Decisions are an essential part of life. For people my age, some common choices are selecting a college, picking a major, or deciding what career to pursue. While these decisions have been difficult for my peers, I have not struggled in the same way because my experiences have paved the path in front of me. With the culmination of advanced science academics, molecular biology research, caring for my community, and my grandfather’s passing, my decision to pursue a life devoted to medicine and healing was hardly a “decision” at all. Rather, it was the nexus of these influential life events that have led me to recognize my calling to be an educator, a counselor, a leader, and a healer, or more simply put, a medical doctor.
I come from a town of around four hundred people; a small farming community. I was raised on a thirty acre farm filled with animals and chores to accomplish. In this type of environment, anything that was too small for the eye to see was not of much concern.
One place that offered the chance to see importance in things other than what was useful on the farm was the local high school. The educational environment superseded the less intellectually inclined world immediately outside of the school walls, giving me an opportunity to excel in areas the community did not put much priority on. I performed well in all my classes, but found the most enjoyment from the science courses, with the two classes that played the greatest effect on me being genetics and psychology. While genetics were important in choosing the best hogs to raise on the farm, genetics class was the first time I had to chance to understand the molecular mechanisms in much greater depth than just what I had read on the internet after coming in from chores at night. Psychology gave me a very similar satisfaction because understanding human thoughts and behavior helped connect why I excelled at communication, persuasion, and leading teams.
My interests in genetics and psychology carried over into my undergraduate career, as I began as a double major in those fields. Throughout my first three years at MSU, I have continued to learn more about mechanisms and the underlying reasons that explain us and our world. My interests specifically in molecular and cellular biology, beyond my decision to major in genetics, are evident from my choice to do my various in class research projects on topics like MRSA, partition coefficients in medicine, and chemical kinematics, as well as adding human biology as a third major. Furthermore, completing various research projects in MSU’s Transgenic core, investigating tumor formation related to adipose tissue derived growth factors for my senior thesis, and discovering metabolic backgrounds of metastasis during my DO/PhD summer fellowship has continued to balloon my knowledge in cancer, biology, and genetics. My course work towards my psychology major, service in the surgical lounge at Sparrow hospital, and involvement in MSU’s sexual assault program, taught me that the application of science depends heavily on society and human interaction.
This wonderful exploration of the natural and social sciences was not without challenges from outside the confines of the classroom and the lab, the most difficult of which was the passing of my grandfather. My grandparents lived in Florida and visiting them for spring break was always an important time of the year for me, especially since that was commonly the only chance I had to eat grandma’s pie and go fishing all day with grandpa. Sadly, my grandfather suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, exhibiting signs of it well before his passing. Being young, it was difficult for me to notice; however, each year I advanced mentally while he mentally regressed and it became clearer with each annual trip how much of him we were losing. As a family, we understood the disease only enough to know that we were helpless. My grandfather passed away in April of 2015, as a shell of the man we had all known and loved.
The collective influence of these life experiences has led me to a career in medicine with the specific interest in oncology and genetics. I have seen in other families, as well as felt in my own family, the feeling of helplessness as complex disease becomes an extremely difficult obstacle to overcome. As a medical doctor, I would be able to help the patient and their loved ones understand, prepare, and employ a health plan to handle the physical, emotional and societal aspects of the disease. My unique combination of biological and social education and experience has prepared me for this role and has also taught me that medicine is not housed just within the walls of an anatomical diagram, an examination room, or even an entire hospital, but also within the homes of the communities served. This less tangible social and emotional side of medicine makes it the most unique and satisfying science, but also the most difficult, meaning it takes special individuals to practice medicine and take on the challenges of health both inside clinics and outside in our community. This is my calling and I am ready to conquer these challenges.
Nate Kauffman 