Welcome to the WMed Student Stories page, where we spotlight the voices, achievements, and experiences of our future healthcare leaders. Keep reading to learn how our students are shaping the future of medicine, one story at a time.
For a full list of our latest updates, visit WMed News and connect with WMed on social media.
A Day in the Life
M2 Marina Cox
Marina Cox has always known she wanted to pursue a career in medicine.
It鈥檚 a passion that only grew stronger growing up in Kalamazoo, so when she learned she had been accepted into WMed, she knew, 鈥渢his is where I鈥檓 meant to be.鈥
Now in her second year at the medical school, a typical day for Marina begins at 6:30 a.m. She wakes up, has some coffee, eats breakfast, packs her lunch and is out the door by 7:30 a.m., embarking on her 20-minute commute to the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus for morning lectures.
Students have the option to watch lectures remotely from home, but Marina prefers to attend in-person, admitting it鈥檚 much easier to focus and it鈥檚 great to be among friends.
Carlynn Gasser, MD
WMed Class of 2025
What鈥檚 life like for a fourth-year medical student (M4) at WMed?
If you had asked Carlynn Gasser, MD, that question in early February 2025 as she was finishing up her final clerkship for medical school 鈥 Advanced Emergency Medicine 鈥 she would have told you her day begins right about the time most everyone else might be making dinner or 鈥 at the very least 鈥 dinner plans.
Around 5 p.m., she rolls out of bed at her Kalamazoo apartment and starts her 鈥渕orning鈥 with a cup of coffee. She has a little less than six hours before she鈥檚 to report for her shift in the emergency room at Bronson Methodist Hospital.
On the menu is breakfast which, given the time of day, might be your normal breakfast fare or sometimes it鈥檚 take-out or leftovers from the day before. She takes time to study at home, a task she likes to complete because the clerkship 鈥 a four-week rotation for fourth-year students 鈥 doesn鈥檛 always lend itself to much downtime during the eight-hour shift.