I was looking for a strong science program and a college that would prepare me well for medical school. I also wanted to go to a small liberal arts college. I attended a small high school, and I valued the close interaction between students and teachers. I value the liberal arts format because I have broad interests in different subjects: literature, philosophy, arts, science.

The music program was a major factor - not only the choral program but the instrumental programs were so well established and had such a high level of participation. St. Olaf has multiple bands and orchestras in addition to the numerous choirs. I was in All-State band as a tubist, All-State chorus and several honors choirs. I first got introduced to St. Olaf through the summer music camp. That experience hooked me. I especially appreciate that you don't have to be a music major, as in a conservatory, to take advantage of the music department at St. Olaf, and you can still have an incredible musical experience.

Being a college of the church opens up room for dialogue on issues of faith. Students are drawn here from varying faith backgrounds. There is a lot of interaction between academia and faith here. At St. Olaf you can explore the question of how a belief in God and the study of science or human culture interact. Professors don't advocate one way or another on a given issue. They encourage the dialogue in the first place and intellectual honesty on both sides of the issue. St. Olaf doesn't try to teach people what to think but rather how to think.

I've explored and challenged some of what I believed. That was difficult at first. I took many things for granted. Having to defend my central beliefs in an academic, intellectual way forced me to examine them more closely. In science classes, issues of bioethics and of creation vs. evolution came up. Those sorts of conversations are legitimized at St. Olaf. It's allowable to talk about them, unlike at a state institution where you have to watch what you say in a classroom or school-sponsored setting.

I was impressed with The Great Conversation program. I enjoyed being exposed to great contributors to Western thought over the last 3,000 years in literature, the arts and a broad range of subjects, including music. Rather than being told what to think, you read primary sources and shape your own ideas through the readings and conversation with other students who are encountering the works for the first time.

My experience here has helped to cement my desires. At Fairview Ridges Hospital [in Edina, Minn.], I shadowed doctors in many different specialties, and I had one-on-one conversations about challenges the whole industry is facing, both ethically and fiscally. I saw not only the rewards of practicing medicine but also the hard realities. There are serious problems with the way medicine is going that forced me to examine my motivations for going into medicine - that they were worthy and sincere. I am determined to continue despite the obstacles.

A Health Professions Committee conducts mock interviews to help you think about why you want to go into a profession and prepare for the actual interview process. They challenged me to think beyond wanting to "help people" and better articulate my motivations.

My father died of kidney cancer when I was 14 years old. I wanted to be in a profession that could help heal and comfort people struggling with these diseases so they could live out healthy lives with their loved ones. The physicians involved in my father's care inspired me. Since then, I've felt drawn to medicine on an intellectual level. Medicine is a wonderful dichotomy of art and science. As someone interested in both arts and sciences, I love that the practice of medicine requires one to have this foundation of scientific knowledge, yet applying it necessitates an ability to communicate and reach people that is cultivated by the arts. This requires finesse akin to that of a musician. The best physicians know their science, and they are wonderful communicators who can share their compassion with their patients.

With financial support from St. Olaf, I attended a national student mission conference called Urbana '03 sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. That strengthened my desire to travel to Ghana the following summer where I did a medical internship. I witnessed the great needs of people there and the kind of impact one can have in the lives of people through service and love motivated by the gospel.

I do see myself doing more mission work. I am considering specializing in tropical medicine or something that would give me a strong base for entering medical mission work. I would like to integrate foreign mission work with a practice here in the States. There is such a need in developing countries that it's hard to describe without going there. With so many resources, we have an obligation to aid these countries.

At the same time, I realize more than ever looking at the state of our own health care system that we need to address our own problems to be an effective role model. Forty-five million people are without health insurance in this country. With prices of health care escalating, it's a major dilemma with no easy answers. Are we content to ration health care based on who can afford it?

I have taken private voice and tuba lessons for four years here. I received a tuba performance scholarship to come to St. Olaf and am a member of the St. Olaf Philharmonia. I'm also in a brass quintet, which I founded. We perform about three times a semester and we've done several major recitals. I'm also in the St. Olaf Choir.

Music brings me some release. As someone who spends a lot of time in the lab or the library, being involved in music gives me a creative outlet that has been an invaluable part of my experience here. I can use a totally different part of myself and work with others to create a concert. Music is fulfilling its purpose when it reaches the audience. We bring healing to people through the words that we sing. The ideas that we communicate have the power to transform people emotionally and spiritually.

I have participated in Karibu, an organization that promotes African cultural, social and political awareness on campus. I coordinated a lecture series through L'Abri Fellowship, and I was the president of the L'Abri Fellowship chapter of St. Olaf. I was a Bible study leader for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a student organization that hosts Bible studies in dorms as well as large-group gatherings and brings in speakers. These organizations seek to look at the philosophy of Christianity and culture from an intellectual as well as relational standpoint.

I was inducted early into the St. Olaf Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa this fall (the national academic honor society), and I have been a member of Tri-Beta, the biology service/honor society, for the past two years.

. I love going to concerts, obviously. Last Saturday I went up to the Twin Cities with friends and saw movies. I also enjoy hanging out with friends in my pod in Ytterboe. I go into town or play games with friends or go to the athletic center and play racquetball for fun. When I was studying for the MCATs, I'd play racquetball for stress relief. I also like to read novels by Tom Clancy, John Grisham and Clive Cussler.