1980's Alumni Stories
HB taught me that there is no limit and to always think outside the box....that there's always a solution around us.
Since my happy days in HumBio in the 1970s, I’ve specialized in humanitarian aid, and have worked in dozens of foreign crises, combining public health, medicine, economics, sociology, and other applied sciences I began to learn at Stanford. I have no simple or neat tale to tell. I have written a…
HumBio area of study: biosocial aspects of international development.
I still view public policy through the lens of the interaction and impact of natural and social sciences on human beings and the environment.
Hum Bio gave me an opportunity to experience a variety of courses outside the standard premed curriculum. I was able to have other opportunities prior to embarking on medical school.
HumBio area of study: Environmental policy.
I can still hear Sandy Dornbusch saying, "Things we believe are true in their consequences." Yes, they are. I believe we can make the world a better place. Thanks to all the wonderful Core profs. and TA's (yes, that's what we were called back in my…
HumBio area of study: Nutrition and Health in Developing Countries.
I was inspired by the integration of so many areas of science in the Hum Bio program -- It was ahead of its time! It has affected the quality of my work as a psychiatrist helping people from different backgrounds communicate…
HumBio area of study: Neuropharm/Neurophys.
I worked as a TA for Hum Bio A side spring of my senior year (1982) just as Donald Kennedy returned from his post at the FDA to take over the Stanford Presidency. He returned to Hum Bio for a guest lecture one morning - and walked up to me as I was…
Area of Study: Pediatric Neuromuscular Diseases & Rehabilitation.
My area of concentration was psychosocial aspects of childhood physical disability with Professor Al Hastorf as my advisor. He and Professor Sandy Dornbusch were my advisors for my Human Biology Honors Thesis. This…
HumBio area of study: Exercise Physiology.
I have reflected on my choice of hum bio (as opposed to more traditional premedical majors) and continue to see value. I want to thank another Hum Bio major, Lisa Taylor, '81, for redirecting me at the time. She and I remain good friends. I'm sending this…
After 17 years working in environmental policy, advocacy and community organizing with primarily non-profit organizations including Greenbelt Alliance, I founded Living Classroom, a garden-based education program currently serving 16 schools…
HumBio area of study: Gerontology.
My most memorable class assignment was in Prof. Hastorf's class on socio-psychology, which I refer to now as the Wheelchair Caper.
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Area of Study: Physiological Psychology.
I don't think it is an overstatement to say that HumBio has had a massive and ongoing impact on my life. Perhaps most importantly, the person with whom I have chosen to spend my life — Carolyn (Hurst) Marley — also graduated in…
Area of Study: Organization, Theory, and Management
I am forever grateful to those illustrious, dedicated, and prescient professors: Donald Kennedy, Sandy Dornbusch, Shirley Feldman, Bill Durham, and others for their leadership, inspired teaching, and encouragement to all students in the…
HumBio area of study: Health Policy. My strongest memories are of the HumBio core and some of the great stories and big ideas shared by the professors like Sandy Dornbusch.
HumBio area of study: Women's Health Care and Family Planning.
I loved the interdisciplinary nature of HumBio. It made sense. It seemed relevant to the world and to careers I might be interested in pursuing. I ended up working in the fields of international family planning and teen pregnancy…
HumBio area of study: Neuropsychopharmacology.
I have fond memories of one of the main Hum Bio organizers telling us that he was on the acceptance committee for one of the big medical universities and that he never took any application seriously unless there was at least one C on it - his…
HumBio area of study: Healthcare Economics.
I would not be where I am today without my Hum Bio education. When half way through my junior year I decided to end my pre med path due to the coming capitated environment, I was not sure if Hum Bio was going to be flexible enough for my…
Area of Study: Youth Development and Gender Differences
I couldn't have chosen a more perfect major. HumBio taught me things I knew I wanted to know and exposed me to many avenues I had no idea I would enjoy! I followed a circuitous route to my career, starting with writing for Sunset…
HumBio area of study: evolution of the nervous system
I was headed for political science until I took Bill Durham's co-evolution course, and changed to HumBio. The wonderful mentorship in the department led me to a Marshall Scholarship, to neuroscience at Cambridge, and then to medical…
HumBio area of study: Animal Behavior and Ecology. Seth is a Wildlife Ecologist with the National Park Service at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, southern California. Also adjunct associate professor at UCLA, in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Read about his mountain lion…
HumBio area of study: The Psycho-Social Aspects of Human Interaction & Behavior.
I remember clearly that there were only 5 "left-handed" desks in the core classroom (with total seating in the triple digits) and 2 of the 5 left-handed desks were broken or blocked, leaving only 3 remaining…