Continuing with our 2022 theme of Black Men in White Coats, we are featuring Dr. Carl Allamby for the month of June.

Carl Allamby had a childhood passion of becoming a doctor, but getting to that point wasn’t easy. He grew up in East Cleveland where money was scarce for his family, so he never put much effort into school. However, he had a really good work ethic and found he was good at fixing cars.

For over 20 years that’s what he did, but he wanted to grow the business he was now in. That was when he enrolled in college to get his business degree. While at Ursuline College he ran into something unexpected: a biology course. He resisted taking the class at first but after realizing he needed it to graduate he enrolled. That first class was all he needed to remember his childhood dream.

He received his business degree, then took science courses at a community college. After that he enrolled in a program at Cleveland State University which prepared him for the MCAT. After graduating with his second undergraduate degree he moved on to Northeast Ohio Medical University where he received his medical degree in 2019 at age 47.

Dr. Allamby is currently an Emergency Medicine Resident and Physician at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. He is also a motivational speaker, hoping to encourage the next wave of black doctors when they are young. He knows that if they see somebody who looks like them, they could also pursue their dreams.

Info sources: https://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/2019/07/car-mechanic-shifts-gears-becomes-a-doctor-at-age-47-and-helps-address-shortage-of-black-doctors.html; https://www.astro.org/Meetings-and-Education/Micro-Sites/2020/Annual-Meeting/Learn/Meeting-Highlights/Storytelling/ASTRO-Voices/Carl-Allamby