Luc Blazejewski entered the
Benzie Central School System in 7th grade. His father, Mark
Blazejewski (aka Mr. B or “B”), had been teaching in the high school and middle
school for many years. It was a weird experience technically being the “new kid”
yet growing up playing in the halls of Benzie Central and knowing most of the
staff. Luc was involved in many things,
most notably, playing trumpet in the band and the varsity sports of baseball,
football, and soccer. Academically, he was very focused on math and science
courses. He enjoyed courses taught by Cheryl Smith (Spanish), Gary Waterson
(Chemistry and Physics), John Gehring (Biology), Kathryn Wolterink (World Lit),
and Michael Eagan (Symphonic Band). Reflecting after a lifetime (17 years
post-graduation), the quality of the teaching staff at Benzie Central and the
desire of the teachers to provide interesting courses and lessons with the
resources available was quite remarkable. Luc feels very fortunate for the
education and experiences he received during his time at Benzie.
Luc
graduated in 2005 and departed for the University of Toledo- Go Rockets! His
love for science set him on a path to pursue medicinal chemistry. As typical
with many grandiose plans, Luc learned bench science was not for him. Fortuitously,
he met a group of professors in the College of Pharmacy studying pharmacy
administration, pharmacoeconomics, and social sciences. He found researching
these topics more engaging and went on to complete his summer practicum, honor
thesis, and a Master of Science degree in Health Outcome and Socioeconomic
Sciences. Through his graduate degree he became aware of global health
challenges regarding infectious diseases and steered his career pursuits in
that direction. He was able to receive a scholarship to attend the University
of Pittsburgh to pursue a Master of Public Health in Infectious Diseases and
Microbiology in a program with a 2-year Peace Corps component.
Global
health prospects after completing graduate school were hard to come by. In
2015, Luc moved back to Toledo to assist a fraternity brother grow his
community retail pharmacy, overseeing business and clinical operations. They
experienced rapid growth opening two additional pharmacies, expanding the
company from 7 to 30 employees from 2015-2017. Luc realized there were more
career opportunities in general healthcare administration. He returned to
Pittsburgh as the Quality Management Coordinator of a Ryan White-funded HIV
clinic from 2017-2019. At the end of 2019, Luc transitioned into consulting as
a Clinical Transformation Consultant- Primary Care at Highmark Health, a regional
Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance company. He recently accepted a
position as a Senior Consultant for ProspHire, LLC, a boutique healthcare
management consulting company in Pittsburgh in August of 2021.
Luc
currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife Kirsten. They were married in
2019. Kirsten is Canadian and they met
while Luc was living in Toledo. Completing a visa process ranks among one of
their top accomplishments as a couple along with a 3.5-year home renovation
project, which started with gutting the entire house. Kirsten and Luc are
eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child in August of 2022.
If
Luc can offer any useful advice, it is to spend more time asking “why not” and
“how” to the random opportunities which present themselves over a lifetime. Life
is weird and unpredictable; I encourage you to embrace the chaos and see where
it takes you. Good luck and Go Huskies! Please do not hesitate to reach out. Lucas.blazejewski@gmail.com
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