Meet Elise Matichak
Meet Elise Matichak, a second-year podiatry student who the Alumni Relations office has been lucky enough to have as an intern since the latter half of this semester. Elise is a non-traditional student, and her journey toward podiatry is one that more students might consider and one our practice might promote more in the future. After graduating from The University of Michigan, Elise took the MCAT and did well. She had several medical schools to choose from but couldn’t find the right fit. So, she decided to work while earning her master degrees in both Healthcare Administration and Medical Administration at LECOM before once more considering her medical school options, to a similar disappointment. “I’m big on the environment I’m in,” she said. “Visiting those medical schools, people looked miserable. I didn’t want to spend 4 years immersed with a bunch of miserable people or worse become miserable myself.” This led to her discovery of podiatry school just before application deadlines closed and after a whirlwind application and interview process, along with a brief decision between the New York College of Podiatric Medicine and Temple, she decided on Temple as the most suitable for what she looks for in a community. Since then, the only thing she’d change is coming sooner.
Now in her second year, Elise is vice president of the class of 2024, an additional workload on top of her already rigorous schedule. However, she does appreciate the doors this position opens to meeting new people. For any current or future podiatry students, Elise says there’s no harm in applying and applauds TUSPM for their ability to take care of their students. At times, she has been surprised by the lack of stress even with her large amount of work. Her other piece of advice is that this route is not easier than MD or DO school, which is a misconception that might lead some students astray. It’s a grind, but she emphasized that if you make friends and work with each other, everyone ends up doing alright.
Outside school, Elise is an amateur photographer and hopes to travel the country once her husband Steve retires from active duty. He’ll be retiring from the Navy next year, and the two hope to continue this wild journey they’ve been on as they’ve both never been ones to stay in any one place for too long. Alaska comes to mind as a possible future adventure. In the future, Elise hopes to focus her practice around trauma surgery and wound care, something for which she’ll be highly qualified. Here’s to her continuing to step in the right direction, and we wish her the best of luck.