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From time to time, we like to showcase a new ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼ grad who’s entered the workplace or grad school. Success stories like these are pretty common. In fact, 95 percent of ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼'s Class of 2022 alumni who responded to a survey said they were employed, in grad school or doing service work within nine months of graduating.

Hometown: Egg Harbor, Wis.
Graduation year: 2021
Degree: Biology
Plans after graduation: Anna is a physician assistant graduate student at Carroll University.

You didn’t wait long to start post-ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼ life, did you, Anna?

The day after graduation was when I started physician assistant (PA) school at Carroll University. I’m excited; it’s a quick turnaround!

When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in health care?

I knew since middle school that I wanted to be in the medical field and continued to take classes in high school. Coming to St. Norbert I actually wanted to be in the nursing program, but still wasn’t 100 percent sure. Sophomore year is when it all clicked and I looked into becoming a PA. I felt the PA profession fit with what I want my life to look like, and my personality. In addition to being more patient-focused, the balance of collaboration and autonomy also stood out to me.

How did your St. Norbert experience help you make that decision?

ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼ hosts lots of informational talks, panels and speakers that opened my eyes and gave me more information about what I’d be experiencing in different medical professions and schools. Highlighting guests in a variety of professions is especially beneficial for students who are still deciding, or don’t know much about the different areas of health care. As president of Beta Beta Beta (Biology Club), I wanted to see what I could do with educating my peers about the field. I was able to bring in a number of med school students, as well as a PA. That was really neat, because there are actually a lot of people at St. Norbert who want to go into that profession, and that’s how I was introduced to it.

What experiences outside the classroom made your years memorable at St. Norbert?

Being a biology major, Biology Club of course made sense. Another great organization is Colleges Against Cancer. I was on the executive board sophomore through senior year, and I’ve been president the past two years. That’s been awesome — definitely impacted me a lot and was a big part of my time at St. Norbert. We partner with the American Cancer Society for events, raising awareness and funds for cancer research.

I’ve also been a co-leader of the Turning Responsibility Into Powerful Service (TRIPS) program the past two years, so that definitely helped me get outside of my comfort zone and experience things that I’m not really comfortable doing. I’m really happy I decided to do women’s track and field as well, because I was on the fence, not knowing exactly what college was like. I’ve been involved all four years now, and really enjoyed being on the team (not to mention coming in and having more than 80 people there for you right away where you can ask any questions!). My teammates and coach Don Augustine provide support on and off the track. It was a really special experience — a wonderful way to meet a bunch of new people and make new memories.

Do you have advice for anyone considering joining a club or team?

Definitely get involved. You’ll meet a lot of great people and develop different personal qualities that will help you in the future. If you’re not sure whether you have the time to commit, or how it could fit into your college experience, just talk with the president or coach so that they’re aware of your concerns. They’re very flexible and nice; that was one of the things that drew me to the campus — how supportive and welcoming everyone is.