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Mike Liang came to Calvin with a clear goal: to prepare to become a doctor.

One year in, his goal hasn’t changed, but he says Calvin’s liberal arts education is giving him a broader perspective with direct value-adding benefits to his career path.

“Calvin’s approach to education is preparing me well. For example, my professors have recommended I step out of my comfort zone, which for me was science,” said Liang. “Both of my pre-med advisors encouraged me to try a communication class because as a doctor I’ll need to not only present evidence but also communicate with my patients well.”

Out of comfort, into opportunity

So Liang took a communication course in which he not only learned valuable skills, but he also wrote and delivered a speech which was nominated by his communication professor, Kathi Groenendyk, for the Norton Speaker’s Prize. Liang’s persuasive speech was on food waste, where he tried to persuade his audience to take tangible actions to reduce the amount of food waste at Calvin's dining hall. While the judging continues, Norton asked Liang for permission to include his speech video in their collection of exemplary presentations.

“Since I’ve been at Calvin, this has not happened in an oral rhetoric class,” said Groenendyk. “Most textbook publishers choose examples from much larger institutions. I believe this is a unique honor.”

“I never thought a chemistry student would have his speech included in a textbook. I didn’t see how those things fit together,” said Liang.

Equipped with skills that enhance any career path

What Liang is seeing is how the soft skills he’s learning through his liberal arts education directly applies to his field of study.

This past summer at the end of his internship at the Van Andel Institute in downtown Grand Rapids where he did cancer research, Liang had to give both an oral and poster presentation.

“I was able to use the skills I learned in Comm 101 to clearly outline what I was going to talk about in a way that communicated science in simple language for those who are not as familiar with my field,” said Liang. “I feel trained in how to talk to people well, to present clear and concisely, and that will help me in the future.”

Student preparation impresses industry professionals

The principal investigator for Liang’s research project was impressed both with his presentation and also how well he was prepared coming in.

“I took an accelerated general chemistry class at Calvin my first semester and that gave me a step ahead. And then I took analytical chemistry, which exposed me to a lot of different instruments and experimental methods that were relevant to my research at Van Andel,” said Liang. “Calvin’s Phage Research program through the biology department taught me valuable lab skills and cultivated my ability to come up with a hypothesis and to design experiments. All of these experiences prepared me well to land the internship.”

So too did Liang’s proximity to his professors.

Surrounded by a community that cares

“I received two recommendation letters for my internship from professors who I took both a lab and lecture with. So, they could speak to both my lab and scientific skills,” said Liang. “I’ve been blown away by how professors care about us and how they are willing to engage in 1-on-1 dialogue with you from everything from faith to science to whatever subject.”

Liang also found the Christ-centered community among his peers and professors to be particularly formative.

“The best thing about my experience so far has been living on the honors floor and the community that is here. I didn’t expect my floor to be this vibrant and this engaged with challenging topics. We have discussions late at night,” said Liang. “And I didn’t expect the professors to be this vibrant, engaging, enthusiastic about what they are teaching.”

“The communities I found at Calvin exceeded my expectations. Being at a Christian college is so important because you have such in depth faith dialogues with your roommates, floormates, and profs,” said Liang. “Students with such busy lives sit down and have meals together and talk about Jesus.”