Biochemistry

Andrew Monroe

My hometown when I was a student was

Breckenridge, Mich.

I graduated in

2012

I studied

Biochemistry (major) and Biology (minor)

I currently live in

Winston-Salem, N.C.

I am now

a medical student and Navy medical officer

Since graduating from Alma

Immediately after graduating from Alma, I worked as a summer camp counselor in Northern Indiana. In August 2012, I began attending graduate school at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. In December 2012 I withdrew from my graduate studies to pursue my ultimate goal of becoming a physician. 

While applying for medical schools, I performed contract work at the Dow Chemical Company as a chemist. Upon acceptance into Wake Forest School of Medicine, located in Winston-Salem, NC, I relinquished my position at Dow and moved down south. I am now a recipient of the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) through the United States Navy, who will be paying my medical tuition and other expenses in full, leaving me virtually debt free.

My Alma education

I was a first-generation college student who was born and raised in a very small town just outside of Alma to a low-income family. I am the first person in my immediate family to graduate from college. At first the rigors of a college education shocked me and it took time to adapt to the heavy volumes of homework and reading. The professors were unbelievably helpful during this transition time and they aided me in maturing as a student and as a citizen of our nation.

Attending Alma College changed my future. I went from a boy in a small farm town in the middle of Michigan to a man with innumerable opportunities to succeed. Without the help of my education at Alma College, I would not have had the opportunity or ability to conduct biomedical research or even dream of attending medical school. Now, I can happily say that I am published in two high-impact scientific journals as well as attending one of the top 50 medical schools, according to U.S. News, in the nation.

My favorite place(s) on campus included

Dow Building, Heritage Center, Chapel, Rec Center

My favorite professors(s) included

Dr. Beckmann, Dr. Turk and Dr. Keeton

My most vivid/best memory of my time at Alma is

all of my performances in the Alma College Choirs

My off-campus study experience(s) included

I participated in two travel-based Spring Terms. The first was Sports Nutrition on Two Wheels, where Dr. Luetkemeier and several students investigated how nutrition affected our athletic performance as we cycled from Alma to Lacrosse, Wisc., and back—collectively traveling nearly 1000 miles on a bike. The second Spring Term was SCUBA Diving in the Great Lakes, where Dr. Rowe and many students conducted ecological or physiological research while SCUBA diving near several landmarks in the Great Lakes, including shipwrecks and the Mackinac Bridge.