Lucas Jurasek

“I feel a strong passion for learning material rather than memorizing everything, and I think my classes rewarded that style of thinking. That will help me succeed as a physician."

-Lucas Jurasek

Get to know Lucas

• Major/minor: Kinesiology and health
• Class: Senior
• Hometown: Byron, Illinois
• Career goal: Physician
• Clubs/activities: Honors Program
• Favorite place on campus: Wherever the squirrels happen to be
• Most influential ISU mentor: Panteleimon Ekkekakis
• Favorite class:  BIOL 314, Principles of Molecular Cell Biology

Lucas Jurasek strides towards dream of becoming physician, deepening human connection

Lucas Jurasek was completing an internship at UTC Aerospace Systems, now known as Collins Aerospace in North Carolina, when he realized that he wanted to better combine his analytical skills and passion for human connection in his future career. This realization led him to switch his major from aerospace engineering to kinesiology and health, so he could begin to pursue his dream of becoming a physician.

“I really wanted a more direct human connection. There are a lot of job roles where you can help people, and so it’s not necessarily that I just want to help people, I want to be responsible for somebody’s health care,” Lucas said.

Further helping affirm his switch to the medical field, Lucas worked as a medical scribe in the MercyOne Des Moines Emergency Room. The experience allowed him to collect firsthand experience and develop a personal connection to the field.

“[The job] really reaffirmed that I wanted to be in medicine. I had a perception of what medicine was, but it’s hard to understand what anything is until you actually do it,” he said.

As a senior this year, Lucas is excited to begin the next chapter in becoming a physician. He was recently accepted into medical school at the University of Illinois and can’t wait to continue his education.

Although he is interested in many different facets of medicine, Lucas is most interested in potentially practicing orthopedic surgery or pediatric orthopedics, as they both take the science of engineering and apply it to humans. He feels confident in himself as he progresses toward becoming a physician, crediting his classes and hard work here at Iowa State University for his advancement.

“I feel a strong passion for learning material rather than memorizing everything, and I think my classes rewarded that style of thinking,” Lucas said. “That will help me succeed as a physician.”