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Erika graduated Magna Cum Laude from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences with pre-medical concentration and a minor in Spanish Foreign Language.
VALEDICTORIANS WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
PCHS 2010 VALEDICTORIAN ERIKA KOLAKOWSKI JAWORSKI BY CHERYL JOHNSTON | PHOTOS COURTESY OF ERIKA JAWORSKI
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ince Erika Kolakowski graduated as Plant City High School valedictorian in 2010, the awardwinning runner and scholar hasn’t slowed down. The recent Magna Cum Laude graduate of Auburn University earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences with pre-medical concentration and a minor in Spanish Foreign Language. She has also married Griffin Jaworski and donned her white coat at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Des Moines University in Iowa. “I appreciate the emphasis on holistic patient care and Osteopathic Manual Medicine (OMM) at DMU,” Erika explained. “I hope to excel and obtain the OMM 5th year fellowship, an additional training year of hands on techniques beneficial for patient care. She continued, “I’m pursuing an orthopedic/sports medicine career. Although this is the current plan, I know medical school will offer an array of subjects, so I’m keeping an open mind to my future.” At Auburn the University Honors Scholar with Distinction was inducted
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into five honor societies. She served two years as Student Editor for the Journal of Undergraduate Studies and as a COSAM Leader (College of Science and Mathematics) in her senior year. She also studied abroad at the University of Salamanca in Spain, one of Europe’s oldest, with trips to Toledo, Madrid, Granada, Sevilla, and Cadiz. Athletically, the NCAA competitor lettered four years in Auburn Cross Country & Track/Field (indoor & outdoor), serving three as Women’s Distance Captain. Her personal best times were 4:41 for 1500 meters and 17:55 for the cross-country 5k. Experientially, Erika worked 30 months in a College of Veterinary Medicine research lab. “That lab sequenced and identified animals’ genes that would confer bleeding disorders for the purposes of proper breeding, surgical safety and quality of life,” she explained. “I researched Factor VIII in a boxer dog individual and Factor XIII in a cow, but found no genome mutations. I learned to run polymerase chain reactions, gel electrophoresis, and DNA extraction. By the second summer I could run the
laboratory while the manager was away one week.” Erika opted for a nontraditional path her junior year. She chose to forego medical school one year to marry Griffin and gain experience outside the classroom. She offered, “With God’s mercy, I was chosen to learn more under the nurses at Mercy Medical Clinic, my most significant volunteer experience.” Funded solely through civic and private donations, the Christian clinic has ministered low cost primary medical care to uninsured Auburn community citizens for 15 years, physically and spiritually. “During my gap year I worked moreso, taking blood pressure and as chief complaint for patients,” Erika explained. I assisted volunteer doctors/ nurses with paperwork and found low cost medications. In non-clinical hours I helped student volunteers answer calls, prepped charts, and assisted the full-time nurse. What an amazing opportunity to experience medicine and ministry together. I hope to use this experience for future medical missions.”
Erika met Griffin Jaworski of Orlando her sophomore year when both were Auburn cross-country and track/ field team members. After completing his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, Griffin is now pursuing a Masters of Financial Management from Drake University in Des Moines, where he’ll also complete his fifth year of crosscountry and track. They celebrated their first anniversary January 3, 2016. Together, their promising future still includes running! The Des Moines Triathlon Club member finished first in the 21-25 age group and fifth overall in her first triathlon Labor Day weekend. She plans to continue primarily with 5Ks and half-marathons. Currently looking into potential residencies, Erika hopes for one in family medicine w/OMM and perhaps a sports medicine track. “I’d love eventually to start an OMM clinic with wellness specialists in nutrition, acupuncture, etc., and Griffin will manage the business side. We’re excited to see what the future holds.”
Erika Kolakowski married Griffin Jaworski on January 3, 2015 in Maitland, FL.
Erika’s parents, Keith and Lisa Kolakowski, celebrated with her at the “White Coat” ceremony for the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Des Moines University.