FAITH AND MEDICINE FIND THE PERFECT COMBINATION IN ALUM

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August 8, 2024

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here. 

Future nurse gives props to her high school and her teachers and coaches for a career in healthcare and a desire to "live like Jesus in all that I do."

Since graduating from Notre Dame Prep in May of 2023, Stephanie Dzialo NDP'23 has finished her first year at Wayne State University's College of Nursing and started work as a nursing assistant in the McLaren Health Care system. She also spent some time shadowing her mother, Donna, a CRNA in the OR at Ascension Providence Health Center .

Besides her mom, Dzialo attributes much of her passion for healthcare — and for physiology and medicine in general — to Dr. James Doyle, a longtime science teacher at NDP. 

"He made a great impact on my career choices as he continually showed genuine interest in the content he teaches," she said. "He went above and beyond to ensure my success in high school and he prepared me well to succeed in college and beyond." 

But it wasn't only Dr. Doyle, she said, who had a profound effect on her at Notre Dame Prep.

Dean's list

"What resonated with me the most at NDP were the examples the entire faculty set for the students," she said. "The teachers and coaches always went above and beyond to ensure the success of their students in and out of the classroom. To name just a few of the many besides Dr. Doyle, there was Mr. Little, Mrs. Sagert, Mr. Lilek as well as Mrs. (Coach) Yanik who all made lasting impressions on my life and taught me lessons that simply can't come from any textbook."

A softball player in middle school and high school, Dzialo, an AP Scholar at NDP, also was a member of the National Honor Society and received high honors at graduation. Now in her second year in WSU's nursing program, which is ranked as the #31 undergraduate nursing program in the country, she's also made the university's dean's list. 

Dzialo also said she joined Detroit Cru, a multi-ethnic college campus ministry in Metro Detroit organized "to help students know and follow Jesus Christ," and is looking to be a student leader in the group during the upcoming school year. If that's not enough for a rising college sophomore, Dzialo also works part time as an office assistant at Managed Asset Portfolios, an investment advisory firm based in Rochester, Mich.

Upright citizen, Christian person

A busy young lady, for sure, but she always has time to talk more about what her high school and her high school teachers meant to her.

"I chose to attend Notre Dame Prep in the first place because of its well-known reputation for preparing its students for college and beyond," she said. "With that preparation came the inevitable challenges, which I learned to really embrace. My time at NDP taught me to view these challenges as a privilege, and that outlook has served me very well ever since. In fact I chose my career because I wanted something that combines my passion for interpersonal connections with my desire to learn even through difficulties."

Dzialo also pointed out that Notre Dame Prep taught her what it means to be an upright citizen and, most importantly, a Christian person. 

"Those teachers and faculty members have helped to show me how to live like Jesus in all that I do," she said. "Without the examples they set for me, I truly would not be the Christian, the healthcare provider, the student, or person that I am today."

 

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndprep.org.