Work-life balance is a concept that often challenges people, companies and society. Drew Fayram is beginning his work life by creating that balance between work, home and volunteerism.

Drew Fayram (seated at right) coaches a wrestling match between Clear Creek Amana High School and Solon High School. Fayram is working with the Hygienic Laboratory as an Association of Public Health Laboratories/ CDC Emerging Infectious Disease fellow. (Photo courtesy of Joe Meade, Williamsburg, freelance photographer, and Marengo Publishing Corporation)

A training fellow at the State Hygienic Laboratory through the Emerging Infectious Disease (EID) Laboratory Training Fellowship Program, Fayram spends his days working in the lab’s Disease Control Division. Fayram’s fellowship is supported by the CDC and the Association of Public Health Laboratories. He divides his time between validating a new technique to identify clinical isolates and emergency preparedness activities.

But Fayram is not only working hard at the lab. After work this winter he has been volunteering as an assistant coach for the Clear Creek Amana High School varsity wrestling team. And, last summer he coached a team of 10- to 12-year-olds in a North Liberty youth baseball program.

Fayram’s interest in these two sports goes back to when he wrestled and played baseball in youth leagues and at Anamosa High School. He went on to pitch for the Wartburg College baseball team while working for his Bachelor of Arts in biology.

The demands of working on his master’s degree in microbiology from the University of Iowa–between classes, research and teaching—did not leave time for volunteerism. But in his position as an EID fellow, Fayram has found some flexibility in his work-life balance that allows him to be involved with his community.

“I want to work hard and be productive in my professional life, but I also need to find fulfillment in my personal life,” Fayram said.

To make that happen, Fayram contacted a college friend who connected him to Jared Carder, the Clear Creek Amana High School wrestling coach, who welcomed Fayram’s offer to volunteer. With the assistance of his mentors at the lab, Fayram adjusted his schedule so that his work day begins at 6:30 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m., giving him time to attend wrestling practice when his workload allowed.

“My number one commitment is to work, though,” he says, adding that he stays at the lab whenever the workload requires it.

Fayram’s personal life includes the career of his wife Lindsay, a pediatric ICU nurse at the UI Hospitals and Clinics, who works three to four 12-hour days a week.

Their schedules during the wrestling season mean that they sometimes don’t see much of each other. “We both recognize that being involved is important, and she knows how much satisfaction I get out of coaching wrestling.”

Fayram is grateful for the flexibility given to him in his work, and sees himself as an ordinary guy who isn’t doing anything remarkable.

“I think coaching is a great way to serve my community and hopefully make a positive impact on some young minds along the way. Not to mention it helps me be a bit healthier.”