ROAD TO GRADUATION 2023
Students from the class of 2023 reach ever closer toward their dreams of becoming professionals
Spring 2023 — When daylight grows longer and flowers bloom across campus, senior students at the UF College of Medicine begin the last leg of their journeys. Follow three students as they prepare to reach their dreams of becoming physicians, PAs and scientists.
Natalie Atyeo
Natalie Atyeo found a love of science after participating in a summer research program. Upon earning dual degrees from the UF College of Dentistry and the UF College of Medicine this spring, the DMD-PhD student will complete a dental clinical research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, where she will apply her passion for patient care and discovery
Karen Cravero, PhD
After completing her doctoral degree in translational medicine at Johns Hopkins University, Karen Cravero, PhD, returned to her home state to pursue a medical degree at the University of Florida College of Medicine. The spring 2023 medical graduate will soon begin her dermatology residency at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, with an ultimate goal of running a research lab, to inform how she can better care for her patients.
Jonathan Ooten
While completing his pre-PA undergraduate studies, Jonathan Ooten discovered a passion for education that led him to teach high school sciences for five years before returning to the medical field and joining the UF School of Physician Assistant Studies. The spring 2023 graduate will soon begin caring for patients in a primary care practice with the National Health Service Corps, and he looks forward to mentoring future PA students as a lecturer or preceptor.
