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Celebrate first-generation DOs and the odds they overcame
Join us as we launch an inspiring video series celebrating first-generation osteopathic physicians. These trailblazers each followed a unique journey of overcoming challenges, breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations to follow in their footsteps.
Our series highlights the compelling stories of osteopathic medical students, residents and practicing physicians across various stages of their careers. By showcasing their perseverance, determination and vision, we aim to inspire meaningful mentor-mentee connections and demonstrate that attending an osteopathic medical school—and becoming a physician—is a real and attainable possibility for aspiring students.
In our inaugural episode, AOA trustee and current first vice president Joshua D. Lenchus, DO, shares his journey as a first-generation DO, reflecting on the mentors who helped shape his path, including AOA Past President Joseph A. Giaimo, DO, and the lessons he now pays forward: “I think mentorship was probably the single greatest solution to the obstacles that I had in stumbling along the path to becoming an osteopathic physician. Medicine is about serving others [and] putting others before yourself,” he said.
Because pioneering a path means making it easier for others to walk it.