Lindsay Cassey, DO
Nathan Cranney, DO
BenFauzi El-Attrache, DO
Louis Lazzara, DO
Jennifer Lynn Silvis, DO
Alyssa McKenna, DO
Brian Nguyen, DO
Kai Schlingmann, DO
A Pennsylvania Karate State Champion for four years, Dr. El-Attrache is a 3rd-Degree Black Belt. The physically adroit physician was graduated Summa Cum Laude in an accelerated program from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg with a bachelor’s of science degree. Louis Lazzara, DO, was a Navy engineer on a nuclear submarine before taking on the medical mantel. He also worked for many years as an electrical engineer and project manager. Dr. Lazzara volunteered with the Boy Scouts as a den leader and scout master for many years, devoting hundreds of hours of his time to the organization. Dr. Lazzara is grateful to LECOM for preparing him very well. He plans an internal medicine residency at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia. There, he will practice in the Navy with the hope of becoming a hospitalist. Until LECOM opened its Seton Hill campus location (about 2 miles from Dr. Lazzara’s home), he had all but given up his dream of pursuing a medical career.
“I started in the Navy out of college, I continued in the Navy Reserves, and now, thanks to LECOM, I head to a naval hospital for residency,” commented Dr. Lazzara.
I have not always been a runner, but, running helped me through medical school, and I did much of my studying while on the treadmill and listening to audio files,” she avers.
Yet another Black Belt graduate from LECOM at Seton Hill, Alyssa McKenna, DO, takes fitness and the osteopathic philosophy of whole-body wellness to its fullest potential. As a Master Black Belt she also has completed two halfmarathons, three triathlons, and a sailing race across Lake Michigan.
Brian Nguyen, DO, is interested in a career in pediatrics with a special focus upon developmental and behavioral pediatrics. A younger brother, Ron, with Down Syndrome influenced his career choice. While at LECOM, the volunteer-oriented graduate received a grant from a “Special Olympics Healthy Athletes” program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Nguyen conducted research with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute and in 2011, the scholar’s research was presented at the Family Medicine Education Consortium NE Region and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians Research Day in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
“LECOM gave me the opportunity to become a doctor after having had a completely different career at GE where I worked on quality improvement initiatives,” explained the grateful physician. “LECOM valued my career experience when considering me for a spot in the class of 2014” she noted. Dr. McKenna will be in family medicine residency at Heritage Valley Health System in Beaver, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Nguyen also volunteered with Special Olympics during his time in medical school.
-Continued on Page 39 @1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 31