Ashland University biology alumnus to start medical school this Fall

One of our recent alumni, Bryce Patterson (Biology '23), will be starting the medical school program at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine this Fall. We recently asked Bryce some questions about what he has been up to in the past year and his advice for preparing for medical school:

What have you been up to since graduating from Ashland University? 

Since graduating from Ashland I have completed my Masters degree in medical science through Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine which afforded me the opportunity to get accepted into their Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) program. 

How do you feel that the science programs at Ashland University prepared you for your graduate program? 

I can say with certainty that the science programs at Ashland, specifically the Biology and Chemistry departments, not only prepared me for my Masters program but allowed me to excel in it. The rigor of the science programs at Ashland truly prepared me for the demanding nature of a Masters program. The quality of education though that I received from all of my professors is what truly stands out to me because I wasn’t just learning material and then regurgitating it for tests, rather I was mastering concepts and learning how to teach it to my peers which allowed for a much deeper understanding of the concepts which then went well and beyond what I needed to succeed in my classes. 

What advice do you have for students thinking about a career in medicine and with interest in medical school? 

Advice that I would give for students interested in medicine is to go and get some experience of some sort. Whether that be shadowing someone who does what you are interested in or possibly becoming a healthcare provider in some capacity whether that be an EMT, MA, scribing in the ER, or volunteering at a nursing home. With respect to medical school specifically don’t think that you have to be the cookie cutter perfect applicant that everyone thinks you have to be. Nontraditional students are more and more common and speaking as one myself it will not hamper your chances at getting into medical school. Taking a year to complete my Masters before going to medical school is one of the best decisions I could have made for myself because it allowed me to learn things about myself regarding study habits and such that would have been hard to figure out during medical school. I encourage anyone applying who may feel weary to check out masters programs that medical schools offer or look into the one at LECOM that I completed because I only have good things to say about it.

Alumni and student awards, new science equipment, student presentations

 We have a number of exciting news stories from this Spring semester we wanted to share:

• Mary Brown (Forensic Bio '13) was recognized as the Ashland University young alumna of the year! We posted a story about Mary back in 2021 describing her time earning a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University and her work as the Director of the Office of Emergency Management at Johns Hopkins University. Congratulations to Mary!
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• Check out this fantastic story on our many student presenters at this year's URCA symposium. One of the keynote speakers for the day was alumna Zoey Lockwood (Biochemistry '21), now working on her PhD in chemistry at Case Western Reserve University.
• AU Sciences have entered into a partnership with Shimadzu to provide over $500,000 worth of new equipment to the chemistry instrumental lab on the 4th floor of Kettering. That equipment is now in place and ready for faculty and student use this Fall.
  
• A number of our students were recognized for end-of-year awards by our two science departments at our annual pot luck celebration (see photo below).

 

AU Alumnus Steve Walczak ('19) working as a forensic scientist in Tennessee

Steve Walczak graduated from AU in 2019 with a Biology major and concentration in Forensic Biology interested in pursuing a career as a DNA analyst. After working eight months in a clinical lab in Pennsylvania, Steve took a position as a Special Agent Forensic Scientist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, where he has worked for the past three and a half years in serology and DNA analysis, as well as a crime science investigator with the Violent Crime Response team. Steve has also been key in helping more recent AU forensic biology graduates with their job searches, helping recruit at least one other AU graduate to Tennessee. You can find Steve on LinkedIn. We asked Steve a few questions about his career path and and experience since graduating from AU:

What has your career path been since graduating from AU?

I graduated from AU in May of 2019 and spent the summer and fall applying for any forensic science job that I could. It did not matter the state in which I was applying. I had a few interviews along the way, but nothing truly panned out. So, a few days before the COVID shutdown, I was hired as a Specimen Prep Technician at a clinical lab, Associated Clinical Laboratories, a sister company of Quest Diagnostics. I spent from March 2020 to September 2020 working there. In July of 2020, I interviewed for a position within the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and was hired and started in October of 2020. I have been a Special Agent Forensic Scientist in the Forensic Biology Unit ever since.

How did your AU education prepare you for your career?

AU helped prepare me in several ways. With the class sizes being so small, it was easy to get that 1 on 1 with the professor. This helped me whenever I had any questions or wanted to sit down and talk. It made it easier to get a recommendation letter from them. I gained the ability to talk to and hold conversations with people in management positions. My major gave me the ability to apply for many forensic science jobs. Those types of jobs require specific classes and/or a certain amount of chemistry hours. I was able to get all of those in just my 4 years at AU. To get a job in a Forensic Biology Unit, 4 specific classes are needed and the track I was on, they were built into the program. The coursework gave me the opportunity to learn the basics behind the technical side, the science, behind what I do. Even down to some of the techniques that we learn in the lab, pipetting for example. At some larger universities, the students might not learn how to do so. So, knowing that ahead of time makes learning that aspect of my job easier.

What advice do you have for our upcoming graduates as they prepare for a career after college?

I would say, do not be afraid to apply to as many jobs as you can. Getting in the forensics field is competitive and stressful. Don’t be afraid to interview whenever you get the opportunity, the more you interview, the better chance you have to land that job. The more I did, the less nervous I became, and the quality of the interview increased. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to a lab or to someone who knows someone who works in the lab. For me personally, I am happy to talk to you and explain how things work, what life is like, etc.... One thing I wish I had when I was going through that time in my life was that ability to reach out to someone and ask questions.