The best decision of my life

By Sally Homan (’16)

My heart has always been in medicine. I have a family full of nurses and doctors, including my oldest brother who is in his third year residency in emergency medicine. So I guess you could say healthcare runs in the family, and I’m just trying to keep it going.

I also have a brother with cerebral palsy. Helping and encouraging him over the years has played a big role in shaping my values and future aspirations. My desire to help others like him, combined with a lifelong love of children, made me decide to go into pediatrics, hopefully pediatric orthopedics.

I’m originally from Lexington, Nebraska. I left to go to a junior college in Colorado, then transferred to Nebraska Wesleyan. I chose NWU for many reasons. I was intrigued by the awesome reputation of their medical program and their high success rate of creating future doctors, but I also realized I wanted to come back to Nebraska. I wanted to come back home.

As it turns out, it was the best decision of my life. I learned so much at NWU and had so many invaluable opportunities. In my senior year, I completed a rigorous internship program in which I shadowed at eight different hospitals and healthcare facilities. I worked with a pediatrician in Omaha, got ENT surgery experience at Bryan Health Medical Center, interned as an RN, and I even worked with my family doctor back in Lexington.

I’m especially grateful for my professors. They will do anything for you. When I first transferred to NWU, I was struggling a lot with my classes. It was such a transition coming from a junior college to NWU, where they have such higher expectations and a more challenging course load. But my advisor, Dr. Cody Arenz, really encouraged me. He told me I could do it when I thought I couldn’t, and that meant the world to me.

I graduated last spring and I’m currently taking a year off to study for my MCATs and gain work experience. I got a job as a medical scribe, which is a great preparation for my future medical career. As for med school, I would love to go to UNMC, but I’m keeping my options open. Wherever I go to school, I know one thing for sure—I want to end up back in Nebraska, practicing medicine in a small community like my hometown.

When that happens, when I’m following my dream and making a real difference in people’s lives, I know I will have Nebraska Wesleyan to thank for it.

NWU shaped my life, and I look forward to the day when I can give back and help future students have the same experiences I’ve had. Nebraska Wesleyan is raising doctors, lawyers, business leaders and so many other brilliant people who will go on to change the world. That is why it’s so important for alumni to give back. We need this university, all of these amazing opportunities, and these wonderful faculty members who challenge us to become the best people we can be. I will forever be grateful for those who helped make this experience possible.