Natasha Hongsermeier-Graves grew up listening to Terri Clark’s song “I Wanna Do It All” on the radio. As a freshman at Morningside, it was always her plan to do it all.

Natasha Hongsermeier-Graves grew up listening to Terri Clark’s song “I Wanna Do It All” on the radio. As a freshman at Morningside, it was her plan to do just that.

Natasha playing the flute with Musicians for Healing“I chose Morningside because it was the only school that would let me continue doing everything I loved. I wasn’t ready to give up any of my passions.”

As a triple major in biology, chemistry, and music, Natasha aimed for medical school, and she took advantage of every opportunity at Morningside. She worked with biology professors on research projects, which eventually led to a competitive summer research fellowship in Bar Harbor, Maine, funded by the National Science Foundation. In the music realm, she played flute in the orchestra and started her own nonprofit called Musicians for Healing, which brings music therapy to hospitals and nursing homes. 

To fulfill her Spanish minor, Natasha studied abroad and interned at a hospital in Mexico. She also traveled to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria for her May Term. In the athletic arena, Natasha played varsity tennis, where she earned all-conference honors and received the NAIA’s Champions of Character award. She was published with a professor in a peer-reviewed academic journal, served on the National Council of the honor society Alpha Lambda Delta, and held 13 leadership positions across campus, including a resident assistant and head apartment manager. 

Natasha even got married on campus at Morningside, and she began medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in August of 2018. 

 “Morningside is such a special place. There is no limit to what you can accomplish, and people are here to support you every step of the way. At Morningside, you can really do it all.”

Since graduating from Morningside and starting medical school, Natasha has continued to pursue her passions and work hard to reach her goals. She leads and performs with Musicians for Healing, a group dedicated to bringing music to patients, and went on to Harvard in 2021 after receiving the Zuckerman Fellowship to study public health as part of her MD and Master of Public Health program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“It was important for me to pursue an MPH in addition to my MD because, while I absolutely love taking care of patients, it can be too late by the time someone gets to the doctor,” said Natasha. “We as a healthcare system have failed by not focusing more on preventive health. I am pursuing an MPH because I want to create upstream health policy solutions that address social determinants of health, with the ultimate goal of improving health equity.”