Gregory Carter:
CLASS OF 1967
St. Cloud Technical High SchoolClass of 1967
St. cloud, MN
WestVirginia UniversityClass of 1985
Morgantown, WV
WestVirginia UniversityClass of 1975
Morgantown, WV
Hamline University - Liberal ArtsClass of 1971
St. paul, MN
Gregory's Story
Life
As the oldest son of the town psychiatrist, I don't believe I excelled at anything in high school, certainly not sports, but I did alright in choir, chess, and counter-cultural passive resistance. After graduation from Tech my family left St. Cloud for Missouri and I for Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota with several of my classmates. At Hamline I endulged my love of choral music and science (too young to drink and didn't have wheels until my junior year). I was never a great student and barely held a B average, but fortunately I was a good test taker and scored in the 98th percentile on my Medical College Admission Test. That combined with my heavy involvement with People, Inc. convinced West Virginia University to accept me into their freshman medical school class. I had met and married my wife Carolyn during my senior year at Hamline so off we went in my 65 Mustang to the mountains of West Virginia. For those of you familiar with 'stangs, we didn't have much in worldly possessions. Medical school was great! Some of the best times of my life. Graduation led to residency in internal medicine and neurology. At that point I enjoyed being a student so much I entered graduate school and stayed until Carolyn threatened to divorce me unless I found a real job. Justin was born when I was a third year medical student and Matthew was born during my third year of residency. Then in 1983 I moved my family to Texas, though I had to return to West Virginia to finish my PhD. When I finally arrived in Dallas to begin work at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and the Dallas VA Medical Center everything went well. Board exams were easily passed, research grants were funded, expertise accumulated. However, eventually in life all things become more difficult. I lost grant support and accumulated administrative responsibilities. The good life ended. I was acting chief of staff of a large hospital, something for which this counter-culture musician was not adept. Afte...Expand for more
r one year I bailed to the middle management position of Chief of the VA Neurology Section surviving six successive university chairmen in a less than pleasant existence. Then tragedy struck as my son Matthew, a freshman at Baylor College of Medicine was murdered by gang members during a car jacking and robbery in Houston in 2000. Memorial services and criminal trials occupied the next two years. Carolyn was devastated. Time, though, heals some wounds. Seniority has given me prestige and power and wealth, though I would exchange them all for more time with Matthew. I now spend my time teaching medical students and residents, endulging my interests in wine and song (too old for women at this point), traveling, and grabbing opportunities where they exist to enlarge my fiefdoms, not a bad life. Sure, I've gotten fat, spending too little time exercising and too much time giving dinner lectures at fancy restaurants, but I have no desire to live forever. The good and the bad are all transitory. Classmates, enjoy life while you can.
Sometimes I wonder if I was born with good sense. As 2013 begins, I am re-starting a sleep medicine fellowship training program that I (and others) originally started in 2002. I accepted the position of President of the Southern Sleep Society in 2012. In addition I've taken a major role in our intraoperative monitoring at Zale Lipshy University Hospital. There don't seem like enough hours in the day (certainly not enough energy). It has been good to see old classmates at recent reunions. It reminds me that there is a lot of life to be lived outside the hospital/clinic.
I have taken on a group of talented medical and graduate student musicians who have named themselves "The Lymph Notes". With my support they are now doing more than 20 gigs per year, including singing for medical school donors at the President's Dinner. I recently added setting up sound reinforcement support for the medical students' big Multicultural Show. There is never a dull moment.
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