Middle School Science Cafe: Work to build your dreams, young alum tells students

Dr. Orett Burke Jr. ‘13, an orthopedic resident at Tufts Hospitals, served as guest speaker at the Jan. 31 Middle School Science Cafe. Easygoing and approachable, the young doctor quickly engaged his audience but left them with an important message: they themselves possessed the resources to turn their dreams into reality.

“Just know that anything is truly possible if you have it within you and have a great support system,” said Burke.

Currently in the first year of a five-year residency to become an orthopedic surgeon, Burke shared his own journey with students. He grew up in Boston, he said, but his family has Jamaican roots; Burke’s mother left Jamaica to pursue and then realize her own dream of becoming a nurse. An outstanding athlete who played cornerback on Thayer’s football team during his senior year, Burke’s true passion was basketball. He played guard for the Tigers and set his sights on playing the game at the collegiate level.

But during his junior year at Thayer, Burke told students, a new dream began to run side by side with his hoops dream. That was the year that Dr. James T. McGlowan P ‘16, ‘18, ‘21, Thayer’s team doctor at the time, allowed the junior to shadow him during a work day and then let Burke scrub in to watch a surgery.

“He placed a white lab coat over my shoulders and told me, ‘I want you to be me today,’” recalled Burke. “It was the first time I’d met a Black doctor. That’s what inspired me to become a doctor.”

A few years later Burke realized his dream of playing college basketball and saw success; in fact, one year his team reached the Division III Elite Eight for the first time in the school’s history. However, he told Middle School students, his GPA was decidedly average, and his dream of becoming a doctor appeared to be slipping away. Burke made the decision to stop playing basketball and transfer to UMass Amherst where he studied the biological sciences. His grades soared, and Burke even served as a student speaker for the biology majors during Commencement celebrations.

“Eventually, it has to click, and it did for me in college,” said Burke. “I knew that once I made that

switch, I was committed.”

Burke spent some time discussing orthopedics with students and explained how, for him, becoming an orthopedic surgeon is truly a dream job.

“Being able to provide patients with the ability to do what they used to — and by using my hands — that’s what excites me,” he said.

Burke urged students to reach out for help when they need it and to make use of what Thayer has to offer them. “All of your teachers are here to help you,” he said.

Burke added that he is still in close contact with his friends from his Thayer days, classmates who have pursued their own dreams in business, architecture, coaching, and the like.

“A lot of people you meet here will become friends for the rest of your life,” he told students.

Coordinated by Middle School Science Faculty Natalie Young, the Science Cafe series introduces STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) topics and careers to interested middle schoolers.