Start a club, conduct scholarly research, and be a black belt in karate by Junior year? DONE! Introducing junior Tanya Omar, a Pre-Med Cell and Molecular Biology major from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. After a highly anticipated acceptance at the U of M, she instead picked Winona for her undergrad studies. After her first year, she realized she would not have had it any other way. Omar has impacted the community and university through her volunteer and academic efforts, and continues to inspire other students to focus on being their best everyday.
What research are you involved in and how did you get involved with it initially?
I have been continuously involved in an independent research project trying to identify the prevalence of Lyme disease in ticks under Dr. Kimberly Bates. We use different pipetting techniques and analyze tick DNA through a qPCR (quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction), which show us if that tick was infected with Lyme disease. I have been doing this research since my sophomore year. The research I just became involved in, is with Dr. Flaisher-Grinberg. I was automatically intrigued by her exceptional knowledge of psychological, neurological and biological development in mice. The research uses adult mice, which are induced with autistic behavioral and physical symptoms. This could potentially impact WSU by expanding their research horizons, traveling to symposiums and presenting our material to people around the world. The research Samantha, Dr. Flaisher-Grinberg and I are doing is something no one has ever done. Another reason why we chose to do this research was because it is a capstone that can be further improved, changed, or added with different variables. That is something I absolutely admire and cannot believe that I can give future students a chance to add to this research and maybe in two years have it published. If we can acquire some good results, we can travel across the nation to some neurology symposiums or research conferences in New Orleans, various places in California and Boston, NY.
What is your dream job?
My dream job is to be a doctor in the Emergency Department. As an Emergency Medical Technician right now, I just love the rush and the interaction I have with people in our community. I am known to be really personable with all patients that I encounter. My goal as a physician is that I want to be the doctor that actually cares about the patient. I want to sit down and talk to them, figure out a solution and work with the patient. So yes….there will be a waiting time of probably more than 20 minutes at my hospital, but I think in-depth interaction and getting to understand the patient is something that I think is valuable.
What else do you have passion for?
My passion is to help others. Whether it’s working on the ambulance shift as an EMT, doing something to make a difference or having fun with friends. I have also promised myself that I will try to make a difference as an undergraduate. So I have created a club called MEDlife (along with my Co-President: Samantha Finberg). It stands for Medicine, Education and Development. This is a club that works with students to get opportunities to really get involved with our community here at WSU and globally.
Here in the community, our club volunteers at Central Lutheran Church on Wednesdays to help make free food for the community. We also are implementing a shoveling service for the elderly in our community, by shoveling driveways whenever possible to the families in Winona that are unable to!
Globally, we are taking 24 students and 2 professors to Lima, Peru this winter break to, of course, change lives of the students traveling, but mainly the people of Lima. We travel with doctors to various villages and set up mobile clinics that help with handing out medications. Our club believes access to quality healthcare is a basic human right. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” (Confucius), and with this single step, we are the first club at Winona State University to be going on a medical mission trip and to travel internationally.
Another passion I have is Karate. I am a second degree black belt, and I have taught some of my close friends some awesome self defense moves, so don’t be shy and
come and ask! You will not regret it!
Do you have any advice to inspire other students?
If something inspires you, just go with it, you never know where it can take you. Life can be unpredictable but every day is a chance to make your dream a reality. I know this first hand, life throws crazy curve balls at you and sometimes you feel like you just can’t do it, but believe me you can. Every day when I wake up, I don’t think about the bad things, I only focus on the good. I never would have thought that I could have accomplished everything I have so far. What gets me through each day is knowing that tomorrow is a fresh start and I can wake up and be better. Never underestimate yourself. Through the tears, uncertainties, and hardships, you will want to give up. You will think there is no way possible to get what you want. But if there is a will, there is a way!
Whether you want to learn some self defense moves, or help with starting your own club, Omar is a great example of how one student can make a difference when you set high goals for yourself.