Brittany Garza is a 2014 Lyman Briggs and Honors College graduate and a 2022 College of Osteopathic Medicine graduate. She is currently an attending physician in Owosso, Michigan.
I started my journey to medicine in the Lyman Briggs College and Honors College in 2014. As a premedical student, I was very thankful to get involved in pipeline programs that paved my pathway into medical school. In the Lyman Briggs residential college, I was connected with numerous pre-medical associations with the most important one being the Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program. This organization connected me with countless physician mentors who showed me how to perform osteopathic manipulative medicine, connected me to volunteer and shadowing opportunities, and helped me create a network of likeminded premedical students who were on the same journey I was.
I was thankful to begin medical school at the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine in the summer of 2018. I graduated in May of 2022 and matched into an emergency medicine residency program at Central Michigan University.
During my eight years, I was thankful to participate in Michigan State’s world class international education curriculum. I participated in five study abroad programs and presented what I learned at the Global Learning Conference held every November on campus.
I had the privilege to travel to Ecuador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Malawi, the majority of which was through the Institute of Global Health. These experiences taught me how to provide high quality, sustainable medical care in lower resource areas. I am a better physician because of these opportunities. Because of my continued engagement with the Institute of Global Health, I have had the privilege to be a program facilitator for their yearly Costa Rica study abroad trip. My experiences have come full circle and now I get to serve as a mentor to others who are on their own medical journey.
My degrees at Michigan State have helped me get to the place where I am today. I am a Michigan-educated physician and I will be staying in Michigan as an attending physician in Owosso in the Memorial Healthcare Emergency Department starting in July of 2025. Without the unique and powerful opportunities offered through Michigan State, I would not be the person or professional I am today. I can provide more culturally competent and holistic medical care to my community.
Thank you to Lyman Briggs, the Honors College and the College of Osteopathic Medicine. It is because of you that Spartans Will.