Photo courtesy of Michael Urso.
A positive outlook on life, a joy for the simple things in life and a writer who is looking to enter the medical field all have one thing in common: They are embodied by Michael Urso.
Urso, a professor at the University of Rhode Island and the Community College of Rhode Island, is known around campus as a positive spirit with an impressive outlook on life. Teaching argumentative writing and persuasion, critical writing for college success and other writing courses, his 10 years of experience as a professor have amounted to much knowledge.
Urso attributes his positivity to finding joy in the world around him. Before morning class, you may find him by the ocean. “My surfing life leads directly into my teaching life, and my family life and friend life,” said Urso.
He says that surfing before class creates a positive start to the day that he can incorporate into his teaching. Urso speaks about joy in saying that “One of the main purposes of life is joy and that can include anything from having a conversation with a student, to playing a piano, to riding my bike, to reading a book.”
Urso lives by a quote by Mary Oliver that says, “Joy is not meant to be a crumb,” which is something he believes everyone should try to remember even in times of stress or unsureness.
Professor Jeremiah Dyehouse, department chair of the writing and rhetoric department at URI, spoke very highly of Urso’s teaching and positivity.
“Michael [Urso] is an inspiration to his students,” Dyehouse said. “Plus he learns from them. That’s always the sign of a great educator.”
After 10 successful years of teaching writing in a variety of educational settings, Urso has decided to dive back into school to become a physician’s assistant. He is currently taking anatomy at the Community College of Rhode Island, working on his prerequisites.
Urso says that he needs more stability than a career as an adjunct professorship provides, which is partially what sparked his interest in becoming a physicians assistant.
Urso began to “think more practically about life” and decided to make this career change for the future. Entering a career in the medical field will allow Urso more career and financial security to get married and start a family.
“In a way my heart is very much at the University and the college, but in a way it is unsustainable,” Urso said.
Urso plans to pursue the physician’s assistant career whilst fostering his love for writing and teaching, saying that he feels like he is 18 years old again. Although there are challenges to being an adjunct professor, the position allows Urso a good opportunity to write.
With his father having been a doctor and his mother a nurse, Urso has a good idea of the gratification that a medical career provides. There will always be a need to care for others and therefore always a need for physicians assistants.
As college students, it is easy to get caught in the stress of a rigorous class schedule, extracurriculars and the pressure of choice of career path. Urso advises students to take every day with a grain of salt and enjoy the process of becoming educated.
Urso said, “I like to embrace change as an exciting opportunity,” as he will throughout his journey into medicine.