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Published in Aspects Magazine, Summer 2018, Vol 41-3

As the chief resident physician in the Division of Emergency Medicine, Tyler Fulks, MD, Class of 2016, has made it his life’s mission to provide the best care to patients having their worst days. What was your childhood like? Dr. Tyler Fulks: I grew up not far from here in Chatham. As a boy, I knew I wanted to be either a rock star, a racecar driver or a doctor. I’m glad at least one of those seemed to pan out. I used to race go karts. My dad’s whole side of the family races to this day. I retired from racing in middle school, but at the time I was actually pretty good. What made you choose

Medical student Barra Madden had dreams of becoming a professional dancer until personal and familial health challenges forever changed her life – and career path.

Jennifer Becker, MD, MPH, is a first-year resident in Emergency Medicine. She completed her dual degrees in May, just after she received a 2020 Excellence in Public Health Award from the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee for projects she initiated in southern Illinois. WHAT DID YOU ENJOY ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND SPRINGFIELD? I don’t think I could’ve had a better group of students to go through school with, and I had a lot of tutor groups with people that I really enjoyed seeing all of the time. Third year was by far the best, getting to rotate in so

Hailing from Divernon, Illinois, Jesse Britz is a pharmacology and neuroscience graduate student in the Department of Pharmacology. He has been the student representative of the Graduate Program Committee and chief coordinator of “Brain Awareness Week.”

Lucas Dominic Martinez - Physician Assistant Program - Class of 2022 Where did you grow up? I was born in the Philippines just south of the capital, Manila. I am the youngest of three siblings and we were raised by a single mother. When I was 20, my sister and I moved to the U.S. so we could find jobs and help my mom back home. Our goal was to eventually become citizens and bring my mother and brother to the U.S Where did you attend college? What degree(s) did you earn? I started off with an Associate’s Degree in Diagnostic Imaging from my local community college. I worked as an ultrasound

Preparing tomorrow’s physicians has been the central focus of SIU School of Medicine since its founding in 1970. Our progressive educational philosophy has helped to distinguish us from the other U.S. medical schools that also began in that era, and it is one of the features that continues to attract learners and academic leaders to the institution. As SIU School of Medicine turns 50 in 2020, it is becoming more common to have second-generation students come through the system and train in some of the same spaces that their parent did. In this expanded ‘Aspects of a Learner’ profile, we

Sydney Marshall is a shining example of the type of student MEDPREP was created to aid.

Tiayrra Kirkwood - MEDPREP Class of 2021 Before enrolling in SIU’s post-baccalaureate preparatory program, Chicago Heights native Tiayrra Kirkwood was a caseworker for the State of Illinois. What did you want to be when you were young? Even as a child, I knew I wanted to be a physician. I had a Fisher-Price medical kit filled with Band-Aids, a thermometer, a blood pressure cuff, and even a stethoscope! I loved going around playing “doctor” with my friends and family. Tell us about your life prior to entering MEDPREP. I was a caseworker for the Illinois Department of Human Services, working 8

Fourth-year medical student Aileen Portugal is a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ community. In 2016, she helped found the first LGBTQ Support Group at SIU School of Medicine. ASPECTS: Tell us about your childhood. Aileen Portugal: I grew up in beautiful, sunny San Diego. One of the most awesome characteristics of growing up in San Diego – besides the weather, the beach and the food – is that we are only 20 minutes away from the USA-Mexico border. So for me, visiting my grandma was probably like it was for most people – a short car drive away. It wasn’t until I was 8 or so, that I looked up