Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
The support from mentors is what got me through.
By Jon Nyatawa
You may not remember specifically and actively looking for a mentor. That’s often not how it works, anyway.
At Creighton, the atmosphere seems to naturally spark meaningful interactions — professors, TAs, RAs, counselors, advisors and coaches reach out with a helping hand. Those friendly conversations stack up together and soon, trust forms. There’s a bond. Advice is shared, self-discoveries are made.
Next thing you know, you’ve got a letter of recommendation and a friend for life.
Creighton’s special for many reasons. The faculty-student connections surely rank near the top.
We asked alumni to talk about the mentors who came into their lives while at Creighton. Their stories are below.
Want to be a part of a future article? Tell us about your Creighton mentor or mentors. Share your story with jonnyatawa@creighton.edu.
You may have missed a couple articles spotlighting Creighton mentors. Check out last year’s collection AND read the story that launched our series.
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On Sapelo Island, along the Atlantic Ocean coast in Georgia, a number of Creighton biology students have studied marsh ecology. Lauren Urban, BSEVS’06, MS’10, said they’ve dubbed the site “Creighton East.” There, she conducted research and embraced opportunities for growth.
And biology professor John Schalles, PhD, offered a wide range of guidance throughout that experience.
“My study with Dr. Schalles as my thesis advisor helped me to become a better critical thinker and researcher,” Urban said. “I had a NASA internship, a fellowship, and teaching assistantship under him. It was as a TA that I first realized I wanted to teach science and what led me to my vocation as a high school science teacher.”
One truck ride with Schalles on a weekend trip to Lake Okoboji was particularly memorable for Urban during her undergrad studies. They were hauling the biology boat — nicknamed the “Tiny Dancer” — through the Iowa countryside, and it gave Schalles the perfect opportunity to talk with Urban about her future.
“By the end of the truck ride, he had encouraged me to think about a graduate degree in atmospheric science,” Urban said. “By the end of my senior year, I was staying at Creighton for grad school, which truly changed my life for the better.”
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Now-retired associate professor Monique Macklem, MD, said she and many other pediatricians received impactful training and guidance from Stephen Chartrand, MD, the chair of pediatrics in Creighton’s School of Medicine from 1993 to 2001.
Said Macklem: “His knowledge base was outstanding. His ability to teach was inspiring. His love and care for children, medical students, residents and professors never could be matched. His legacy is seen in the accomplishments of his own children, the Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Physicians.”
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There were some difficult moments during the undergrad years for Dawn Douglas Repeta, BA’92.
She was hospitalized. She couldn’t settle on a major, switching three times. “I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life,” Repeta said. “The support from mentors is what got me through.”
She’ll never forget the guidance and wisdom of associate professor Ashton Welch and the compassion and care from Fr. Robert P. Hart, SJ.
“Dr. Welsh always told me to follow my heart and do what I love, not what everyone expected me to do,” Repeta said. “And Fr. Hart was always there for me.”
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There was the wry smile. And the lab coat. And wire-rimmed spectacles. Santiago Batres, DDS’74, can still picture his neuroanatomy professor standing at the front of the class and reciting the facial muscle with the longest name. “Levator labii superioris alaeque nasi!”
Professor Marvin Hill, PhD, was one of a kind, Batres said. He was polite and respectful in his interactions with students and always interested in learning more about their lives. Hill eventually recruited Batres to join the School of Dentistry faculty, and their relationship blossomed into a great friendship.
Batres has since logged nearly 40 years of private practice and more than a decade of instruction and guidance to Advanced Education in General Dentistry residents at a community health center in El Paso.
“It’s probably the last chapter of my career,” Batres said. “And I can honestly say that the influence of my Creighton dental school experience, and specifically, the mentorship of Dr. Marvin Hill, has continued to inspire me each day. I hope to be a positive influence on the young dental students that I am entrusted with, just as Dr. Hill was to me.”
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CREIGHTON DAYS CODE: CreightonMentors
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Ryan Smith, BS’16, said the mentor he needed was associate professor Dimitrios Katsavelis, PhD. “He was an engaging professor who showed genuine interest in my success and my goals. He kept it clinically applicable and the knowledge he shared translated to significant personal success for me in my clinical career.”
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Goal setting. There was a class for that in the 1970s. And it was life-changing for Paul Schleier, BA’77, DDS’82. His psychology professor, Ingo Keilitz, once mentioned the origins of the course: “Ingo said someone at Creighton wanted him to teach something else, but he taught the goal-setting class anyway," Schleier said.
Schleier's first assignment: Identify your top goal. Schleier declared he wanted to get into dental school, and, thanks to Keilitz’s guidance, he spent the rest of the semester reframing his mind and approach to pursuing that goal. There were charts and graphs involved. Schleier reprioritized everything.
“If it wasn’t for Ingo Keilitz, I wouldn’t have accomplished my goals," Schleier said. "I have shared his methodology with every high school and college student, and I shared it with the 102 AEGD (Advanced Education in General Dentistry) dental residents I taught during my military career.”
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Donald Earley, OTD’04, said that while he was pursuing his advanced practice occupational therapy doctorate, he met associate dean Brenda Coppard, PhD. She’s been a mentor ever since.
“Dr. Coppard is the consummate professional,” Earley said. “She represents Creighton University, the occupational therapy profession and herself with the utmost integrity.”
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Mark Covey, BA’96, said the man who’s had a lasting impact on his life is Fr. Bert Thelen, SJ, who presided over his wedding and his children’s baptisms. The lessons Covey learned from Fr. Thelen still shape his decisions today. “Bert showed me a bigger world than my narrow mind at the time had ever pondered,” Covey said. “He is responsible for my experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which have forever changed my life.”
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Tess Starman, BS’16, said she’s grateful for the mentor who helped her identify a double major that matched her passion for social science and helped reveal her ability to impact the world. Associate dean Rebecca Murray, PhD, made such a difference for Starman. Murray also served as a faculty recommendation for Starman’s PhD applications. Starman is currently pursuing a doctorate in sociology at Howard University.
Said Starman: “Dr. Murray encouraged me to continue to fan the flame that was my budding passion for sociology. And, in the years that have followed, she has never ceased encouraging me in my quest for understanding the social science lens and making an impact on the world through my research.”
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Kevin Suehiro, DDS’02, said his general chemistry class was the first one he took as a Creighton undergraduate student in 1994. And it was perhaps the most important class.
That’s where he met associate professor David Dobberpuhl.
When Suehiro was in his class, Dobberpuhl had just completed his PhD. He was young and relatable. Suehiro remembers Dobberpuhl’s fun first-day exercise where he learned everyone’s name by taking Polaroid pictures. Soon after that introduction, Suehiro was a regular in Dobberpuhl’s office, asking questions about chemistry and so much more. A few years later, Dobberpuhl wrote a recommendation to help Suehiro apply for dental school.
“I’ll never forget everything that Dr. David Dobberpuhl did for me, and the lasting impact that he has had on my me,” Suehiro said.
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Just a few more name-drops and shoutouts before we conclude this salute to mentors…
For Lawrence Necheles, BA’86, JD’90, it was professor James Wunsch who encouraged him to take a challenging-but-important political science class and professor Kent Neumeister, JD, who taught him skills that carried over into his law career.
Both Mike Ryan, BA’78, DDS’82, and Liza Apper, BA’74, named professor Bruce Malina, STD, as someone who made a difference.
Professor Tom Purcell was a key mentor for Ryan Zabrowski, BSBA’01. "We met when he was my Freshman Seminar Advisor and he strongly encouraged me to major in accounting and become involved in student life," Zabrowski said. "He helped me tremendously."
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Tell us about your Creighton mentor or mentors and we may include it in a future article. Share your story with jonnyatawa@creighton.edu.
