I was 17 the summer after my junior year in high school when I first became a student at Birmingham-Southern College. Along with about 30 other high school students from across Alabama and west Florida, I lived in a dormitory, ate in the cafeteria, and took two classes as a Summer Scholar with regularly enrolled students. I loved it! I took Art History and Human Growth and Development, taught by legends of BSC, Prof. Lloyd Sloan and Dr. Bob Whetstone ’55, respectively.

It was an easy decision to choose ‘Southern as my college after that. Initially, I had planned on dental school after college, but changed my mind to medical school my junior year. Because the prerequisite classes were the same, it was an easy switch.

Deciding on a major was a little more complicated. Most pre-med students chose to major in chemistry or biology because we already were required to take so many of them for medical school. Because I so enjoyed Biology 101, taught by another BSC legend, Dr. Paul Bailey, I chose biology.

My schedules for the first two years were pretty typical for a pre-health career student: a biology, a chemistry, a mathematics, and an English class. But we were only required to take Calculus I and II, and I had completed those my freshman year. I kept enrolling in a mathematics class semester after semester because it was fun—a game, a puzzle. And there was that other BSC legend who made it all so beautifully clear, Dr. Lola Kiser. I wasn’t one of those premier math majors who were assigned the especially difficult proofs by Dr. Kiser, but I held my own in the upper-level classes.

Because I had enough credits for both biology and mathematics, I ended up with an interdisciplinary major in both. Interviewing for medical schools with an interesting major like that made for unique conversations. Throwing in my love of art history and literature didn’t hurt either.

But scholarly pursuits weren’t necessarily the best parts of my time at Birmingham-Southern. I have frequently told high school and college mentees that while medical school certainly teaches you how to be a physician, college teaches you how to be a human being. Focusing on where to go to medical school may not be as important as focusing on where to go to college. Living on campus taught me important life skills and gave me a safe and secure place to succeed, and sometimes fail. I had many opportunities to lead, as well as to volunteer, tutor, and mentor. (And to cheer on the Panthers as a cheerleader!)

I made lifelong friends, and I even met my future husband, Dr. Harvey Harmon ’82, at BSC. I can’t say when we actually met, because when you go to a small liberal arts college, you just know everyone there, especially if you are enrolled in the same pre-med classes. We started dating my senior year, and when we were accepted into the same medical school in the same year, that clinched it for us as a couple, and we married after completing our first year of med school.

And 35 years after I graduated from Birmingham-Southern College, our youngest daughter, Christina Harmon ’18, graduated, having experienced her share of legends, and loving every minute of her time on the Hilltop.

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Dr. Renee Brown Harmon ’83 has retired from her medical practice and is the author of Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer’s: Principles of Caregiving That Kept Me Upright (Many Hats Publishing, 2020), available on Amazon. Follow her blog at www.reneeharmon.com.

This story was included in a special math and computer science edition of From the Hilltop, Birmingham-Southern’s alumni email newsletter.

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