![\"MacKenzie](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2024\/05\/Patterson-full.jpg?resize=993%2C533&ssl=1\")
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Each year, University of Detroit Mercy\u2019s Marketing & Communications department profiles members of the graduating classes. Students chosen were nominated by staff and faculty for their contributions to the life of the University.\u00a0Click here<\/a>\u00a0for more information about 2024 commencement exercises.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n MacKenzie Patterson\u2019s life and what she wanted to do with it was transformed when she was 11 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n That was when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Patterson witnessed first-hand the great care that doctors provided her mom.<\/span><\/p>\n Fast-forward to her senior year at University of Detroit Mercy, and Patterson is on the doorstep of realizing the dream of becoming like the doctor that helped her mom.<\/span><\/p>\n Patterson, one of the Class of 2024 Valedictorians, will graduate Saturday with a Biology degree and is preparing for the next step in her educational journey: Medical school.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI just remember feeling pretty grateful to my mom\u2019s doctor,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cI heard amazing things about her dermatologist and how thorough she was, and the cancer was a really tiny spot. She caught it and took really good care of my mom during the process.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when I became more interested in medicine and science. I just wanted to become like her and helping patients like my mom and improving overall quality of life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Patterson, from a small town outside of Buffalo, N.Y., initially visited the University because of an opportunity to run track and field for the Titans. Before visiting, she was looking at schools close to home and her family but reconsidered after touring UDM.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBefore Detroit Mercy sent me that email, I had never considered running on a Division I track and field team, but after visiting, it forced me to reconsider my college options and open myself up to new opportunities,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cWhen I toured here, I liked that it was a small campus, small class sizes, professors know you by name, the track and field scholarship and I had the opportunity to be a Pre-Med student.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat one visit changed my path, and I may even argue, my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Patterson said Detroit Mercy became a second home the moment she stepped onto the McNichols Campus as a freshman. She attended an outdoor Mass hosted by University Ministry during her first week at UDM and she\u2019s been involved with the organization since.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI just instantly felt welcomed by Ministry, I felt like they were going to be the people I would be spending a lot of time with,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cI met my best friend Hannah there, we sang together at Mass, and that\u2019s a friendship that\u2019s going to be part of my life forever.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI feel like in a sense Ministry has become my family away from home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Patterson immersed herself in a lot of other activities during her time at Detroit Mercy, too.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to being a track and field student-athlete and involved with University Ministry, Patterson is a member of Gamma Phi Beta, Zeta Nu Chapter and the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society, as well as the MEDLIFE student organization, which raises money for medicine, education and development projects in underdeveloped countries.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first came here, I didn\u2019t know anybody,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like the Detroit Mercy community has really become my home; the people have been amazing to be surrounded by. I\u2019ve had a lot of good experiences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While she volunteered at a cancer institute and alongside physicians, nurses and other medical professionals in high school to further her interest in health and medicine, Detroit Mercy has offered her the opportunity to fully prepare for a life in the medical field through her academics.<\/span><\/p>\n Patterson said that professors such as Michelle Andrzejak, Klaus Friedrich, Greg Grabowski, Jacob Kagey, among others, in the College of Engineering & Science have been integral with their time, support and encouragement.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDr. Friedrich met with me almost every day of the week to tutor me, he\u2019d meet with me over Zoom to try and explain something to me,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of amazing professors like that. I feel well-prepared for medical school because the classes are set up in a way where you\u2019re kind of preparing for it.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe way they teach, it seems synonymous with how med school will be, especially with some of the research assignments they give us to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Beyond the professors, the UDM community impacted Patterson, including Dan Greig and Anna Lawler in Ministry and Si Hendry, S.J., among others.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of people here who have believed in me even when I wasn\u2019t sure I could do it, people who have rooted me on throughout my education here,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of those connections that I\u2019m going to miss when I graduate from here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Patterson said she felt the Jesuit and Mercy values and mission throughout her UDM career.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI liked the individualized care aspect of it,\u201d she said. \u201cIt really does show through courses and how staff and faculty conduct themselves, you can tell that our University is really grounded in its mission. We\u2019re trying to actively better our community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Patterson started her UDM career during COVID and arrived in Detroit not knowing anyone on campus. She\u2019ll leave with lasting relationships, a degree that prepared her for the next step in her life and the distinction of being a valedictorian.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that UDM chooses a valedictorian using a \u2018whole person\u2019 concept, not solely on academic achievement, lends to the entire experience I\u2019ve had on campus and the person I\u2019ve been molded to become,\u201d she reflected. \u201cReceiving this privilege is a reminder that anything is possible.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From early days Patterson, the oldest of four children who grew up in a military household with her dad being deployed multiple times throughout her childhood, was a caretaker helping with her younger siblings.<\/span><\/p>\n Her interest in caretaking was then strengthened by watching the care her mom received and volunteering at a cancer center shortly thereafter.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, with a college career full of new experiences and an education preparing her for medical school, Patterson is ready to care for the world at large.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I decided to attend Detroit Mercy, I had no idea if I was making the right decision, but now I know with certainty that I was meant to be at Detroit Mercy,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it was luck or fate, but Detroit Mercy saw something in me that I had not yet seen in myself.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLooking forward, I can only hope to repay that kindness by going out into the world and showing them what a Titan can give.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0By\u00a0Adam Bouton<\/a>. Follow Detroit Mercy on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. Have a story idea? Let us know by\u00a0submitting your idea<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MacKenzie Patterson’s dream of becoming a doctor took shape at 11 years old after watching the great care doctors provided her mother. Patterson, one of the Class of 2024 Valedictorians, will graduate with a Biology degree and is preparing for the next step in her educational journey: Medical school.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":17216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6,4404],"tags":[6340,100,2723,3394,2577,1009,5415,1435],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2024\/05\/Patterson-full-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1371&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbwnTV-4tF","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17215"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17215"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17217,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17215\/revisions\/17217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}