Where will St. Mike’s seniors go next? Spotlight on Patrick Gahan ’25

As we approach Commencement for the Saint Michael’s College Class of 2025, we are highlighting where our seniors plan to go next and how they hope to apply the knowledge they gained at St. Mike’s. 

Below is a Q&A with Patrick Gahan ’25, a Statistics major with minors in Public Health and Mathematics from Whitinsville, Massachusetts. His answers have been lightly edited for style and grammar.

Patrick Gahan ’25 is inducted into Saint Michael’s College’s chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national academic honor society for Mathematics, in Fall 2024. (Photo by Cat Cutillo)

Saint Michael’s College: What are your career/education plans after graduating from Saint Michael’s College? 

Patrick Gahan: After my time here at Saint Michael’s College, I will be entering a Ph.D. program at Iowa State University for five years. I plan on doing research in both the medical field (looking at clinical trials and drug development) and possibly the sports field. The plan right now is to hopefully get a job in the biostatistics industry after I am finished with my Ph.D., but I am certainly open to the vast range of research interests that are available at Iowa State.

SMC: How did Saint Michael’s College support you to get to this point? 

PG: St. Mike’s helped me find a voice in doing research, and advocating for my thoughts, opinions, and respect for other peers, faculty, and my own work. Going here made me realize that I love to collaborate with others in a group project setting, not just working alone on my own research (which I have done several times before).

SMC: What will you take with you into post-grad life from your education at Saint Michael’s? 

PG: The thing that I plan to take with me from St. Mike’s is definitely the connections I have made with my peers and faculty, and incorporate the collaborative vibe into my work.

Patrick Gahan ’25 gives a presentation on his summer internship during the annual Mathematics and Statistics Colloquium on Sept. 6, 2024. (Photo by Sophie Burt ’26)

SMC: What are you most looking forward to after graduation? 

PG: Definitely meeting new people, diving into new research topics, and seeing what other members in my class end up doing. I’d love to see them reach their goals and live by their values.

SMC: Do you have a career/education goal for the next five years? 10 years? 

PG: Finish up my Ph.D. program and hopefully get a great industry job. The goal right now is in clinical trials (or somewhere in pharmaceuticals) but that could change while I am in graduate school. Also, to keep an open mind for any opportunity that comes my way.