On October 28, more than 75 students in Notre Dame’s upper division were on hand when the second of a planned monthly series of career presentations by Notre Dame alums was held in the school’s media center.
The focus of the event was the healthcare industry and seven Notre Dame graduates agreed to participate, with one, Dr. Kyle Jackson '99 (NDP), answering questions remotely from Johns-Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Last month, a number of alums spoke to Notre Dame students about careers in engineering.
Notre Dame Prep graduate ('98) and ND Alumni Association chair Scott Lockhart, who organized the event, said the association was more than happy to continue matching current student interest with alumni professionals across a range of disciplines.
“The overwhelming student demand for this type of assembly was met by wonderful alumni ranging from Notre Dame’s Class of 1989 through the Class of 2009 who shared a multitude of paths to successful careers in medicine,” he said.
Notre Dame’s Director of Alumni Relations, Beth Campbell, said it was exciting to see so many alums willing to take time from their schedule to speak to the students.
“There is nothing more relatable for our students than to see first-hand the success of our alumni,” she added. "We think the students benefit greatly from these types of events."
Bios on the alums who participated in the presentations October 28 are available below.
Tiffany Calderon, RN — BSN Registered Nurse in Interventional Cardiology, Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital
Tiffany Calderon is a registered nurse in interventional cardiology at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital. She is an alumna of Notre Dame Prep, Class of 2009. She graduated from Oakland University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish language and literature. While studying at Oakland University, she worked as a nursing assistant and was then promoted as a nurse technician in the critical-care areas at Beaumont Royal Oak. She graduated with nursing honors and as Cum Laude from Oakland University. Calderon is now enrolled at Wayne State University, pursing a doctoral degree in nursing practice in adult acute care.
Jade Curry-Burns — Director of Healthy Teens Community Care Center Detroit, Community Health Connection Inc.
Jade Burns, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC, has undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing from the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania. She currently is a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. Her research interest is in African American adolescents and their use of social media, which includes examining the benefits of social media and how it may be a potential medium to educate African American adolescents (more specifically African American adolescent males) and encourage safer sexual health decisions/behaviors. Burns has eight years-plus experience working with children and youth ages 0-21 in a variety of clinical and academic settings, ranging from the emergency room to several public schools within metro Detroit. She now works as the director of the Healthy Teens Community Care Center, an adolescent school-linked clinic in the heart of Detroit. The clinic is part of a larger non-profit, Detroit Community Health Connection Inc. Her area of expertise in clinical practice as a pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) is adolescent health care, family planning, health promotion and STI prevention. Burns was previously selected as a Paul Ambrose Scholar through the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research as well as a McNeil Scholar through the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. She also is active in many nursing and non-nursing organizations. Her hobbies in the past and present have included running, coaching cheerleading and watching reality TV!
Kammie Fabian-Gaytan, DO, F.A.C.O.O.G. — Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologic Surgeon, McLaren Port Huron
Dr. Kathleen Fabian, DO, F.A.C.O.O.G., is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologic surgeon and since 2013, the section chief of obstetrics and gynecology at McLaren Port Huron. She is a partner in Blue Water OB/GYN P.C., Port Huron, since 2009 practicing out of McLaren Port Huron and Lake Huron Medical Center. Fabian-Gaytan graduated from Notre Dame Prep in 1997 and attended the University of Detroit Mercy for her undergraduate degree, a BY in Psychology. Fabian-Gaytan attended medical school at Midwestern University, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2001-2005. She performed her internship at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital from 2005-2006 and her residency in obstetrics and gynecologic surgery at St Joseph Mercy Oakland from 2005-2009.
Fabian Fregoli, MD — Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland
Fabian Fregoli, MD, is vice president for quality and patient safety at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, and regional chief medical informatics officer-east market for the St. Joseph Mercy Health System. A 1989 graduate of Notre Dame High School, Fregoli is a board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine and continues to practice as a family medicine physician. Fregoli also provides leadership to St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in the area of clinical quality and patient safety and in the area of clinical informatics to St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, St. Mary Mercy Livonia, and St. Joseph Mercy Port Huron hospitals. Fregoli completed a residency in family medicine at William Beaumont Hospital-Grosse Pointe and served as chief resident during his final year of residency. He was in private practice until 2007, when he joined St. Joseph Mercy Oakland. He also serves as a clinical assistant professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine and at Michigan State University School of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine.
Kyle Jackson, MD — Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellow
Kyle Jackson graduated from Notre Dame Prep in 1999, having won Irish Week twice. He spent his undergraduate years at the University of Michigan, receiving a BS in microbiology in 2003. Jackson attend the University of Michigan School of Public Health and received a master’s in public health in hospital and molecular epidemiology in 2005. He attended Wayne State University for medical school, performed a residency in pediatrics at Northwestern University (2012) and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Johns Hopkins National Institutes of Health Combined Program 2015. After completing a decade of college/graduate school/medical school, Jackson trained in pediatrics at Northwestern in Chicago where he learned to care for patients from the time they were born until they became adults. Subsequently, he spent a year as a pediatric hospitalist in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Northwestern’s women’s hospital. There, he participated in the evaluation and resuscitation of newborns, including premature infants born up to four months early. Currently a pediatric heme./onc. fellow in Baltimore, he diagnoses and treats patients with cancer and blood disorders using chemotherapy, stem-cell transplants and cutting-edge, immunology based therapies.
Dave Knesek, DO — Orthopedic Surgeon, Detroit Medical Center
Dave Knesek graduated from Notre Dame Prep in 1999 before attending the University of Notre Dame for his undergraduate studies. He attended medical school at Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine, had a residency at St. John Providence and a fellowship at University of Chicago – Adult Reconstruction. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, Knesek did a service year in Puerto Rico through Notre Dame's Center for Social Concerns Dept. While in Puerto Rico, he ran a halfway house, working with Old San Juan's homeless population where he specialized in drug rehab and job placement. After Puerto Rico, he attended MSUCOM, graduating with honors. He went on to do his residency in orthopedics through St. John Providence and was chief resident his senior year. He spent a one-year fellowship at the University of Chicago, specializing in complex primary and revision hip and knee replacements and salvage procedures. He's published in orthopedic journals and is a member of the American academy of orthopedic surgeons. He now practices with DMC at Huron Valley Hospital in Commerce, Mich. His current practice is derived of general orthopedics, trauma, primary and complex hip and knee reconstruction, and a special emphasis on anterior hip replacement and the robotic arm MAKO partial knee replacement.
Jill (Zimmerman) Patterson — Registered Nurse, St John Providence Health System
Jill Patterson graduated from Notre Dame Prep in 1998 before attending Michigan State University (2001), receiving a BS in microbiology and molecular genetics with dual major in criminal justice. After about 10 years in retail and pharmacy management, she then attended Oakland University where she received a BS in nursing (2009) in an accelerated second degree program. Her current position is a registered nurse on an oncology unit for about five years. Her unit specializes in the care of the oncology patient from diagnosis to death. With this specialty comes the administration of chemotherapy, treatment of the patient after surgeries, treatment of the patient with multiple problems as a result of their diagnosis, and possibly the transitioning of the patient into hospice care and death. Patterson’s role as an RN allows her to form a relationship with patients and families who require care as a result of their cancer. It requires compassion, focus, and strength as often the care of these patients is emotionally and physically straining. Prior to working in oncology, she was an RN on a medical surgical unit which included a wide variety of patients. Her background includes management in other fields as well as a degree in microbiology and molecular genetics which helps in the field of nursing. Management comes in handy when she take on the role of charge nurse which includes setting schedules and assignments as well as handling conflict situations which may arise due to the emotional situations that occur on her unit. Jill finds her degree in microbiology and molecular genetics helped in nursing school as well as understanding diagnoses of the patients. She currently is attending graduate school at Chamberlain College of Nursing, pursuing a master’s degree after which she will become a family nurse practitioner.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division 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's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.