MEET LOCAL LEGENDS: By State

"I was at a point in my life at which I wanted to build on my nursing experience. After considering a Ph.D. in nursing, however, I decided medicine offered more options. So, with the unwavering support of my father, and husband, Sam, who was a physician, I went to medical school to become a cardiologist. But obstetrics and gynecology became my passion because I could do surgery and take care of women!"

"I was a physics major during college, assigned to a work-study program at a pharmaceutical company researching consumers' product questions. I found it quite interesting and earned high grades for my work. So during my exit interview, I was asked if I was going to medical school. I'd never thought of it but six weeks later I had decided to and was very fortunate to be accepted at Rochester by Dr. George Whipple, dean of the medical school and a Nobel Prize winner in medicine."

"I was very close to my aunt and uncle—he was a doctor—and in my teenage and early college years, they were exceptionally supportive of me and my wish to become a doctor."

"I was raised in a small town with an unreliable doctor, despite the fact that he was need so badly, so promised myself that I could do better taking care of folks. That was when I was about five or six. I always knew what I was meant to do and never wavered. And I was right. I can't imagine a more rewarding career than taking care of cancer patients."

"I like fixing problems…anybody who walks in the door who needs medical care is someone I can help."

"I had to make a decision about becoming a doctor at 17 years of age because of the unusual program I would be in-six years for a bachelor's degree and an MD. We took our undergraduate arts courses during the summers; it was really intense. But I wanted to be a doctor"

"My father was a doctor and starting at age 13, I used to make house calls with him, helping to deliver babies. I once even stitched up a man's ear when his car wrecked outside our home!"