“Don’t make a living, make an impact.”
Dr. Omar Lateef, President and CEO of Rush University Medical Center, addressed the 144 White Coat recipients, class of 2026 earlier this month.
I sat spellbound by his words, each chosen and chiseled to perfection to deliver the message summed up in this last sentence.
I wondered about his background, his life’s journey, the steps he took that led him to become the leader of this prestigious university. I thought about steps … and how life is a series of small steps, twists and turns, like a marathon I ran which is perhaps the perfect metaphor for life.
“You’re crazy!”
I think those were the exact words I responded with when my daughter, Jen, asked if I would train and run the Chicago Marathon with her. It was 2005 and I was 47 years old. The entire idea was too daunting at first thought. But then – as I paused to reflect, my soul whispered with increasing intensity, that this opportunity would never come again.
I took the first step toward the starting line; committing.
Jen and I trained by adding miles on the road and motivational quips to our pantry door. We cross trained: swimming, weights, elliptical, core strength. Lots of steps.
Go time. October 9, 2005. We stood at the start shivering, not so much from the cool temperature of the morning, but for the adrenaline that pumped through our veins. Jen ran her race – fast – and qualified for Boston in 3 hours and 14 minutes. I ran, starting with a comfortable eight-minute mile pace. Just as I was cruising along at mile 14, thinking this isn’t going to be so bad, lactic acid settled in my legs like concrete. I intermittently walked and ran the rest of the way, finishing in five hours and change. Crossing the finish line was simple but not easy – and it was most definitely NOT accomplished with one giant leap. It took many, many small steps.
Sitting in attendance with my husband John, daughter Andrea, and son Josh, at the Marriott Marquis in Chicago for the White Coat Ceremony, I thought about the steps taken by each of the 144 medical students. I thought about the steps Josh took to be able to take his place in this moment. Like my marathon, all hone according to plan.
There was the enlisting into the Marine Corps right out of high school step. The boots on the ground step in Afghanistan and Iraq.
There was the coming home step after serving four years in the Marine Corps and figuring out the next steps; feeling like he was four years behind his peers.
There was the going to college step as a nontraditional student and graduating with a business degree from the Kelley School of Business.
There was the landing a job with Keyence (in L.A.) step and starting as a sales engineer.
There was the discovering that the California life (though great for some) did not serve his soul step and he braved a pivot.
There was the move back to Indiana (with a plan) step; working at St. Joe Hospital as a scribe and later as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) in the ICU during the height of the Covid Pandemic, and the E.R. – all while taking the prerequisite classes needed for applying to med school.
There was the teaching himself biochemistry step (who does that?!!) because the course offering did not meet his timeline.
There was the MCAT step and applying to med schools – Rush among them.
Then there was the acceptance to Rush step. He was one of 12,800 primary applicants, one of 8,478 secondary applicants, and one of 413 interviewed to become one of the 144 medical students for the 2026 class.
All of this brought him to his current step – his White Coat Ceremony. Simple but not easy.
I watched, filled with a myriad of emotions, as Josh slipped into his white coat. Even now, almost two weeks later, trying to put my feelings and thoughts into words is like trying to stuff the world into a thimble.
Dr. Lateef’s directive to make an impact will, no doubt, continue to echo in the lives of these young medical students. They will make their steps count. I believe they already have.
On this day, in mid-September, there was a beautiful sea of white spread across the room. Turns out you CAN wear white after Labor Day!