Student Profile: Colin Kalabanka, TUSPM 2021

 

Student Profile: Colin Kalabanka, TUSPM 2021

By: Natalie Hart, FOX 2020 

 

This month, our student spotlight is Colin Kalabanka, a third year student. Originally from  Syracuse, NY, Colin chose TUSPM to continue his education immediately after graduating from the University of Buffalo, where he majored in biomedical sciences at the Jacobs School of Medicine. 

At TUSPM Colin holds the position of Vice President of the Forensics Club and has been enjoying his time in the clinic, learning new processes and treatment plans for his patients. He has been enjoying the process of building new relationships with his fellow students and faculty at TUSPM. 

Colin shared that he has always been extremely interested in science and the scientific fields. He knew from an extremely young age that he wanted to work in the field of science. After a car accident Colin became fascinated the podiatry profession, especially after shadowing a podiatrist after the accident. As an avid sports fan, he has also always been interested in helping patients with lower extremity injuries due to sports. Colin has enjoyed his experience at TUSPM. He highlighted that the relationships he has built with fellow classmates and faculty as his favorite part of his time here at Temple. 

Colin expressed that his proudest accomplishment so far is passing boards and making it to TUSPM’s annual White Coat Ceremony. 

When we discussed advice he has for incoming students and underclassmen, Colin shared with me a few inspirational quotes and mantras  he often remembers day to day: 

  • “Don’t worry about everyone else. Do you.” 
  • “Blinders on” ( He explained that this helps him remain focused on the present moments and challenges he is facing) 
  • “Everything is going to be JUST fine.” 

When asked about things he wish he knew about before starting podiatry school, he discussed that he wishes he learned earlier on to just focus on his studies, his methods of studying, and that he would have realized sooner that he didn’t need to worry about what other classmates were doing, he wishes he knew that he could be academically competitive and still remain only focused on his goals, and studies, and study methods. he wished he knew earlier that it was possible to be competitive academically while not worrying about what other classmates were doing.

When we discussed challenges that Colin has faced and overcome, he spoke about his struggle with time management skills during his first two years and how he learned to take a step back and relax when things become stressful. Learning how to refocus, rest, and reset has proved crucial to his time here at Temple.

Colin shared that the most rewarding aspect of being a student at TUSPM and starting his professional journey is being able to help people on the spot, providing patients with immediate relief, and having the opportunity to develop relationships with faculty and alumni who become professional mentors. He also spoke about how rewarding his relationships with his fellow classmates are, he said that his class and the school is like a big family. 

When speaking about his goals for the rest of this year, Colin shared that he is looking forward to building new relationships with classmates and faculty as well as mastering new surgical skills and new treatment techniques. His main focus is to do well in his classes and get through clinical. 

Colin shared that his favorite part of clinical has been learning how to tailor treatment plans to the needs of individual patients and providing immediate relief. He is looking forward to graduating and being placed in a residency program in New York State, or here in Philadelphia.  Further down the road he hopes to be involved with furthering the profession, on a state and national level. 

We wish Colin the best of luck this year as he finishes his year of clinical, and we wish him luck on residency placement. Thank you Colin, for a great interview.