College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Preparing for a Lifetime of Change - Medical education begins here
Long before he graduated, Sean Bruggink knew what he wanted to do with his biochemistry degree. Growing up in Minocqua and working in the local emergency room during the summers after his sophomore and junior years, he saw the importance of solid doctor-patient relationships and quality public health education.
“I value public health and want to be an educator for my community in rural northern Wisconsin on a variety of healthy lifestyle practices,” he says.
He was accepted at the UW-Madison Medical School and began classes in the fall of 2005. Bruggink says that the biochemistry undergraduate program prepared him well for his years in medical school.
“The emphasis on developing lab techniques and professional etiquette will come in handy,” he says.
Bruggink chose the biochemistry major because it combines the biological and physical sciences and offers undergrads the opportunity to do independent research. During his senior year, Bruggink worked in a molecular biology lab, characterizing a new enzyme found in mice and humans.
“The biochemistry program focuses on technology and computer-assisted research,” he says. “The facility is top-notch. Undergraduate students have access to a beautiful new state-of-the-art building where they can conduct independent research.”
What he learned went well beyond the technical knowledge of the field. For example, he sharpened his public speaking and health education skills in a senior seminar, for which he prepared and delivered a presentation on Type II diabetes.
His education also took him into cultures quite different from his own. In 2003 Bruggink went to Uganda with James Ntambi’s class in international health and nutrition. During the three-week study abroad program in public health and nutrition, the students toured local agricultural research
stations, local health care clinics and the national hospital.
“The Uganda study-abroad program put nutrition and public health concerns in a cultural context,” Bruggink says.