Imagine the Impact on Health Care
Imagine the Impact on Health Care
Saint Mary’s students are dynamic women determined to change the world. Saint Mary’s provides the academic foundation and spiritual focus they need to build a better tomorrow. You can give them the scholarships and financial aid that sets it all in motion, just like you did for Andrea…
Andrea Krebs ’09 loves the sciences because they are the hardest subjects. The recent graduate immersed herself in academics during her four years at Saint Mary’s, but she found her passion in the biology department.
“Genetics sold me on biology. I could imagine myself as a genetic counselor, talking with families who find out they are expecting a child with a genetic disorder,” says Andrea. It was after taking Concepts of Biology and Introduction to Genetics with Tom Fogle that Andrea declared biology as her major.
She wasted no time exploring the opportunities the department had to offer. As a sophomore student, Andrea traveled to Little Corn Island in Nicaragua with Saint Mary’s professors to explore a new research course for seniors. They conducted water tests to make sure research could be conducted without a lab. “We obviously decided yes, yes, yes! And we brainstormed projects that would be good for students to do,” says Andrea.
Trustee Mary L. Burke '85 offered the research opportunity to the College, providing the funding and support necessary for Saint Mary’s to establish a summer research course for students to fulfill their senior comprehensive requirement while internationalizing the student experience.
The following summer, as a junior, Andrea returned to Little Corn Island to be among the first students to take advantage of the new program. She researched the noni fruit, which is grown and used by the local residents to treat cancer, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, and more.
“What she did was really a hybrid of classical biology and epidemiology. She studied how noni is used and how people on the island talk about it,” says Tom Fogle, professor of biology.
Equipped with extensive oral statements from island residents, Andrea returned to campus in the fall to begin testing her theories in the lab. She was able to statistically prove that noni lowers blood pressure, which became the basis for her senior comprehensive project. Presenting her senior comp to professors and peers in February was the culmination of a long scientific journey.
Andrea has taken advantage of much the college has to offer because she loves to be part of all the good things happening around her. Apart from academics, Andrea helped launch the Diverse Student Leadership Conference and establish the Student Environmental Action Coalition. She worked as a resident advisor, raised money for the College as a phonathon caller, became a liturgical music minister, and volunteered as a math tutor in the South Bend school system for four years. “I never plan to be very involved, but once I get excited about something, I’m dedicated to it,” says Andrea.
She has lots of ideas about what she wants to accomplish in the years to come, including graduate school for public health or medical school, but first Andrea wants to give back by doing health-based service in Latin America. “The travel opportunities I had at Saint Mary’s gave me the chance to speak Spanish and learn about unique cultures. It helped me to discover how my desire to travel can be used in a way that benefits others.”
