Rosemary Savage ’08
When Rosemary Savage ’08 enrolled at Milton Hershey School, she was an ambitious high schooler who had a clear focus on her academics. She also dreamt of becoming a family physician.
“In school, I always did my work. I never saw any point of not doing the work,” she said. “I was career-driven and knew what I wanted to do.”
Rosemary’s work ethic, academic excellence, and goal-oriented mindset were evident when she became salutatorian of the Class of 2008. To fulfill her dream of working in medicine, Rosemary took advantage of opportunities at MHS that helped her prepare for college—including college prep classes, the opportunity to earn an EMT certification, and a course that taught her medical terminology.
“That ended up being really helpful because I wasn’t struggling to learn this whole new language in medical school,” Rosemary added. “I already had [the foundation] from the course I took at MHS.”
After graduating from MHS, Rosemary attended The University of Rochester and received her bachelor’s degree in cell and developmental biology. She is currently enrolled in medical school at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and is set to graduate in May 2017.
As she completes her clinical rotations and prepares for residency, she is reminded of her personal connection to family medicine and the reason she takes her studies so seriously.
“I’ve always wanted to [study] family medicine. When I was 10, I had major abdominal surgery that I should have never needed,” Rosemary said. “Because I wasn’t regularly seeing a physician, it wasn’t caught. So I want to help keep people out of the hospital.”
Rosemary is completing her clinical pediatrics rotation at the MHS Health Center—the first place she received routine medical and dental care after she enrolled. During her clinical rotation, she took the time to talk with current MHS students and offered career advice. Sharing her knowledge of science and medicine, and living out the mission of MHS, is what Rosemary describes as a privilege.
“It was an honor to go here and be part of the Milton Hershey School mission,” she said.