Lucas Maxey ’22 receives Cralle Fellowship to study medicine

Lucas Maxey ’22 will attend medical school at the University of Kentucky with the support of a 2022 Joan Cralle Day Fellowship.

The fellowship is available to two students annually at one of the 18 four-year schools affiliated with the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities. One award is for students bound for professional school at the University of Kentucky and the other is for graduate school. It is endowed by the Cralle Foundation.

Maxey first learned about the fellowship in 2020 when Josh Joiner ’20 received it to support his own medical school education.

“I knew then that I wanted to apply for it my senior year,” Maxey says. “Dr. Lockett and Dr. Schalkoff really helped me through the whole process and made applying very easy.”

Robert Schalkoff, who directs the Office of Fellowships at Centre, emphasized the significance of Maxey’s scholarship success.

“Applicants must be nominated by their institution, and each institution can only nominate one student in each category,” he says. “Lucas competed on campus for Centre’s nomination before competing against the best of the best from other eligible institutions. The Cralle Fellowship is an honor both Lucas and Centre should be proud of.”

A biochemistry and molecular biology major from London, Kentucky, Maxey learned early on to appreciate the challenges faced by physicians serving Appalachia’s rural populations. His father was a family physician in one of the nation’s poorest, unhealthy, and medically underserved regions.

Maxey resolves to return to Eastern Kentucky, he says, “to provide at least one more medical professional close to home . . . [T]hey are as deserving as anyone else to be in close proximity to quality care.”

At Centre, Maxey was able to participate in several medical opportunities that convinced him of his calling. He shadowed two doctors at Baptist Health Corbin to learn about the duties of a general surgeon. He did an internship observing reconstructive plastic surgery at UK Healthcare. As a rising junior, he spent six weeks at the Medical and Health Humanities Institute, a collaboration of Centre, Rhodes College, and the University of the South (Sewanee) that looks at the intersection of healthcare and the humanities. In addition, he helped develop a fundraising campaign for Centre’s Partners in Health Engage chapter that raised money for a maternal healthcare center in Sierra Leone.

Although initially drawn to medical school because of its intellectual challenge, Maxey’s shadowing and other experiences with medicine made him appreciate that there was more depth to his interest.

“I began to realize that I had a great desire to gain the knowledge and expertise that would allow me to improve the lives of others,” he says. “Medicine allows you to impact others at the most intimate level. When someone is sick, they are at their most vulnerable and in most need of help. Having the knowledge and ability to help bring someone through that will bring me great fulfillment one day.”

Philip Lockett, a physics professor who taught Maxey and who wrote a letter of recommendation for the award, has taught three previous Cralle recipients.

“Lucas is just as deserving of the award,” he says. “Being raised in Eastern Kentucky as the son of a physician, Lucas understands the need for better healthcare in that region.”

Steve Asmus, Stodghill Professor of Biology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and the Grissom Professorship, taught Maxey in three classes.

“During my 26 years at Centre, I have taught hundreds of students who are now physicians, veterinarians, dentists, and Ph.D. research scientists,” he says. “Lucas is in the top stratosphere of these students. He blends impressive academic abilities and an exceptional work ethic with solid interpersonal skills.”

Ellen Goldey, the vice president for academic affairs who wrote the College letter nominating Maxey for the fellowship, is convinced of the impact he will have on one of the nation’s neediest areas.

“His desire to give back is sincere,” she wrote. “I believe Lucas is just beginning to recognize the potential impact his career could have on the region he intends to serve, and I believe the Cralle Fellowship will encourage him to ‘think big.’”

Although Maxey has a clear focus on the importance of his classwork, he believes his outside interests help ground him and will ultimately help make him a better physician.

“Finding things that I am passionate about outside of medicine and academia have kept me a more well-rounded and happier individual,” he says. “The activities that mean the most to me are staying physically active, playing the guitar, going to church with my family, and spending time with my roommates and friends. These activities bring balance to my life.”