Emporia State University
DICKINSON COUNTY - Dr. Marilee McBoyle-Wiesner's pioneering career in surgery began with a childhood experience that would guide her life's purpose. At age 7, growing up on a farm in Dickinson County, she underwent a tonsillectomy performed by a woman - uncommon at the time.
"This was in 1959, and she also had daughters at home," McBoyle-Wiesner said. "She made a great impression on me."
That moment inspired her path. She found the perfect place to begin that journey at Emporia State University.
"I just thank the Lord because ESU was the right school for me," she said. "It was big enough that I could do everything and then some, but I wasn't sitting in chemistry classes of 300 or 400."
Active in band, vocal ensemble and a pre-med group, she also found mentorship from faculty who supported her through medical school admissions. "It was a celebration when I got into medical school," she said.
In 1977, she became the first woman accepted into the surgery residency at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita (KUSM-Wichita), later becoming Kansas' first female board-certified general surgeon. She would go on to serve as a medical director, clinical professor and surgical educator, earning national recognition for her work.
KUSM-Wichita named its surgical skills lab in her honor - a tribute to her influence.
Now retired in Wichita, she still supports future physicians through the Marilee McBoyle Pre-Medical Scholarship and has served on the ESU Alumni Association Board of Directors.