Patrick Page ’15
A PRICELESS OPPORTUNITY
Choosing a major at Trinity was no easy job for Patrick Page ’15, who eventually settled on biology and philosophy. That unique combination helped position Page for his current job as a research technologist at the Center for Genetic Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“A Christian liberal arts education offers priceless opportunities. I switched my majors more times than I can remember. Because of the unique and enjoyable courses, I ended up wanting to major in everything,” he said. “The foundation courses expose each student to a myriad of different disciplines that whet the appetite for learning.”
Once he settled on his biology major, the research opportunities at Trinity provided ways to gain valuable experience. “The research I was able to do with both Dr. [Robert] Boomsma ’77 [professor of biology] and Dr. [Clayton] Carlson [associate professor of biology] was a monumental piece of my college life,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to share data at various venues and to different groups of people within the school on both local and national levels. One project allowed for the publication of a paper into a peer-reviewed journal.”
At the Center for Genetic Medicine, he maintains the lab and assists with research projects.
“Currently, this means I am doing tissue culture with primary cell lines and induced pluripotent stem cells. I am also being trained to perform echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, tissue sectioning, and staining,” he said.
He suggested current Trinity students take full advantage of the liberal arts opportunities whenever they can. “I encourage students with a light credit hour semester to try out some classes in departments other than their major,” he said. “It will be a very rewarding experience.”