Young Alumna of the Year Award

Monica R. Krcmarik Edwards, M.D., MPH, H Sci ’06
Elmhurst, Ill.

In the Jesuit tradition, Dr. Monica Edwards has a vocation, not a job. A trained physician, she also felt called to teach and now serves as an associate professor at the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. Monica finds true fulfillment in the opportunity to shape the next generation of physicians and watch them grow into incredible people and doctors.

Monica lives Marquette’s mission each day. She strives to be an empathic physician, a motivating and supportive educator, and a leader through her many academic responsibilities. She lives her life in service, caring for her patients, raising her four children in a life of faith and love, supporting her church’s faith community, and participating in programs that help her surrounding area.

Monica defines success as finding fulfillment and happiness in all aspects of your life while still recognizing that we are part of a greater whole and working to share our skills and gifts with our community. She credits Marquette with giving her a strong foundation, including the chance to hone her leadership skills through co-curricular activities, her research skills through her work in the neuroscience labs, and her spirituality and service through a variety of service opportunities.

In her personal life, Monica values the opportunity to participate in Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts with her children, working alongside them as they learn about their community and how to give back. She also completed her first sprint triathlon in 2022 and is looking forward to competing in more triathlons this summer.

Name a Marquette faculty or staff member who had an impact on you, and how.
I will forever be grateful for Dr. William Cullinan. He was and is an incredible educator, role model, and person. He granted me a position in his neuroscience lab during my freshman year, and in that role, I was able to do more laboratory bench work as a student than anyone I ever met in my training thereafter. In addition, his teaching in human anatomy and gross anatomy confirmed my desire to be a physician. Finally, Dr. Cullinan gave me the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant in the gross anatomy course, which was an invaluable experience to begin my role as an educator. He is one of the most important mentors I have ever had, and I would not be the person, physician, or educator I am without the guidance, opportunity, and support he gave me.

What is one of your favorite Marquette memories?
My other favorite memory was the Elite Eight basketball game during my freshman year that we won and granted us entrance to the Final Four. I will never forget cheering and excitedly watching that game with all my friends in our dorm room and then spilling out onto campus and running down Wisconsin Avenue with our classmates to celebrate our victory. I have never been part of such an incredible and massive celebration!

Leave a congratulatory message for Monica!