Quint to study medicine in Australia

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    A Hodgdon native has the chance to participate in an experience of a lifetime.
    Taylor Jo Quint, daughter of Olin and Tracey Quint, will be among the outstanding collegiate scholars from across the United States and more than 30 countries to take part in a unique leadership development program.
    The International Scholar Laureate Program (ISLP) provides high-achieving students with the opportunity to take part in a learning experience designed to inform and enrich their career objectives, while fostering their ambition to achieve lifelong goals in business, diplomacy, international relations, engineering or medicine or nursing.
Taylor Jo Quint
    Quint, a junior at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, was nominated by the National Honor Society of Phi Theta Kappa and was chosen to represent the United States as a member of the ISLP Delegation on Medicine this summer in Australia.
    Studying biology as a pre-med concentration with double minors in physical science and chemistry, Quint hopes her academic journey furthers her knowledge of and perspective on medicine.
    “I am looking forward through experiential, personal and professional enrichment to enhance my professional and academic resume,” she explained in a sponsorship letter. “While experiencing the Australian culture, I will gain insight into health systems and participate in discussions and debates with representatives from around the world on the role of medicine in today’s changing society.”
    The ISLP helps students become better prepared for their specific career field. Through a comparative curriculum, students gain a global understanding of how their chosen career field is practiced in the host country. With each session, students are able to compare and contrast what they see and learn with current methods and procedures in their home countries.
    “Throughout my stay, I will be visiting research institutes, such as the Bio21 Institute, the Florey Neuroscience Institute (the largest brain research group in the southern hemisphere) and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute,” Quint wrote.
    Quint’s aspirations include medical school to earn her M.D. in either cardiology or emergency medicine and to participate in medical missions.
    “This trip will serve as a stepping stone to further develop my interests in medicine,” she added in her letter. “I will get to experience medicine beyond hospital walls when I am given the opportunity to service learn at a community health clinic, learn about alternative approaches to health and even get to go out and practice indigenous tropical medicine with Aborigines of Australia.”
    Those who attend the ISLP are exceptional students from universities across the U.S. and abroad who demonstrate exemplary leadership. The program offers students a head start in their career objective.
    While in college, Quint has been on the Dean’s List, as well as a two-sport athlete receiving All-Conference honors and the Scholar Athlete Award. She is currently serving as Huddle Leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter on the UM-Presque Isle campus, while supplementing her education by shadowing a physician at a local hospital.
    Last semester, Quint conducted a study with a professor and fellow student on the “effect that a single nucleotide polymorphism of a gene has on the metabolism of cardiac drugs,” and in the coming months, she will present her research and share the future of pharmocogenetics in medicine at a statewide symposium.
    Anyone wishing to sponsor Quint or contribute to her opportunity to broaden her knowledge of medicine can do so by e-mailing taylor.quint@maine.edu. For more information on ISLP call 1-800-778-0164 or visit www.scholarlaureate.org.