September 22, 2004

Troy University student to attend medical school in Kansas City

While many college students seeking placement in professional schools are anxiously awaiting decisions regarding admission, one Troy University student knows what the immediate future holds for him.

Phillip Henderson of Troy has received early-acceptance notice for medical school at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB). Henderson will receive a scholarship to study for his doctor of osteopathy degree beginning in the fall of 2005.

Henderson is the sixth Troy University pre-health professions student accepted for admission into professional school this semester.

A cell and molecular biology major, Henderson was planning to leave for Kansas City this fall under a special dual-enrollment program, but decided to wait a year after being offered a leadership scholarship to KCUMB beginning in fall 2005. Henderson said he is seeking the osteopathic degree because it offers “a more holistic approach” to practicing medicine. Henderson is learning about several different types of medical practice while working in the emergency room at Troy Regional Medical Center .

“It’s an exciting thing to do because it’s the ground floor of medicine,” he said. In the E.R. you get a taste of a little of everything.

Henderson is a graduate of Charles Henderson High School and is the son of Kurt and Joan Smith Henderson. At Troy University , he is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity and the Rotaract Club. He has been active in the community as a Relay for Life Volunteer and as the founder of the “Ouch Bears project” that provides teddy bears for children in traumatic situations at Troy Regional Medical Center Emergency Department.