We’ve been celebrating successes for a long time,” said Thomas Wilson, head of the biology department at Judson College.
“For a small college, we’ve been successful in helping students get into professional and graduate programs and, for most of them, to the No. 1 school on their list.”
Wilson and George Williams, chair for the science division and professor of chemistry, took time to recount some of these successes.
“I use the phrase, ‘minimum requirements,’ deliberately,” Wilson said. “For the past 30 years, every student who has met the minimum requirements of their selected school has been accepted and has graduated.”
In the pre-med curriculum, these requirements include a 3.5 GPA or better, a score of 24 or above on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), having “shadowed” a physician to learn from him or her, community service hours and a recommendation from the college.
Wilson admitted some students don’t meet the minimum requirements and they are given career counseling to match their abilities.
“A positive about Judson is that George and I and our colleagues take a personal interest in our students and help them with their career planning,” Wilson said. “We specialize in individual attention.”
The current student/teacher ratio at Judson is 11 to 1.
Williams said William B. Deal, retired dean of the UAB Medical School told him Judson has a “sterling example” for preparing young women for medical school.
Wilson and Williams noted some recent success stories:
– Angi Gullard of New Market was accepted into the D.M.D./Ph.D. dual degree program at UAB Dental School and UAB Molecular and Cellular Pathology graduate school. Gullard is the inaugural student in this new eight-year program.
– Rikki Enzor of Centre was accepted into the M.D./Ph.D. program at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis with a full- tuition scholarship and stipend. Enzor worked last summer in New York at the Stony Brook University program “Research Experiences for Undergraduates” sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
– Lauren Stephens of Mountain Brook will begin medical studies in August at UAB. She was granted an internship last summer at Vanderbilt University where she did research and shadowed a transplant surgeon.
– Keri Reeves of Hamilton and Tonya Morgan of Woodville are interning in the 2008 Summer Pre-Medical Rural Internship Program, sponsored by the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board and hosted by UAB’s Huntsville Regional Medical Campus.
– Marion senior Allison Beckett is completing a summer internship at UAB with classes in physics, organic chemistry, anatomy, MCAT preparation and opportunity for physician shadowing.
“All who teach in this division, in science and math, are accountable to the school and the students,” Wilson said. “We’re proud to see our students doing well.” (JC)
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