December graduate accepted to prestigious medical school

The Norfolk, Nebraska, native earned his human biology undergraduate degree from CSC in December 2014. Gray intends to specialize in dermatology. According to Loma Linda’s website, the institution accepted 168 students from a pool of 5,677 applicants in 2013.

Four surgeries in four years due to football injuries gave Gray the opportunity for frequent interaction with medical staff which, in turn, led to him shadowing several doctors and eventually enrolling at CSC to study human biology.

“When I was attending CSC, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and I was able to see firsthand the impact that doctors and nurses can have upon their patients,” Gray said.

Gray also said he was grateful for numerous financial aid opportunities and a dedicated science faculty at CSC.

In addition to his personal experiences, the human cadaver lab at CSC provided Gray with opportunities to hone his skills.

“I feel the experience working with human cadavers helped make me unique compared to other candidates to medical school,” Gray said.

Gray considers work with partners or in small groups at CSC as tremendous opportunities to improve his communication and leadership skills. He said senior Biology Seminar was one of his most challenging and rewarding courses.

“My study skills were greatly improved while attending CSC. The professors in the science field definitely push students to the limit, which I am overwhelmingly thankful for, in an attempt to create the best trained students possible,” he said.

Dr. Joyce Hardy, professor in the physical and life sciences department, said Gray has a good research mentality, which will benefit him as a dermatologist.

“He is an outstanding student, he is an exemplary performer in the class; he seeks additional information to integrate new knowledge into his working knowledge base, and he is outstanding in applying his knowledge in novel situations to make informed judgments. I am thrilled that his hard work and quality performance resulted in acceptance into his first-choice medical program,” Hardy said.

Another of Gray’s faculty members, Dr. Ann Buchmann, associate professor in the physical and life sciences department, said when Gray encounters a challenge or a difficulty, his response is to work harder and to find new ways to overcome the problem.

“He will spend the next semester doing scientific research with his brother which I think will give him the opportunity to explore science in a different way. I anticipate that Austin will make a great doctor who will be particularly good at analyzing difficult cases,” Buchmann said.

Gray said he feels a special gratitude for the influence of Dr. Hardy and Dr. Buchmann during his time at CSC and while he prepared for medical school interviews.

Gray selected Loma Linda for many reasons.

“I felt very comfortable during the tours of the campus as well as the interviews. I learned of the rather relaxed and helpful feeling of the students toward one another as opposed to many other medical schools which tend to be highly competitive. I also have learned that California is a very safe place for nurses to work, which was very important for me since my fiancé is a nurse,” Gray said.

Gray said the beliefs embraced by Loma Linda, a Seventh-day Adventist institution, directly align with his personal and professional beliefs and the warm weather in southern California is a bonus.