Program provides pathway to health care professions

Lilly DeGennaro ’21, a fourth-year veterinary medicine student at the University of Minnesota, entered graduate school with a sense of confidence and determination because of the preparation she received at LaGrange.

“I am further along in my doctoral program thanks to my Biology professors who first invested in me as an undergrad,” she said.

Her advisor, Biology Professor Dr. Melinda Pomeroy-Black, described her as intrinsically curious and motivated to learn.

“Lilly realized that college wasn’t simply a means to an end but was a way to become more informed as a global citizen,” she said.

Biology students are given opportunities to work with faculty on independent, original research projects in Hudson Lab Sciences Building, a 43,000 square-foot science facility devoted to laboratory spaces.

Upon receiving their undergraduate degree, alumni have developed practical skills that give them a solid foundation as they move on to graduate or professional school in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy or physical therapy.

“It allowed me to recognize the fragility of life, and the necessity of medical professionals,” he said. “What I received at LC was much more than an education, but a breeding ground for professionalism and an innovative platform to develop new research opportunities.”

Lance Shealy ’20, a recent PCOM

Trevor McLemore ’21, currently studying dentistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said his LC degree provided the framework for his understanding of medical and life sciences