Senior Spotlight: William Durchholz ’20 (chemistry, pre-medicine)

While the second semester has been impacted greatly by the coronavirus pandemic, many Greyhound seniors are putting a ‘cap’ on their UIndy careers before the conferral of their diplomas this summer. Please enjoy the entries in this year’s “Senior Spotlight” series, as we celebrate these soon-to-be Greyhound graduates.

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William Durchholz ’20 (chemistry, pre-medicine), who will be going to medical school in the fall, knows one thing: Even if he leaves the state to further his education, he wants to find his way back to Indiana eventually. 

“I want to return to practice in a medically underserved community,” he said. “There are so many areas of Indiana that have physician shortages which negatively impact patients. While I am not set on the exact area of medicine I would like to practice at this time, I am certain I want to be a part of the solution of physician shortages and access to care in Indiana.”

Durchholz, who is weighing his medical school options, credits the support he received at the University of Indianapolis for helping him direct his passion. “I came to UIndy knowing that I wanted to make an impact on other people, and that I’ve always had a passion for helping others and solving problems,” he said. “Through conversations with faculty members and fellow students, I found that the best way to blend my interests was to become a physician.”

On the arduous road that applying to internships and medical school can be, Durchholz credits ProEdge and Stephanie Kendall-Dietz in being helpful with his resume, cover letters and mock interviews. “The staff at ProEdge are so talented and have so much insight into getting a job, internship, or applying to graduate school,” he said. “Their help put me ahead of many other interviewees I came across at different medical schools.”

There has been no shortage of faculty mentors for Durchholz during his time at UIndy, he cites Dr. Joe Burnell, Dr. David Styers-Barnett and Dr. Kathy Stickney in particular. “In the chemistry program we benefited from some of the best faculty the University has to offer,” he said. “I was always able to get the advice I needed from the chemistry faculty. They opened so many doors for me, including two summer internships with Roche and prepared me for my career in medicine.”

Durchholz’s participation in the Roche Academy provided him the opportunity to step inside a billion-dollar business and learn about how it works as well as allowed him to learn about a side of healthcare that he did not even know existed. “Not many people think about what happens to their blood tests when they are taken at their family physician’s office or at the hospital, but that is where Roche Diagnostics is so important,” he said. “They taught me about how they support all of their instruments and be sure they are working for all of their clients nationwide. They also shed light on how they are innovating their instruments to be able to get results to patients faster, which can be critical for certain patient populations.”

Durchholz encourages incoming freshmen to get involved in any activity they can outside of class. He began his UIndy career playing football which exposed him to many new people and he was involved through the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. “I formed a group of five individuals that started out as a study group, but eventually became my lifelong friends,” he said. “UIndy is a great place to get an education, but it’s important to remember that you will only get out of your education what you put into it!”