Davey Holzer ’17 (left) and John Grady ’17

Roommates Bound for Med School Respond to Vocational Call

John Grady ’17 and David Holzer ’17 soon found common ground in De Pere at St. Norbert College. Both men came to campus with the dream of becoming a doctor, and as they graduate in May 2017, it will be with plenty of choices about the next step toward achieving that goal.

Between the two roommates – both biology majors – they have been invited for 14 interviews and received acceptances to six medical schools.

“John and I have been roommates for each of the four years we have been at SNC,” says Holzer. “We were randomly paired as roommates our freshman year, and haven’t looked back since!”

The idea of communio, and living in a close-knit community, drew Holzer and Grady to the college’s campus.

“SNC exceeded my expectations,” reflects Grady. “Attending is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The students, faculty and staff truly embody communio. I’ve been blessed to find great friends, mentors and professors at SNC. The professors are so caring and sincerely want their students to succeed.”

In their lab group run by Russ Feirer (Biology), Grady and Holzer are two of six students primarily working with human cancer cell cultures and studying the ability of certain drugs to treat cancer.

“As a member of the lab group, I do a wide range of activities, such as caring for and maintaining cells, planning and carrying out various treatments, and measuring and analyzing the results of each experiment,” explains Holzer. “Being a part of the lab group has been one of the most rewarding things I have had the opportunity to do as a student at SNC.”

With a biomedical sciences concentration, Grady also enjoys working in the field of science.

“I love how science is constantly changing as we make new discoveries,” he says. “Our knowledge continues to grow and our understanding of fundamental life processes continues to evolve. I love the intellectual challenge that biology presents as we try to answer remaining questions. It is exciting to be in the middle of this.”

Grady has so far been invited for interviews at nine medical schools:

“I have been accepted to two schools so far: MCW-Green Bay and Wayne State School of Medicine in Detroit.” He prefers to attend school close to home and is concentrating on schools in the Upper Midwest.

Holzer has been accepted at MCW-Milwaukee, MCW-Green Bay, the University of Iowa and Western Michigan University.  He has also interviewed at five other schools, and is waiting to hear a final decision from those.

“As a physician, I hope to be a great educator, and someone my patients feel they can talk about anything with. In my opinion, the best doctor is one who communicates ideas clearly and builds a relationship with the patient built on trust and empathy,” says Holzer. “My favorite thing about the field of science is how applicable it is to every part of daily life. Even when I am not in the classroom, I am always surrounded by science. I love learning how things work, and thinking like a scientist allows me to dig deeper and investigate any question I can think of.”

Like his roommate, Grady hopes to one day make a positive impact on his patients’ lives.

“I want to be a doctor that listens to my patients’ concerns and who considers the entire person, not just the disease, in caring for patients,” he says. “I have been given every opportunity to reach my goal of attending medical school, and I feel that SNC has prepared me to approach the challenges that I’ll face in my career and life.”


March 7, 2017