Undergraduate Research & Pre-Professional Programs

Alumna Continues Her Dream to Medical School Through Articulation Agreement

September 23, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

Growing up in Waianae, Donna Cottrell ‘22 says she felt the sting of healthcare inequality firsthand.

It wasn’t just that care was difficult to access.

“It was that a lot of times, our voices weren’t heard,” she said.

The experience (and her drive to change it) is what drew her to the field of osteopathic medicine and a career where she could consider the whole patient—mind, body, and spirit. And this summer, she moved to Arizona to pursue her dream at A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The Biology major said she took advantage of Chaminade’s articula t ion agreement with A.T. Still University to secure early admission to the prestigious program. She was also awarded a merit-based Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship for her studies, which will cover all four years of her medicine program’s tuition.

Needless to say, she’s a little excited.

“The day they called me to say I’d gotten in, I was over the moon,” Cottrell said. “I just ran to my grandma’s room and was just screaming, ‘I got in! I got in!’ This was my biggest dream and I got it.”

Finding community

Cottrell and her siblings were raised by their father, a fish diver.

“He didn’t graduate from high school,” said Cottrell, but instilled a strong love for education in his children. Cottrell said she felt inspired to succeed so she could strike out on her own and attend college.

She also knew what she wanted in a university: small class sizes, a strong sense of community, and opportunities to connect with professors and mentors. She found all that at Chaminade, she said, and enrolled after graduating from Wai ‘anae High School. After a search of Chaminade’s website, she also applied for—and received—the Ho’oulu STEM Scholarship to cover four years of tuition and other costs.

“It’s not just a scholarship, it’s a community,” said Cottrell, of the Ho’oulu program, which offers participants career development, paid internships and culturally informed service-learning projects.

“The Hooulu program has been a huge help.”

Donna Cottrell '22 at UCLA — *^{Donna Cottrell ’22 at UCLA summer health professions program}*

As she participated in Ho’oulu offerings, Cottrell also made progress on her academic goals and embraced her newfound independence. She moved into the dorms. She started making friends. And she juggled a busy schedule. “It made me stand on my own two feet,” she said.

And after wrapping up her freshman year, she got a summer experience that would solidify her dream of going into healthcare. Through Chaminade, she applied for and got a spot in a summer health professions program at UCLA for students from underrepresented communities.

During the program, she shadowed doctors and learned from her peers.

She also gained something else: Confidence.

‘I want to be able to help’

Cottrell realized she really did have an opportunity to make a difference—and to help her own community and places like it. She was also inspired by a more personal experience: her younger brother was born with a serious heart condition and required treatment on the mainland. She remembers watching the doctors and nurses and arriving at this thought: “They could do something.”

“That kind of drew me in. I want to be able to help,” she said, adding her brother is now doing great.

In her sophomore and junior years, Cottrell started working with her advisors and mentors at Chaminade. She said the university’s articulation agreement was a perfect way to prepare for a big challenge—and a big opportunity. It meant a guaranteed interview with the graduate program of her dreams. “It took the stress off so I was able to focus on my grades and on succeeding,” she said.

Cottrell said one of the reasons she chose A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine is because the program puts a special emphasis on health disparities. During her junior year, she was also given the chance to shadow a pediatrician for six months at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center to get a taste for what it’s actually like to serve the community where she grew up.

It got her excited about the future. But right now, she’s a little more focused on the present—and thriving in medical school. In May, after receiving her Chaminade diploma, she became a first generation college graduate. The next box she’s going to tick in life: “I’m going to be the first doctor in my family.”

From Chaminade to Paris to Nashville and Back

August 1, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

Tommianne Brockert ‘23 loves studying, working and living in Hawaii.

But she jumped at the chance to study abroad—and she hopes to convince others to do the same.

Brockert, a Psychology major who is minoring in Business Administration, spent the Spring 2022 semester in France through Chaminade University’s study abroad program. She stayed with a host family, took classes at the American Business School in Paris and, she said, tried to squeeze in as many opportunities to learn about French language, culture, society and day-to-day life as she possibly could.

“I took French in high school, but it was a huge learning curve,” she said. “And I was not afraid to play tourist. I visited every famous Parisian landmark that I possibly could … from the Arc de Triomphe to the Notre Dame Cathedral to the Siene. I wanted to really get a feel for the city and its people and I did.”

Brockert also broadened her experience by working, including at an insurance firm and as a babysitter.

She said the thing that surprised her the most was how affordable and seamless study abroad was at Chaminade. She was able to earn credit toward her degree and her tuition was nearly the same. “I did my homework and realized this was a great way to broaden my learning and see the world,” she said.

But Brockert’s whirlwind year didn’t stop there.

Before she jetted off to Paris, Chaminade’s Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional Programs team encouraged Brockert to apply for a summer Leadership Alliance internship. The program is designed to prepare underrepresented minorities for academic research and graduate study.

It was while she was studying abroad that Brockert learned she had been selected to conduct psychology research at Vanderbilt University over the summer. Reached on an afternoon in July, Brockert was packing for a conference in Connecticut, where she would present her summer work.

At Vanderbilt, she studied misinformation in social media and how to reduce its spread.

“I’d love one day for social media companies to implement what I’ve found,” she said.

The Leadership Alliance opportunity included a full scholarship, covering Brockert’s room and board while studying in Nashville. She also got to enjoy a new city—and she wasn’t disappointed. “There is so much happening here,” she said. “It’s just really opened up my eyes and given me confidence.”

Brockert heads back to Chaminade this Fall for her senior year.

And she’s looking forward to encouraging her peers to try study abroad for themselves.

“It’s been so fun. If you’re a go-getter and you’ve always wanted to study abroad, Chaminade is the perfect place to get going and do that. They’re flexible and they want to make it work for you,” she said.

She added, “If you let go of your fears, so many opportunities are going to open up for you.”

After graduation, she intends to “hit the ground running.”

“Eventually I really want to start my own business,” said Brockert, who was born and raised on Oahu and attended La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls. She also has the travel bug and is excited about pursuing new opportunities—potentially even overseas. “You have to make the world your oyster. It’s not just going to happen,” she said. “With a positive outlook and spirit, you can accomplish anything.”

Spoken like a true Parisian.

From Scraping By to Attending Med School, Hyo Park Makes it Happen

March 16, 2018 by University Communications & Marketing

As a high school student in Pennsylvania, Hyo Park dreamed of going to college.

But come graduation day, he found himself stuck.

While his friends went off to seek four-year degrees, Park took several part-time jobs to make ends meet — at a deli and a bank, in retail and telemarketing.

When times were really tough, he’d donate plasma twice a week for $50.

“I dreamed of a college education,” Park said. “It was luxury I couldn’t afford.”

That didn’t stop him from keeping hold of that goal. And before long, despite his mother’s reservations, he joined the Navy so that he could eventually seek financial assistance to get a college degree.

In uniform, Park excelled.

He became a ballistic missile defense computer technician, serving aboard the USS Lake Erie stationed in Pearl Harbor. He was deployed to China, Japan and Korea.

And he was recognized by the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet for his role in helping to develop the nation’s ballistic missile defense capabilities.

Things were going well, but Park never forgot his bigger dream.

In his spare time, he took online college courses at Chaminade. And it was through those classes that he realized the school that offered him the “right fit” had been in front of him all along.

Hyo Park and friends celebrating Dr. Terem Bulent's birthday — *Hyo and friends celebrating Dr. Bulet Terem’s birthday*

He chose to enroll in Chaminade full-time, and after taking a particularly inspiring organic chemistry course with Professor Bulent Terem — “It was the first class that challenged me to think critically and stimulated my curiosity,” Park says — declared biochemistry as his major.

Hyo & friends celebrate Professor Terem’s birthday

Park remembers those early days at Chaminade with no small amount of fondness—he was finally where he belonged.

But he also cringes a little when he recalls how socially awkward—his words—he was, having taken up a host of habits in the military that just didn’t translate well in the real world. (Turns out, people don’t stand at attention in front of their professors’ desks.)

Eventually, though, Park loosened up, got used to civilian life again, made friends. He gained some valuable mentors, too. Professors like Terem who, Park said, live to make learning engaging, and whose passions in their fields are absolutely infectious.

In hopes of giving back to Terem, Park even volunteered to serve as his lab assistant.

“Although I initially started with the intention of helping Dr. Terem,” he said, “I realized that I was able to develop my leadership and communication skills because of these experiences.”

And Park just kept building on those skills—and looking for more opportunities to grow.

Hyo Park and classmates during UCLA summer program — *Hyo and classmates at UCLA summer program*

Hyo with fellow students at UCLA summer program

He spent a summer helping underserved populations through a UCLA School of Medicine program. He got a grant from Chaminade to attend a conference, where he met with members of the admissions committees from medical schools around the country. And he spent a summer studying zebrafish embryo at the University of Maryland, and then received a Chaminade travel grant to present his award-winning research at a conference.

In short, Park has accomplished some incredible things at Chaminade — thanks in large part, he says, to the connections and mentorships and support he’s gotten at the university.

But perhaps the most noteworthy part of Park’s journey at Chaminade isn’t his many successes, it’s his growing commitment to helping those around him.

“While at Chaminade,” he said, “I learned the importance of dedicating myself to something greater than my personal ambitions — through service.”

And that’s why, after Park graduates in May, he’ll be headed off to the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, where he scored a seat after applying through Chaminade’s articulation agreement.

At George Washington, he said, Park wants to learn — and serve. He plans to volunteer at the university’s “healing clinic,” serving low-income populations who don’t have affordable access to health care.

Time Management is Key, Undergraduate Says, to Balancing Pre-Med Studies, Soccer and Social Life

June 8, 2017 by University Communications & Marketing

Incoming senior Megan McClanahan is one of Chaminade University’s “super achievers.” Along with excelling in her pre-medical studies, she competes on the Silversword women’s soccer team, immerses herself in campus issues through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and still has time for social activities.

How does she strike a balance among these diverse interests? McClanahan says time management enables her to “not only balance soccer and academics, but to also enjoy a social life.”

“Soccer practice helps me fire up my brain early in the morning so I can perform better in morning classes,” she says. “I usually do homework in the afternoons and evenings. I am a big believer in study groups, and I have found a great group of friends to study with. The last thing I do to balance my life is to get enough sleep. I shoot for at least eight hours a night.”

That formula obviously works for McClanahan, who plans to earn her undergraduate biology degree next year from the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Then this future surgeon will enroll at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences through an articulation agreement negotiated by Chaminade.

“I have known for a very long time I want to be a doctor,” McClanahan says. “During my freshman year, I became aware of the articulation agreement Chaminade has with George Washington. My sophomore year I did more research about GW and viewed it as the next place I want to stop on my journey through life.”

With guidance from Chaminade’s Undergraduate Research & Pre-Professional Programs, McClanahan was accepted for an interview at George Washington “and fell in love with the Washington, D.C., area and the campus while I was there.”

“As a part of the agreement, I am finishing my time at Chaminade pursuing a humanities minor of Hawaiian and Pacific Island Studies,” McClanahan says. “I am grateful for the opportunities presented to me at Chaminade, and I am eager to begin my next steps to becoming a doctor.”

McClanahan, who hails from the Omaha suburb of Papillion, Nebraska, was initially attracted to Chaminade as a high school junior when she participated in a National History Day contest. On the last day of the competition in the nation’s capital, McClanahan won a Chaminade merit scholarship. Then she discovered the Silversword soccer team.

“I spent the next year trying to find a way to get the coaches and athletic department at Chaminade to notice me,” McClanahan says. “Once I was able to fulfill my lifelong dream of playing college soccer, I had a decision to make.

“Should I be fearless and decide to spend the next four years in Hawaii, a place I have never been? Or should I play it safe and stay closer to home? Needless to say, I took a leap of faith and have never looked back with regret.”