Isaiah Gritters, a biology-health professions, chemistry, business administration/finance and economics major from Pella, Iowa, received Faculty Honors during Northwestern College’s commencement exercises on May 11.
The Faculty Honors award is bestowed upon graduates who excel in academic achievement, Christian influence, general attitude and participation in worthwhile campus activities. The highest honor the faculty gives to graduating seniors, it is determined by a vote of the entire faculty.
Gritters graduated summa cum laude and compiled a 4.0 grade point average. An Honors Scholar, he received the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award from the chemistry department and one of three such awards from the business/economics department.
Gritters, who will pursue an M.D. degree at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine this fall, scored above the 90th percentile on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) last summer. This spring, he and two other Northwestern senior business majors tied for the best overall score out of more than 5,000 teams in the international Business Strategy Game, an online simulation in which participants are assigned the task of running an athletic footwear company.
A 2020 graduate of Pella Christian High School, Gritters kept busy with many activities at Northwestern. He was a member of the Student Government Association, the Investments Club, the Pre-Health Professions Club, and the student representative on the Academic Affairs Committee. He also served as a teaching assistant, peer tutor and research assistant. He participated in a Spring Service Partnerships trip to Costa Rica and a summer study abroad trip with fellow Honors Program members in Greece.
Gritters was an EMT with Orange City Area Health System for half of his time at Northwestern, and he interned in internal auditing at Stryker, a medical equipment and technology manufacturer, in Portage, Michigan, last summer.