Dr. Johann’s email is johann@roanoke.edu
How long have you been at Roanoke College?
A little over 10 years.
What do you teach here?
I teach Biochemistry and Exploring Healthcare. When I have the opportunity to teach other classes, they are usually about the science of cooking.
Where did you go to school?
For my undergraduate degree, I went to Hamline University. It is a small, liberal arts school in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. For graduate school, I went to Caltech.
What do you like about Roanoke College?
Roanoke has small classes and a heavy student focus. I love that I’m able to spend lots of individual and small group time with students.
What do you do in HPAG?
As Director, I coordinate many of the HealthPAG activities, and I serve as a first point of contact for students. If you’re not sure who to talk to, send me an email. My main advising responsibilities are pre-med and pre-physician assistant. If you don’t see your particular career goal listed under an advisor, I’ll help you with that too.
Why should students engage with HPAG?
Across the eight advisors in HealthPAG, we have over 100 years of pre-health advising experience. We know the path. We know what professional schools are looking for. We know the admissions personnel at those schools, and they know us. We want to help you! Nothing brightens my week more than hearing one of our students has been successful in their applications to pre-health professional schools.
What is a fun fact about you that people might not know?
I love my time at the gym; you can often find me working out over in Cregger Center. I’m also an avid climber and a member of The River Rock down in Wasena. I love to cook. I’m a big comic book fan, and I’m generally playing some video game. I’m a member of team blue, Ravenclaw?, in Pokemon. I enjoy knocking Dr. Allen’s critters out of the gyms on campus.
What advice would you like to give to new and current students?
Your path to your pre-health professional school is a long one, and it involves many things outside your classes. You will want to demonstrate a mature understanding of your chosen profession in your personal statements and in your interviews. This is best done by telling stories from your experience. Google the top questions for “insert your profession here” school interviews. Read them over, and think about how you would answer each. When something happens in your shadowing/volunteering/class/life that would make a great story to answer one of these questions, write a short paragraph about it, and save it somewhere for review for your personal statement.