Hometown: Dubuque, Iowa

Undergrad: Wartburg College, Biology

First-year medical student Olivia Baxter grew up in a family of people committed to serving others: Her dad is a police officer, her mom works in the local school district, and she had a grandfather and two uncles who were firefighters. The environment she grew up in instilled Baxter with a sense of responsibility to serve her community with her own career someday.

Her first memory of the impact of health care providers came early. When she was 6 years old, her dad sustained a gunshot wound in the line of duty. Though she was young, Baxter remembers the medical providers who treated her dad’s injury and the way her community came together to support her family at a scary time.

“Looking back now, I have a better understanding of that impact,” Baxter says.

Her interest in medicine continued to grow as she got older and learned of her family’s connection to UI Health Care. Two of Baxter’s cousins were born with Walker-Warburg syndrome, a genetic muscular dystrophy disorder. Both died before age 2.

“My aunt and uncle were always here in Iowa City with them,” she says. “Even though it was a horrible experience, they are still really close with a lot of the people that worked with my cousins.”

Her cousins’ illness and treatment forged a deep connection between Baxter’s entire family and UI Health Care. She was motivated to learn at the same institution that had been such an important part of her family’s lives.

"I think a lot of people could have looked back and had some resentment because it was such a sad situation, but my aunt and uncle were the complete opposite. They love Iowa City; they love the hospital. They love the physicians and nurses and everyone on the team," says Baxter.

Another meaningful health care experience in Baxter’s family fully cemented her career goals. When her grandfather was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, Baxter became part of his care team and learned firsthand about end-of-life care.

"That was the point where I realized I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else besides becoming a physician," says Baxter.

Baxter went on to attend Wartburg College in Waverly, where she pursued a pre-medicine track and was a member of the 2023–2024 women's basketball team, reaching the Final Four in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The experience taught her leadership skills that she says will be valuable when she’s part of a health care team someday.

In her latter two years of undergrad, she increased her focus on preparing for medical school. Baxter volunteered at the emergency room in Waverly and worked in a lab researching a new treatment for pancreatic cancer.

"Obviously, I have a huge tie to the field of oncology personally," says Baxter. "Being able to see that application in action was very meaningful to me."

Medical school at the Carver College of Medicine was Baxter's dream. Her family's experience with UI Health Care and her desire to stay close to family in Iowa gave her the drive to pursue her goals.

“I was always thinking: ‘What can I be doing to get to Carver?’” she says. "At the end of the day, I knew that even if I got accepted somewhere else, I would want to take a gap year to try to get into Iowa instead.”

Thankfully, Baxter was admitted to the Carver College of Medicine on her first try. As she takes the next step in her education, she looks forward to building relationships with her fellow students, gaining clinical experience, and embracing the “chaos” of a busy medical student schedule.

Taking after her parents’ example, she hopes to save a little time outside of her studies to serve others with volunteering opportunities like the UI Mobile Clinic.

“When the studying gets hard, I think those little snippets of interaction with patients really will help fill my bucket back up,” she says.

Baxter is coming into medical school with an open mind, but she does feel drawn to the idea of specializing in radiology or oncology someday.

“A lot of times you’re going to see your patients at their absolute worst,” she says. “I would be happy to be able to carry some of that weight for them, or for their family members.”

She also hopes to serve rural communities surrounding her hometown of Dubuque, helping patients get care closer to home.

“I’m definitely going to be staying in Iowa for the foreseeable future,” Baxter says.