Andrea Holmen, Class of 2009
Analytical and critical thinking skills.
The joy of living an examined life.
These are things I gained while studying Philosophy at NAU, and they have continued to be important in my professional and personal life.
I graduated from NAU with a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Physics in May 2009. After graduation, I served in the United States Peace Corps as an Education Volunteer in Lesotho from 2009–2013. During my service, I taught secondary math and science in a rural village and helped my school create a library through the African Library Project. When I returned to the US, I taught physics, chemistry, engineering, and math at a high school in Reno, Nevada, while completing my master’s degree in secondary education at the University of Nevada, Reno.
In 2017, I began working at Charles River Laboratories, where I am currently a Training and Implementation Specialist for digital pathology. In this position, I train histology technicians and veterinary pathologists in North America and Europe on the use of new digital systems and workflows.
Teaching, creating libraries, training medical professionals…the habits of thought I learned studying philosophy have allowed me to be successful and to appreciate that success.
- NAU at Flagstaff campus