‘Dollars back to students’

Nearly 150 golfers recently hit the links at an Oakland University golf course to benefit medical students at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

The 3^rd annual OUWB Golf Outing was held June 24 at the Katke-Cousins Golf Course on the campus of Oakland University.

Title sponsor for the second consecutive year was Corewell Health. Additional sponsors were Beaumont ACO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Dignity Memorial, Priority Health, Michigan Health & Hospital Association, Michigan Orthopedic Surgeons, and LMT Rehabilitation Associates.

All proceeds from the event contribute directly to medical student scholarships.

Christopher Carpenter, M.D., Stephan Sharf Interim Dean, called it a “great event” with several benefits.

“The scholarship part obviously is the best part, but the community aspect also is great,” he said. “It brings together all kinds of people…today I played with two people from outside of Corewell Health and Oakland University who are now friends of the program.”

Carpenter added that it also was great to see Duane Mezwa, M.D., retired dean, OUWB. Mezwa originally came up with the idea for the event. This year, his family accounted for two of the participating foursomes.

“It’s another great way to get dollars back to students and promote scholarships,” he said. “Everybody has a great time. It’s also a great chance to see colleagues in a social setting.”

Among those colleagues were participants like Bradley T. Miller, M.D., professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. He’s participated every year.

“Current medical students are going to be taking care of us in the future so every little bit that we can do to help them is good,” he said.

Several current students also participated, including Matthew Cederman, M3. It was his second year.

“I made a lot of great connections and it’s exciting to be around other medical students, physicians, and people in general who are supporting what I envision in medical school,” he said.

After golfers were done on the course, they returned to the OU Golf Pavilion for an afterglow event. Participants enjoyed a meal and a brief program.

Carpenter welcomed and thanked everyone. Talon Shumway, rising M2, was guest speaker. He talked about how much it meant to him to receive a scholarship through the Dr. Thomas and Christine Dearlove Endowed Fund for Medical Education.

“It was one of the great moments of my life. I was actually speechless,” he said. “I rushed home to share the news with my wife…that moment was just sheer bewilderment, excitement, and gratitude.”

“This gift changed my life,” he added. “It changed me.”

During the golf outing, Shumway was able to spend time on the course with Tom Dearlove.

Dearlove has been a longtime supporter of OUWB and said he wanted to help the school’s medical students after seeing them in action.

“I saw how the (OUWB) medical students interacted with the staff and patients,” he said. “My wife and I decided we wanted to create a scholarship based on what we saw and the good feeling we had.”

He called the time he was able to spend with Shumway and other students at the golf outing “very, very enjoyable.”

It’s the kind of connection that had Jordan Nash, development associate, calling the event an “incredible success.”

“We had wonderful weather and couldn't have asked for a better day,” he said. “I received lots of positive feedback, and people seemed to really enjoy themselves. We've been able to continuously improve the experience, and it truly showed.”