By Katlin Sweeney

Features Editor

Curtis Bovee has become one of CSUSM’s most prominent influences, using what he has learned in the classroom and at his job to educate his fellow students on ways to be healthier.

Bovee, a Kinesiology major, has been using his extensive medical knowledge to teach students about various ways to live a healthier lifestyle. He writes the Heart Beat for The Cougar Chronicle, a column that is dedicated to informing students on important health issues like healthy dietary habits and organ donation. In addition to this, Bovee works in an emergency room, extending his contributions to the community to outside of campus as well.

His desire to work in a medical-based profession and educate others was not something that he was always certain of, but developed over time.

“It’s been trial and error. I’ve worked fifteen different occupations, everything from construction to accounting, and I happened to shadow an ER and that was what really caught my attention,” Bovee said.

In addition to working full-time in an emergency room, Bovee has played a pivotal role in running the food drives at Summit Church that occur the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. These food drives have become an overwhelming success, 15,000 pounds of food being distributed to students last semester.

“Originally Dr. Laura and I were trying to figure out a way to tackle hunger issues on campus. Through programs like Donate Don’t Dump, we began organizing food distributions over at Summit Church. This [program] wasn’t initially part of my degree, but I was able to utilize my internship for this,” Bovee said.

Dr. Laura De Ghetaldi has been one of Bovee’s biggest inspirations. He attributes much of his success in helping students to having had the privilege of working with and becoming friends with her.

“I write for the newspaper because of Dr. Laura. She told me that she felt my writing was good and should be something that I pursue. She is the most unconditionally giving person I have ever met in my life. She is so dedicated, it’s like her mission is to help you. I had her as a professor for two and a half years. Her work and the kind of person she is makes me want to follow in her footsteps,” Bovee said.

Bovee hopes to honor Dr. Ghetaldi’s legacy by continuing his work in the medical field. One of his main goals for the future is to become a professor that teaches anatomy, physics, health or another science-based course. He also hopes to start a research project on campus hunger and continue his work helping students by hosting more food drives and spreading more information about healthy living.