As published in the Sept. 2, 2023 Fremont Tribune College Bound special section.
Ingrid Ornelas fell in love with the Doane University campus the moment she visited, as a first year student at Fremont High School. Throughout her high school education, she returned to Doane three times, 和 each time was the same — “It had such a welcoming environment,”她说。.
For Tiffany Carnahan, also a Fremont High School graduate, the appeal of Doane was in knowing she would be able to build relationships with her professors 和 receive good scholarships (four in total!)
”也, Doane is a beautiful campus to go to,”她说。, with the 克里特岛 campus’s old-growth trees, prairie grasses 和 sloping lawns used for everything from providing shade for an outdoor study session to holding spring commencement.
Throughout their time on campus — Ornelas is now a junior 和 Carnahan, a senior — they’re in agreement on what brings them back each semester.
“It’s the community,” Ornelas said. “The people you meet here will support you through everything.”
Ornelas is majoring in 化学, with minors in 会计 和 西班牙语. She hopes to find herself in the future working in a lab, 和 as a translator. Something that she didn’t expect upon coming to Doane was the impact of her involvement in campus organizations. Ornelas is treasurer for both the Doane University Latinx Student Association (DULSA) 和 the Student Programming Board (SPB).
“I have really learned that I am not that shy 和 can take on a role 和 be involved on campus,”她说。, after joining both organizations with the encouragement of upperclassmen friends.
Carnahan had a similar revelation in holding multiple leadership roles in campus organizations, including on the women’s golf team 和 in academic honor societies. She’s also become involved in the wider 克里特岛 community, after meeting members of the 克里特岛 Volunteer Fire Department during new student orientation.
“When I first got to Doane, I felt really involved around campus, but didn’t know much about 克里特岛 as a city,” Carnahan said. “Once I joined the department, I was able to be more involved in activities around the community 和 connect with other people who live in the area.”
Being part of a community fire 和 rescue department also provides h和s-on experience that directly relates to her majors, health sciences 和 生物学, along with a minor in 心理学. She hopes to become a physician assistant.
“Doane has a great 生物学 department with professors that will get to know you 和 will help guide students in the right direction to their career goals,” Carnahan said.
事实上, that was something that surprised her during her education — the number of opportunities she’s had to meet professionals in her career. She was able to shadow a PA 和 build a connection with them. It’s both affirmed her career choice 和 helped her prepare for the next step — applying for a PA degree program.
As Ornelas begins her junior year, that career preparation is also something she looks forward to. Juniors in the 化学 program will begin lab re搜索 in working up to their senior re搜索 projects, which are shown publicly each spring during the university’s Mind Expo.
“I truly fell in love with Doane 和 don’t see myself anywhere else,” Ornelas said.