GHS senior aspires to cure diseases

Finding a cure for cancer is a “lofty goal,” Josiah Bumgarner realizes, but he has always set his bar a little bit higher than most people.

The straight-A Glacier High School senior is heading to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University this fall to pursue a degree in biomedical/chemical engineering with a focus on research dealing with the “understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health.”

Bumgarner isn’t exactly sure how his studies of biomedical/chemical engineering will play out career-wise, but this much he knows for sure: “I want to help people with my job and I figured [working in medicine] would be the best way.”

He detailed some of his career thoughts in an essay that helped him win the coveted Horsman scholarship, a full-ride award given to one Flathead Valley graduating senior by the Thomas A. and Mildred E. Horsman Scholarship Foundation.

“I would be able to be part of advancing the knowledge of life processes and living organisms, including viruses, bacteria, and other infectious agents,” Bumgarner wrote in his winning essay. “In this career, I could engage in clinical investigation or other research, production or technical writing.

“In conjunction with a chemistry background, I could do research or product development, and use the knowledge discovered through basic research to develop new drugs and medical treatments. To be able to help design medicines to help the sick and potentially save lives would be fulfilling,” he wrote.

Bumgarner said both of his grandparents were diagnosed with cancer before he was 6 years old, and he believes their early deaths may have been due to pesticide exposure on their farm.

“To find a chemical compound that could cure a disease like cancer or develop a treatment that brings relief to a suffering human would be a goal of highest proportions,” he said. “I have the desire to one day discover or perhaps create a solution to the complicated medical problems and mystery of life.”

To get a jump-start on his studies in the medical field, Bumgarner has accepted an invitation from Dr. Robert Rogers, a local surgeon who uses robotics, to job shadow with Rogers’ biomedical engineers.

Bumgarner, the son of Ray and Wendy Bumgarner, always has been intrigued with the mystery behind chemistry. He found the opportunity to explore some of those unanswered question as part of Glacier High’s STEM Club, a student group that focuses on science, technology and mathematics.

 “It encouraged inventive thinking and innovations that I had never pondered before,” he said about the STEM Club projects.

Bumgarner has stretched himself continuously, whether it has been academics, athletics, music or taking Advanced Placement classes that will give him a 16-credit head start on college.

He was captain of the Wolfpack varsity soccer team — his teammates voted him “Most Inspirational” — and last weekend he placed second in pole vault at the Class AA state track meet. Bumgarner wants to stay active in sports and is contemplating “walking on” as a pole vaulter at Virginia Polytechnic.

Music is another love that Bumgarner wants have as a constant in his life. He sings, plays guitar and drums, and has been a worship leader at the Christian Center for seven years.

Bumgarner also has amassed more than 1,000 hours of volunteer service.

He credits his success in life so far to a number of mentors who have nurtured him along the way, from his chemistry teacher, Todd Morstein, to his parents.

“My parents have let me choose my own path,” he said. “They’ve believed in me and encouraged me.”

Bumgarner sees his upcoming college years as an opportunity to continue all of the things he loves: learning, sports, music and his Christian faith.

 Virginia Polytechnic is known for innovative and progressive thinking, he noted. The school’s mission statements, “Invent the Future” and “Ut Prosim” (that I may serve) fall exactly in line with what Bumgarner wants to accomplish in life.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.