Brittney Kaufman DeClerk '98 and Goli Compoginis '98 return to campus for PolyConnect lunch

Goli Haghighian Compoginis ’98 and Brittney Kaufman DeClerck ’98 have been friends since their days at Poly and now work together as dermatologists at USC. They both returned to campus last Wednesday for the third PolyConnect lunch of the year. In addition to the nearly 30 students in attendance, faculty members Greg Feldmeth and Rick Caragher came to see the former Poly students talk about their exciting careers as dermatologists. After informing students about the traditional trajectory to becoming a medical doctor, they each described their personal journey. 
 
Goli decided early on that she wanted to pursue a career in medicine but didn’t let that stop her from exploring other interests while attending Duke University as an undergrad. She majored in biology but also felt particularly drawn toward psychology. During her gap year between undergrad and medical school, she worked as a research assistant in a child psychiatry practice at UCLA. Upon enrolling at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, it took her a couple more years to finally decide on a specialty. It was after a particularly inspiring lecture that her eyes were opened to what her future as a dermatologist could really be. She loved the idea of working to help diverse patients as a dermatologist, and it was this aspect of the specialty that encouraged her to complete her dermatology residency at the Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. Since then, she has worked in both private practice and hospital environments. She now teaches medical students and dermatology residents as an assistant professor of dermatology at the Keck School of Medicine, and she stressed how important a love of learning is for medical students. She told Upper School students, “As a doctor you have to be willing to travel and go anywhere, stay flexible, and be open-minded.”
 
Brittney came from a family of doctors and, similar to Goli, decided on a career in medicine at a very young age. She entered the eight-year baccalaureate-MD program at USC that allowed her to major in business and minor in natural sciences, while also putting her on track for medical school. The sentiment “diversify as much as you can,” was woven throughout the presentation from both Goli and Brittney. Brittney decided on dermatology as her specialty and dermatopathology as a subspecialty. When asked what advice she would give to a Poly student who is interested in dermatology, she recalled how focused she was to become a doctor from the start. “Winding routes are okay. I sometimes wish my path wasn’t so straight. Explore many things because life experiences make you a much richer person. Just love learning, because you are always learning as a doctor.” She now works as an assistant professor of dermatology and pathology at The Keck School of Medicine and is an expert in the microscopic diagnosis of skin disorders, including skin cancers and inflammatory diseases.
 
Goli and Brittney prepared a presentation showing a series of photographs depicting various skin conditions, which helped to give the students an idea of what it’s really like to be a dermatologist. Goli commented that dermatology encompasses many more diseases than people are generally aware of. She also pointed to the psychological element involved in dermatology. The treatment of all skin disorders, even simple ones like acne, can change how people feel about themselves and boost their confidence. Similarly, Brittney explained how stigmatizing skin disease can be and that human touch can be vitally important for a patient’s mental health as well as their physical health. “The simple act of shaking hands, and touching a patient’s skin without gloves lets my patients know they’re accepted. It can be very reassuring for them.” 
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