Medicine

The months since Commencement have been busy for Ian Cochiolo (CA’23).

Two alumnae authors are helping the faithful prepare their hearts to welcome the King of Kings at Christmas, reflecting on various aspects of the season of Advent. 

“TAC fell out of the sky,” says Daina Andries (’09), founder of Epidaurus Health, about how she made her way to Thomas Aquinas College nearly 20 years ago.

“Getting people back on their feet has been an interest of mine since grade school,” says Dr. Thomas Duffy (’08). “Whenever there was a field trip in the woods, my mom always sent me with an anti-itching nettle spray and some band-aids.

This past May, Dr. Cara Buskmiller (’11) finished a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Texas in Houston as well as a master’s in bioethics through the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.

In a recent installment of its LA Catholics video series, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles profiles TAC alumna Michele (Grimm ’81) Loughman — mother of 10, cancer survivor, and executive director of the Life Centers of Ventura County.

“At the time my education felt like it would be an obstacle,” alumna psychologist Dr. Helena Orellana (’11) admitted to a group of Thomas Aquinas College students at a career talk last week. “But the formation I received at TAC was exactly what I needed to pursue a doctorate in psychology. Not only that, it prepared me for work as a clinician and later as a professor.”