Introducing the New Fox Valley Residents

The Fox Valley Residency Program is pleased to welcome an outstanding class of six first year residents who joined us on June 14 for orientation. This year's orientation has been expanded to include the ALSO course in Baraboo, the New Innovations computer training and two additional days at the Appleton hospitals to become more familiar with hospital services before rotations start.

One orientation tradition that has always received great feedback is our Team Development Day. The new resident class travels to the beautiful Waupaca Chain-of-Lakes area and spends a day canoeing, swimming and having a picnic under the pine trees. The day concludes with a session with Mark Marnocha, PhD, to learn more about themselves as individuals and as team members.

The Fox Valley program is proud to introduce:

Merici Awe, MD
Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Undergraduate School: Edgewood College, Madison, WI; BA Biology
Native of:Markesan, WI

Merici was born and raised in Markesan, a rural farming town in south central Wisconsin. Her professional interests include preventative health and geriatrics and she hopes to practice in a rural setting after residency. During medical school, Merici volunteered at the Community Health Network, MEDIC a student-run organization providing healthcare to the underserved, and the MoMS organization (Mothers and Maternal Support). Since high school until the present, Merici volunteers as an EMT in Southern Green Lake County. Merici did her third year Primary Care Clerkship at the Fox Valley Family Medicine Residency Program. Merici enjoys spending time with her spouse, Danny, and their golden retriever, Abigail. Together, they like outdoor activities including backpacking, camping, kayaking, and downhill skiing.

Jessica Johnston, MD
Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Undergraduate School: St. Mary's University, Winona, MN; BA Biology and Chemistry
Native of: Green Bay, WI

Jessie was born and raised in Green Bay, WI. To help fund her education she has worked as a robot welder, sandblaster, paper machine technician and forklift driver! During college, her many volunteer activities included a mission trip to Jamaica to help build houses. Jessie deferred entry to medical school for one year in order to spend a year with Americorps/Cap Core as a health educator and coordinator for St. Ben's Clinic in Milwaukee. One of her volunteer activities during medical school was with the MEDIC program. Jessie did her third year Primary Care Clerkship and her fourth year Family Medicine elective with the Fox Valley Family Medicine Residency Program. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, doing anything outdoors and watching Chevy Chase movies. Her professional interests include preventative health, obstetrics and sports medicine.

Jeremy Metzler, MD
Medical School: Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, MI
Undergraduate School: University of Wisconsin; BS Biochemistry and Genetics
Native of: New Franken, WI

Jeremy grew up on a dairy farm in New Franken, WI, a small town east of Green Bay. His spouse, Karen, is also from northeast Wisconsin and is employed by St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay. Jeremy and Karen enjoy spending time with their yellow lab, Heatley, as well as outdoor activities, playing games, and watching sports and movies. During Medical School, Jeremy was a member of AMA, served as a volunteer for the Friendship Clinic, a student run clinic for the uninsured, was on the leadership board of the Family Medicine Interest Group and was the fundraising chair for AMSA. Jeremy did a fourth year Family Medicine elective at the Fox Valley Family Medicine Residency Program. Jeremy and Karen are excited to be back in Wisconsin and to experience everything the Fox Valley has to offer.

Wendy Schroeder, DO
Medical School: Des Moines University - Osteopathic Medical Center, Des Moines, IA
Undergraduate School: UW - La Crosse; BS in Sports Medicine/Athletic Training
Native of: Appleton, WI

Appleton is Wendy's hometown and she is very excited to begin giving back to the community in which she was raised. Growing up on a dairy farm helped spark her interest in medicine and through her undergraduate training as an athletic trainer, she became interested in osteopathic medicine. During college, Wendy interned in athletic training with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers minor league baseball team and also at Bellin Sports Medicine. During medical school Wendy was involved in a number of service activities. These include the Osteopathic Finish Line which staffs treatment tents at local running events and the Literacy Army that helps students with reading difficulties. In addition, she assisted faculty members in performing free physical exams for elementary school students. Wendy's professional interests include Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, Athletic Training and Community Medicine. She is an avid Packer fan and enjoys volleyball, camping, fishing, and hunting, reading mystery novels and spending time with her dog, Kobe.

Leslie Strickland, MD
Medical School: Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Temple, TX
Undergraduate School: University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX; BA Anthropology
Native of: Albuquerque, NM

Leslie was raised in San Antonio, Texas, and has been working her way north on I-35 ever since. She is excited to be getting out of the Texas heat and taking advantage of all the winter sports available in Wisconsin. Her professional interests include women's health, preventive health, and palliative care. Leslie has a long time interest in community service on a global perspective and was selected by her medical school as a senior member to the Gold Humanism Honor Society. The society recognizes student physicians who display the essential qualities of an excellent physician. Prior to medical school, Leslie volunteered at the AIDS Hospice in Austin. She also spent six months at the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan, to study Arabic language. After college, Leslie spent 2 1/2 years with the Peace Corps in Chad, Africa. While in medical school she volunteered with (STAT) Stand Tall Against Tobacco, served as board member and co-director of the student-run free clinic and developed a group known as Empower which helps promote diversity and cultural competence.

Andrew Villamagna, MD
Medical School:Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
Undergraduate School: Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO; BS Chemical Engineering
Graduate School: Illinois Institute of Technology, Master of Chemical Engineering
Native of: Franklin Square, NY

Drew grew up in Long Island, NY, northern Virginia and Michigan. After working as a chemical engineer for 10 years, most recently in the Virgin Islands, he began medical school to pursue his lifelong dream of being a physician. At the Medical College of Virginia, Drew was awarded a four year scholarship from the National Health Service Corp to attend medical school. He was also awarded the 2004 Dean's Scholarship for outstanding leadership and community service and was elected to serve as the Virginia state delegate to the national AAFP conference in Kansas City in 2005. He also was the VCU student delegate to the Virginia Academy of Family Physicians. Drew and his wife, Dana, have three children and a black labrador. Drew's primary fields of interest in Family Medicine include access for the underserved, integrative medicine, procedures in a Family Medicine setting, new models of efficient practice management and medical ethics. Drew enjoys long distance running and triathlons, snowboarding, the martial arts (earning a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do in February of 2006), cooking gourmet date night dinners for his wife and playing outside with his children.