Jeremy Olson

Trinity Graduate School students are perhaps the university’s most varied, and the MA in Bioethics program attracts the most diverse students of any program within TGS. They come from various disciplines; some have been established in successful careers for decades, while others have not yet finished their Bachelor’s from Trinity College when they begin.

Jeremy Olson represents one type of student: those who are going on for further studies, but decide to pursue an MA in Bioethics beforehand. While still finishing the final requirement for his Master’s—classes connected with the summer bioethics conference of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity—he began medical school at the Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (University of Wisconsin, Madison). After medical school and residency, he hopes to serve as a surgeon in medical missions, perhaps in Central or South America where he has already taken a number of medical mission trips. God has continued to develop in him a heart for medical missions. “A desire to reach the poor, to be an agent of healing—[this] is what I think God has called me to. And not just physical healing, not just spiritual healing, not just emotional healing, but all three combined.”

When Jeremy heard that CBHD’s summer conference was on Global Bioethics, it was another confirmation for why he came to Trinity. Along with the conference, Jeremy attended a pre-conference taught by Nigel Cameron: “The thing that impressed me the most was how bilingual he strove to be. He would come to an understanding of scriptural principles in such a thorough way that he could turn around and relate them to the world in a way that is understandable.”

What has Jeremy learned through his program at Trinity? “It’s opened my eyes to a lot of the different issues that are going to come up as a physician, whether it is end-of-life decisions, euthanasia, physician assisted suicide, or beginning-of-life issues such as reproductive technology. As a physician I’ll be looked to by my patients and the greater community to be a leading voice on whether these things are good or beneficial or even ethical and moral.”

"To take a year to think about these different kinds of issues, whereas most medical students have one, maybe two classes in ethics in all of medical school—I feel like it’s going to distinguish me and allow me to be a greater influence for my faith, for my God, and for the kingdom.”