Bringing Benedictine’s Mission into Medicine

The Gregorian Fellows leadership program at Benedictine College is designed to train and launch Catholic leaders rooted in their faith and ready to be effective in contemporary society. The work of the Fellows his featured here every Friday. By forming its students deeply in the mission, advancing its mission through alumni in every walk of life, and extending its mission regionally and nationally, Benedictine College hopes to Transform Culture in America.

Veronica Miller (above, right, with her friend Olivia Grey) is a Gregorian Fellow who graduated from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, in 2017 with a biology major. Now she is studying to be a Physician’s Assistant at West Liberty (W.V.) University.

Benedictine College’s mission of community, faith, and scholarship continues to have a deep impact on her education, she says.

She said important to her post-graduate experience is “the mark that Benedictine College imprinted which inclines me toward authentic and Christ-centered friendships. These friendships are irreplaceable and necessary in my life as a Christian.”

The academic work is difficult, but her experience at Benedictine College prepared her for it, she said.

“The goal of this year is to learn as much as possible in preparations for Clinical Rotations next year. Every 5 weeks, I will rotate through a different area of medicine — from Cardiology to Surgery to Emergency Medicine,” she said. “I will graduate and chose an area of medicine that will be the best fit for my talents and interests. And of course, continue to be a life-long learner from there.”

She keeps her Catholic identity central to her work, she said. “I am in a Bible study and Catholic book study, and attend every Mass that is offered on campus,” she said. “I also study as much as I can about Catholic bioethics in preparation for future challenges and opportunities to defend the good, true, and beautiful. I am excited for the opportunity to bring my faith into action in the medical field after graduation.”

She is especially “blessed by encountering women and men who are running the same race as I am — toward Christ and his kingdom. The Lord sent amazing people my way during my work abroad for three months in Spain, and continues to do so throughout my time in PA school.”

She says that Benedictine College’s mission is key to the transformation of culture.

“My advice to future Benedictine College grads is to keep fighting the good fight and remember your mission,” she said. “How are your studies going to provide you with a foothold to do Christ’s work in the world? He has big plans, so give him your very best, and finish out the year strong.”