Jehan Boyers ’25 wasn’t pushed into being a doctor, but he may have been heavily persuaded.
“My grandfather immigrated here from Sri Lanka,” said the Carmel, Indiana, native. “He’s the hero, the person I want to be like. I’m the oldest grandchild, and I had a lot of individual time with my grandfather, and he pretty much christened me as the next doctor of the family.”
The calling to be a doctor led Boyers to Wabash.
“I visited Wabash with my mom and learned about the 94 percent acceptance rate into med school. But we finally got to February or March my senior year of high school, and I hadn’t made a decision. My mom said, ‘You know you’re going to Wabash, right?’”
His mother’s influence is evident.
“My mom has always been my biggest advocate,” he said. “In fifth grade, everyone got a superlative, like ‘Most Likely to Be an NBA Player’ or ‘Most Likely to Be President.’ My mom said I was ‘Most Likely to Surprise Himself.’ And at the time, I thought, ‘That’s stupid, what does that even mean?’ And she told me, ‘This will make a lot more sense to you when you’re older.’”
And over the years, he realized she was right.
“Wabash is where that lesson she was teaching me has really set in,” he said. “Every time I call her to say I got an internship or a job, she says, ‘I knew you would do it.’ And when we found out I got into med school, I think we both thought, ‘Holy cow, it’s happened.’”
Having a grandfather who was a doctor didn’t stop Boyers from seizing the destiny for himself.
During his junior year, the biology major was triple-labbing. Classes met at 8 a.m., and one of those classes was microbiology.
“That was the class that made me question if I wanted to go into medicine,” he said. “It was also the class that confirmed what I want to do. Our final project reinforced to me that science is where I want my focus and passion to be.”
Despite his intense focus on medicine, there are many facets to Boyers’ life at Wabash. He is a Global Health Initiative associate and a member of the Sphinx Club, Phi Gamma Delta, College Mentors for Kids, Asian Culture Club, and the Public Health Organization.
He also works as a peer health educator.
Most people on campus probably recognize his name from the initiative that will become his legacy—the Wellness Wednesday emails. Every Wednesday during the semester for two years, Boyers sent an all-campus email highlighting various aspects of mental health and ways to cope with stress and anxiety.
“I’ve learned that I like the idea of pushing myself,” he said. “Then when I was typing up that first email, I thought, ‘What did I get myself into?’ But after you get over that hump of nervousness, you realize you can do this, and you gain more confidence.”
Student Development and Wellness Coordinator Tristen Myers, who oversaw the beginning of that initiative, has high praise for Boyers.
“Jehan was a good collaborator in figuring out our mission and messaging,” she said. “He took ownership of the Wellness Wednesdays and they became a touchstone to communicate with our whole campus.
“Jehan’s light-hearted tone became something people looked forward to reading.”
Myers, who has worked closely with Boyers both because of his peer health educator role and his work with new student orientation, believes he will be an excellent doctor.
“Obviously he’s got the grades and volunteer experience, and I’m sure his MCAT score is phenomenal,” she said. “But outside of all those paper qualifications, Jehan has a great, kind, empathetic personality that we need from future medical providers.
“He’s someone who can meet people where they’re at and listen to what they need.”
Boyers has had plenty of opportunity to augment his people skills through his long-term involvement with new student orientation.
For his senior year, Boyers became a new student orientation manager after two years of serving as a new student orientation mentor. Supervised by Myers and Associate Dean for Student Engagement and Success Heather Thrush, the managers direct the mentors in their shared efforts to provide support to new Wabash students.
“Jehan is a remarkable human being,” Thrush said. “He remains calm when things don’t go as planned. He’s always got the best attitude.”
Thrush praises Boyers’ work on men’s mental health, but says that Wellness Wednesday won’t be his only legacy at Wabash. He is also leaving a legacy of mentorship.
“At the start of every training, I ask them to think about their own orientation mentor,” she explained. “More times than not, there will be guys in the room who say, ‘Jehan was my mentor, and he encouraged me to apply.’
“He has left a legacy of leadership and mentorship at Wabash,” she concluded. “It’s awesome.”