Adelle Markle (’23) | Ph.D. Student at UW Madison
Entering the secular field of science can be a daunting task. Adelle Markle, a Biochemistry major from Phillips, WI, wrestled with God’s will for her future with a career in science especially as she looked forward to graduation. She enjoyed science and loved working with her professors. But what would that look like after she graduated?
Coming into her senior year, Adelle Markle considered her options: graduate school, another internship, or a job in the science field. Her professor and advisor, Mr. Timothy Meier, encouraged her to apply to graduate school. She applied to two schools for a total of four programs.
She knew that with a university name like “Maranatha Baptist,” she would not be able to hide her faith, “and I was thankful that the name of my school kept me from trying, but I was nervous about what that would mean for my future.”
But she also knew that MBU had challenged her ability to think critically, teaching her to read academic journal articles and providing good lab experience. Through her senior capstone project, Adelle faced several challenges with her experiments. At the time, she felt it was hindering her learning and success, but in reality, she had to problem-solve and get the project back on task all while she worked under pressure. This experience was crucial to her learning and would be exactly what she needed.
Her first response arrived from the Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate program (CMB) at the University of Wisconsin Madison – rejected, but with a caveat. She was not offered a chance to interview for the Ph.D. program, but she was to be placed on their direct admit list. This list is given to all the faculty members who work with the program. They can hand-pick someone from it to work in their labs as a graduate student.
Her other graduate applications came in, all rejections. Adelle doubted her chances. Only one person had entered the program from the direct admit list in the previous year. With those chances, she looked for job opportunities for the fall hoping to gain more experience and better her chances for entering graduate school in the next year.
But then the unexpected happened. A cellular and molecular biology researcher and trainer at UW Madison contacted Adelle. The researcher talked to Adelle about her lab at UW and invited her to visit their campus.
Adelle prepared for her visit and felt tempted to hide her faith. She wrestled with it and concluded, “that obeying God’s revealed will could never ruin His will for my life because God is consistent and sovereign, and [I] begged Him for help to stay faithful.”
After her visit, Adelle received two more contacts for direct admit at UW Madison. One of them from another Christian – Dr. Jeffrey Hardin. “I had prayed for help to be faithful and here it was! Even if I did not end up in this man’s lab, [his] simple words offered the possibility of Christian fellowship, accountability, and wisdom from one who had gone through this before me in a place where I had assumed I would be very alone.”
After more interviews and counsel, Adelle interviewed and accepted the offer to work with Dr. Hardin. She will begin her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology in the Fall of 2023. She will receive tuition remission and a stipend.
Adelle concludes, “All I can say is that before this year, I knew in my head that God honors those who honor Him. I knew He was in control, that His plans may be very different from mine, and that, despite all the hardship and pain we face in this world, He is good. But now, after seeing Him so clearly work in my circumstances in order to work on me, I know.”
Maranatha’s Biochemistry degree provides students with the knowledge and laboratory skills to discover and understand the incredible world of molecular interactions that occur constantly within living organisms. Biochemistry majors often enter the medical or research fields.
Learn more about Maranatha’s Biochemistry degree.