Dr. Katie Connors: Her Path to medicine started at Helena Public Schools

 

Katie Connors was studying for the medical school admissions exam, the MCAT, and running out of time.

Test day was fast upon her and she was struggling with chemistry. It was time to phone a friend.

That friend was former HHS chemistry teacher Steve Thennis. A 2000 HHS grad who was finishing her undergraduate degree at MSU-Bozeman, Katie knew she could count on her high school teacher for help.

She was soon driving back to Helena for the weekend to visit Mr. Thennis and his wife, Anna, at their home.

“He and Anna had their kitchen table all set up,” said Connors. “They had all this stuff prepared for me with quick mnemonics (memory techniques) and binders … He had obviously spent many hours before I got there preparing.”

Now a physician with a busy OB-GYN practice near Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Connors credits her success to her well-rounded public education in Helena Public Schools. She hasn’t lost her gratitude for Mr. Thennis and the many others who influenced her K-12 school career: “Strong teachers who were super-invested in us in really interesting ways. They really helped my sense of self and my confidence was definitely pushed from an early age.”

Dr. Connors also credits the district’s broad range of arts courses, extracurricular activities and sports with helping her develop the life skills that continue to be essential to her success.

As a girl at Smith Elementary, Dr. Connors sang in a choir that rehearsed before school under the direction of music teacher Barbara Berg. “That was such a huge part of my early years and contributed to my ability to do public speaking and have the confidence to pick up something new and learn how to do it,” said, Dr. Connors, who went on to sing in the Starlighters Choir at Helena High.

She competed in soccer and track all four years of high school.

While most school work came easily to Dr. Connors, she sometimes lacked the motivation to give 100 percent. Mr. Thennis, who later became principal of Helena High, pushed her to work hard and develop the study skills she would need to get through medical school, where the going was tough.

“I needed to learn how to work a little harder,” she said. “(Mr. Thennis) just saw potential and it irritated him if I didn’t live up to that. He didn’t want me to go the easy route.”

Her advice for younger students: Push yourself in middle school before the stakes get high. Take the honors math class if you think you can. Learn how you learn, learn how you study, know how you remember things and the best way to prepare for a big test; Because, whether you pursue a college degree, a trade certificate or EMT certification, you’re going to have to read, study and take a test at some point.

Dr. Connors encourages older students to take advantage of public education, be it preK-12 or the public university system.

Today districts across Montana and in Dr. Connors’ new community in Arizona, where her children attend public school, are forced to make deep budget cuts due to lack of state and federal funding. She worries about a future without music, art and extracurriculars.

While a strong academic foundation is essential, Dr. Connors says the rigors of arts, music and extracurricular activities – long hours of soccer practice, the last leg of a cross country event, or hours of voice practice – are what helped her develop the fortitude to get through medical school and to establish her own medical practice four years ago.

“If you want to cut, you have to go back to the basics and basics are important,” said Connors. “But so much of what pushed me was not the basics.”

Dr. Connors is still grateful for all of the Helena Public Schools teachers who set her up for success, including, of course, Mr. Thennis:

“My first business card I ever had printed that said ‘MD’ – I mailed it to him.”