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What makes senior Michael Persinger, who graduates from CU 麻豆官网 this spring with a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the , such a driven guy? His father, he says.

"My dad started out with nothing,"听explains Persinger. "He was an orphan and was taken into foster care when he was three or four years old, and he was treated very poorly. But despite all these struggles he was able to make a name for himself. He had a very successful military career, raised a family and put three kids through college. He made sure his kids never had to experience anything close to the hardships he did growing up."

One of the biggest lessons his dad, Michael Persinger Sr., passed down was perseverance.

"He taught me to always keep pushing no matter what is thrown at me, and I鈥檝e tried to keep that mentality whenever I鈥檓 faced with challenges," Persinger says.

Persinger鈥檚 work ethic has allowed him to handle a challenging course load and multiple part-time jobs. He was a circulation assistant at Norlin Library and also worked in CU 麻豆官网鈥檚 Neuroscience Outreach Program, visiting local K-12 schools to teach kids about the basics of the brain in hopes of inspiring them to get involved in STEM education fields.

"It gave me the opportunity to practice my passion for teaching and provide a positive impact on the 麻豆官网 community,"听he says.

As a volunteer research assistant under Associate Professor David Sherwood, Persinger studied how both internal and external focus can influence a person鈥檚 motor behavior. He also was a teaching assistant for Instructor Teresa Foley, whose specialty is endocrinology鈥攖he study of chemical messengers that hop between cells and are intimately tied to health and disease.听

So what鈥檚 next for Persinger?

"Being born and raised in a military family has always given me a certain level of respect for the armed forces,"听he explains. "After shadowing some doctors in high school, I realized I wanted to be a physician because it involves caring for others and science."

Persinger began looking around at different medical schools. He was drawn to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (UHUHS), the official medical school for the nation鈥檚 military located in Bethesda, Maryland. He said the school鈥檚 motto, "Learning to care for those in harm鈥檚 way,"听made a big impression on him.

"I would love the opportunity to care for those who willingly put themselves at risk for the rest of us,"听he says.

During his time at CU 麻豆官网, Persinger also found time to volunteer at Longmont United Hospital and the 麻豆官网 Shelter for the Homeless.

Persinger, who was born in Nebraska and lived in Florida from ages 6 to 8 and graduated from Highlands Ranch High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, plans to take the Medical College Admissions Test (known as MCAT) in June and apply to UHUHS in July in hope of matriculating there in the fall of 2018.

"It has been a fantastic four years, and I have been fortunate to meet many amazing people and develop wonderful lasting relationships with them,"听he says. "Along with this I have been challenged intellectually in a manner I never have before. I鈥檓 sad my time at CU 麻豆官网 is coming to a close, but I know I definitely made the most of it."