NEW BEGINNINGS Class of 2018 embraces next chapter A life in perspective and ‘keeping the promise’ When he was preparing for medical school, Andrew French remembers hearing how allconsuming the experience would be, with no time for family and friends and barely time to eat. It has been a challenge French acknowledged, but he’s also learned that life doesn’t stop for medical school. “My wife and I were involved in our church,” he said. “We have two kids, both born during school. I think those things helped me keep perspective on what’s important, even when school stresses were piling up.” Following graduation from the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM), French will move to Virginia for his residency in family medicine.
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
“I chose this program because their strength is in training physicians to practice the full spectrum of rural primary care, from childbirth to end-of-life,” said French, who was also an osteopathic manipulative medicine fellow at KYCOM. “Manual medicine was a big part of what drew me to an osteopathic medical school in the first place. Once I started, I knew I wanted to take advantage of the stellar faculty here.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
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UPIKE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018
A calling to serve Anna Kowalok always knew she wanted to help people, but wasn’t sure what career path to pursue. Soon, the mathematics major will pursue a master’s degree in higher education management at the University of Pittsburgh. “Once I became a resident assistant at UPIKE that is when it clicked! After being a part of the resident life department, I knew that God put me here for a reason,” she said. The daughter of a college professor, Kowalok has grown up surrounded by her UPIKE campus family. Her mother, Pat Kowalok, is a longtime professor of art and currently chair of the division of humanities. “My mother is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me,” said Kowalok. “If I had not been adopted by her, I would not be where I am today, with all the opportunities and blessings that have been given to me.”
