How Midland University has Prepared Me to Have a Successful Life and Career

THEO BLUM | Class of 2021

My name is Theo Blum and I am a senior from Wahoo, Nebraska. I am majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry and an emphasis in pre-pharmacy. With the graduation season approaching, I wanted to take this opportunity to share what Midland University has given me in the four years that I have been here, and how it has shaped my character and prepared me to have a successful life and career. 

Throughout my time at Midland, I have had the opportunity to grow personally and professionally through the many opportunities that I have been afforded. The first thing that attracted me to Midland was the opportunity to play football for Coach Jeff Jamrog. After I joined the team, I worked my way up to the captain and remained in that role for two years. During my time as captain, I was able to further develop my leadership and communication skills. I feel that this experience was formative to me as a young college student because of the impactful guidance from the entire football coaching staff and the bond that was built within the team. I carried those skills to my next job as a Resident Assistant working with first-year students where I helped guide them through the ups and downs of transitioning to college. In my junior year, I was elected student senate president where I had put all of the skills that I had learned into practice. Throughout my junior and senior years, I have worked as a Supplemental Instruction Tutor for general chemistry in the Academic Resource Center with Dr. Janet Lack. This has been one of my favorite jobs during college. Seeing the time and dedication that a student puts into focusing on a subject and it resulting in a greater understanding and a higher grade, is extremely gratifying. 

Midland has opened up many experiences that have been meaningful including the incredible academic experiences that I have received during my time here. From the time that I started college, I knew that I wanted to major in biology and minor in chemistry so that I could prepare to go to pharmacy school. On my first campus visit to Midland, I met the biology professors and was impressed from day one. My admiration for them has grown stronger as the years have passed. One of the most difficult classes that I have ever taken was Organic Chemistry with Dr. Evangeline Rukundo. This class is where I found the ceiling of my limits due to the sheer time and dedication that my classmates and I put into studying. It was not uncommon for us to put in one to two dozen hours of studying in between our bi-weekly exams. Being able to walk away with an “A” in a class like this is incredibly reassuring and reinforces the hard work and sacrifice it takes to be academically successful. In these difficult classes, I found lifelong friends that I keep up with today. It is satisfying to meet and be friends with people who share the same passion and outlook as you. 

I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of the Midland family. In fact, my mom and dad both graduated from Midland and my brother attends as well. When you join the Midland family, you have a community and support system for life and that is a very special thing. It has been a blessing to receive a football and booster club scholarship during my time here. These scholarships are made possible through generous donors, and because of that, I was able to attend Midland University and work towards my dream of being a pharmacist. 

Midland is a place that gives you all of the opportunities and resources that you need to be successful and has instilled in me that the harder you work, the better you get. 

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