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From Pre-K to Ph.D. and Beyond
Gwinnett County Educates Students from Elementary School to College to Medical School
BY BRYAN GINN, CHIEF CAMPUS OFFICER, PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE – GEORGIA CAMPUS
Tatiana Rodriguez (D.O.
’18) – a second-year medical
student at Georgia Campus-
Philadelphia College of
Osteopathic Medicine (GA-
PCOM) – is living proof that,
as the Gwinnett water tower
proclaimed for many years,
success
still
lives here.
Lawrenceville’s Rodriguez has lived
in Gwinnett County nearly her entire
life, completing her education within 10
miles of her home. She attended Cedar
Hill Elementary School, Richards Middle
School and Central Gwinnett High
School, and then earned a B.S. degree in
general biology from Georgia Gwinnett
College (GGC). While in high school,
she participated in the Gwinnett Medical
Center Explorer program, which solidified
her interest in medicine and led her to
enroll at GA-PCOM.
Rodriguez felt like she could
find success without leaving her
hometown. She explained that
she was attracted to the growth
at GGC and, most importantly
for her, its
community:
“A lot of
people came
and wanted to transfer out, but I was
completely happy feeling like a big fish in a
small pond.”
Her mother is a nurse at Gwinnett
Medical Center, so she was interested in
healthcare as a career option from an early
age. Choosing to continue her education in
medicine, Rodriguez looked for a similar
sense of community in medical programs.
Upon learning about GA-PCOM, a medical
school in Suwanee that would allow her
to stay close to her family, she decided to
apply to the College’s osteopathic medicine
program. Once she interviewed there, the
college became her first choice.
“I like the environment and the smaller
size of it,” she says, “It makes it easy to get
to know people.”
Rodriguez enjoys the camaraderie that
GA-PCOM’s atmosphere promotes and
adds that members of the class of 2018
work together very well.
As a student ambassador, Rodriguez
assists prospective students during GA-
PCOM events like the Medical Explorer
visit and the College’s interview days. She
likes getting to break out of her “study
bubble” to answer questions and feel like
she is helping out.
“I’m open to the future,” Rodriguez
says, explaining that she appreciates that
the D.O. program will afford her many
opportunities. She says that she absolutely
wants to stay in Georgia: “There are a lot of
great hospitals in the state!”
Community
THE EXECUTIVE – Q4 2015
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