From working as a medical scribe to being the student hall coordinator to getting engaged in college, senior Alexa Gilmore has managed to balance her academic and social life.

Gilmore is from Perry and is double majoring in biology and philosophy. She knew about Simpson because her sister, who is two years ahead of her, came here. However, Gilmore was reluctant to enroll at Simpson.

“I didn’t want to come here, but my mom forced me to come on those visits and I just loved the campus and I loved the professors that I talked to,” she said.

Gilmore describes her time at Simpson as a “crazy experience.”

“Academic-wise it’s pushed me way harder than I ever thought I could even push myself or go,” Gilmore said. “I’ve just been involved in a lot and it’s given me a lot of opportunities for jobs and internships.”

In March 2015, Gilmore landed a job working as a medical scribe at Mercy ER in downtown Des Moines. The job consists of working one-on-one with a physician and doing the entire medical chart.

“It’s been a crazy learning experience and it’s in the ER, so you see really cool things,” she said.

Along with working part-time, Gilmore participates in several activities at Simpson, including Pre-Health Society, Residence Life, where she’s a student hall coordinator, Beta Beta Beta and Alpha Lambda Delta, where she’s the vice president.

Unlike most seniors, Gilmore is attending school while also planning her wedding set for July. Gilmore and herfiance, Caleb, started dating in sixth grade and he proposed to her in December. Although she’s excited to start this new adventure in her life, preparing for the wedding has been a challenge.

“It’s been really difficult because we’re both students,” she said. “Financially, it’s a pretty big burden right now, but it’s really fun. I’m really enjoying this time that we’re engaged and I’m trying not to make it stressful.”

Luckily for Gilmore, one thing she’s learned the most about herself these last four years is how well she handles stress.

“I never knew that I could, you know, study for this, write this paper for this class, and miss a lot of sleep, and work and everything,” she said. “I just did it.”

Her professors have also been invaluable in helping her achieve academic endeavors. One of her favorite Simpson professors, Allison Wolf, taught Gilmore to look at ideas and concepts from a different perspective.

“[Wolf] just pushes all of her students and holds them to a really high standard and she doesn’t let you get lazy,” Gilmore said. “She forces you to look at things that you have always thought of one way.”

Another professor Gilmore finds helpful is Justin Brown.

“He just explains things in such a simplified way that I get what he’s saying and I appreciate that, especially in, like, the bio department,” she said. “To me, some of the best professors that you can have are the ones that can make you understand really difficult information.”

After graduation, Gilmore plans to continue being a medical scribe while taking a gap year. She will take classes necessary for medical school, take the Medical College Admission Test and start applying to medical schools. She hopes to get accepted at Des Moines University and her goal is to become a doctor of osteopathic medicine.

And of course, the wedding in July of soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Jans.