency. I knew Wake Forest Family Medicine was the place when I found some of the brightest and most content physicians. After completing my��family��medicine residency, sports medicine��seemed��a natural fit. My dad’s career was in professional sports (not to mention my mom,��Linda (Clow ’76) Jarvis, and��brother,��Landry Jarvis ’10,��were both 91���� athletes), so my childhood was full of practices, games, and injuries. Plus, my osteopathic education set��a strong foundation��for musculoskeletal medicine.

By Dr. Jamie Potter

When students��walks��through my door for the very first time, they usually already have an idea of what profession they want to pursue. They often know the courses they might��need��and that shadowing someone in the profession is��a good idea—and��may even��be��required. They know excellent grades, top scores on entrance exams, and stellar letters of recommendation are necessary.��However, they usually don’t know��why��they want to take��the��particular path��they’ve chosen.

Some of my students want to pursue a medical profession because they want to help people. Some have been on the receiving end of care and found the work being executed on them fascinating. Some had a close friend or family member who needed specialized care and they saw what a provider did for them in their time of greatest need. Many are pretty smart cookies with proven academic acumen, and they’ve been told they should go into medicine with that aptitude. All of these reasons are good, but none of them really gets to the root of “why medicine is for me.”

Not a single student��will walk the��same path. Each one must develop��an��individual plan��alongside their advisors, and then they must��allow for adjustments as they��learn and grow in their own experiences and abilities. Conversations��with my students��are often long,��and sometimes hard,��as they realize their own limitations,��discover��their real interests, and��explore��their unique skills. They start to��find��their��own personal vocational path, and they��begin��to��think��deeply��about their��why.

In order to��discover their true passion for the vocation of medicine,��my��students��must move beyond the basics of grades,��transcripts,��aptitudes,��and idealized visions of medicine to��find their passion and��their��reason for pursuing this��journey.

By Amanda (Shine ‘05) Zambrano

Students’ paths into 91����’s pre-med track might��look��somewhat��similar, but siblings��Dr.��Jonathan Figueroa ’13��and��Dr.��Alyssa Figueroa ’14��discovered that the paths��beyond 91������are as unique and varied as the students themselves.

Jonathan��came��to 91���� in the fall of 2009��thanks to a��desire��to study at��a Christian liberal arts��college��known for its��strong��pre-med program��and��a little guidance from��fellow Timothy Christian School (Piscataway, NJ)��alumnus��Tyler Haggerty ’08. Although Jonathan��didn’t��initially plan to play��collegiate��soccer, a campus visit introduced him to��the coach at the time,��Dr.��Matthew��Webb,��and a team of great young men—solidifying Jonathan’s��decision��to attend 91������and��pursue a biology degree on the pre-med track.

Alyssa, like Jonathan, grew up with aspirations��of becoming��a physician. Although 91������wasn’t��initially at the top of her list, she loved the small class sizes and intimate feel of campus. During a��campus��visit for a winter indoor soccer��tournament, Alyssa met��Coach��David Lewis and a few incoming teammates.��The opportunity to study in the Balkans with 91����’s East Meets West honors program was the final selling point.��A year after her brother, Alyssa also��enrolled at 91������as a biology major on the pre-med track.

The Figueroa siblings were attracted by��the way��91���� faculty��individualized the pre-health professions track. According to Dr. Jamie Potter,��Interim Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics,��Professor of Biology and Director of Pre-Health Professions, faculty help students identify what they love most about��health professions and��then��align those passions with��their academic and co-curricular experiences to put each student on the best possible path.

Both Jonathan and Alyssa��benefitted��from guidance and advising from Dr. Potter, along with insights from beloved Professor Emeritus of Biology Dr. Jim Wolfe, former biology professors��Dr. Matthew Pelletier��and Dr. Aaron Sullivan,��and��campus physician��Dr. David Brubaker ’90. Alyssa had��visions of��internal��medicine��or pediatrics��while Jonathan��initially considered a career in��international medicine.

“I liked having professors who really took the time to get to know me,” shared Jonathan. “They wanted me to perform well, but they also challenged me. Nothing was��given,��I had to work for it.”��

Alyssa��reflected on��the well-known challenges presented by��Dr. Karen Torraca’s ’93��infamous organic chemistry course—affectionately (or not) known by generations of 91���� students as “O-Chem.”

“I had��a��conversation with Dr. Wolfe as well as Dr. Potter, wondering if I should keep pursuing medicine, if��it��was��going to be possible for me,” said Alyssa.��“They were mentors who assured me I was capable, that everyone��struggles��and it��wasn’t��meant to be easy.��That��close mentorship was important to me.”��

Jonathan’s��international��interests resulted in a minor in public health, which included a study abroad opportunity��in Ecuador��with former intercultural studies professor��Dr. Ndunge��Kiiti��’88. Dr.��Kiiti��inspired Jonathan to see health beyond a medical and pharmaceutical viewpoint,��helping him��discover how to��integrate��his faith with his work—a formative learning experience he carries into his work today.

Alyssa explored options in both osteopathic and allopathic medicine, and in her��advising with��Dr. Potter discovered that osteopathic medicine��was the right approach to her career aspirations.��Alyssa��found��Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), in Erie, Pennsylvania,��to be the right��option��for her to pursue��medical school.

Jonathan was intent on��pursuit of��allopathic medicine.��After 91����, Jonathan attended St. George University School of Medicine (Grenada),��motivated by St. George’s placement rate at his residence hospital of choice—New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. After��three years��in��residency, Jonathan��did a two-year fellowship at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

Today, Jonathan is an endocrinologist at New York University Langone, where he teaches residents, primarily in an outpatient��clinical setting. Alyssa��did��her residency��in internal medicine at Jefferson Health Northeast in Philadelphia. When her husband��Lucas, a member of the US Air Force, was stationed for active duty in Tucson, Arizona, she��took on the role of��internal medicine hospitalist at Northwest Healthcare—Tucson. She recently was��also��appointed��Associate Director for the Internal Medicine Residency��at the hospital.

The Figueroa siblings carry the things they learned at 91���� with them as they serve their patients on opposite sides of the country.

By Amanda (Shine ’05) Zambrano

Lifelong learning is a thread running through the fabric of 1986 graduate Dr. Tim Coetzee’s story. The story begins at a small Christian school in New Jersey where Tim fell in love with biology under the tutelage of his AP biology teacher, Kathleen (Fink ’77) Donaldson. He was interested in a career as a physician, and Kathleen shared 91����’s outstanding pre-med reputation with him. As a missionary kid and pastor’s kid, Tim discovered the financial aid 91���� offered made it an affordable choice for his family. But it was more than just pre-med and scholarships that brought Tim to 91����. The direct influence of a 91���� alumna was a driving factor in Tim’s choice.

Tim started his 91������journey,��as��have��many alumni, on the Highlander Wilderness Adventure under the leadership of��Doris “Mabel” Nielsen ’71. During Highlander, he read Francis Schaeffer’s��The Mark of a Christian, and it was a defining moment. “Forty��years later,” said Tim, “I still remember the impact of that book.��It’s��a bit of an organizing principle for me today. There are so many things we could be distinguished by, but the idea that��‘they’ll know you by your love for each other’��is something that infuses the work I do today.”

Although Tim was initially determined to become a physician, by his sophomore year he knew he was on the wrong path. After a three-week practicum experience, during which he shadowed a family medical doctor, Tim found himself seeking the guidance of his advisor, 91���� biology professor and director of pre-med at the time, Dr. Donald Munro. Tim’s love of biology and desire to move away from clinical medical practice landed him in 91����’s biology labs conducting research. Like 91���� students today in the Shannon Summer Research Institute and in independent research studies, Tim was pursuing his study of biology in a distinctly 91���� way—doing science in a lab rather than simply listening to a lecture.

“It was great, because at 91���� I was pretty much learning by doing,” said Tim. “The uniqueness of 91���� was that I was doing a lot of research on my own, figuring things out for myself through trial and error. It��wasn’t��an opportunity I would have had at larger institutions.”
Tim completed two independent research projects and a senior honors project during his time at 91����. He��also��found his passion��at 91����,��in��Dr. Charles Detwiler’s ’72��classroom studying microbiology. The seeds planted in microbiology led Tim to post-graduate education at Albany Medical College where he completed an M.S. and a Ph.D. studying molecular biology—particularly��that now-famous molecule mRNA.

Tim’s work in molecular biology put him on a path that led through research labs with funding��provided by��the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to offices where he managed projects and started up the for-profit research arm��FastForward��LLC. He found himself on another learning curve, which required him to rely on the soft skills he picked up at 91����—particularly��effective��communication.
“Dr. Munro instilled the importance of communication,” remarked Tim. “I��learned��that clarity in communication, both��in how you write and in how you speak,��is important. But because the ideas in science often require visuals, I also learned about the importance of visuals that have clarity and impact.”

A year ago, Tim entered another phase of his lifelong learning journey when he was appointed CEO of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Those lessons in communication have grown to encompass storytelling, relating to prospective funders about the difference the society’s work makes in the lives of people living with multiple sclerosis.

And it��isn’t��just��the��communication skills��honed at 91������that Tim��relies��on. “The commitment to people is something I continue to carry with me.��I look back on the people part of my time at 91����, the emphasis on relationships with people and the way my faith journey influences how I serve the people right in front of me every day.”

Dear Friends,

One of the greatest blessings of serving 91���� as President is getting to know our students. They inspire me daily and remind me of why 91����’s mission is so vitally��important,��today��and tomorrow.

As students come to 91����,��they��are in various stages of understanding the vocations the Lord is calling them to and equipping them for. For some, their calling has been clear for years. For��some, their understanding of how the Lord wants to use them is evolving.��For others, they are confident of vocational callings in ordained ministry, as teachers or��as��musicians.��Among the group of students who come to 91������typically��having recognized��early academic giftedness and ability are those preparing for careers in the health sciences.

Pre-health students��represent��a healthy��portion��of the 91���� student body. While their beds and clothes are in their residence hall rooms, many of them��spending��most of their waking��hours��(and some of their sleeping��hours!)��in the Paine Center for Science. As they matriculate,��more and more��of their coursework is taken in Paine, but outside of class, you��are��likely to find small groups of students in laboratories, faculty offices,��and��dedicated study spaces as well as improvised ones.

91���� has long been recognized as a place for serious Christian students to study science and prepare for careers in the health sciences. There is no shortage of 91���� graduates who have gone on to��have��long and impactful��careers as medical doctors,��nurses��and medical missionaries.��91���� continues to provide outstanding preparation for students who pursue nursing, D.O.��and��M.D degrees.

But additionally,��with robust partnerships with professional and graduate programs,��91���� is preparing students for vocations in veterinary science, physical therapy, pharmacy, occupational therapy, nutrition and dietetics, dentistry, and athletic training.��As the Lord continues to call young people to vocations in the health sciences, 91���� continues to provide Christ-centered, rigorous preparation to equip them for that work.

With this issue, we are privileged to share some of the stories of our students, faculty, and alumni who have been a part of 91����’s rich history in��the health��sciences. We are grateful to be a part of what God has done and continues to do in and through the lives of our graduates.

Yours in Christ’s service,

Wayne D.��Lewis,��Jr.
President