Science and sports are two things that Colby Schniederjan has always loved. He played basketball in high school and coached a basketball league for younger boys, so it only seemed natural that he’d pick coaching when he came to Wayland Baptist University three years ago.
Yet the junior from Dalhart went a different route during his sophomore year, switching his major from athletic training to biology, specifically pre-medicine. In what he sees as the ultimately serendipity, though, Schniederjan found a way to combine his two loves by picking a career as an orthopedic surgeon.
Schniederjan came to Wayland sight unseen, loving the chance to play basketball – he’s still on the junior varsity Pioneer squad – while pursuing his degree. It didn’t take long for him to love the university and get involved, both on the court and on the sidelines as an avid fan of the varsity basketball program. But he sees the benefits from an academic standpoint as well, especially in light of his future plans.
“I’m glad I didn’t go to a bigger school, because the foundation I’m getting by knowing my professors personally is so helpful to me,” he said. “I feel very prepared for the next step, which is medical school.”
Schniederjan has found encouragement and challenges from the biology faculty, who together have developed a reputation for a stellar pre-health program that regularly places students in professional schools or graduate research programs.
“They’re constantly challenging us to take another step and work harder because they really want us to succeed,” he said. “There are times when we wonder if it can be done, but it happens to everyone and we just have to take another step and move on.”
That strength and determination have led Schniederjan to focus on his academics at Wayland and pursue other affiliations that might benefit him down the road. Specifically, he got involved in the fall formation of the Pioneer Health Service Corps, a group of pre-health majors interested in community service and internship opportunities to better prepare them for future study. And he immediately signed up for the Kenya mission trip in July 2009, where several PHSC members will be doing medical missions work with AIDS/HIV-positive patients.
He also did some shadowing with Amarillo orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Parker, earning himself a summer internship for 2009, where he’ll be able to really see the field hands-on and benefit from Parker’s expertise. All this makes his dream feel even closer to reality, and he’s already excited about his future practice.
“I’m looking forward to the patient care aspect of medicine. I want to build those patient relationships and follow people’s injuries through their rehabilitation,” Schniderjan said, noting that part of the appeal of orthopedics is seeing what a major difference in quality of life the patients experience.
The personal touch in his career no doubt spills over from Colby’s experiences at Wayland.
“It has been all about the relationships I’ve formed here. (Wayland is) small and close-knit and we all know each other,” he said. “Getting to know and understand other people has been an important part of this experience for me.
“Wayland has been everything I could have expected. I know I was put here for a reason.”
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