UMDNJ GRADUATION 2003

The University also awarded 1,153 professional degrees and certificates to students. The road to graduation is a long one, and frequently takes many twists and turns. Here are stories of a few graduates whose journeys are particularly no

As a youngster, George Browne was fascinated with his uncle’s career as an anesthesiologist. However, he did not apply to medical school after receiving his undergraduate degree, but instead entered a religious order in South Orange. After a year, he was still drawn to health care, so he left the order and found a new job as a hospital critical care technician. Caring for patients and interacting with physicians inspired him to apply to UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS). Browne is beginning an internal medicine residency program at RWJMS. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children ages 3, 2 and 8 months.

WOOSIK CHUNG, MD

In 1978, while playing "hide-n-seek" as a three year old in his native South Korea, Woosik Chung reached out to catch the whirring fan of a tractor engine, and completely severed both hands. His parents–a surgeon and a nurse–rushed him to a hospital. It was a national holiday, so there was only a skeleton staff at the hospital. Although Dr. Chung had never attempted this type of operation before, he took his son into surgery and re-attached his hands, with his wife and a surgical team assisting. To help the youngster with rehabilitation, Woosik’s grandfather, a Tae Kwan Do master, trained his grandson in the martial arts. Chung became so proficient that several years after moving with his family to the U.S., he qualified for the national Tae Kwan Do team. He would have competed for a spot on the 2002 U.S. Olympic team if the allure of medicine hadn’t drawn him to enroll at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. After graduating, Chung will pursue a residency in orthopedic surgery at Columbia University Presbyterian Hospital. He plans to specialize in hand surgery because, he says, "The best way I can thank my dad is to help someone else in a similar situation." Chung is the subject of an upcoming article in People magazine.

JEFF CLARK, MS

When Jeff Clark walked across the stage to receive his MS degree in rehabilitation counseling from the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions, he was accompanied by Adonis, his guide dog. As a child, Clark was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, an eye condition that slowly progresses to loss of sight. Deter-mined to pursue his education, he received an associate of science degree from Burlington County College and a bachelor of science degree in sociology and psychology from Rutgers/Camden. Since he is not proficient in Braille, a computer with a voice-output mechanism was an invaluable tool in helping him review research documents. He is now working as a vocation rehabilitation counselor in Camden.

KATHY RIZZO, DO, PhD

Kathy Rizzo has blazed an academic trail for others to follow at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM). She is the first graduate in the only combined DO/PhD program in the country. After two years of medical school, Rizzo took a leave to begin a program jointly sponsored by the NIH and the UMDNJ-Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS). Her research there supported the requirements for earning her doctorate degree from GSBS. She then completed medical school at SOM, and is now in the pathology residency program at the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University.