Students form close community, provide support to each other at ATSU-KCOM
Posted: February 5, 2025
A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) student Angelina Hein, OMS II, is honest about medical school.
It’s not easy.
But having a community of fellow students who you can count on for support makes a difference, and that’s something she says makes ATSU-KCOM a special place.
“I’ve had the opportunity to get close with so many students in our class. The community here is really special,” she said. “We like to joke that medical school is the trenches, but at least we’re all in it together. Our school and classmates do a really good job of checking in on each other.”
Hein did her undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she majored in biochemistry and minored in psychology. From Boonville, Missouri, just a couple of hours from Kirksville, she said her experience during the interview process led her to choose the founding school of osteopathic medicine.
“I chose ATSU because the environment felt different than any other school I interviewed at,” she said. “I felt like KCOM was the first school that took the time to get to know me as a person, not just another statistic on paper.”
And anywhere she goes, Hein says she encounters people who reaffirm her belief that this place is different.
“I love that wherever I go, the people I run into have either heard nothing but great things about ATSU-KCOM, or they have had such positive interactions with physicians that have graduated from this institution,” she said.
Hein is chapter secretary and community outreach director for the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA), member of the National SOMA public relations senior committee, secretary for Student Government Association, and member of Sigma Sigma Phi, Lifestyle Medicine Club, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, Still Kids, Research Club, and L. Linton Budd OBGYN Society.
She’s also an ATSU-KCOM student ambassador.
“I became a student ambassador because I remember the impact the ambassadors had on my interview day and how helpful they were in helping me make the decision to come to ATSU,” she said. “I wanted to be able to give back and help support the next group of students through their journey to medical school and be able to help explain why I love ATSU and am so happy with my decision to come to KCOM.”
Off campus, Hein enjoys reading, hiking, kayaking, embroidering, baking, and indoor cycling.
On campus, she’s working toward becoming an OBGYN and improving access to care for Missouri communities.
“Professionally, I hope to become an OBGYN and be able to provide care to parts of Missouri that lack access to women’s health,” she said. “My time at ATSU-KCOM will ensure that I’m going to be a well-rounded physician and able to appropriately serve the community in which I will practice one day.”