DU’s Pre-Health Education and Advising Program Launches Future Leaders in Medicine and Health Care

When Sam Noonan (BS ’20, PSM ’21) decided in his third year at DU that he wanted to pursue medical school, he worried his math major and leadership minor might hold him back. But a conversation with his advisor changed his perspective.

“I was kind of flustered, thinking, ‘I’m not a bio major, I’m not a chem major.’ But she told me I didn’t actually need that, that people get in to med school with business degrees, art degrees—I just had to have the basic requirements for the applications,” he says. 

Now in his third year at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Noonan says DU’s Pre-Health Education and Advising program helped him build his pathway to med school.

Flexibility to support every path

Flexibility is at the heart of the University of Denver’s Pre-Health Education and Advising program. Whether students arrive on campus set on a certain career or discover their passion for health care later on, the program offers personalized guidance, resources, and the option to major in physiology in health and disease or minor in human health science and systems.

But students in the program opt for a variety of degrees, from biology and chemistry to mathematics and marketing, while layering in health-related courses. Along the way, pre-health advisors help students navigate their target schools’ prerequisites, prepare for exams like the MCAT, and explore volunteer opportunities and internships aligned with their interests—from careers in dentistry and family medicine to nursing and veterinary sciences. 

“I liked that DU had a lot of opportunities to study in a lot of different fields,” Noonan says. “With the quarter system, it’s easy to get a dual degree or multiple minors. My undergrad provided what was needed to be successful in med school applications but also let me learn about other areas of interest.”

Personalized support every step of the way

Academic flexibility also resonated with Kensey Bishop (BS ’22), who majored in biology and minored in leadership, Spanish, and health sciences. Now a third year at Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, Bishop says her advisor Nancy Lorenzon, director of the Pre-Health Education and Advising program—helped her define a realistic timeline and build a strong application.

"The advising group covered everything—dentistry, nursing, becoming a physician assistant, and more. And I met with my advisors individually, and they gave me feedback on my application,” Bishop says. “They were really supportive when I needed them."

For all career paths, group advising is available to connect students with volunteer opportunities and internships. Advisors are also available to meet with students individually to help them tailor their undergraduate studies to align with their career goals. 

Hands-on learning with real-world health care experiences

Experiential learning is another critical part of the journey. DU students often volunteer at local hospitals, clinics, and rehabilitation centers—including Craig Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Many take on internships, shadow physicians, or join student organizations like DU EMS, the DU’s student-run emergency medical response unit.

Noonan volunteered at the DAWN community health clinic in Aurora while at DU and later worked in pediatrics and orthopedics in Summit County during a gap period between undergrad and med school. He says taking time off from his studies helped him develop perspective.

“The basic things like paying bills, going to the grocery store, and working a nine to five helped me to gain context into how medicine really operates in the world. I think a lot of us wanted to go right into med school after undergrad,” he says. “But that real-world experience has been vital for me.”

For Bishop, clinical experience also came through gap-year jobs. She treated MCAT studying like a full-time job, then spent a year working as a medical assistant and applying.

Now, with two years of med school behind them, Noonan is leaning toward emergency medicine, and Bishop is pursuing OB/GYN. Both say DU gave them the tools to succeed—and the encouragement to forge their own paths.