Tech Took Us There
Pediatric cardiologist at Stanford credits alma mater Tennessee Tech for giving him an opportunity
Tom Collins, `98 chemistry, says a person with his background is more likely to move
to the moon than become a pediatric cardiologist at Stanford鈥檚 Lucile Packard Children鈥檚
Hospital. But that鈥檚 exactly what he did, and he credits Tennessee Tech for giving
him the opportunity.
Collins grew up in Morgan County, one of the perennially lowest-income, least-educated counties in Tennessee. His father dropped out of high school, and his mother worked at a local prison.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that it ever occurred to me that guys like me, from where I鈥檓 from, aren鈥檛 supposed to do the things that I鈥檝e done,鈥� said Collins. 鈥淏ut here I am, a doctor on the faculty at Stanford.鈥�
Now, Collins has chosen to give back to his alma mater. He and his wife Missy established the Future Leader in Healthcare Scholarship for students majoring in a healthcare field. Collins says he wants students considering Tech to know that they can do anything and go anywhere with a Tech education.
Growing up, Collins knew he would go to college, but he didn鈥檛 know what that really meant. Neither of his parents went to college, but Collins wanted a college degree.
鈥淢y dad always said, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to get an education,鈥欌�� said Collins. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 want me doing manual labor like he did. He saw me doing something more.鈥�
Collins knew his parents did not have the resources to pay for college, and he had no idea how he would afford it. But when Collins was named valedictorian of his class, he learned that Tech offered scholarships for high school valedictorians.
Collins enrolled at Tech as an engineering major; however, he struggled his first semester. He says he never really knew how to study and had the wrong idea about engineering.
鈥淢y first year at Tech I think I had a 2.6 GPA,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was really disillusioned. I had never even made a B.鈥�
Collins says he met with his faculty advisor who encouraged him to consider another major.
鈥淢y advisor said, 鈥楳aybe engineering isn鈥檛 for you,鈥欌�� said Collins. 鈥淚 got so mad because I took it as him saying, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not very smart.鈥� I see now, that鈥檚 not what he was saying at all, and he was right about my major.鈥�
Collins says several people suggested that he consider a career in medicine, so he changed his major to chemistry with a biochemistry concentration.
After graduating from Tech with a degree in chemistry, Collins attended the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and discovered a passion for cardiology.
鈥淚 realized in medical school that I could hear things in a heart that the other students couldn鈥檛 hear,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚 could hear a heart murmur. I had an aptitude for that, and the heart was simple to understand yet elegant to me. When I learned about congenital heart disease, I knew then and there that鈥檚 what I wanted to do.鈥�
When the time came to learn which institution he would be matched with for his fellowship, advisors told Collins that he would match with a high-ranking institution; however, one of the faculty felt differently.
鈥淗e heard my accent 鈥� as much as I tried to cover it up 鈥� he heard it,鈥� said Collins. 鈥淎nd he told me that I would never match with an Ivy League institution.鈥�
But on match day, Collins learned that he had been matched with the Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). CHOP is the oldest children鈥檚 hospital in the country and one of the most highly-regarded programs in existence. Penn is also one of the eight private universities that make up the Ivy League.
After fellowship at CHOP, Collins moved to Arkansas Children鈥檚 Hospital and says he was building a great program there when the chief of congenital heart surgery at Stanford called and said, 鈥淚 want you to come out here and build a center for these kids.鈥�
Collins says he believes part of the reason his career path led him to the Stanford School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, is so that he could learn to be proud of where he came from.
鈥淚 spent my whole life trying to hide my accent, trying to get away from where I was from,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I will admit that there was a time when I was kind of embarrassed because everyone I was around was a product of a big-name place: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Princeton. And I had some juvenile feelings of inferiority when colleagues would ask me where I went to college. So, coming out here has been liberating in that sense. Now I say, 鈥榊eah, that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 from. You鈥檙e darn right I went to Tennessee Tech.鈥� You want to talk about return on investment? Hands down, Tennessee Tech.鈥�
Before Collins had the resources to make a major gift to establish a scholarship, he says it was important to give what he could to Tech. Collins is 17 years True To Tech. True To Tech recognizes donors who give to Tech every year, and the gift can be in any amount to any area on campus. Collins admits that some years, his gift wasn鈥檛 much.
鈥淭here was a time when being True To Tech was hard,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I was in training in Philadelphia, we were living paycheck to paycheck. But it was important to give something.鈥�
When the time was right to make a major gift to establish a scholarship endowment, Collins says he put a lot of thought into the scholarship鈥檚 name. Collins and his wife Missy 鈥� a dentist who graduated from Ole Miss 鈥� know the challenges of getting into medical school and dental school. They want the scholarship to show the selection committees at these schools that someone at Tech recognized the scholarship recipient as a future leader.
鈥淚t is specifically geared toward trying to give students a huge boost in reaching their goal of medical school or dental school or any health science training,鈥� Collins explained. 鈥淎nd I want it to be geared toward someone with a disadvantaged background. Me 鈥� 28 years ago 鈥� that鈥檚 the student I鈥檓 trying to help.鈥�
Collins says the main goal with his philanthropy is to give students an opportunity.
鈥淭here are a lot of kids out there who are hoping to do something great and don鈥檛 necessarily have the background for it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut you can do anything if you attend Tech. My son wants to go to Tech. He鈥檚 in eighth grade, and that makes me so excited. I am so thankful to be part of that tradition, and I鈥檇 do it all over again every time. I鈥檓 here at Stanford, and that鈥檚 because of Tennessee Tech and the opportunity that the university has given me.鈥�