'Southern 2021

I
was 17 the summer after my junior year in high
school when I first became a student at Birmingham-
Southern College. Along with about 30 other high
school students from across Alabama and west Florida,
I lived in a dormitory, ate in the cafeteria, and took two classes as
a Summer Scholar with regularly enrolled
students. I loved it! I took Art History and
Human Growth and Development, taught
by legends of BSC, Prof. Lloyd Sloan and
Dr. Bob Whetstone ’55, respectively.
It was an easy decision to choose
‘Southern as my college after that. Initially,
I had planned on dental school after
college, but changed my mind to medical
school my junior year. Because the
prerequisite classes were the same, it was
an easy switch.
Deciding on a major was a little more
complicated. Most pre-med students
chose to major in chemistry or biology
because we already were required to take
so many of them for medical school.
Because I so enjoyed Biology 101, taught
by another BSC legend, Dr. Paul Bailey, I chose biology.
My schedules for the first two years were pretty typical for a prehealth
career student: a biology, a chemistry, a mathematics, and
an English class. But we were only required to take Calculus I and
II, and I had completed those my freshman year. I kept enrolling
in a mathematics class semester after semester because it was
fun—a game, a puzzle. And there was that other BSC legend who
made it all so beautifully clear, Dr. Lola Kiser. I wasn’t one of those
premier math majors who were assigned the especially difficult
proofs by Dr. Kiser, but I held my own in the upper-level classes.
Because I had enough credits for both biology and mathematics,
I ended up with an interdisciplinary major in both. Interviewing
for medical schools with an interesting major like that made for
unique conversations. Throwing in my love of art history and
literature didn’t hurt either.
But scholarly pursuits weren’t necessarily the best parts of my time
at Birmingham-Southern. I have frequently told high school and
college mentees that while medical school
certainly teaches you how to be a physician,
college teaches you how to be a human being.
Focusing on where to go to medical school
may not be as important as focusing on where
to go to college. Living on campus taught me
important life skills and gave me a safe and
secure place to succeed, and sometimes fail. I
had many opportunities to lead, as well as to
volunteer, tutor, and mentor. (And to cheer on
the Panthers as a cheerleader!)
I made lifelong friends, and I even met
my future husband, Dr. Harvey Harmon
’82, at BSC. I can’t say when we actually
met, because when you go to a small liberal
arts college, you just know everyone there,
especially if you are enrolled in the same
pre-med classes. We started dating my
senior year, and when we were accepted into the same medical
school in the same year, that clinched it for us as a couple, and we
married after completing our first year of med school.
And 35 years after I graduated from Birmingham-Southern
College, our youngest daughter, Christina Harmon ’18, graduated,
having experienced her share of legends, and loving every minute
of her time on the Hilltop.
• • •
Dr. Renee Brown Harmon ’83 has retired from
her medical practice and is the author of “Surfing the Waves of
Alzheimer’s: Principles of Caregiving That Kept Me Upright” (Many
Hats Publishing, 2020). Follow her blog at reneeharmon.com.
Living on campus taught me important life
skills and gave me a safe and secure place to
succeed, and sometimes fail.
–Renee Brown Harmon ’83
36 / ’southern