Nicholas Reiners '15

Nicholas Reiners

Graduating Class: 2015

Major: Biology and Scandinavian Studies

Story:

Hey there! I’m Nick, a two year post-grad from Gustavus and soon-to-be MS1 at the University of Minnesota, Duluth campus. I chose to attend GAC because of my family history as well as its reputation in the sciences. It doesn’t hurt that I could play tennis year-round there as well. While an undergraduate, I followed the pre-med track right from the beginning but also happened to fall into Scandinavian Studies, specifically the Swedish language. This gave me much-needed breaks from science courses as well as awarded me some incredible opportunities abroad. I kept myself busy with various clubs, activities, and work-study jobs, though class and tennis took up most of my time. I took an intentional gap-year after graduating and worked with Twin Cities Orthopedics as a medical scribe. I then took an unintentional gap-year after applying to MD/DO programs and not getting off of two waitlists. So I taught some tennis and returned to Twin Cities Orthopedics as a patient care coordinator, and my second time applying was accepted at 4 schools! Moral of my story is that if you stay positive and give your full effort, then it pays to be patient (no pun intended).

Top Five Activities/Experiences: 

  1. Studying abroad in Uppsala, Sweden for a semester
  2. Playing tennis for Gustavus
  3. Alfred Nobel research experience in Karlskoga, Sweden
  4. Sophomore year January Interim Career Exploration program at the Mayo Clinic
  5. Biology/Chemistry Peer mentor

Advice:

  1. Pursue your passions outside of medicine
  2. Take advantage of the options Gustavus has for pre-health students (ex. 4-year planning at the CARE office and Heather Banks with pre-health advising.)
  3. Resist the temptation of comparing your “timeline” with others

Future Plans:  Attend the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus, start Fall 2017.

                                                                                                                                              Updated 4/25/2017 TN