Student Profile: Joe Rinaldi

Like many non-traditional students, Joe Rinaldi took a long and winding road to medical school. Between 2006 and 2013, the baritone from Easton, Pennsylvania, earned master’s and doctoral degrees in musical performance at the University of North Texas while singing professionally with the Dallas and Ft. Worth opera companies. He then taught voice for two years at a Thailand university before enrolling in LKSOM’s post-baccalaureate premedical program.

“I always thought I was somehow going to meld music and medicine together,” says the second-year student. “Then, while I was in Thailand, I volunteered at a hospital ER after a massive flood. That’s when I knew it was meant to be.”

The student government class representative is thankful for the post-bac program. “It does a good job of giving you all the tools you need to navigate through medical school,” he says. “I only applied to Temple because the one-year condensed route with guaranteed matriculation really appealed to me.” Even though he is older than typical medical students, he feels like he fits in well, and finds the faculty approachable and the administration supportive. “I love everything about Temple,” he says. “I’m very happy here.”