LEXINGTON, Va. – With just three months to go until graduation, many VMI senior cadets are still trying to figure out where life will take them after they wake up as alumni on May 17.
Not so Nick Platamone ’15 – by the end of November, he’d already been accepted at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Va.
Platamone, who transferred to VMI after one year at George Mason University, credits the experience he gained in Col. James “Jim” Turner’s capstone biology course last semester with giving him the solid foundation in research methods that he’ll need in medical school.
“I feel 100 percent better prepared,” said Platamone in mid-January as he looked back on Turner’s class, which used the study of zebrafish to introduce senior biology majors to scientific research.
Platamone was especially appreciative of the class because prior to it, he’d never had a chance to do undergraduate research. In the summer of 2014, he and Hunter Scothorn ’15 traveled to Haiti to shadow doctors working in a medical clinic there, and in previous summers Platamone had ROTC commitments.
“That trip really solidified my desire for medical school,” said Platamone of the Haiti experience.
Platamone is quick to credit Turner with helping him discover the path that would ultimately take him to medical school. He entered VMI with aspirations of becoming a Navy pilot, but then discovered that medical school and Naval ROTC wouldn’t combine well.
“Col. Turner has been the guy to point me in every direction to go,” Platamone noted. “He’s such a good guy. He’ll drop anything he’s doing to help [a cadet].”
Platamone was also quick to credit as mentors Col. Richard “Dick” Rowe and Col. Wade Bell, both professors of biology. He took Rowe’s morphology class last semester and is currently enrolled in his histology class. Likewise, he’s taking immunology from Bell, with hopes that both the histology and immunology courses will give him a leg up in the fall.
Over the course of his cadetship, Platamone has not only been pursuing his academic goals, but he’s also found time to take part in many of the extracurricular opportunities available to cadets. He’s been a member of the cadre as a corporal, played club soccer, and participated with Character Counts, a program which brings character education to local school children. He’s also a member of the leadership focus group run by the Center for Leadership and Ethics.
Last semester, Platamone even found time to tutor in the Miller Academic Center, helping his fellow cadets with their biology, chemistry, and physics assignments. That achievement is particularly remarkable when one considers that he was shadowing a family practice doctor in Blacksburg one afternoon per week as part of his preparation for medical school.
“I’m happy with the path I’ve set forth on,” observed Platamone. “I don’t think it would have happened if I hadn’t been here, with the guidance I’ve had from Col. Bell, Col. Turner, and Col. Rowe.”
Other cadets accepted to medical school so far this academic year include Katheryne Austin ’15, Mark Collie ’15, Hannah Dickinson ’15, and Harper Niver ’15. Alumni recently accepted include Douglas C. Trask ’09 and A.J. Gross Jr. ’11.
– Mary Price