Keith Earley

Keith Earley was in sixth grade when his parents asked him what he wanted to do for a living. One of their suggestions was surgeon. “Back when I was a sixth grader,” Earley said, “the thought of having my hands inside of somebody and operating on their organs just kind of fascinated me.”

Earley, who grew up in Indiana, attended Florida College from 2001–03. He transferred to the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine.

In May 2009, he completed his doctorate in medicine from Indiana University. The next step is a hospital residency, and after that he owes three years to the Air Force in return for a scholarship.

“I guess when I imagined going into medical school,” Earley said, “I thought it was going to be this deep black hole that swallowed me alive.” He maintained more of a social life than he thought he would, but admitted laughing, “Looking back on it, it’s been a long four years.”

Earley spent two months in Kenya last fall as part of his program. His school is developing an academic model to fight HIV in Kenya (“It’s actually had great success”), and Earley was there reporting on patient treatment and giving input to daily care.

“It was a real eye-opening experience,” he said.

From a boy’s fascination with handling a person’s insides, Earley’s passion matured into a desire to serve.

Being a doctor is “something that I knew would be rewarding my whole life,” he said. “Being able to go to work every day knowing that it’s making other people’s lives better, and that I’m not just working for money for myself.”

His dream job is to be an otolaryngologist. “That’s the big word for an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor,” he said. Being an ENT doctor will allow Earley to work with both children and adults. It will also be a great aid in mission work overseas, equipping him to take out cancers, give people their hearing back, restore cleft palettes, and restore voices.

At FC, Earley was freshman class president and SBGA president. He was in chorus and Friends. He starred in several theatrical productions. He continued his practice of active involvement at UF where he was a crisis call counselor and a volunteer firefighter.

“Even now, as I’m applying for residencies,” he said, “my experiences at Florida College have gotten me my interviews for ENT, which is the second most competitive residency…I haven’t had a perfect record, and they usually just take the most competitively academic students.

“Just the opportunity to be involved so much [at FC] helped me tremendously…at each step along the way. It shows that I’m a well-rounded person interested in more than just studying.”