Meet Wetzel Scholar – Sammy DeLuca

Name: Sammy DeLuca

COM: ATSU-KCOM

Graduation Year: 2026

Hometown: Monroe City, MO

Number of Years in the Scholar Program: 2

How did you first become aware of the Wetzel Scholar Program?

• • I was looking for more ways to be involved my first year with organizations that mattered and cared about the same things I did. When I got an email from the student chapter at KCOM, the Wetzel Program seemed like a great fit.

Why were you interested in becoming a Wetzel Scholar?

• • After Advocacy Day my first year, I knew MAOPS was the right trajectory for me. With their connections and history in the osteopathic advocacy sphere, I knew they had the tools to make me a better medical provider for my home state.

To date, what have you enjoyed the most about your Wezel Scholar experience?

• • Developing the student support podcast for MAOPS has been the most rewarding project I’ve taken on as a Wetzel Scholar. I’ve gotten to learn from students across the state and help them amplify their voices to support other student doctors in everything from study strategies to maintaining mental wellness.

What personal goals do you have that you believe the Scholar Program will help you achieve?

• • I feel better equipped to serve Missouri because of MAOPS. Not only do I feel more prepared to take action when bills come before my elected officials, but even when it comes to “smaller” scale situations, like handling interpersonal conflict, I feel more confident in my ability to make positive change.

Tell us about a couple personal influential relationships you have developed being a part of the Scholar Program and/or being engaged with MAOPS?

• • My first year at the AOA House of Delegates, I met a hospice/palliative care physician. It was clear from the moment she spoke about her work that she was proud of her work as an osteopath. We talked about my career in social work prior to medical school, and she encouraged me to find new ways to merge my past and present. This winter 2026 I will be rotating with her at the Cleveland Clinic because MAOPS invited me to the House of Delegates in 2023.

What has surprised you the most about MAOPS since you have become involved?

• • The physicians and support staff at MAOPS is incredibly dedicated to the mission of organization. You’ll find that folks often wear multiple hats and volunteer in multiple roles on various boards and committees – not because it’s expected of them, but because they want to see MAOPS succeed. It’s not like other organizations I’ve been involved in – there’s a sense of purpose and importance in every action.

Tell us something surprising/interesting about you.

• • I’m the first in my family to go to pursue higher education, but not the last! My brother Jag just finished trade school and took his first job at an oil rig out in Wyoming, and my other brother Max will be graduating next year with a degree in physical education.