You can find her guiding her freshmen residents in Pederson Hall, working all night to perfect her chemistry experiment, or even comforting her patients in the emergency room of Northridge Hospital. This Campus Celebrity is the secretary of CLU’s American Chemical Society and even leads a junior high youth group at her church! Chances are, you know who this vibrant young woman is. In case you don’t, I’ll give you a few more clues: her major is biochemistry with a minor in psychology and she has a laugh that will make you smile. Have you figured it out yet? I present to you Ariel Towery!
Her Campus Cal Lutheran: Out of all the things you’re involved in, which one is your favorite?
Ariel Towery: I don’t think I could pick a favorite!
HC: What do you plan to do with your major?
AT: I plan to get my D.O., which is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. It’s like an M. D., but it has a different viewpoint. D.O.s are more holistic and it’s more about eastern and western medicine combined; I really like their philosophy. Also, I want to specialize in dermatology.
HC: What do you like about dermatology?
AT: I honestly never thought I’d want to go into dermatology and I didn’t really know what I wanted to specialize in, but when I went and shadowed my dad, since he has two practices, I really liked the patient-doctor interaction. You still get to see a lot without being in a hospital setting all the time and it’s truly a great balance between being in a hospital or clinic. I love that I’ll be able to have my own practice consisting of a strong relationship with my patients.
HC: What do you like about being a Resident Advisor?
AT: I love getting to know all the students in the hall and just building up those friendships. I know so many more people that are not just in my grade because of being an RA for two years now. It’s awesome to be a part of people’s lives from the first moment they step into their first-year hall.
HC: What are you most passionate about?
AT: I’m really passionate about going into medicine. At an even greater viewpoint, I’m passionate about making a difference in people’s lives on a more personal level, which is why I love being an RA and a Youth Leader at my church. I think this is why I would love to be in medicine, as well. I would have the opportunity to get to know my patients individually. In Junior High Ministry, the relationship is more of a mentoring one and being an RA provides more on a friendship relationship. It’s important for me to be apart of people’s lives and make a difference.
HC: What’s your favorite science class you’ve taken so far?
AT: My polymers class I’m taking right now is awesome. It is a lot of organic chemistry, but it’s awesome to get to see the world in a different way because we get to see what things are made out of or how they’re made. We do reverse engineering. For example, the other day, we got to take apart a diaper and we were figuring out why a certain material is so absorbent compared to the others. What did they do differently to make it this way? It’s really cool to see what things are made of and getting the opportunity to see the world in a different way.
HC: What’s your favorite experience so far at CLU?
AT: Being an RA. I especially love it towards the end of the school year when all those relationships have been built. It’s awesome to look back at the first time I met my residents, whether that be on move in day, or at a program, or if they needed the plunger from my room! Looking back at my first interaction with them and seeing how much they’ve grown and the friendship that I’ve made with them at the end is so cool.
HC: What do you like most about volunteering at the hospital?
AT: I love being with the patients, especially the ones whose families may have just gone home for the night or they aren’t having family members or friends coming by. Getting to sit with them so that they’re not alone is great because you get to know them and hear their stories. The elderly patients have so much to share and so much love to give. Getting to talk to them and getting to know them is wonderful; even if I only get to see them those four hours I’m there, I’ll never forget the conversations I had with them.
HC: What do you see your life like in ten years?
AT: In ten years, I will finally be done with school! I think I’ll be in the process of running the practice alongside my dad and really learning the great things that he’d done in building that practice and making it my own.
HC: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
AT: At the moment, I think I would pick Japan because I have Japanese heritage and I remember growing up, we would go to Japanese school on Saturdays and so I think it would be awesome to be in the country to learn more about how my ancestors lived. My brother says it’s amazing there, so I’d love to go.
HC: If you could switch places with anyone for a day, who would you choose?
AT: My brother, Dominic. He’s living the life, backpacking the world and making new friends.
HC: Favorite movie?
AT: Right now my favorite movie is Big Hero 6. Guardians of the Galaxy is a close second!