MU Sinclair School of Nursing Student

Recognized Multiple Times During His

Mizzou Career For Outstanding Service

May 8, 2008

COLUMBIA , Mo. – For one year, nursing student Dan Imhoff has led a double life. Not quite letting his friends, girlfriend or roommates know where he was going or what he was doing, and it all started on Tap Day 2007.

It was then that Imhoff was recognized publicly for his induction into the Friars Chapter of the University of Missouri 's Mortar Board organization. What everyone was unaware of was the fact that Imhoff was also tapped into the LSV organization. New LSV members are tapped and then remain silent as they serve for one year before they are publicly unhooded during the next year's ceremonies.

The other interesting twist is that Imhoff is only the fourth male in LSV's 100-year history. This secret society is dedicated to promoting and improving the status of women, making it the only organization of its kind at Mizzou or any U.S. college campus.

Being a man in a predominately female society is not a new experience for Imhoff. “I'm a man in the nursing profession,” the quiet student said smiling, “so it's not new for me being the only male in a large group of women.”

Since coming to Mizzou from St. Louis ' West County , Imhoff became interested in social issues and then focused specifically on gender issues before he started nursing school. So working toward the advancement of women in a society where women don't come by the same advantages as easily as men, came naturally to this 22 year old.

“Being a man in the female dominated profession of nursing, I am surrounded by strong, powerful women,” Imhoff stated. “Although some of the nursing instructors may not call themselves feminists, in a way they are because they stand on their own and make a difference in this world.”

In addition to attending clinicals and nursing courses, Imhoff has spent the last year attending meetings once or twice a week for LSV and Mortar Board, serving the MU community as well as being a Big Brother to a Columbia elementary school boy. In 2007, Imhoff was also selected as one of the MU Alumni Association's Mizzou 39. This honor is organized by the MUAA Student Board to recognize the 39 most outstanding seniors at Mizzou.

Last summer, Imhoff was an intern at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and he's returning to a full-time position on the colorectal cancer floor after graduating in May.

“Sloan-Kettering is the No. 1 cancer center in the world, in the No. 1 city in the world,” Imhoff says, “and it's a great place for me to gain the experience I need before deciding the next step of my career.

“I know it sounds cliché, but being tapped into LSV really enhanced my college experience. This has been my largest accomplishment so far, and when you see how many individuals are doing great things on campus you are humbled to be a part of it.”

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