Paul Westrick

Paul Westrick, a psychology and pre-med major with a chemistry minor who attended UW Oshkosh from 1970-1974, grew up moving all over the state but graduated high school in Menomonee Falls, WI. As a child, Westrick spent many long months in hospitals due to pneumonia and a leg injury; the experience had a lasting impact, and he decided that he wanted to study medicine as an adult. Westrick had intended on attending UW Madison, but the radical nature of the campus protest movement, culminating in the Sterling Hall bombing, led him to WSUO instead. Westrick was a driven student who focused on his academics. He discusses his favorite professor, Dr. Timothy Crimmins, his courses, his experiences as an Resident Advisor on a diverse floor, the general attitude toward the war and draft, use of technology within the classroom, drinking culture, and Greek Life. Westrick finished his undergraduate years with a 3.6 GPA - very good, but not good enough to get into medical school. Upon graduation, he accepted a position as a cancer researcher at UW Madison instead and ended up having a long career in hospital administration. Westrick believes that college is the only time in a person’s life where you can devote yourself to learning and spending time with others who are going through the same life experiences as you are, and he advises current students not to waste their opportunity.