Dr. Stephanie Treffert Lumpkin, H Sci ’10
Durham, N.C
Stephanie came to Marquette as a temporary transfer student from Loyola University New Orleans, displaced by Hurricane Katrina. After deciding to remain at Marquette, she created a way for her new school and classmates to help the southern city she loves.
Her choice to stay wasn't easy: She'd grown up in Wisconsin and was determined to get away from winter weather. But Marquette's rigorous academic program, she reasoned, would prepare her well for medical school.
She still felt torn, as during her brief time at Loyola, Stephanie had grown to love the school and the city of New Orleans. Within her first semester at Marquette, she came up with a new student organization to build connection between her two schools and cities. She and her co-founders called it MARDI GRAS: Making a Real Difference in the Gulf Region and Areas Surrounding.
Grant funding from the student government sent 15 students to New Orleans that very fall to work on homes ruined in the floods. It was hard work, but by winter break, 100 students were signed up to travel to the Gulf region and volunteer where they were needed. Today, more than 12 years later, MARDI GRAS thrives as a favorite service project among Marquette students, who volunteer through trips to the Gulf region four times a year and also raise funds locally to support the area.
Stephanie is now a general surgery resident at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, with a diverse patient population and a keen interest in seeking solutions to the health inequities she sees among patients of different backgrounds.
"I am blessed to be able to live a life where I can focus on the entirety of the Marquette mission," Stephanie says, adding that for her, "Success is finding a career that challenges you personally, but is also meaningful and impactful in the community. I am beyond honored to be recognized for work that I did and the career that I have chosen."
Stephanie and her husband, Jon, live in Durham, N.C. with their son, Hadley.
Fun fact: Inspired by the late Rev. John Naus, S.J., and the Marquette Jesuit community, Stephanie completed the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process through Campus Ministry before she graduated.
