Mike Gallo ’19

Harlan F. Fulmer, MD, and M. Eleanor Kern Fulmer Scholarship
Shirley A. Albright Memorial Scholarship

Without a scholarship, Michael Gallo wouldn’t be at Moravian University, and without Moravian, Michael Gallo wouldn’t be where he is today, eager and ready to pursue a career as a physician—though not in the way he had originally conceived.

A graduate of Notre Dame High School in Easton, Gallo arrived at Moravian set on becoming a neurosurgeon. Then he met James Teufel, assistant professor of health policy, who recommended the course Social Determinants of Health, through which students explore how environmental and behavioral factors affect health. “That class changed my outlook on my desired profession,” says Gallo, now a biochemistry major with a minor in public health.

Gallo credits his mentors and the many opportunities he’s had for his academic success and self-discovery. He performed 12 hours of community service for the Regional Homeless Advisory Board, worked with Teufel on research into how access to civil justice affects health, and completed an internship in the Department of Community Health at LVHN. But perhaps the most impactful experience was a study-abroad program in Colombia.

“I had never been outside the United States,” Gallo says. “The program showed me that I had a very narrow understanding of what my place in the world was.” And when Gallo returned to the US and reflected on his experience, he realized it would influence the rest of his life.

“Were it not for the generosity of alumni, I would never have been able to study abroad or take part in the many other opportunities Moravian University has offered me,” says Gallo who has applied for a Fulbright Fellowship to do research in Colombia and has applications in with medical schools. Wherever his path leads, Gallo ultimately will practice medicine informed not just by biology but all of human experience.