Alumni Spotlights
Kellyn Sanders '17
Employer
Medical and Scientific Illustrator
LinkedIn Profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellynsanders
1. Tell us about your journey since graduation.
Since graduating in 2017, I attended The Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine and graduated with a Master's in Medical and
Biological Illustration in 2020. I’ve since been freelancing and
working in patient education and haven’t had a bad day at work since
starting in this field.
2. Share a favorite Grand Valley memory.
There are so many great memories from GVSU but one I’m extremely
grateful for is having the ability to take so many biomedical science
courses, especially the cadaver labs. Not many undergraduate programs
have access to the level of anatomy that is so crucial to
understanding the human body. The anatomy courses at GVSU really set a
solid foundation to pass anatomy at Hopkins among all the other
medical students who had scored in the 99.9 percentile on the MCAT.
3. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
I received a lot of helpful advice from the GVSU faculty, it is
impossible to pick one moment. I am especially grateful for all the
mentorship that Tim Strickler, Gwyn Madden, and all of my art
professors offered to get me to where I am now!
4. List three words you would use to describe your Grand
Valley experience.
Focused, supported, and fun!
5. What difference would you like to make in the world?
As a medical illustrator, it is important to me to make a
difference in representation, diversity, and equality in the figures
and illustrations me and my peers draw. Working in patient education
it is also so important to be able to help all communities and
education levels to advocate for their own health and outcomes. With
medical illustration geared towards a lay audience, I hope to continue
making a difference in health.
February 2023
Interest Area(s)
Studio Art, Anthropology, Biomedical Sciences
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