Written by Kathryn Ross
Melanie Ashland finished her journey at APU in 2013, but her time spent in the APU community has had a lasting impact. Now a Clinical Research Coordinator Associate in the Cancer Clinical Trials Office at Stanford University School of Medicine, Melanie has found that her area of study, her professors, and her friends from APU have stayed relevant parts of her daily life.
Melanie earned her BA in Mathematics with a minor in Spanish and is currently working on her MS in Statistics at Cal State Fullerton. As a clinical research coordinator, Melanie uses her skills in mathematics and statistics daily to make a difference in the lives of those struggling with different types of cancers. “My job is to facilitate both industry sponsored and Principal Investigator initiated cancer clinical trials from start to finish. This includes responsibilities such as industry and FDA regulatory submissions, working with an Internal Review Board to ensure the efficacy and ethical standards of the research protocols, patient engagement and follow through during the study, liaising with our physicians and medical staff, adverse event reporting, and much more.”
With work so important and profound, one might wonder how Melanie found her way to this particular profession. “I was always interested in public health and the medical sciences,” she says, “and I originally wanted to go into nursing.” However, after volunteering at her local hospital during her senior year of high school, she realized nursing wasn’t the best route for her. “I knew I wanted to do something that would integrate my affinity for public health and my strong math skills, and that’s when I discovered biostatistics.” Though she doesn’t know whether or not clinical research is her calling, exactly, Melanie does note that her work fills her with a great sense of satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment when a study reaches publication or a research participant enters remission. “It makes the challenges of the work worth every minute. It means that even the tough days were worth something in the long run.”
In addition to receiving an amazing education, Melanie also made many lasting, meaningful connections while at APU. “My time at APU was influential to my current career choices for a number of reasons, one being the wonderful professors I met and learned from,” she says. She mentions in particular Dr. Elizabeth Rivas of the Mathematics, Physics and Statistics Department as an especially influential individual: “She took the time to support my academic and career goals, even after graduating from APU, with things like advice and networking connections. I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for the wonderful academic staff during my time at APU.”
Her friendships, too, have made their mark: “The friendships I began and developed at APU are some of the strongest I’ve ever had - both with people in my residences and with other students in my department. We live in such an intentional community together.”
When all is said and done, Melanie comes back to APU as the launching point for much of her success as well as the firmness of her faith. “Attending APU gave me the spiritual tools to find God's purpose and meaning in my life, my job, and my community, whether that's within the church or with my coworkers,” she says. “Especially given the nature of the work I'm in, I'm reminded daily that everything we do, think, believe, see, hear, feel, etc. is purposeful for His kingdom, even if we might not feel it at that moment. That's one of the biggest things I appreciated about my time at APU, the ability to integrate and apply one's faith to our "real-world" experiences outside of the classroom.”
From her current vantage point on work, faith, and college, Melanie offers current and future students this parting advice:
“Don't forget to take a step back and remember the bigger picture every once in a while.”
