Dr. Jennifer Hershberger ’02
Lander’s Pre-Professional Programs:
Road Maps Leading to Graduate-Level Studies By Dave Lorenzatti, Photos by Laura M. Brown ’16
Many students enroll in Lander’s pre-professional programs to prepare for careers in dentistry, medicine, law, occupational therapy, physical therapy, optometry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine. Although not majors, the programs provide a coursework plan that equips students with the knowledge, skills and experience needed for advanced study at graduate school. Drs. Jennifer Hershberger, Brian Vahjen and Linlei Ward; and Jeremy Babb and Christin Moss Lowe are just a few Lander graduates who completed pre-professional studies and have gone on to successful careers.
Jennifer Hershberger and Brian Vahjen are ophthalmologists at Greenwood Eye Clinic in Greenwood. They graduated from Lander in 2002 with biology degrees, having taken many classes together and teaming up as lab partners while studying in the pre-professional optometry program. Vahjen, a Greenwood native, said he virtually grew up at Lander, where his father, Dr. Peter Vahjen, now retired, taught chemistry. “I got to know a lot of the science faculty and knew I’d get a good education.” He was a four-year starter on the men’s soccer team and was voted the 2002 Peach Belt Conference Outstanding Male
Scholar-Athlete for having the highest GPA of all graduating seniors. Vahjen was midway through the University of South Carolina Medical School when he decided to specialize in ophthalmology after “shadowing” Greenwood Eye Clinic co-founder Dr. Charles Bobo. He was attracted by the technology and long-term relationships with patients. “I’m able to diagnose and treat problems, and only in rare cases do I refer patients to other eye specialists.” Vahjen said he excelled in medical school, especially his freshman and sophomore years, because of his Lander studies. “Many of the courses overlapped with what I learned at Lander.” Abbeville native Jennifer Hershberger came to Lander, influenced by her mother, Dawne Ferguson Hershberger, a Lander nursing graduate and nurse practitioner in Abbeville. Jennifer graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina, and four years later, she joined her former lab teammate Vahjen at Greenwood Eye Clinic. She agrees with him about receiving outstanding preparation for medical school. “Lander taught me that studying isn’t only about memorizing the material. You have to understand and apply the information.” And she stated unequivocally that her MUSC classmates were not as well-prepared as she was. Hershberger was persuaded to study ophthalmology while volunteering with a group that provided eye exams at free clinics in Charleston. “Plus,” she added, “I would be able to perform surgery.” Hershberger and Vahjen have strong family ties to Lander. In addition to her mother, three of Hershberger’s five sisters – Stephanie Whitlock, Katherine Hudgens and Julianne Hershberger – are Lander graduates. Vahjen’s wife, Lauren; his older brother, Michael; and Michael’s wife, Heather, also have Lander degrees.
go.lander.edu/magazine
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