Tyler VerMerris ‘25 first fell in love with the emergency room in high school when he did a job shadow.��
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“I loved the quick pace and the opportunity to interact with patients in their most vulnerable states and to attempt to be a calming presence,” said VerMerris.��
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On Saturday, VerMerris’ gets one step closer to being in the ER, when he officially graduates from ����app with a B.A. in biochemistry.��
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“I’d love to become an emergency room physician somewhere in the inner city,” said VerMerris. “I’m not tied to one city or any one place in the nation, wherever God leads.”��
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This summer, VerMerris is taking a gap year to work at Trinity Health in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan as an endoscopy technician. There, he’ll gain experience interacting with patients pre- and post-procedure and be an aid in the operating room. In fall 2026, he plans to begin medical school.

Discovering a deeper passion via the liberal arts

What’s clear for VerMerris is that his desire to work in the ER has deepened greatly over the past four years, in large part because of the courses he took seemingly unrelated to medicine.��
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“I love taking courses outside my major, especially in the urban studies field,” said VerMerris. “Those classes grew my appreciation for the social sciences and will certainly influence my work as a doctor someday too.”��
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For a hot minute, taking those courses almost changed VerMerris’ course.��
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“My work in the social sciences prompted me to quickly consider law for a semester,” said VerMerris, who figured the legal space would provide him the clearest opportunity to pursue justice.��
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But then, “I realized there is a lot of room for improvement in our medical system too,” said VerMerris. “That was key. It reignited my passion that I can do so much more in medicine than medicine. It added a deeper layer—the people side of it—that excites me way more than the research. It inspires me to keep going.”��

Creating environments where every person is valued

And VerMerris clearly has a heart for people. Beginning in high school and extending through college, each summer VerMerris would work at a summer camp where he was paired for a week with an individual with special needs. Those experiences inspired VerMerris to get involved at ����app as a peer partner in classes with students in the Life and Career studies program and to serve as a resident assistant for Ready for Life students.��
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“I’ve long had a heart for understanding and appreciating the diversity of how creative God is and that community highlights the beauty of God’s creativity and shows a side of joy in the world that I don’t think we as non-neurodivergent individuals can actually experience,” said VerMerris.��
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For the past year VerMerris has served as ����app’s and in that role has worked hard to make everyone feel seen and heard. He’s excited to do the same as he continues to follow his calling.��
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“I’ll aspire to treat each patient with the same level of integrity of care,” said VerMerris.