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People Profiles
Lara Heise
- Hometown: Littleton, Colorado
- Major: Biology/Anthropology
Why Western?
I knew I wanted to attend a school on the coast; I visited campus and fell in love its location, the city, everything about Western. I wanted to experience life in a completely different setting than my hometown.
Influential Class
My favorite class at Western has been Human Anatomy and Physiology with Professor Janice Lapsansky. We studied every major body system and were able to gain first-hand experience through dissecting a brain, heart, eye, and knee joint. Janice’s passion for anatomy really helped me in learning the difficult subject matter and the class has completely inspired me to go into a medical profession!
Hands-On Experience
Being a teacher's assistant for Janice Lapsansky gave me the chance to teach my own anatomy lab which helped me not only connect with other students interested in the same field but also helped me learn the material to an even greater extent.
Study Abroad
I lived in Wellington, New Zealand and took classes for four months at the Victoria University of Wellington. I was fortunate to live with 5 native Kiwis allowing me to experience their culture firsthand. After school finished, I traveled for two months around New Zealand and Australia. It was such an amazing experience and I met some great friends who I still keep in contact with today!
Favorite Memory
During my sophomore year, I lived in a suite with 7 of my closest girlfriends. We lived right across the balcony from a suite with 8 of our best guy friends. Having all my friends in such close proximity made the whole year was so much fun; we were able to study together, eat together, watch movies together…it was awesome!!
Life in Bellingham
Honestly, I love everything about Bellingham. There is always something to do at night whether it’s a movie at the Pickford, a play at Mt. Baker Theatre, or dinner at a restaurant downtown. During the day, a trip to Boulevard Park with my dogs is one of my favorite activities as well as cruising around the bay with some friends!
After Western
I am planning on becoming a Certified Nurse Assistant, working for a year, and then applying to Physician Assistant schools in Seattle and Portland.