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Community Corner

Grosse Pointe Woman Counts Life's Adventures as Key to Success

Emily Kreger, a Wyandotte native, is always looking for her next big challenge. But, why? Sponsored by Post Grape-Nuts.

About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains.

Emily Kreger, a Grosse Pointe Park resident and Wyandotte native, says she's never been good at doing just one thing. For instance, just to name a few, Kreger has trained with the U.S. National Rowing team, ran the Boston marathon, practiced medicine in South Africa, graduated from Yale University and notably, swam the last leg of the English Channel on a relay team to raise money for Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Here, Kreger shares her zest and motivation for life, and her advice for approaching goals, no matter how big or small.

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1. What's the biggest challenge you've taken on? or, What's a goal you're trying to achieve right now? My most visible and immediate goal right now is my general surgery residency, en route to a pediatric surgery fellowship. My career is the part of my life that requires the most focus, the most energy, the most physical and emotional commitment and the vast majority of my time. But I've never been very good at doing just one thing. Instead, I always have a web of challenges that I'm invested in, and I work hard to strike a balance between all of my personal ambitions and my relationships with my family and friends.

So, I think that my greatest challenge is to forge through life, pursuing those things that make me feel the most alive while staying connected to my personal relationships and maintaining a focus in my career. It's that never-ending quest to find that perfect zen balance that keeps me coming back for more. In other words- there are so many things- too many things!- to experience in this world, and it's important to me to be a part of as many as possible. 

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The recent Boston Marathon bombings stirred me to reflect on why my athletic pursuits, in particular, have been so important to me. I ran Boston four years ago, and it was one of the most exhilarating races of my life- a true celebration of focus and dedication and athleticisim for everyone there. Turning down Boylston Street toward the finish line made me feel mentally and physically strong, focused, in control, and connected to my fellow athletes in an indescribable way. Just as I did while training with the U.S. National Rowing team, just as I did as a varsity swimmer at Yale, just as I did swimming the final grueling leg of the world record-breaking relay swim of the English Channel.

2. What inspired you to take on this challenge? or, How do you plan to achieve this goal?

I never planned on becoming a surgeon. I tried three careers on for size (high school teacher, Olympic-hopeful rower, neuroscientist) before realizing that practicing surgery was the best melding of my continual drive to learn more and be more with my ethos of service and social justice.  

Working with a team of surgeons is the closest I have come to the deep connection and common focus of the sports teams that I grew up being a part of. This is, of course, enhanced by the elevation of the stakes at hand.  

I approach this challenge as I approach all of my goals: with the foundation of the principles of dedication and commitment that I developed as an athlete. No matter the challenge, the algorithm is the same: develop process goals and a plan to reach each of the smaller steps along the way to the ultimate goal, find your focus, have a good coach, seek advice, appreciate constructive criticism, and practice, practice, practice. It's the process of self-reflection through this algorithm that can mean the difference between success and failure. 

Within that framework, it's important to me to do things in a way that feeds my soul.  For example, I'm very interested in incorporating work in international medicine into my career. Strengthening the medical and surgical infrastructure in developing countries addresses a basic human right to have the opportunity to live a healthy life. While this interest may not fit into a more traditional framework of surgical training, the experiences I've had working in South Africa, Ethiopia and Rwanda have enriched my life more than I could have imagined.  

3. Did you succeed? or What will you do when you succeed?

My definition of success has been evolving, as I think it does as we collect experiences and gain wisdom. And I've realized even more that the greatest celebration of an achievement, for me, is to keep looking forward to the next one. So, no matter if I've met a smaller goal or a major life milestone, the next step is to keep challenging expectations.

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