Physiology graduate serves up huge academic success

Release Date: May 24, 2022
Tags:medical school graduation President's Award men's tennis

Picture of Carson Gates during the 25th anniversary of the Spartan Academic Excellence Gala on April 11, 2022 at the Breslin Center. — Carson Gates speaks during the 25^th anniversary of the Spartan Academic Excellence Gala on April 11, 2022 at the Breslin Center. “In my speech, I talked a little bit about my experience and about our collective experience as student athletes and what we go through,” Gates said. “I gave them advice to challenge themselves both in the sport and outside of the sport and how a lot of those values are Spartan values and we uphold the Spartan tradition in everything we do.”
Credit: Matthew Mitchell

It was March 3^rd when Carson Gates got the call from the University of Missouri School of Medicine that he had been accepted. In fact, the call came right before an exam for one of his physiology courses.

“I don’t even know how I was able to stay focused during that exam,” Gates said. “I was on cloud nine.”

The recent Michigan State University physiology graduate has a lot to be proud of. He was one of 181 recipients of this year’s Board of Trustees’ Award for academic excellence for maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average. As co-captain of the MSU men’s tennis team, that achievement also earned him the most prestigious individual academic honor in the athletic department – The President’s Award, which is given to the male and female graduating senior with the highest GPA and who has exhausted his or her eligibility.

“There were a lot of early mornings and late nights spent studying,” Gates said. “There were a lot of sacrifices made because maybe where other people spend time hanging out with friends, I had to spend more time on academics because athletics was taking so much of my time.”

Picture of Carson Gates — Carson Gates said that he had a difficult time deciding if he wanted to take a gap year after graduation. He ultimately decided against it but admits it was a stressful time. “I had to apply to med school throughout the last year while also trying to balance school, tennis and extracurricular activities like student government,” Gates said. “It was a just a lot to balance and it induced a lot of stress into my life. I was glad to finally graduate and close that chapter and begin a new one.”
Credit: Jonah Brown

And it wasn’t just tennis matches taking up Gates’ time either.

Besides being a four-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete, he volunteered weekly at Lansing Sparrow Hospital, served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a tennis representative as well as the secretary and vice president and represented all student athletes as an Associated Students of MSU General Assembly representative.

“It’s really important to have these valuable experiences whether it’s research, getting involved with clubs on campus or volunteer experiences outside of school,” Gates said. “It’ll really make you stand out from the other med school applicants.”

Gates also attributes his academic success to his professors in the physiology program.

“I feel like the professors really care about your success academically,” he said. “They really care about you learning the material and they care about your future as a student. And I think that was evident in the way that you’re able to build relationships with the professors.”

Despite his academic achievements, Gates said he wishes he did more research as an undergraduate.

“I wish I would’ve known a little bit more on the research side of things,” he said. “I didn’t realize it was so heavily weighted. By the time I realized it, it was my junior year and covid unfortunately locked me out of a lot of research opportunities.”

Gates didn’t join a research lab until his senior year.

A picture of Carson Gates with his roommate Nick Williams during graduation. — Carson Gates, pictured with his roommate Nick Williams (L), said part of his academic success is owed to having a support system. Like Gates, Williams is also a physiology major who graduated with a 4.0 GPA and was Gates teammate on the MSU men’s tennis team. “It was nice to have that person to study with and can kind of commiserate with you when we have those weeks that never end,” Gates said.
Credit: Jonah Brown

“By that time, I was already applying to med schools and I wasn’t able to make it a primary aspect of my application which I think hurt me in the long term,” he said. “But now that I know that, I’ll be pursuing a lot of research opportunities in med school to try and bolster my residency application.”

Gates will begin medical school at the end of July in Columbia, Missouri where he will be a two-hour drive from home.

“I wanted to get back to Missouri just because I feel like I’ve been in Michigan for too long,” said the Kansas City native whose father is also a physician. “I haven’t been able to be around my family and be around my siblings. They are such an integral part in my life.”

Looking ahead, the self-proclaimed movie buff (he’s seen more than 1,000 films) said he would be happy practicing medicine anywhere.

“I don’t really care too much about where I end up but I definitely want to have an emphasis on serving underprivilege populations,” Gates said. “I think it’s important for physicians to give back their time and their effort.”

And he’s not quite done hanging up his tennis racquet either.

“I’m going to try to coach during med school,” Gates said. “Plus, I know it’ll be a good way to make connections because a lot physicians play tennis.”

Banner image: Carson Gates started playing tennis when he was 7-years-old. He credits his high school tennis coaches, father and son Gino and Aaron Marchetti for honing his skills. Choosing to come play for MSU was an easy choice after visiting campus. “When I came for a visit, it just felt right,” said Gates who was a four-year starter in both men’s singles and doubles play. “There was an energy that surrounded the program and college as a whole and that drew me in. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made.” Credit: Tyler Staelgraeve

By: Tyler Lee