:: Stew, Beck & Soph ::: In His Own Words

Stewart got home on Friday, I was super happy to see him when he got off the bus at 9:00pm. He seemed to have a great time and enjoyed his trip. We should know where we're going by the end of the month, give or take. Stewart knows that he has to blog about his trip because I can’t do it justice. My one problem is getting Stewart to find the time to blog...(4 days later)

IN STEWART'S OWN WORDS:

Okay people I'm here and ready to write. Becky told me that I need to update you all on my trip. I had a great time. I'm not much of a traveler so it was all new to me, but I think I've got the hang of it now. I rode a shuttle bus to Salt Lake and spent the night there. I got up at 4am to be to the airport in time to make my flight. I flew to Charleston West Virginia. I rented a car there and drove to Lewisburg. My GPS unit wasn't working when I first got in the car, so I had to look at the map. I saw the highway that took me directly to Lewisburg and assumed it would be faster than the freeway which took a less direct route. WRONG! The highway was very twisty. It took me into all the little towns in between. The speed limit changed frequently. I was busy trying to make sure I was on the right road, and not missing a turn and I neglected to slow down at one point. The next thing I knew there were flashing lights in my rear view mirror. The officer didn't have any simpathy for me, so now I owe the town of Smithers WV some money, frustrating.

Lewisburg WV is a beautiful little town. I think it rains so often there that people don't need to water their lawns/gardens. How would that be? The people are very friendly. The town was a site of a Civil War battle. I drove around town a little on Sunday evening and stood in the place where the Union army set up their camp and where they began their march on the Confederate soldiers. It was neat. I went to church in Lewisburg. It is wonderful how the Church teaches the same gospel, and the same principles anywhere you go. Most of the elder's quorum are students at WVSOM, they had some good things to say about the school.

My interview went well. They didn't ask me any curveball question, just the ones you would expect to answer: "why do you want to be a doctor? Why did you choose this school?" etc. I was impressed with the campus. It's a beautiful area. The buildings are spread out, with plenty of green space in between. All their buildings were pretty new and up to date. The anatomy lab was quiet and not stinky (ISU's anatomy lab is a cave in comparison). I like the program they have.

This is going long so I'm going to have to speed it up. I flew to Kansas City MO and rented another car. I drove 3 1/2 hours North to Kirksville. Kirksville reminds me of the small town I grew up in. The school is older and not as nice, but some of the programs are more established, and, quite honestly, superior. Kirksville is the birthplace of Osteopathy, and is kind of the leader (Mitch and Cassie might disagree with me on that). My interview there went well. Again, they just asked the basic questions that you would expect. They didn't try and trip me up. I had a good experience there.

I wanted to go see some church sites while I was in MO, but I ran out of time. I flew home the day after the interview. Becky and I hadn't seen each other for a week and I was anxious to be back with her.

Mitch you asked me a few months ago why I didn't apply to DMU and I never answered. I should answer you now. I looked at DMU. It seemed to me like they take pride in preparing their students for surgery (along with everything else). I'm not interested in doing surgery and so I crossed DMU off the list. Two of the D.O's here in town that I've talked to went there and they loved it and they are fantastic doctors. I know I would have done well there, but I just wanted a school that focused more on primary care.