53-year-old medical student finally achieves his dream of becoming a doctor

My childhood dream was to become a doctor

I have always been a gifted student. My classmates called me “intelligent,” even though I would say I am a chronically gifted person.

But when I went off to college in the late 1980s, I found myself surrounded by many brilliant minds and realized that maybe I wasn’t so special. Unsupportive professors only amplified my doubts. I remember one saying that girls learned more slowly than boys and another suggesting that girls sit in the back of the class because none of us were going to use our degrees.

I lost confidence in myself and gave up on my dream of becoming a doctor. I got a liberal arts degree and got a job in a coffee shop.

When I met my first husband at 24, I clung to our relationship as a source of identity. He reassured me, told me it was okay that I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and that he would take care of me. We married at 26 under the pretense that we would try to have children right away and that I would quit my job to take care of them.

A difficult pregnancy left me in and out of the hospital and bedridden. My twins were born prematurely and had to spend a year in isolation at home. Shortly after, one of my boys was diagnosed with autism and began a relentless search for services for him. I loved having my babies at home, but the first two years of their lives were exhausting.

By the time I was four, my boys were healthy, had reached all their milestones, and were getting ready to start kindergarten. I was finally able to catch my breath and my career ambitions took over.

I applied for a master’s program without the money for it

When I told my ex-husband about my desire to go back to school, he shut me down by saying we didn’t have the money for it and making disparaging remarks about my intelligence.

Our conflicts continued and eventually resulted in a divorce when our boys were five. I became their primary caretaker and had to work double duty as a barista and receptionist to make ends meet.

I was determined to continue my education, so I applied to a master’s program in special education. I thought I would learn how to better meet the needs of my autistic son by choosing a career that would allow me to work during school hours.

But I had no way to pay for my education. I applied for several scholarships and grants through Portland State University, but I was still about $10,000 short of tuition.

My friend convinced me to audition for a game show

I was at a friend’s house talking about my financial troubles when she joked that she had found a part-time job on Craigslist. We started looking through questionable job postings and laughing at their absurdity until my friend stumbled upon a local casting call for Singing Bee, a game show on Country Music Television.

She knew I had a gift for memorization and that I loved country music, so she begged me to audition. I wasn’t sold on the idea until she told me about the cash prize. Then I was in.

That Thursday, she drove me to the local Marriott to join 700 other applicants. We were taken through rounds of auditions until the pool was whittled down to 30, and then they sent us home.

A few nights later, I got a call from a Singing Bee representative who offered to fly me to Los Angeles the next morning to appear on the show. He promised me free hotel accommodations and a minimum fee of $1,000. I frantically called people to come see my boys, then packed my bags.

I didn’t expect to win $10,000

The experience was a whirlwind. I flew to Los Angeles and a few hours later found myself on a film set with six other country music fans, anxiously awaiting instructions from the host. I was totally into it as we played the game until it came down to me and another woman. She got every lyric right and I thought I was toast – but then she messed up a word in a song and they told me if I got it right, I would win the game.

I did it. I was shocked to receive a trophy and a check for $10,000 – exactly what I needed to fund the first semester of my master’s degree.

I started researching and getting interested in medicine

I pursued my master’s degree while continuing to work in the service sector, but my heart wasn’t in teaching. My advisor helped me switch to research, and I was hired as a full-time researcher at my university’s Autism Research Institute the day after graduation.

I began working in local hospitals and delving into the biomedical side of autism studies while pursuing a master’s degree in nutrition at Notre Dame of Maryland.

In 2013, I met my current husband. My sons and I moved into his house in a small town off the coast of Washington while I continued to research and find my place in medicine. I was so close to my childhood dream, but I thought I was too old at 40 to apply to medical school.

The pandemic made me realize it was time to help

In 2020, I saw firsthand the devastation the pandemic was wreaking on our rural community, which was already a medically underserved area. Physician suicide rates were skyrocketing and healthcare professionals were overworked and burned out. I remember telling my husband that I could sit here and be angry about what was happening or I could be part of the solution. I put aside all my doubts and knew it was time to go back to school.

At age 50, I enrolled in medical school at Pacific Northwest University. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified, but I have to thank my husband, my beautiful boys, and my parents for being my biggest supporters. I am now in my third year of medical school and there are so many benefits to starting medical school at age 50.

Because my husband and I have bought and sold properties and invested, I feel more financially stable than ever.

I am also more emotionally and mentally stable. After raising twins, nothing scares me. I can multitask and roll with the punches. Some of my younger peers panic when they fail a test, but I am able to let it go and keep moving forward.

Luckily, my different life experiences don’t ostracize me from my peers; I just feel like I’m spending time with my friends even though I’m their mother’s age.

The most amazing thing about going to medical school later in life is that I have already lived a full life. I have raised my children, fallen in love, and traveled to more places than I could have ever imagined. Medical school does not fill a void in my life, it is just another experience that is added to it.

My goal is to become a primary care physician, a goal I should achieve by age 57. It has taken me over half a century, but I am proud to say that I am finally pursuing my dream.

If winning a game show changed your life and you would like to tell your story, please email Tess Martinelli at [email protected].