Editor’s Note: Each month, InterCOM will highlight a “Student of the Month” from the College of Medicine. Students will be featured for their participation in activities outside of medical school and for making a difference in the community. The goal is to recognize students for what they are doing and to encourage other students to get involved in the community. After all, medical school should be much more than studying.
Name: Rachel Schlueter
Hometown: Hastings, Neb.
Program/Year: Medicine/first-year
Personal:
I was born in Hastings, Neb. My parents are Donald and Nancy Lemke. My father is a John Deere salesman, and my mother is a registered nurse in the newborn/NICU unit at Mary Lanning Hospital. I am married to Gregg Schlueter, who is a physical therapy student here at UNMC.
Education:
- Saint Cecilia High School in Hastings
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Activities:
- UNMC College of Medicine Class of 2018 — class vice president
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Clinical Research with the pediatric surgeons at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center
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Publication (1st author) in January 2015 Journal of Pediatric Surgery
- “Identifying strategies to decrease infectious complications of gastroschisis repair”
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May 2014 presentation at the American Pediatric Surgical Association annual meeting
- “Identifying strategies to decrease infectious complications of gastroschisis repair”
- October 2013 presentation at Pediatric Surgery Grand Rounds: Children’s Hospital & Medical Center
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February 2013 presentation at the annual Surgical Congress meeting in New Orleans
- “The Use of a Prospective Database with Interdisciplinary Review to Improve Care of Gastroschisis Patients over a 10-Year Period”
- August 2012 poster presentation for UNMC Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)
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Publication (1st author) in January 2015 Journal of Pediatric Surgery
- UNMC Pediatrics Special Interest Group member
Hobbies:
- Cooking and baking
- Running
- Hiking
- Crocheting
- Wood carving
Staying Balanced:
I got married about a month before beginning medical school. My husband also is a student here at UNMC. We could easily get lost under stacks of textbooks and research articles, but we have made an effort to ensure we set the books aside each week to spend time dedicated to relaxing together. When we aren’t cooped up in our study room at home, we love exercising and working on projects together. I believe it is very important to find joy in every day. For me, this means taking an hour to exercise or work on a hobby each day. Not only do these things brighten my day, but they also stimulate my mind and bring an increased productivity to my schoolwork.
List three things people may not know about you:
- When I was 5, I won grand champion in a peewee sheep show with someone else’s sheep. (It was my cousin’s sheep. She also showed a sheep of hers – she got second place.)
- When I was seven, I loved insects and proudly claimed my desire to be a “bug-ologist.”
- In fourth grade, I even went to Space Camp. I earned my “wings” and three seconds on The Nick Cannon Show when he “took over space.”