Angela West Hometown: Warren, Ohio Major: Biology/Chemistry Class: 2008

It’s amazing and overwhelming to me that I would get this far. I’m very grateful to Carlow University and to all of my professors for making it possible.

I’m 27 year old student, considered a "non-traditional" like many of Carlow’s students. I’ve come a long way from my elementary school days at St. Pius X Elementary and Champion High School where I visualized a career as a technician, because I liked my science classes. I decided to attend Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science which prepared me to work for Freyvogel Funeral Home in Shadyside, where I still work part-time.

Today, I’m a Carlow Senior Biology/Chemistry major with a 3.87 QPA. My dream is to earn a doctorate and to work for the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

What transpired to bring about this amazing transformation?

The truth is I actually did not think that I had the academic capacity to achieve such a goal, but my life changed when I was drawn to Carlow’s Autopsy Program.

My science professors inspired me in amazing ways. Take for example Dr. Steve Borecky, who knows Anatomy so well that he speaks without notes. And Dr. Dave Gallaher, my Organic Chemistry professor, who challenged me while making it interesting and achievable. Dr. Monique Shumaker is a fantastic teacher of Chemistry, who makes it easy to understand, plus she takes the time and effort to assure that everyone comprehends the material. They all stretched me. I’m so grateful because I was continually challenged and inspired to achieve my potential.

I’ve been independent since the age of 20. So, without financial aid, there was no way that I would have been able to attend Carlow. The admissions counselor guided me to all of the various need-based grants from Carlow and all of the Federal grants and loans that made attending possible.

I’ve deepened my faith here, too. The more I understood about science, the more I was in awe of how the human body works, and the more I was drawn to learning more about religion. I took a theology course with Dr. Maureen Crossen, and Philosophy and Biomedical Ethics with Dr. Bill Stewart. I loved it so much that I took another class that was not required, but because I just wanted to learn more. Now, I think that science and religion go hand-in-hand. It’s amazing and overwhelming to me that I would get this far. I’m very grateful to Carlow University and to all of my professors for making it possible.

I’m a member of the Biological Honorary Society and we can’t wait to visit Carnegie Science Center’s Bodies Exhibition. I’m looking forward to Commencement, then, next stop, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in Infectious Disease. This is more than I every imagined possible.

Thank you, Carlow Community!