Claire Beimesch

My name is Claire Beimesch, and I'm a 2003 graduate of Xavier University's Honors AB program. I decided to become an HAB because I planned on attending medical school, and one of the central ideas to the program is its versatility.

The HAB program is the successor to all Jesuit education pre-World War II, with its focus on critical thinking and classical ideas. As an HAB, one could pursue any career, from medicine to law to business. I had classmates who pursued all of these pathways. I studied Latin and Greek in high school, and I knew that medical schools not only accepted students with non-science degrees, they encouraged them. Therefore, it made becoming an HAB a natural decision for me.

I was fortunate to have a wonderful experience in both my HAB and my other classes at Xavier, and received acceptances and scholarships to multiple medical schools. I was also co-valedictorian of my class, and one of 98 regional Rhodes Scholar finalists. Time and again, my classical education came up as a sign of my well-rounded educational experience.

My time at University of Kentucky College of Medicine showed me that the challenges of medical school were only helped by my classical education. Knowing Latin and Greek allowed me to learn anatomy and physiology along with my science major classmates. Medical school is hard, no matter what your college major was! Fortunately, I was able to obtain a spot in an orthopedic surgery residency at West Virginia University, and a pediatric orthopedic surgery fellowship spot at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

I recently began a job as an orthopedic surgeon at the first Shriners Hospital, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Even now, I am proud to tell others my major and how much it has influenced me-after all, in Greek, "orthos-paidos" means "straight child". My husband also knows that he cannot watch the movie Troy without some colorful commentary from me.

In short, I feel lucky to have been the recipient of an HAB education. I have learned to turn inward and develop personal rigor, as well as look outward to become a more thoughtful member of society. Both of these actions have aided me in my medical career, and my personal life.