Plain Roots Conference: Hearing from Medical Professionals

Before I bring you the next segment of the conference, I want to tell you about the new webpages that Eythana and I have created. We decided to create a page called Our Impact to highlight the difference ADSF has made in the lives of students, many of them years before we came on board. We collected testimonials from ADSF scholarship recipients, past and present. It is heartwarming to get snapshots of their lives. What an inspiring collective group of committed scholars and beautiful people! I hope you will visit the page to meet them for yourselves.

We also changed the About Us page into two pages, Our Story, and Our Team. We hope you will visit those pages also.

Today we also bring you the video of our panel discussion by medical professionals from our Plain Roots: Community, Story, and Support for Higher Education conference in June. The panel was moderated by Dr. Freeman Miller, chair of the ADSF board, and the panelists were Dr. Harley Yoder, Dr. Albert Miller, and RN and Senior Director for a national case management organization, Laura Buress. Please meet them:

Freeman Miller is a world-renowned pediatric orthopedic surgeon. He was listed in Best Doctors in America and U.S. News & World Report Top Doc, and he received a lifetime achievement award for the treatment of cerebral palsy from the Royal College of Surgeons of Scotland. He has authored more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals and several books for medical professionals and for caretakers of children with cerebral palsy. He trains residents and fellows, and teaches and lectures at institutions and educational symposia that has taken him to 40 different countries.

Harley Yoder grew up Amish in Nappanee. He attended Amish parochial school from grades 2-8. He became a construction worker after graduating from the eighth grade until he obtained his GED. He got his Bachelor’s Degree from Goshen College and took off his junior year to volunteer with SALT International in Brazil. He was a genetics researcher at Johns Hopkins University for a year before attending Indiana University School of Medicine. He did a rotation at Shirati Mission Hospital in Tanzania while in medical school. He has served as a family physician in Elkhart, Indiana since 1997. Harley is a strong believer in the benefits of higher education.

Raised on an Amish farm, Albert Miller’s education ended with eighth grade in an Amish parochial school. After leaving his community, he took the GED tests, earned a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from University of Cincinnati. He feels blessed to have had the opportunity to practice medicine for 30 years and is currently semi-retired. He authored a book describing his experiences.

Laura Buress was born and raised Amish. She left home at age 18 with an eighth-grade education and a determination to build a different future. She earned her GED, took the ACT, and enrolled at a community college where she pursued nursing. She became an RN in 2005, and has advanced from bedside nursing to leadership roles. Today, she serves as a Senior Director for a national Case Management organization. As someone who has made the transition from Plain life to the professional world, Laura brings a unique perspective on resilience, education, identity, and the opportunities that can emerge through perseverance and personal growth.

And here is a link to the video to hear their panel discussion:

I hope you enjoy reading our new webpages and listening to more of our conference. Thank you for stopping by, and we look forward to seeing you in the contents section.