10 Within 10 Recognition

Nicholas Cozzi M.D. '18

Major: Allopathic medicine

Job Title & Employer: Emergency medicine resident physician at Spectrum Health/Michigan State University.

Location: Grand Rapids, MI

Hometown: Chicago, IL

What is your favorite memory of CMU?

A colleague and I worked with the Mid-Central Area Health Education Center to create the Health Careers Pipeline Program, a nine-week mentorship program for high school students centered on college readiness and health career exploration. Starting in 2015, it has graduated more than 50 high school students and pre-health graduates and recently grew to more than seven high schools, including expanding into Saginaw. My favorite memory was the first graduation ceremony where students brought their parents and grandparents to the CMU College of Medicine. It remains a crystalizing moment for the positive impact our program has had on our community and our families.

What has been your coolest moment since graduation?

The coolest moment since graduation as it relates to CMU took place in the trauma bay of Spectrum Health Butterworth's emergency department a few months ago. As a busy, Level I trauma center, we take a team approach, especially to care for our most gravely injured patients. An elderly male was in a car accident, and in the midst of our resuscitation and interventions, I realized each of the four doctors caring for him at that moment were CMU College of Medicine graduates. Our mission was realized: CMU graduates caring for patients in Michigan.

What are you proudest of?

I am most proud of the opportunities created during my time at CMU. We created the Health Careers Pipeline Program, whose effect touches every corner of the Great Lakes Bay Region. We also created the Jack Furnari Stethoscope Program, an essay contest for incoming College of Medicine students that honors the legacy of a student who died of brain cancer just five months before he would have graduated with the med school's inaugural class.

What advice would you give to new grads?

Write one handwritten letter of gratitude to someone who has made a personal or professional impact on you. Mail it. Repeat daily. Doctor's orders.

What has your work life taught you?

My work life continues to teach me that we create our own meaning in life, and we decide whether we are fulfilled. My patients don't start their day thinking they would be a patient or their loved ones would be in a busy emergency department. But I got a chance to be a positive influence on them at that moment.

What about CMU helped you succeed?

Chris Brown, senior associate director of financial aid, provided the "can-do" attitude we needed as a new medical school to accomplish our ambitious agenda, and he helped accelerate the process of building trust with community partners. He has served our community with class, and he identifies professional growth opportunities for students. Charm Abinojar, executive director of the Office of Student Affairs, is a kind, warm, and tenacious advocate for her students. Her impact will be felt by generations of CMU medical graduates. And Terence Moore, retired CEO of MidMichigan Health, has been my counselor and mentor. He taught me to invest my time, the enduring power of thank-you notes, and the key practices of effective leaders.

10 years of 10 within 10 - 2023 update

Current city and state: Chicago, IL

Current job title and employer: EMS Medical Director and Emergency Medicine Physician at Rush University Medical Center

What is happening in your life today that you didn't expect when you were named one of the 10 within 10?

I have a passion for teaching CPR and Stop-The Bleed to vulnerable communities on the West Side of Chicago, focusing on the Hispanic and African American communities.

When you think of CMU today, what word comes to mind?

Thrive. Thriving in relationships, thriving in the most up-to-date teaching, and thriving in the ever-changing market. That is CMU.