Lisa Jager

I can’t believe it’s been ten years since I graduated from Sycamore. My life since then has been a dual existence in science and music, and my earliest memories in both fields are from my years at Sycamore. I remember the early science laboratories on light and plant growth that gradually streamed into middle school dissections of cow eyes and sheep brains. I remember learning about cycles of forest growth in Northern Indiana, human development at Eli Lilly, and marine biology on a week’s field trip to Key West. At the same time, I recall dressing up for concerts at (Hilbert) Circle Theatre, trying out the clarinet in fourth grade, playing for the sixth grade musical “Fiddler on the Roof”, composing music for the kindergarten opera, and enjoying chamber sessions with members of the Indianapolis Symphony and Chamber orchestras. The seeds for the rest of my life were planted, then.

After Sycamore graduation in 1995, the next four years at Park Tudor saw the further development of my two interests in science and music. The school’s flexibility not only facilitated my progress through accelerated math and science fields, but it also allowed me to leave school early every day in order to practice the clarinet. As a result, I was able to land solo opportunities at Carnegie Hall, with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and with other local ensembles. I remember ongoing discussions of whether I should transfer to Interlochen and then whether I should attend Julliard for college, but I could never bring myself to close the door to academia.

Things came to a head at Princeton University. I spent half of my time in the biology laboratory and the other half in the practice room. While I managed to schedule solo opportunities with the Missouri Symphony and with Maestro Erich Kunzel and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra over summer and winter breaks, I was beginning to see that I couldn’t do both clarinet and biology to the degree of excellence that I desired. And yet, I ended my senior year soloing with the Princeton University Orchestra and defending my thesis on vision research in back to back weeks… being no closer to committing to one field over the other.

I decided to give music my full attention, and I spent my first year post-baccalaureate in a recording studio. I recorded my first solo clarinet CD with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and it was an indescribable experience to perform and collaborate with the musicians I had admired my entire life. The final product was one of pure heart, and I couldn’t be prouder of the music that was created. By fate or providence, I was asked to fill in on my parents’ surgical mission trip to Haiti two months before the CD release date. After only eight days of surgery in the field, I saw the path toward medicine come to light.

And now here I am, having just completed my first year of medical school at Northwestern University. I have time to change my mind, but I hope to one day become a surgeon and work alongside Paul Farmer in Haiti. A lot of my time now is spent working as President of a student organization that sends teams of medical students/faculty to Latin America and in fact, I’ll be leading a 14-person team to Nicaragua next week. I’ll spend the rest of my summer will be spent with my parents on their biannual surgical mission trip to Haiti and on a seven-week sojourn in Bolivia, teaching about diabetes.

It’s clear that Sycamore ignited the sparks in my life. And not only music and science, but the pure content of what I learned there continues to reveal itself in daily encounters. For example, I could keep up conversation with Art History majors in college because of Mrs. Prince’s art slides; I explained to my classmates last month how to remember the cuneate nucleus based off of third grade lessons on Egyptian cuneiform; my English grammar is as solid as it is because of Mrs. Yedinak’s sentence diagrams; my grasp of Russian history is accredited to Mr. Stroebel; and my Spanish is ingrained from practicing flashcards back in kindergarten. Sycamore is an extraordinary place, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a alumnus, Class of 1995.