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Lane Hughes felt the call to give back during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a sophomore in college, he spent time volunteering with the Children’s Medical Center and the American Red Cross helping deliver blood donations and providing companionship to patients when their families could not visit.

“I was usually assigned overnight shifts, but I didn’t mind because I enjoyed being able to do something positive for my community when the world was in disarray during the pandemic,” Hughes said.

Through those first-hand experiences, Hughes also felt the call to become a doctor.

As he explored his options for medical school, a chance meeting with an admissions recruiter introduced him to The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. After that he set his focus on attending the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

To improve his chances of acceptance to TCOM, Hughes applied to the Master of Science in Medical Science program in HSC’s School of Biomedical Sciences.

“I heard that the rigor of the Med Sci program prepared incoming medical students well for the medical school curriculum, and that I could make connections with faculty and students on campus, all of which were major draws to the program,” Hughes said.

“The school is phenomenal, and the resources are fantastic, but I wouldn’t have known about any of that if I hadn’t met with the folks from admissions who visited UT Dallas.”

Thanks to that chance encounter, and the Master of Science in Medical Science program, Hughes will start medical school at TCOM this fall.

Tell us about your journey leading up to attending HSC.

I’m from DeSoto County, Mississippi, and I came to DFW in 2019 to pursue my bachelor’s in biology at the University of Texas at Dallas. My goal was to go to medical school after I graduated, so I attended a ton of pre-health events and recruitment fairs while I was at UTD. It was there that I met many of our current admissions staff who told me about the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and the School of Biomedical Sciences Medical Sciences program.

What inspired you to pursue your degree at HSC?

I wanted to improve my medical school application before applying to TCOM, which is why I applied to the medical science program. I had also heard that the rigor of the program prepared incoming medical students well for the medical school curriculum, and that I could make connections with faculty and students on campus, all of which were major draws to the program.

The main reason I chose HSC was because of the people I met who told me about HSC. The school is phenomenal, and the resources are fantastic, but I wouldn’t have known about any of that if I hadn’t met with the folks from admissions who visited UTD, or visited campus myself and heard from students and staff about how awesome HSC is.

What academic achievements are you proud of?

I received Collegium V Honors with my bachelor’s degree back in May 2023. There were GPA and honors class hour requirements, but I’m most proud of the Capstone project I submitted, titled “Peaches, Patriotism, Parenthood: The Memoir of Les Petecki.” For this class project, my writing partner and I conducted primary research into the life of Les Petecki, a hospice patient served by a facility close to UT Dallas, as told by his wife and family. We gave virtual interviews and visited their hometown to view the family gravesite and the church where Les and his wife were married. We then drafted, edited and published the memoir in his honor.

Who had an impact on your success at HSC?

Definitely my partner, Anna. Though there’s a long list of people who’ve helped me get to where I am, she’s been my biggest supporter through all my highs and lows. I can’t imagine having gone through this past year without them.

What advice do you have for current or future HSC students?

There are so many resources on campus that go completely unused because people don’t know about them. Find them and use them! Go to all the random events you can because even if you don’t know anything about the event, there’s a good chance you’ll learn something or meet someone new who will help make your HSC experience that much better. Taking a break and getting a free lunch is always a plus as well.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be continuing my journey at HSC as a TCOM OMS-I starting this fall. I currently plan on going into primary care, probably in family medicine, but we’ll see if that changes as I go through medical school.

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