A Conversation with Minerva Student Dorcas Adebowale

What drew you to apply and enroll at Minerva?

I wanted to engage with different cultures and acquire a robust global perspective on life while obtaining my degree.

‍What does the Minerva community mean to you?

The Minerva community is very diverse, supportive, and invested in the growth of its members. I have benefitted in numerous ways from this community. I really appreciate the way my professors, rather than providing a quick answer, are so invested in guiding me through the thinking process to provide a solution to a problem. This is doing two things to me. First, it's helping me think more creatively and question assumptions. Second, I'm able to establish not only the correct answer but also the detailed, thoughtful process of arriving at that answer. From the Faculty to the Student Life Team to the Coaching and Talent Development team to my wonderful cohort members and other Minervans, the support has been immensely all-round. I’m so thankful I’m a part of this community.

How has Minerva’s experiential learning influenced your future career goals or aspirations?

Minerva’s experiential learning process has taught me how to apply classroom knowledge outside class. Every class at Minerva is almost always connected to a real-world example, and this has helped me think beyond the borders of class and assess the world around me from a unique perspective. I have learned to think critically and challenge assumptions while unlearning and relearning in the process. Overall, this has helped me reflect on ways I could contribute through my career to an aspect of the world I’m most passionate about.

What are some professional opportunities you participated in that have complemented your Minerva education and influenced your career aspirations?

I did an internship in Drug Discovery for liver cancer during the summer. This connected well to an Evolutionary Biology course I took during the spring semester. I learned in this class how cancer is an evolutionary process, as seen in the different ‘hallmarks’ of cancer, hence why cancer can acquire resistance to drugs. The project I carried out during my internship tackled liver cancer resistance to Sorafenib, a standard drug for treating it, by discovering a potentially more effective drug. From class, I learned how addressing cancer from an evolutionary perspective could generate meaningful insights to produce improved cancer treatments. This internship complimented my in-class learning, and I devoted the course’s final assignment to exploring this topic more. These experiences have sparked in me an interest in the field of cancer research.

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If you were inspired by Dorcas' story and are seeking a college experience that will teach you valuable pragmatic skills that will enable you to change the world, learn more about Minerva University.