Graduation Celebration West Sider Joins Other Usi Graduates in Marking Important Milestone
Posted on: Saturday, 17 May 2008, 00:00 CDT
By CHRISTI ATHERTON, Westside correspondent
As an accomplished senior at Mater Dei High School and an aspiring medical student, Todd Wannemuehler could have gone to college pretty much anywhere he wanted.
A scholarship offer from the University of Southern Indiana was tempting, but the prestige of a diploma from a more well-known school such as Notre Dame also beckoned.
But his love of community and family prevailed, and he chose to stay in Evansville.
"I decided that at the end of the day, it would be a piece of paper on the wall more than what was really best for my future," Wannemuehler.
On Sunday he graduated summa cum laude from USI with a 4.0 grade point average.
His achievements began at Mater Dei, where he played tennis all four years and was elected mayor of "Mater Dei-ville" as a senior. It was at Mater Dei where his medical ambitions solidified.
"I'd been toying with the idea since I was young because my mom was a nurse," he recalled. Two weeks of a physician-shadowing program at Deaconess Hospital during the summer after his junior year made his decision an easy one.
A Baccalaureate/Doctor of Medicine Scholarship sounds very impressive-and it is. These scholarships, in cooperation with USI and the Indiana University School of Medicine, are awarded every year to six students who are residents of Indiana entering USI as freshmen. The scholarship covers the full four-year tuition and, perhaps most importantly, guarantees a seat in the IU med school.
That guaranteed seat is contingent upon maintaining a 3.5 grade point average and a Medical College Admission Test score equal to the average of the previous year's class entering IU. For Wannemuehler, it was more than worth the time and work.
"When you know you have that seat waiting for you, it completely changes the way you approach studying," he said. "For me, it's taken a lot of the stress off."
The list of his additional scholarships is a long one, including a four-year Eli Lilly Scholarship and four-year Mead Johnson Scholarship. He was one of four finalists for the President's Medal, an award given to one USI graduate with high academic achievements who best exemplifies commitment to the community and university. Wannemuehler spoke of how proud he was to be honored as a finalist and said he has known winner Samuel Bowles since they were freshmen. "He is very deserving and a really good guy."
Jeanne Barnett, professor of virology at USI, has known Wannemuehler since he first interviewed for the B/MD Scholarship while at Mater Dei and has been his academic adviser for the past four years.
"He's probably one of the most mature students I've had in just his approach to learning and wanting to learn," Barnett said. "He earns what he gets. Yes, he's innately bright, but I don't know that I've had any student that works harder than he does. He sees it as a challenge to do well in every course he takes."
Wannemuehler also studied with Barnett for a virology course at Harlaxton College in England during a special five-week course last summer. Again, Barnett was impressed with how he conducted himself as a young person away from home.
"He was very responsible and a delight to have in the classroom" she said. "One of the things that I find very pleasing is that he takes classes because he wants to learn the information; it's not just to get a grade. He will be a lifelong learner, I have no doubt."
While Wannemuehler seems to be a natural achiever, he credits his parents, fellow Mater Dei graduates Donna Hodges and Gene Wannemuehler, with pushing him in the right direction.
"My mom always motivated me to do a little bit better," Todd said. "Even in grade school she would sit down and study with me and quiz me."
Todd isn't the only academic standout in the family. His sister, Katie, received the B/MD Scholarship three years before her brother and is currently in her residency in Indianapolis. If there was ever any friendly sibling rivalry, it has only served to benefit Todd.
"Having a sister who's set such a high bar has been a blessing to me," he said. "I've had that bar to live up to, and she set high standards."
While maintaining his perfect grade point average, spending time with family and friends, and staying active in church at Corpus Christi, Wannemuehler has also worked at the Deaconess Microbiology Lab for the past two-and-a-half years. Rather than making life more difficult, he feels it helped him learn to deal with all of his time constraints.
"Working a job has been very important for me. It's forced me to time manage," he said. "It's also about holding yourself accountable and having friends and parents who hold you accountable."
With all of his achievements, Wannemuehler says the hard work has just begun. His first two years of medical school will take place at the IU Medical School satellite campus at USI, followed by two years of clinical rotations in Indianapolis.
He is considering specialties in the areas of ophthalmology or ear, nose, and throat, but says it's really just too early to decide. He does think he would like an office practice rather than the unpredictable hours of surgical duty.
"It's a lot more conducive to family life," he said.
Wannemuehler is engaged to Kristin Kissel, a Haubstadt native who attended Mater Dei, where the two met. A physical therapy major at the University of Evansville, Kissel will graduate in 2010, just as Wannemuehler completes his coursework here. The couple, who have dated for more than five years, will marry in July of 2009.
This summer, Wannemuehler will enjoy the first down time that he's had in a long time, and the last he is likely to see for a while. Having just given up his position at the Deaconess lab for a little time off before medical school, he plans to read a lot - and something besides medical texts. Still, a little light reading for someone like Wannemuehler is a bit of a misnomer. His first goal is to finish Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.
Wannemuehler thinks it likely that he and Kissel will return to Evansville after his graduation from medical school, to live and possibly set up practice on the WestSide.
"My heart is definitely on the West Side."
(c) 2008 Evansville Courier & Press. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Evansville Courier & Press
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