The Anatomy of a Role Model: A Life of Faith, Focus, and Grit

Medical school professor-cancer survivor-advocate

This is an invitation for you to take notes on a life well lived that may assist you in finding answers or pondering your thoughts that address some universal questions:

Where do I find meaning and a sense of belonging?

How do I stay the course when the odds are stacked against me?

Which connections—of friendship, family, or faith—will steady me when the storm comes?

Why did I, Marilyn J. Koering’s sister, Susan M. Koering, decide to publish her story now? Marilyn’s journey as a woman in science needs to be told, for she continues to teach me—and her former students, colleagues, and friends—long after her passing on May 29, 2008. She was a role model, important in our world today. In an era that often pits belief against evidence, she proved that faith can sharpen reason rather than dull it. At a time when many feel powerless in the face of illness or social change, she modeled the courage to speak up, study harder, and love deeper.