St. Olaf set me on a path in research and leadership.
As a first-year on the Hill, I was exploring a major in math and chemistry and wondered what I would do during my summer break. My home was in Seattle, Washington. I asked the career center for a list of alumni in the math and science fields who were working in or around Seattle. I wrote hand-written letters to three alumni who fit the bill. The spring term ended with no word from the alumni “cold calls,” and I left the Hill for Seattle with no prospects of summer work in my field of interest. I planned to teach tennis lessons for the summer.
Soon after arriving back home, the landline phone rang. “Jon, you have someone on the line,” my mom yelled. Mike Loken ’67 was on the line wondering if I could start on Monday at his lab in flow cytometry — a lab connected to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Dr. Loken answered my letter!
“St. Olaf not only prepared me for a successful career with its rigorous and liberal arts academic curriculum, but also connected me to inspirational Oles who could do what textbooks and classrooms could not. With Dr. Mike Loken ’67 and his team, I saw how problem-solving and technology could be aimed at improving public health. And the itch to explore my own research and problem-solving to improve public health continues to this day.”
After two summers working with Mike and his team conducting lab management and logistics tasks, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare research. Mike supported me with a letter when it was time to apply for graduate studies (first in biostatistics and later in health economics and outcomes research). And Mike was also there to celebrate with other Seattle family and friends during a reception to celebrate my marriage to fellow Ole Christina Brekke ’00. I earned a master’s degree in biostatistics and a Ph.D. in health economics and outcomes research from the University of Washington, and I am now a chief science officer at the National Pharmaceutical Council in Washington, D.C.
St. Olaf not only prepared me for a successful career with its rigorous and liberal arts academic curriculum, but also connected me to inspirational Oles who could do what textbooks and classrooms could not. With Dr. Loken and his team, I saw how problem-solving and technology could be aimed at improving public health. And the itch to explore my own research and problem-solving to improve public health continues to this day. Fram! Fram! St. Olaf and Dr. Mike Loken!