My pathway to becoming a doctor was certainly unorthodox to say the least. I was born in Gary, Indiana, which was a booming steel town in my youth.  I was the sixth of seven children, and was always a good student who loved math and science, so it seemed natural to follow two of my older brothers to Purdue University to study engineering. In fact, at age 17, I received an academic scholarship to do just that, and promptly lost my scholarship by never going to class. So, I went to work in the steel mills back home, and continued there for eight years. After a year or two, I enrolled in Indiana University, while continuing to work full-time. I again took math and science classes, and most of my classmates were "pre-med", which was the absolute furthest thing from my mind, since I passed out at the sight of blood. But this time, my grades were better than my classmates who were "going to be a doctor", and I began to consider that possibility as well. So, I took the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), somewhat on a whim, but discovered that my scores were quite good, so I applied to medical school. To my astonishment, I was accepted to Indiana University Medical School as a junior student, meaning that I do not have an undergraduate degree, but I did graduate from Indiana University with my MD degree.