Warning: Dad brag coming.

I have been blessed with two funny, personable and respectful kids. Growing up, my wife and I dealt with the typical issues that all kids deal with, but for the most part my kids have always been relatively easy to parent. Where my children have always excelled is in the classroom. They are both very smart (they get that from their mom) and have chosen occupations that require advanced degrees. Both my children have chosen career paths that have led them to the medical field.

Now you might ask yourself: Why do Sean’s kids both want to have careers in the medical field? It can be traced back to my wife, Robin. Robin was a pediatric intensive care nurse for ten years before transitioning into the role of school nurse at a local elementary school near our home. Robin loved working in the hospital but chose to work in a school to have a better schedule for our family. Robin is one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever met and truly cared for her patients and still cares for the students that attend her school. Her passion rubbed off on both my children.

My son graduated from pharmacy school with his Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) degree in 2023. He is currently working at a hospital in Atlantic City, New Jersey. When he graduated, I was so proud that one of my kids was now a doctor. My son, Brett, spent many hours studying and learning everything he needed to know to pass his certification tests. Brett is very intelligent, but he has always had to work hard to succeed in school. Upon graduating, he completed a year-long residency and secured his current job before his residency concluded.

My daughter, Brooke, has always known she wanted to be a doctor. As far back as I can remember, she would often talk about helping people and show interest in discussions that revolved around medical topics. Brooke graduated from her undergraduate studies in 2023 and took a gap year before applying to medical school. She was accepted to seven schools (a big deal, due to the competitive environment). The school she ultimately chose was the University of South Carolina School of Medicine – Greenville. She chose this school because of the faculty and the modern facilities. We later discovered that the school had received over 4,000 applications for 110 spots. On September 21 our family traveled to Greenville for the ceremonial white coat event. This event symbolizes the start of the journey to becoming a doctor.

While in Greenville, our schedule was filled with numerous activities. I had the obligatory responsibility of fixing anything broken in the house Brooke rents with two other classmates, we went shopping for anything she wanted but didn’t want to spend her own money on, we ate meals at some local restaurants that specialized in Southern comfort food, we toured the school and saw where Brooke has been spending most of her time (she showed us the charts they had to learn for her first exam; it looked like Arabic to me), we went to the farmers market. We spent time together, which we haven’t been able to do for the last few months. Everything led to the white coat ceremony on Sunday afternoon. Prior to the ceremony, one of my daughter’s classmates hosted a brunch for their friends and their families. It was great to meet these young adults, and it was obvious how intelligent they all are. We finally attended the ceremony, and honestly, I couldn’t tell you how proud I was when I heard them announce my daughter’s name and she walked across the stage to put on her white coat for the first time. A tear rolled down my cheek, and my wife was also getting misty-eyed.

After the ceremony ended, we got to take photos and tell Brooke how proud we were of her. The excitement in her voice as she talked about the future warmed my heart. My daughter will likely become a great doctor because she genuinely cares about people and wants to help them live better lives.

When we returned to the hotel for the night, we enjoyed some cake (my wife had a custom cake made) and reminisced about the weekend. This is such an exciting time for my daughter and her classmates. I look forward to the day when she walks into our home and says, “The doctor is in the house.”

Sean Olin, director of sales