Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2014 | Page 21

hard life had been for my mom, and Dr. Kim helped me process
the bicultural experience.”
After graduation Veronica recommended Irma for a job with
the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), where as a
community worker, Irma is now part of the outreach program,
ISACorps. She conducts presentations for students considering
college, helps them fill out applications and apply for financial
aid, and shows them the value of further education and available
opportunities.
“I studied sociology while I was at Wheaton because I was
interested in what I could learn about confronting societal
inequalities and overcoming obstacles,” she says. “Having grown
up in an immigrant family, I have a heart for these communities
and would like to see these kids have the same kind of advocacy
and support that I received.”

ryan anderson ’13
fIRsT-yeaR meDICal sTuDeNT aT mayO meDICal sChOOl
maJOR: busINess/eCONOmICs

ryan Anderson began considering a career in medicine in

high school after his good friend, David, was in a traumatic car
accident. He watched his friend recover slowly—progressing
from a medically induced coma, to regaining motor skills, and
ultimately, graduating from high school on time.
“Watching that process was formational for me. I had
never really seen the huge impact that physicians can have on
someone’s quality of life.”
Once at Wheaton, Ryan connected with Wheaton alumni
and volunteered at clinics to learn more about the situations
he’d be facing in the future as a physician.
He spent two summers as a research student working with
Erik Hess ’97, an emergency medicine physician at Mayo
Clinic. From Erik, Ryan gained a holistic appreciation for
research and its effect on health care delivery. He participated
in research dealing with improving the efficiency of treating
chest pain in the emergency department.
“Dr. Hess also provided an example of someone living out
his faith as an active research physician,” Ryan says.
While most pre-med students come from biology or chemistry
tracks, Erik (a philosophy major) helped Ryan understand
the value of studying other fields in college. So Ryan stayed
with his business/economics major and continued to see
points of relevance. “Given the current challenges in health
care, it’s important to understand the pillars of business and
economics.”

ryan
anderson ’13

Also while at Wheaton, Ryan volunteered for two years at
Bolingbrook Christian Health Center, a primary care center
for the uninsured. Working with Clinic Director Sue Davis
’91, he came to appreciate the deep need for physicians who
will serve the underserved with compassion and empathy.
Between these two hands-on experiences and mentoring
from professors like Drs. Jennifer Busch (biology), Bruce
Howard (business), and Becky Eggimann (chemistry), Ryan
solidified his interests.
Now a first-year medical student at Mayo Medical School,
Ryan hopes to someday practice in academic medicine and
contribute to improving our healthcare system.
W H E A T O N     19