Jared Ritter (2001)

Jared graduated from Toccoa Falls College magna cum laude with a B.S. in Psychology. His ambition was to attend medical college to study mental health with the goal of making as great an impact as possible, and this field of study is close to his heart.

So, on May 16, 2009, he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He has had an opportunity to study forensic psychiatry at Yale University, psychopharmacogenomics at the Mayo Clinic, and presented as a first author on a poster for ADHD in a collaborative effort with the NIH and National Human Genome Resarch Institute at a national meeting in Chicago. Also, recently, Jared received a $10,000 scholarship from that university along with the 2009 Elliot Stein, M.D. Excellence in Psychiatry Award.

As of this writing, they are currently attending church at New Hope Church Manoa and also Cambodian services at University Avenue Baptist Church in Manoa. In addition, they are taking Khmer language lessons. Jared’s prayer is to one day have the resources and time to participate/lead medical mission trips to Cambodia. He is completing the pediatrics portion of his residency at Kapi'olani Medical Center in Honolulu.

About those at TFC who had a direct impact on Jared’s education, he writes: “The skills in counseling, psychology, and critical thinking modeled and taught by favorite faculty members at TFC have proved invaluable through these formative years. Special thanks to former and current faculty at TFC is due to:

• Dr. Donald Ratcliff for being my hero,
• Dr. Paul Rodriguez for introducing me to the synapse and so much more,
• Professor Mark Koser for teaching kindness and openness which are the essential components of a therapeutic alliance,
• Dr. Bill Quarterman for administrative prowess,
• Dr. Carol Matthews, my first-semester professor who introduced me to the study of psychology and journal articles, and
• Dr. Kieran Clements for sparking my never-ending interest in biology and genetics.

“Perhaps the most important thing about TFC is that I met and married my wife, Theary, while at TFC. She and my children, Lydia and Luke, continue to be a blessing and priceless treasures, for which I am most grateful to the Lord.

“As I prayed before the Lord as a teenager seeking His will, I said, ‘God, in all things, may you be honored and glorified in anything that you can make out of my life because without you, I can do nothing.’ I am thankful, too, for my parents who diligently raised us in a spiritually-filled home and homeschooled me and my three siblings.

“Thank you TFC for establishing the foundation of my education and being a source of spiritual learning in a world plagued by so many evils, including social injustice, terrorism, hate, poverty, and poor access to care, crime, prejudice, stigma, and hopelessness. With Him all things are possible. Praise be to God.”