Dr . Amy Dwyer ’ s brother Tom is a software engineer who “ makes iCloud work ” and her brother Bill is a “ financial wizard .” Support was always there from her parents and close family , but others doubted her .

As a Michigan resident , after high school there were only two college options on her radar – the University of Michigan and Michigan State University . She decided on MSU and entered as a business and Spanish major , unsure of what was ahead and very low on confidence . In her first term , she hated her core classes and motivation to go to class was low , resulting in a 2.9 GPA . This was a wakeup call .

“ I knew I needed to do something with my life . I rode my bike to the science hall , and I looked at all the pamphlets on the wall , and I decided that I really liked science , and said to heck with my high school chemistry teacher who thought I wasn ’ t going to be anything .”

She soon changed her major to physiology . Making this big change to pursue medicine was daunting , not only because of the difficult coursework ahead , but also the timeline .

“ I was nervous and knew it would take a long time . I told my mom that I ’ d be 30 by the time I was finished . But her response , which now I tell all my students , was , ‘ You ’ re going to be 30 anyway , why not do something important with your life ?’”

From then on , she took 18-21 credit hours each term and by graduation raised her GPA to a 3.99 after getting A ’ s the rest of her college career . She took the MCAT , knowing she wasn ’ t a great standardized test taker , and got less than stellar scores . On the second try , she prepared differently and got a great score , earning the interest of one school in particular .

“ Wayne State called and told me that if I changed my application to early decision , they would accept me on the spot , over the phone . So that was it . When you ’ re offered medical school acceptance without any interviews or applications , that ’ s an easy decision . I said , ‘ Done .’”

Searching for her future specialty , she was torn between nephrology , which had piqued her interest in undergrad , or surgery , which would allow her to be hands-on and do procedures . After rotations , she decided to stick with nephrology .

After spending all her life in Michigan , she knew she wanted warmer weather and a beach nearby for residency . “ When you ’ re young and single and can pick somewhere new to live for a few years , I think you should just take advantage of it and go .” After compiling experiences of out-of-state electives with her classmates , she narrowed down where she hoped to get interviews .

24 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE