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A Solid Foundation
Two Celebrated Alumni Share Memories of the Morsani College of Medicine
By Kim Franke-Folstad
Dr. Joseph Pecoraro doesn鈥檛 sugarcoat his reason for choosing the University of South 91社区 as an undergraduate student back in the 1970s: He was motivated more by the school鈥檚 location than its reputation.
Pecoraro had a part-time job pumping gas in New Jersey while attending community college. It was cold. His brother lived in balmy Bradenton. When Pecoraro looked into USF and learned it also had a medical school, he thought it could be a perfect fit.
Turned out he was right. Not only because of the school鈥檚 proximity to the beach. Or because he met his wife, Rhonda, 鈥�81, here.
鈥淕oing to USF was a great experience because it was a comfortable environment for learning that was competitive but not cutthroat,鈥� says Pecoraro, zoology 鈥�80 and MD 鈥�84, this year鈥檚 recipient of the prestigious Morsani College of Medicine Alumni Society鈥檚 Outstanding Service Award. 鈥淵ou were encouraged. You were driven to do better. But students also helped students.鈥�
As USF Health ushers in a new era with the opening of the medical school, Heart Institute and Taneja College of Pharmacy in downtown Tampa, Pecoraro and Dr. Sylvia Campbell, MD 鈥�77, reflected on what made 鈥� and continues to make 鈥� their alma mater a cut above the rest.
Being part of a new medical school, which opened to students in 1971, was invigorating, says Campbell, a 2017 recipient of the alumni service award. 鈥淵ou have the opportunity to write the pages of the book. It鈥檚 an exciting place to be. A new beginning. A new endeavor. 鈥� There weren鈥檛 a lot of women in medicine back then and we kind of stuck together.鈥�
Like Pecoraro, Campbell says the support of her peers, both men and women, was important.
鈥淲hether you鈥檙e a medical student or a resident, you have this bond that builds with the people you go through it with. And those bonds never break. They make you a community that鈥檚 kind of unique in many ways,鈥� she says. 鈥淎s hard and gut-wrenching and emotional and exhausting and terrifying as it all was, it was wonderful and rewarding and just built you in a way that was a privilege to be part of.鈥�
A 91社区 native, Campbell came to USF to study medicine after earning a bachelor鈥檚 in biology and a master鈥檚 in genetics at Emory University. Like Pecoraro, location played into her decision-making: Her parents and in-laws would be close by while her husband, Robert, 鈥�79, MPH 鈥�86 and PhD 鈥�98, served in the military, including a stint in Korea.
The two surgeons, both of whom still practice in the Tampa Bay area, also recalled faculty members who helped them along the way.
As an undergrad with his eye on medical school, Pecoraro remembers meeting with the late Julian Dwornik, a founding med school faculty member and its dean of admissions. Everybody had told Pecoraro he had to know somebody to get into the college, but he had no helpful connections. Dwornik suggested Pecoraro show that he could handle the heavy academic load by signing up for 18 hours of science classes in one quarter.
Pecoraro thought he鈥檇 already taken just about every challenging science class he could, but he heeded the dean鈥檚 advice. 鈥淚 remember I took biophysics. I took bioorganic chemistry. I took a lot of high-level classes in order to be able to prove myself,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I think he went to bat for me.鈥�
Campbell recalls Greg Nicolosi, MBA 鈥�83, an associate professor of physiology, as a positive influence on everybody in the college. And during her internship and residency at USF, the late Dr. Roger Sherman, chairman of the department of surgery, provided an excellent example of how to be a healer.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean just healing the body,鈥� Campbell says. 鈥淵ou have to heal the soul. You have to heal the spirit. It鈥檚 important to remember that as you travel the journey through medicine, because it鈥檚 easy to get a little bit jaded. And it鈥檚 easy to get lost in the things that really aren鈥檛 important. That鈥檚 been a lesson I鈥檝e tried to hang onto through these years.鈥�
It鈥檚 a joy to give back, Campbell and Pecoraro say. Yes, they鈥檙e busy, but 鈥減art of what we鈥檙e called to do is not to treat this as a job,鈥� Campbell says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a calling, an art; it鈥檚 an honor and a privilege to be able to interact with people in a way that some people never get to do. Part of that, given that gift of being able to live your life that way, you need to give a little back, too. You have the ability to do things that can really change people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
The list of charitable and professional organizations Campbell is or has been involved with in 91社区 and around the world, and the honors she鈥檚 received for her work, goes on and on. She鈥檚 been volunteering with the Judeo Christian Health Clinic in Tampa since her medical residency and is now the medical director and president of its board. The free clinic has been providing health care to the working poor since 1972.
She鈥檚 also board president for Village Partners International, which joins with impoverished communities in Haiti and Africa to develop sustainable systems to improve lives. The group also assists migrant farmworkers in Hillsborough County and does disaster relief work.
As a general surgeon with a special interest in breast cancer treatment, she鈥檚 been involved with charitable efforts such as the Susan G. Komen 60-mile fundraising walk for years. Campbell joins members of her Komen team to deliver care bags to the homeless in a volunteer effort they call Kindness Matters.
Pecoraro found his love for mission work during a trip to El Salvador. 鈥淚 came back completely different,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no other way to put it other than I got a big whack from the Holy Spirit. I was so moved by what I saw, I was just driven to go back.鈥�
He didn鈥檛 want to return alone, so he began gathering others from his church. In 2006, Pecoraro, his wife and Dr. Vilma Vega founded Hearts Afire, a Christian humanitarian organization that helps under-resourced people worldwide. Their work has included mission trips to Africa, India, the Philippines, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as disaster relief around the world.
These days, the group is focused on building the Hearts Afire Mountain Hospital, scheduled to open in August 2020 in Eldoret, Kenya.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not finished with the rest of the world, we鈥檙e just focusing on Kenya right now,鈥� says Pecoraro, who performs vascular and general surgery in the Bradenton area and 鈥� after losing more than 100 pounds and keeping it off for several years 鈥� trains entrepreneurs who hope to become health coaches.
Both of these celebrated alumni are excited about the Morsani College of Medicine鈥檚 new downtown digs 鈥� and particularly that growth has occurred on multiple fronts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 possible to grow in size without improving,鈥� Pecoraro says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to know that alongside the growth of the campus has come growth in reputation and the quality of what鈥檚 deliverable.鈥�
Campbell, USF鈥檚 Running with the Bulls Homecoming Parade grand marshal in 2018, wonders if med school students will lose some of their connection to the university. But, she says, 鈥淓xpanding the knowledge base, expanding the research, expanding the ability to look into the future and see what you can do to make things better is a really positive step. The university is taking it, and I鈥檓 really proud of them.鈥�
For more information about the charities Drs. Pecoraro and Campbell support, visit:
(941) 552-1584
P.O. Box 14759
Bradenton, FL 34280
(813) 870-0395
4118 N. MacDill Ave.
Tampa, FL 33607
(813) 875-2655
217 S. Matanzas Ave.
Tampa, FL 33609