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On Call as Doctor, Director, Mom

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 31, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Dr. Kiran Taylor is in her 10th year as a practicing psychiatrist and specializes in providing therapy to cancer patients and family members who care for them.

Taylor is the medical director of the Supportive Care Medicine Clinic at Spectrum Hospital’s Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion in Grand Rapids. She's also the Chief of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine for the entire Spectrum Health System, which includes 11 hospitals and nearly 200 ambulatory and service sites all over the western Lower Peninsula.

And Thursday, she made sure to schedule a trip to her children’s school for the Halloween parade and costume parties.

Balancing is a daily requirement for Taylor (formerly Khanuja), an MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award winner as an East Lansing senior in 1994. But the skills she learned as a tennis standout for the Trojans and at the University of Michigan are those she relies on still as a doctor, director and Mom. 

“My high school athletic experience impacts all areas of my life,” Taylor said. “I think about the journey of those experiences and how those changed me.

“The discipline and time management skills you have to have as a scholar-athlete, to pay attention to school and pay attention to your sport, those are certainly skills I carry with me today.”

Taylor was one of 20 scholar-athletes recognized that winter by the MHSAA and Farm Bureau Insurance, which continues to sponsor the award program that has grown to 32 recipients. In advance of this March’s 25th celebration, Second Half is catching up with some of the hundreds who have been recognized.  

Taylor advanced as far as the Lower Peninsula Class A No. 1 singles championship match during her high school tennis career, finishing runner-up at the top flight her junior season. She already had an interest at that point in health and an understanding of what went into playing at a high level, and was most interested in sports medicine and orthopedics when she began medical school, also at U-M.

But as she got a little deeper into her studies, Taylor discovered a path that seemed more in line with her personality.

‘Natural fit’

A video bio of Taylor on the Spectrum Health website includes her explaining that she chose psychiatry because it’s an area that allows her to empower patients to help themselves. In her line of work, she not only heals but aspires to help those in her care reach their potential.

“When they’re helping themselves, they’re helping others, they’re helping their communities,” Taylor said, “and the impact is endless.”

While at U-M, Taylor found a mentor in Dr. Michelle Riba, the director of the PsychOncology program at U-M’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her work, like Taylor’s at Spectrum, centers on treating patients in their dealing with the emotional issues that come with cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Taylor’s role as chief of psychiatry and behavioral medicine for the entire Spectrum system allows her to affect a patient’s entire care by making more accessible treatment for emotional and well as physical needs.

There are days she comes home after working with a patient facing especially somber circumstances, and through her medical training has learned how to keep those sad situations from affecting her personally.

But there also are days when she’s had to deal with a difficult managerial situation, and during those times she taps into the skills she learned while on the court.

"You manage adversity on a tennis court. It could be a tight match, or you're up 5-0 or down 5-0," Taylor said. "It's a microcosm of the world.

"If I have a challenging colleague or someone with a different opinion in a meeting, I tap into knowing how to deal with adversity." 

Pass it on

Taylor, 37, remains tied to a few from her Scholar-Athlete Awards class. She has known Okemos winner Andy Dhaliwal since childhood and he is now a doctor too, having also graduated from U-M. Jackson winner Harland Holman is a family physician in Grand Rapids and also part of the Spectrum Health system, and knew Taylor's husband through wrestling.

Karin is married to Dr. Joe Taylor, quite a former scholar-athlete himself – he was a standout wrestler at Charlotte before graduating in 1995 and going on to study at U-M.

Thanks at least in part to their parents’ inclination toward sports, the Taylor kids are beginning to try some out. The oldest is 9, the same age as when Kiran first picked up a tennis racket.

For this, Taylor also is prepared thanks to her high school and college careers. Considered together, they give her a long perspective when it comes to kids and sports. 

“(It’s about) letting them figure out what they’re interested in, letting them explore. They want to pay attention to things or don’t; watching them unfold was fun,” Taylor said. “It’s about understanding the road, and that’s what high school athletics did, and going on into college athletics. They helped me understand it’s a long road. You don’t have to start your kid at 4 and have the best at 7.”

And it's a road she advises this year's Scholar-Athletes to appreciate now as they pick up knowledge they'll use for a lifetime. 

“The lessons they’re learning now, and how they conduct themselves – being a scholar-athlete, I think, is about the way you conduct yourself – those are the skills they will take with them no matter what they do at any point in life,” Taylor said. “That’s what being a scholar-athlete has done for me.”

Click to read the series' first installment: 

25 Years Later, Scholar Athletes Shine On

PHOTO: (Top) Kiran Khanuja returns a volley during a tennis match while at East Lansing High School. (Bottom) The MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award class of 1993-94 included Khanuja, seated fourth from left. 


Goorhouse Gives Back at Home

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

January 24, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Three traits have been key in making Holland Christian grad Mike Goorhouse nationally-recognized as a civic leader on the rise.

He’s a strong communicator, which comes in handy when coordinating support for causes all over the state.

He’s a relationship builder, allowing him to develop strong rapport as he explains how everyone can give something back to their communities.

Finally, Goorhouse is a philanthropist – not just in job, but in life. He is the vice president for donor development at the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area, where he works to raise support for nonprofit organizations. He also has served on the boards of directors/trustees for eight organizations, and he and his wife financially contribute to more than 15. 

But a fourth quality, nurtured during his tennis and soccer careers, has been an asset as well for the 2003-04 MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award winner.

“I always loved the competition side of sports. I talk to people who own companies, run companies, run shops. The reason they hire people who were involved in athletics is because of that drive,” said Goorhouse, 27, who was named in 2011 as one of the top 30 civic leaders nationally under the age of 30 by online networking site Splashlife. “Not everyone has that drive to succeed, to win, get a goal.

“Succeeding in the non-profit world looks a lot different. But it takes the same drive.”

Goorhouse was among scholar-athletes recognized during the winter of 2004 by the MHSAA and Farm Bureau Insurance, which continues to sponsor the Scholar-Athlete Award program that has grown to honor 32 recipients annually. In advance of this March’s 25th celebration, Second Half is catching up with some of the hundreds who have been recognized (see additional links at the bottom of this page).

Earning a Scholar-Athlete Award likely meant more to Goorhouse than many of the other 607 who have been recognized over the quarter century. His grandfather, father and brother all have served as MHSAA officials, and his dad and brother both coach as well.

Mike also is part of a third generation of Goorhouses who annually attend the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals, during which the Scholar-Athlete winners are recognized. He joined his dad and grandfather starting at 8 or 9 years old, and every year would read the bios of Scholar-Athlete Award winners in the Finals program and watch them line up on the court during halftime of the Class C championship game.

“Honestly, I wanted to be that,” Goorhouse said. “I had a lot of respect for the ability to balance academics and sports, and be good at both."

Goorhouse won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 tennis title at No. 4 singles as a sophomore in 2002 and returned to the Finals at the No. 1 flight as a senior. He also played soccer at Holland Christian and then played tennis at Calvin College.

Tennis exposed Goorhouse to handling pressure on an individual basis while building mental toughness. Soccer was more about blending teammates’ skills and developing communication among the group.

“Everyone has his or her own version of the story, and that makes it more true; sports teaches a lot about leadership, and just about life and navigating the ups and downs, emotions, handling yourself under stress,” Goorhouse said. “I was in two way different sports, and it was fun to be able to see how those two things impacted me differently.”

As high school students begin focusing on college and potential occupations, professional giver probably isn’t an option many realize is possible. Goorhouse would’ve been counted in that group while at Holland Christian until becoming a member of the Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council. That opportunity joined him with many of his sports opponents from around the Holland area as they assisted the foundation in grant making for youth causes.

The philanthropy bug stuck. After his freshman year at Calvin, Goorhouse interned with the statewide Council of Michigan Foundations, which then hired him parttime as a college sophomore and fulltime once he graduated.

He returned to the Community Foundation in 2012 and works with 1,500 donors who contribute to the Holland/Zeeland area.

As donations grow, so does the foundation’s ability to give grants. But it’s not all about money. An oft-quoted definition of philanthropy is the “giving of time, talent and treasure” – and Goorhouse, as he speaks to various groups, makes sure to emphasize “and” as the most important word of that statement while encouraging donors to give of themselves in all three ways. 

“It’s who I am as a person that fits this job so perfectly. It’s hardly work,” Goorhouse said. “When they’re thinking about giving back to the community, they’re at their best. I get to talk about what they care about.”

Goorhouse earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education and then a master’s in public administration from Grand Valley State University. He’s able to take advantage of his relative youth in the professional world to connect with high school students and explain to them the opportunities to give back as part of the non-profit world. He serves on the boards of generationOn and Learning to Give, which both focus on integrating service into pre-college education.

While the national recognition in 2011 might’ve carried the most significance among honors Goorhouse has received, another he earned in 2009 has been his most meaningful on a personal level.

He was honored with the inaugural Young Philanthropist of the Year award by the Community Foundation. He didn't begin work for that organization until three years later, but giving back in his hometown always has been close to his heart.

“I love this place. It’s not that I can only do this work here, but it’s extra special to do the work you love in the place that you love,” Goorhouse said. “I could’ve lived anywhere because I would be on the road regardless. But to come home where my family and friends are, to the community I know best, it’s special.”

Click to read the series' first installments: 

PHOTO: Mike Goorhouse sends a volley while playing tennis for Holland Christian. He won an MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award in 2004. VIDEO: Goorhouse speaks in 2004 about playing for his high school tennis coach John Knoester.