By Sarah Brown
Lebanon Local
COMP-Northwest welcomed 107 new medical students of the incoming class of 2023 during the ninth annual convocation and white coat ceremony Aug. 2.
One is from Lebanon.
Adrienne Koos is a graduate of East Linn Christian Academy, and will join her former high school classmate Austin Kleint, who will be in his second year at COMP-NW.
Both graduated from ELCA in 2014, but Koos took a year off to work and enjoy some travel time before starting medical college. She and her mother went to Switzerland, Italy and Greece, where they hiked, visited museums, rode horses and participated in wine tastings, toured gardens and relaxed on the beach.
One of her favorite classes in school was world history, so getting to experience the “rich culture” of those countries was a fun experience, she said.
The 23-year-old also loves music, and played the harp in her college symphony. She studied pre-med at Oregon Institute of Technology during her freshman year, and graduated from Western Oregon University with a major in biology.
“(Being a doctor) was always in the back of my mind growing up, then I really decided on it my senior year of high school,” Koos said.
She liked the idea of working as part of a team to help people in their times of need, she said. But she also just likes to be challenged.
“I decided to be a doctor because I knew it was a way I could really push myself, academically, to my limits.”
During the past few years, Koos gained some medical experience by working as a scribe in the emergency department and in a cardiology clinic. She liked the fast-paced environment and is considering a career in emergency medicine.
“But I’m not 100-percent set on that,” she noted. “It could change during my rotations.”
Koos was born and raised on her family’s grass hay farm in Scio, and attended ELCA since kindergarten.
“Every summer I was always out working on the farm for my dad. I think that really taught me about hard work.”
She understands medical school will be harder than expected, but she’s ready.
“I do know it’s going to be difficult, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
COMP-NW welcomes 107-member Class of 2023
Lebanon Local News
The College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest in Lebanon held its ningth annual Convocation and White Coat Ceremony Friday morning, Aug. 2, at Lebanon’s First Assembly of God Church.
COMP-Northwest’s Class of 2023 numbers 107 osteopathic medical students, with 72 of them calling the Pacific Northwest home.
Forty-seven incoming medical students are from Oregon.
Keynote speaker at the event was Michael Cowgill, president of the Albany law firm Weatherford Thompson. Cowgill has deep roots in the Lebanon area, graduating from Lebanon High School. Weatherford Hall at Oregon State University is named after his family.
In addition to one Lebanon-area high school graduate who is part of this class, it includes one from both Corvallis and Albany as well.