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 Know someone who wants to become a D.O.? Send them to Lorie Culham.
She is an admissions officer at MSUCOM and before prospective students even apply, they come to her for advice on college requirements, how to get their applications in order, and how to present themselves as attractive candidates.
For the students who don’t know where to turn, she seeks them out. Part of her job involves traveling around the state, visiting colleges undergraduates, talking to student groups, and meeting with school counselors in an effort to find prospective students and let them know what osteopathic medicine has to offer. For her, promoting the college is not hard. “I think this is a really unique place,” she says.
But the key part of her work is counseling students to help them understand what the college is looking for in a potential doctor. She says that many students get inaccurate information about requirements or assume that all medical schools are looking for the same thing. “I really try to provide good customer service. I want them to have good advice.”
She not only advises them on how to get in, but on what to expect once they arrive. “A lot of people think just getting into medical school is the ultimate goal. They may not understand how difficult it can be once they enroll.” Once the applications are submitted, she reviews them to ensure all is in order before turning them over to the admissions committee.
Ms. Culham has been at MSU since 1983 when she came to East Lansing to pursue a graduate degree in animal science, after serving in the Peace Corps in Africa. Her first campus job was as a Peace Corps recruiter, a position very similar to the one she holds now. She has also worked in a genetics lab, doing screenings to support genetic counseling for families; on small business start ups with the Food Industry Institute; and in a histocompatibility lab that keeps a running database of potential transplant patients and helps match them to donors.
Despite her love of science, Ms. Culham prefers the human aspect of her current job. “Working in the labs was very interesting,” she says, “but I like working with people.” Having a background in science also helps her appreciate what doctors in training have to go through. “I can empathize with these students,” she adds.
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She also enjoys music, and even plays a few folk instruments, including the military fife and one of the more interesting instruments – the bagpipes. She has been playing them for seven years and is a part of two bands that perform regularly at parades and festivals. “It’s really the hardest instrument I’ve ever learned to play, but I love the challenge and the music.”
Ms. Culham lives in Webberville, with her husband, Alan, and their two children, David, 15, and Devin, 12.
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Ms. Culham with her bagpipes and full Scottish regalia. |
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