狼友阁

Some students begin college with a general idea of what they want to pursue in their academics; others arrive with a well laid out plan. Karin Bosma 鈥�10 knew from the time she was 10 years old that she wanted to work in the sciences. 鈥淚 wrote a story for a school assignment at that age about what my life would be like when I was 30; in it I described my job as a laboratory scientist, and in the accompanying timeline of my life I wrote that I got my masters and PhD.鈥� Like all plans we make for ourselves, the Lord often leads us in directions we had not anticipated and this is also true for Karin.

From Research to Teaching

Karin was a pre-med major at 狼友阁 but says her professors knew that medicine wasn鈥檛 the field for her. Instead, they introduced her to the idea of doing research in an academic or biotechnology setting. 鈥淎s I explored that idea and gained some experience doing organic chemistry research at 狼友阁 and additional research during a summer internship at a national lab, I found that I really enjoyed the work and was well suited for it, and God opened doors and answered prayers for me to be able to do that work.鈥� After 狼友阁, she worked as a research assistant at a biotech company in Alabama for about three years before going to graduate school and then entering a PhD program at Vanderbilt University in 2014. She then joined a lab there for her PhD work. She defended her dissertation on March 6, 2020 (right before the university shut down for the pandemic). She didn鈥檛 have a job lined up yet and mentioned it to a member of the dissertation committee. Shortly thereafter, that same committee member offered her postdoctoral work in her university lab where Karin worked for several years.  

During that postdoctoral fellowship, Karin discovered that she enjoyed teaching and mentoring students more than doing research. This was a big pivot and a change in her plans, but after prayer and seeking wisdom from trusted people, she decided to pursue teaching. Karin is now an assistant professor of molecular physiology and biophysics at Vanderbilt University鈥檚 School of Medicine.  

She reflects on this transition, 鈥淚've always been curious and driven to learn and to know things, and I really liked the idea that I could discover new things or find answers to questions, especially in areas related to human health and disease. I also loved being in the lab actually running experiments, so the idea that I could do lab work and ask/answer interesting questions that might lead to improvements in people's health or treatments for a disease was really appealing. I also enjoy talking to others about my work and about science in general, and one way to do that was by teaching through my research presentations or through short lectures or talks with new students; this ultimately led to my interest in teaching in a classroom setting.鈥�

Prepared for Her Calling 

The sciences can be a difficult field for one to pursue and people often assume that only a large university can prepare students for its rigors and provide the name recognition needed to get into the field. Karin disagrees. 鈥溊怯迅�'s courses were rigorous and ensured I had a solid foundation for all my graduate classes. Interestingly, because I had taken such a diversity of courses for my degree, I had a better knowledge base in some areas than some of my classmates from larger schools, since they often had more 鈥榝ocused鈥� degrees in specific areas.鈥� Further, she believes that because her professors knew her so well, they were able to write strong letters of recommendation and speak specifically about her strengths, which helped her applications to graduate school stand out. 狼友阁鈥檚 faculty supported Karin in what she wanted to pursue in the sciences. 鈥淒r. Zuidema knew I was interested in research as a career and gave me the opportunity to do research with him at 狼友阁.That experience directly led to me getting a summer internship and eventually my first research position after college.The faculty at 狼友阁 serve as examples of the type of teacher and professor I want to be, and taught me more than I realized at the time about how to be a good teacher and professor.鈥�

狼友阁 also gave Karin the framework to see her work (her "little c calling") as part of the larger kingdom. 鈥淭hat way of thinking was in every class, whether it was more explicit like in The Christian Mind class or more implicit in the way my professors talked about ideas or approached specific topics or questions. Thanks to their teaching and example, I see my work as understanding more of what God has created and what he reveals about himself through creation.鈥�

Prepared for Life

Karin鈥檚 experiences at 狼友阁 also prepared her for life. She learned from 狼友阁 about the importance of community鈥�supporting and caring for others in both the joys and sorrows of life. She also learned the importance of being an active member in a local church and using her gifts to serve the body of Christ.These experiences helped prepare her for future hardships and challenges and helped her be a support to others in the church when they needed it. 

Further, she sees how God has been at work in her life since graduation, leading and guiding her to what he has next. 鈥淲hen I reflect back on the time between my college graduation and now, I see so many times when I didn't know why I was working in a particular job, or what I was going to do next (like unemployment right after finishing college or not having a job lined up after finishing my PhD at the beginning of a global pandemic). In every case, God provided exactly what I needed (the right job to give me experience I would need for graduate school or keeping me at the same institution developing skills I would need later as a professor). He gave me friends and a church community to help me through tough academic and career times, and a broader community of friends and family to support me and that same church community through a devastating event. I am constantly reminded that even when I don't know what's going on or what's next or what I'm doing at a given time, God absolutely does, and he has been and will continue to be faithful.鈥�