Army veteran and University of Missouri–St. Louis alumnus Adam Henderson says combat medics were in short supply during his two tours of duty abroad. It’s what prompted him to earn a paramedic license while he was a soldier.
“Maybe I should learn how to provide aid for a gunshot wound,” Henderson said he thought after considering the “horrors of kinetic warfare.”
But his medical training only went so far.
“I experienced a friend’s death [during a deployment] and was unable to assist,” Henderson, 28, said. “I realized I needed more medical knowledge.”
That’s when he zeroed in on medical school. Between his two tours – one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan – Henderson researched how to fulfill his goal. And after completing six years of military service, he immediately enrolled at UMSL, where he graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
“I love UMSL and would tell anyone to come here,” he said. “You get a top-tier faculty who are actively involved in research, but make time to mentor you."
Reviewed 2013-01-24