Ability meets spirit
by Megan Krippel (B.B.A. ’21)
Softball player. Biomedical engineer. Medical student. Dermatology residency candidate. For Alexandra McLennan (B.S. ’21), her list of titles is ongoing, but one that remains close to her heart is St. Mary’s University alumna.
McLennan, an Austin native, fell in love with St. Mary’s from the start. Having played sports her whole life, McLennan was recruited by the Rattler Softball team, which was a reason she considered attending St. Mary’s.
“One of my coach’s daughters went to St. Mary’s to play softball, and that’s kind of what put it on my radar,” she said. “On my visit, I fell in love with the school as soon as I set foot on campus.”
McLennan’s next decision was her major. She knew she loved science and math and might want to attend medical school. Eventually, she enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science Program, crediting both of her parents as her inspiration.
“On my visit, I fell in love with the school as soon as I set foot on campus.”
— Alexandra McLennan (B.S. ’21)
“Dad did aerospace engineering, and my mom was a software engineer,” McLennan said. “I’ve always loved STEM. My brain just gets numbers, and I really like the problem-solving that you do in the engineering side of things. And then I found out I could still be pre-med and check a lot of the prerequisites required for medical school admission. It was the perfect medium for me.”
Off the bat, McLennan clicked with her teammates, especially the freshmen class she started with in 2017. Living in the dorms, attending practice and exploring college life for the first time together strengthened their bond to each other and to St. Mary’s.
When she wasn’t on the softball field, traveling to a game or in class, McLennan joined many student organizations focused on STEM and pre-health, such as the Tri-Beta Honor Society; the Ready, Set, Research organization; and the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (U*STAR). With such a busy schedule, especially with the Softball travel season, McClennan worried about missing class and falling behind. Brother Tim Pieprzyca, S.M. (B.S. ’73, B.A. ’74), Lecturer of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was one of the many professors who went above and beyond to ensure that his students, including McLennan, stayed on track.
“Brother Tim Pieprzyca would wait up for us whenever we were in after games as late as 9 or 10 p.m., to give us the lesson we had missed for the day,” McLennan said. “That was a moment where I felt deeply inspired to, in the future, give back and invest in the people who I’m teaching throughout my career.”
When asked about his role in McLennan’s pursuits, Pieprzyca highlighted that McLennan was determined to take advantage of every opportunity to succeed.
“Alex McLennan is one of those students a teacher encounters rarely, who possesses the brains, motivation and personality that distinguish her far beyond her peers,” Pieprzyca Said. “Her talent as a scholar-athlete is a gift to St. Mary’s and her accomplishments are a tribute to her own ambition, ability and spirit.”
After graduating from St. Mary’s in Spring 2021, McLennan attended Rice University and received her master’s in Bioengineering. She is now in her final year of medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and is interviewing with the goal of getting a dermatology residency.
With her experience in research as an undergraduate student and her solid engineering foundation, McLennan hit the ground running in her graduate programs.
“That exposure made me a better problem-solver,” she said, adding that experience gave her a greater understanding of terms in medical literature and at scientific conferences. “It deepened my understanding and knowledge.”
McLennan still feels a deep connection to the University and its community. Through mentoring students, serving on external advisory boards for new programs and being the keynote speaker at the Fall 2025 Academic Convocation in August, McLennan feels as much a part of the community as when she lived on campus.
“One of the biggest things that I learned is the value of community,” McLennan said. “That means being engaged and giving back. We’re all interdependent in some form or fashion, and it’s a very beautiful thing. And at St. Mary’s, it’s family.”
