What do Biology Department alumni have to say about Northern State University?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Marin Broucek
Marin graduated from NSU in May of 2007. She entered medical school at USD in the fall of 2007.
"I chose NSU because I was really attracted to the small class size and the opportunity for students to really get to know their professors. Also, winning the President's Meritorious scholarship was an added bonus! My father is part of the business faculty and had never had anything but positive comments about Northern. Through my time here I have developed the same appreciation. Northern is in a great community, plus it is close to my hometown of Huron. I am heavily involved with horses and horse shows, and love the tremendous amount of precision and attention to detail needed to compete well with these animals."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer Miles
Jennifer graduated from NSU in May of 2006. She is currently a medical student at USD.
"My years at Northern did an excellent job of preparing me for my current adventure as a medical student at the Sanford School of Medicine. The small class sizes at Northern and individual attention I received in undergraduate have really give me an edge in both the classroom and the clinic. I was able to build academic confidence while at NSU and learned to interact with professors in a way that has made the transition to medical school very comfortable. One of the biggest perks of the pre-professional programs at Northern is the relationships you build with the faculty. When I was applying to medical schools the professors at NSU were able to write very personal and well thought out letters of recommendation because they knew more about me than where I sat in their courses. I encourage you to consider Northern as you begin your next adventure. Choosing NSU was one of the best decisions I ever made. – Go Wolves!"
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Justin Nye
Justin graduated from NSU in May of 2004. He is currently attending Northwestern Health Sciences University to obtain a Doctor of Chiropractic degree.
"My name is Justin Nye, and I graduated from Northern State University in the Spring of 2004. While at Northern I took classes aimed toward a pre-chiropractic degree while participating in the football program. I am now in my fourth year of Chiropractic College at Northwestern Health Sciences University and plan on graduating in November with a Doctor of Chiropractic Degree. While at Northern I took classes toward a degree in biology and chemistry. These classes taught me valuable information in the study of the human body and how it functions to heal itself. This information prepared me for Chiropractic college and has allowed me to complete my course work in a timely manner so that I may begin helping people get well and allow their bodies to function at 100%. Northern State University is a great college to get your undergraduate studies for any health care profession."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jason Grebner
Dr. Grebner graduated from NSU in 1996. He went on to attend Marquette University School of Dentristry. He later returrned to Aberdeen where he serves area residents at Family Dental Care.
"I graduated from Aberdeen Central High School in 1992. I then attended Northern and graduated in 1996. With my biology major & chemistry minor from NSU, I feel it could have gotten me into any graduate school. I was accepted into Marquette University School of Dentistry after graduation. The cost of my NSU education was much less than many of my fellow dental student classmates. If you put the time in you can go far with a NSU degree. My wife Heather is also a Northern alumni with a speech therapy degree. After living in a large city we were excited to move back to Aberdeen to raise our four children."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tim Sahli
Dr. Sahli graduated from NSU in December of 1994, and then took a few more classes the following spring. He received a degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry, Psychology and Criminal Justice. He then went on to attend Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine to obtain his D.V.M. degree. He later returned to Aberdeen where he owns and operates Tim's Veterinary Service. Here is what he had to say about NSU (paraphrased from phone conversation):
Veterinary schools are very competitive, because there are only 28 schools in the U.S. (compared to over 100 medical schools). I believe that I was better prepared for vet school than many other students attending the same program. NSU does a great job of teaching students the basics of biology which you can build on in upper level courses and at professional schools beyond NSU. I was inspired to become a vet because of my family. My mom is a nurse, one brother is a radiation therapist, and another brother is a physical therapist. My dad works as a printer, but he can fix anything and those skills have rubbed off on me. If I can give you any advice, it is to keep an open mind in terms of your career and it is important to have something to fall back on. There are so many different areas of health care, that if one doesn't work out (and if you are open to it) you can choose another option.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Michael PolaskyMichael is an NSU graduate, and currently works as a funeral director at Schriver's Memorial Mortuary & Crematory in Aberdeen.
"I attended Northern State University from 1983 to 1988 earning my Bachelor's Degree in business and marketing. I later returned to Northern in 1993 to earn my needed credits in pre-mortuary which was a profession I felt I was being called into. Northern State has helped me tremendously because the instructors didn't just teach material, they used their knowledge as if in real world situations. I found that when attending mortuary college in Chicago, the class room setting was easier for me due to the fact that I was taught by a better equipped and more knowledgeable staff at Northern."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________