Sigma Kappa - Purdue University

2 T he sense of comfort Heather Heyrman '16 felt at Sigma Kappa while going through recruitment and her first few months of membership gave her the confidence she was looking for during a rebuilding time of her life. Heather's Big, Sydney Rivera '15; GBig, Danielle Marks '14; GGBig, Jen Stinson '13; and so many other Beta Sigma sisters helped her accomplish many amazing things at Purdue and continue to be her biggest supporters. In October, Heather was accepted into medical school, and the texts and calls have been flooding in ever since. Sigma Kappa has played a signature role in helping Heather achieve her biggest goals, and she's been committed to living with heart so that she can return the favor to her sisters and other peers. During Heather's senior year, she conducted a session about being a woman at Beta Sigma's sisterhood retreat. She wanted her sisters to have the opportunity to be honest, raw, and express their reservations with each other. Heather gave each sister a half sheet of paper to write down what they didn't like about being a woman. Each sister crumpled up the paper, threw them around to each other, and had open conversations about what everyone in the room anonymously wrote about. "We talked about everything: assault, birth control, menstruation, relationship violence, pregnancy, women in the workforce, and beyond. It allowed everyone have these conversations that are not always easy to have," Heather said. "We ended the session by writing something that we love about being a woman, throwing the paper, and sharing them. It was such a powerful moment." Heather has realized that in happiness or sadness she can always count on her Sigma Kappa sisters to be by her side. She'll never forget being in the front row at a Purdue football game and getting encouraged by her sisters to ask Purdue Pete to formal (he said yes!). Heather also exhibited her Purdue pride and passion for Sigma Kappa's values by serving as a teacher's assistant and tutor. She was a TA for an anatomy class that she struggled with initially, so she could connect with other students and give them hope based on her personal experience. "I told them that I failed my first exam, and now I am their TA, so they can turn things around and improve," Heather said. "Nothing beat seeing students' faces when they had that lightbulb moment and it all finally connected." Tutoring featured several similar rewarding moments for Heather. During her second year tutoring, her most gratifying moment was when she worked with a student who was trying to get into pharmacy school. English was the student's second language, so learning medical terms was that much more difficult for her. Thanks in part to Heather's guidance, everything came full circle for that student, and Heather was named the Undergraduate Tutor of the Year last fall. "She was incredibly intelligent, but was struggling in anatomy. I didn't just feel like I was her tutor; I was also her cheerleader. We bonded and connected so much throughout the year," Heather said. "She didn't think she was going to get into pharmacy school, but I had faith in her. I will never forget when she told me that she got into pharmacy school. Hearing that she got in made it all worth it." Along with helping her sisters with various endeavors and assisting other students in the classroom during her four years at Purdue, Heather has lived with heart through her work in the healthcare field. Whenever Heather went home from school during the summer, winter, or other breaks, she shadowed in the NICU of a local hospital, where she got to see first-hand the severity of the opioid epidemic. "Never in a million years would I think working in the NICU is where I would see this crisis' extent. The NICU I was in had 18 beds and about four to eight of them had babies born addicted to narcotics," Heather said. "It was an eye-opening, heartbreaking, and inspiring experience all in one. This experience sparked my interest in women's health, along with bridging public health and medicine. I joined a women's sexual and reproductive health lab at Purdue and further investigated the issues surrounding women's health locally, nationally, and internationally." Before COVID-19, Heather also volunteered at a local nursing facility and worked with residents with late stages of dementia and Alzheimer's. She was saddened when the facility decided to close its doors to any visitors/volunteers in early March and wishes she could've gotten the chance to say her proper goodbyes. Heather now works as the lead medical scribe at a local hospital in Lafayette, Indiana. At the onset of the pandemic, Heather assisted physicians by creating guidelines and protocols with the ICU/pulmonology team for other scribes to follow. Her long-term goal is to become an OB/GYN and work with women to let them know that regardless of their background, she is here to help them. Living with heart has made a tremendous impact on Heather's life, and it's clear that others will benefit from it for years to come. "I am incredibly passionate about women's health and hope to be a passionate physician for my patients and an advocate for them inside and outside of the clinical setting," Heather said. "I hope to gain the trust of my patients, know their stories, and understand their truths so they know they are heard. I am committed to fighting for their needs and being their voice." You can connect with Heather at heatherheyrman@gmail.com. Living with Heart Heather Heyrman '16 Embodies Sigma Kappa's Motto by Empowering Others Heather Heyrman '16 celebrates with her sisters after Purdue Pete said he'd go with her to formal.

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