MSUB SPORTS – During her senior year at Belt High School, Renae Hepfner was all set on one day becoming an elementary school teacher.
 
The dual-sport standout had developed into a starting guard for the Huskies girls basketball team, and also ran cross country and track mainly to keep in shape during the offseason.
 
Bringing her career on the hardwood to an abrupt halt however, was a devastating injury that ultimately shifted Hepfner's perspective both athletically and academically.
 
After blowing her knee out midway through the season, Hepfner spent the next several months in close company with doctors and physical therapists. She quickly became fascinated by the level of intricacy involved in reconstructing and healing her knee, and found herself learning more than ever as she had piqued a new interest.
 
Jump ahead four years and Hepfner is a newly-minted graduate of Montana State University Billings, where she competed in cross country and track and field for the Yellowjackets and received her bachelor's degree in biology in December.
 
In March, Hepfner became a distinct recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, a hyper-competitive award that is granted by the NCAA to student-athletes who have just completed their collegiate careers. Across all divisions, 29 women are awarded the scholarship for fall sports, which deduces an odds figure of around 1 in 700.
 
"This is a big deal," commented Dr. Scott Harris, MSUB faculty athletic representative and the liaison between the scholarship program and student-athletes aspiring to pursue their education beyond their bachelor's degree. "The list of universities whose students win this award includes the likes of Yale and MIT. To have one of our students recognized is a tribute to both our students and the university for making sure our students receive a world-class education and the opportunities that come with that."
 
"Our number one goal as a department is to ensure the academic success of our student-athletes, and to see Renae receive this scholarship makes us truly proud," commented MSUB director of athletics Krista Montague. "Renae served as an ambassador for Yellowjacket Athletics during her time in the program and we have full confidence that she will make the most of this opportunity as she pursues her career as a doctor."
 
Recently having been accepted into medical school at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, Wash., Hepfner will begin the next chapter in her race towards becoming a doctor on Aug. 17 as she starts the process of being a new student all over again.
 
For the Belt, Mont., native who grew up in a town of 600 people and without a single red light to disrupt the flow of traffic, the move out west will be the biggest yet of her ambitious, young life.
 
OVERVIEW ON OSTEOPATHY
 
"The man who developed Osteopathy, A.T. Still, wanted to work on a more preventative approach to medicine," Hepfner said. "He developed these manipulations that stem from bones because everything connects to them. He figured that if you could manipulate your body's bones to relieve pressure, it could improve your overall health."
 
Her response alone when asked what exactly the word 'osteo' meant was enough to explain why she stood out from the vast field of candidates for the recent scholarship she was awarded. Not only does Hepfner have the exact type of medicine she would like to study already within her crosshairs, but she has a comprehensive understanding of its origin and a specific belief in its fundamental tenets that has driven her to pursue osteopathy.
 
"With osteopathy you look at treating a person in a more holistic view," Hepfner said. "You treat the person rather than the disease."
 
In other words, the focus of the particular branch of medicine is to provide care for an individual based on his or her unique physical makeup rather than prescribe a uniform medicine or treatment depending on the nature of an injury.
 
The ultimate title of Doctor of Osteopathy is what Hepfner has her sights set on, but the path to get there is far from straight-and-narrow. The first two years of schooling with an 8-5 daily schedule are accompanied by 40 hours worth of studying per week. Then it is on to situational experiences with patients and learning the various osteopathic manipulative methods.
 
"In the fourth year you start studying for boards and figuring out where you want to be placed for residency," said Hepfner, a three-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference academic all-conference selection. "After that you are placed under a doctor for anywhere from three to five years before you can start working on your own."
 
All told the process from first-year student at Pacific Northwest to full-on osteopathist ranges from 8 to 10 years. With a rigorous curriculum and the furthest move away from home she will have ever made in front of her, Hepfner is confident that her time spent as a student and an athlete at MSUB has prepared her well for her next adventure.
 

RUNNING THE COURSE
 
With the knee injury effectively ending her basketball career, Hepfner still wanted to pursue athletics at the collegiate level. After redshirting her freshman year in cross country, Hepfner was healthy enough by the spring to participate in track and field as she slowly began to increase the mileage on her repaired knee.
 
"I love the team aspect in sports and running definitely fulfilled that for me," Hepfner said. "The team at MSUB is like my family away from home, and it was great to be able to continue that team aspect throughout my college career."
 
As Hepfner developed close bonds with her teammates and used running as an avenue of escape from her classwork, her passion for the course of study she had chosen grew stronger every semester.
 
"Renae's dedication to her academics is obvious," commented Dr. Carl Castles, an assistant professor of biology and one of Hepfner's instructors. "The fact that the only Bs in her college career were earned in her very first semester speaks to that. Everything since has been As, despite her being involved in athletics since her arrival."
 
"Doctor Castles and doctor Kurt Toenjes were both very supportive and very good teachers," Hepfner said. "The fact that they took the time to offer extra upper-division classes exposed me to a lot more information than I got in regular undergraduate classes. That really helped me learn what my interests were more."
 
In addition to excelling with her course work, Hepfner developed into a strong distance runner for the Yellowjackets.
 
"Renae was a great role model in helping to establish our team culture, where the expectation is to balance academic and athletic success," commented MSUB head coach Dave Coppock. "Renae was always willing to help other athletes on the team with studying, and you could always find her studying on the bus or early mornings in hotel lobbies when we were traveling."
 
"Student-athletes often travel at various times during the semester, and that makes it difficult to stay on top of their classes," Dr. Castles said. "Yet like many of our student-athletes, Renae found a way to make it work."
 
Hepfner credited Coppock with making competitive running fun and always stressing to his team the importance of their studies. "Dave is one of the best coaches I've ever had," Hepfner said. "He makes runny way more enjoyable, and it doesn't feel like a chore. That helps a lot."
 
Running is something Hepfner will never give up, as she finds time to log miles in between her 8:30-5 schedule at the Billings Clinic and time at a local nursing home in Billings on the weekends. Currently serving as a medical assistant in the rehabilitation department, Hepfner has spent the months since her graduation gaining valuable experience as she prepares to venture to Washington to begin school at the end of the summer.
 
'DO'ING BIG THINGS
 
For physicians, any given combination of alphabet soup directly proceeds their name describing their particular specialization. Among doctors, it is a unique code representing which chapters were read in their medical textbooks and which wing of the hospital their clinical hours were spent in.
 
More often than not, M.D. are the trailing letters, representing successful completion in the course of study for a doctor of medicine. Hepfner will one day proudly boast the letters D.O., a unique title signifying her doctorate in osteopathy.
 
"Renae's successful academic career was not just limited to her degree and her stellar GPA," Dr. Castles said. "She was very active on campus participating in clubs, working as a tutor and a laboratory teaching assistant, and even serving as a student member on committees for the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences. We are all looking forward to seeing where her next journey takes her."
 
While Hepfner has carved her own path towards a future that she is passionate about, behind her the whole way has been a strong support system in her parents and family. "My dad is actually the one who told me I should try running in college," Hepfner said. "I didn't think I was good enough but he convinced me to at least try it. My family has been a huge part of my life at home as well as here at college."
 
Hepfner's 11-year-old brother Cole is her biggest inspiration, as she has been driven to set a good example and be a good role model for her younger sibling. "I know Cole looks up to me and he is probably my favorite person in the world," Hepfner said. "I would not be where I am today without my family, they are very supportive of everything that I do."
 
Ultimately, Hepfner maximized her experience at MSUB, dually representing her university running with the Yellowjackets as well as competing with top students across the country academically. The recent scholarship she received serves as the latest reminder of her excellence as a student-athlete, and suggests that she is well on her way to positively influencing others for years to come as a doctor.