Jan. 3, 2005
Patricia "Trish" Nolan, a senior on the Columbia women's track and cross-country teams, was one of only 20 students in Columbia College elected to Phi Beta Kappa this semester.
Nolan was chosen from a select pool that included just the top 2% of the College Class of 2005. She has compiled a 3.9946 GPA as a psychology/pre-medical major.
"It's nice to know that people in the [academic] community recognize what I've done," said Nolan, who admitted that she had never heard of the honor prior to being notified of her election. At the initiation ceremony last month in Low Library, Nolan noted that she was among the most well-rounded of the recipients. "Being an athlete is part of [earning the honor]," she observed. "It's not a coincidence."
Nolan has demonstrated a strong will to succeed both academically and athletically since she came to Morningside Heights in the fall of 2001 from Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario, where she lives. A former All-Ivy League honoree, she had been one of Columbia and the Ivy League's best distance runners until suffering an injury in May of 2003, her sophomore season. That and subsequent injuries had kept her out of any competitive races until last October.
Nolan seemed to be back in form after training very hard during the summer, but yet another injury prevented her from running. "I could have given up," she said, "but this was my senior year. I trained all fall on the bike. I worked harder than I've ever done to get back."
She made her first appearance in 18 months running in the Lafayette cross-country Invitational on October 16. "I was very, very nervous before the race, like I used to be when I was running. I ran much of the race alone; that was a mental test for me, and I came through it."
Nolan finished fifth in the race, second among Lion runners. Two weeks later, she competed in the Heptagonal Ivy League Championships, finishing in 44th place. She will compete in both indoor and outdoor track for Columbia this season.
Upon graduation, she plans to go into biological research for a year before entering an M.D./Ph.D. program either in the U.S. or Canada. She has been engaged in research in the cellular mechanisms of Parkinson's Disease at the Columbia Health Sciences Campus.
