For David Hotwagner and Benjamin Visger, medical school didn’t always seem like a 
possibility. Hotwagner battled a childhood injury, and Visger was a first generation college student from a blue collar family. But they found a way through OsteoCHAMPS.
Hotwagner and Visger were introduced to OsteoCHAMPS, a unique program offered through Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and supported locally by the Osteopathic Foundation of West Michigan.
The program sends qualifying Muskegon County high school juniors and seniors to MSU for two intensive weeks of science studies and an introduction to osteopathic medicine. Of course, being an OsteoCHAMP doesn’t guarantee anyone automatic acceptance into osteopathic medical school after college graduation; the point of the program is to whet the interest of those serious about medicine – and help send those who discover that medicine isn’t for them in another direction.
Hotwagner and Visger – both third-year osteopathic medical students – started a two-year externship at Mercy Health Partners. The two were in this area’s first class of OsteoCHAMPS, the first to be accepted into MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the first to “come home ” as they continue their studies. Both also received scholarships from the Osteopathic Foundation of West Michigan.
To read their full story, click here.