Carl Allamby started his auto repair business at the age of 19. Over the years it had grown into two shops with 11 employees, but Allamby started to expect something more. At first, he thought it must have something to do with growing his business even further. So, at the age of 34, Allamby enrolled (注册) in a bachelor’s degree (学士学位) in business management.

There was one problem: after taking classes part-time over the next five years, Allamby was told he had to take a biology course to get his degree. “Why do I need to take biology?” he thought.

However, the best influence of this requirement is that it restarted his childhood dream. “I wanted to be a doctor when I was younger,” Allamby says. “I lost that dream somewhere through high school and life.” He grew up in a poor neighbourhood, and his school didn’t offer the advanced science classes. So he had no chance to study at medical school. Instead, Allamby set aside thoughts of becoming a doctor, and chose a realistic career path—fixing cars, which helped support his family.

But at age 39 a different Carl Allamby walked into that biology class. He was ready to live his dream. With the support of his wife and family he quickly chose not to go to business school and instead took science classes to become a healthcare worker. “Becoming a doctor when I am nearly 50 was crazy. I will become a nurse like my wife,” he thought. But Allamby’s biology professor stopped him after class one day. “Carl,” he said, “you’re like the oldest guy here. What’s your endgame?” Allamby said he’d like to become a doctor, but it would be more practical to aim lower.

“Why not a doctor? You have a great talent for the work,” the professor said. “I didn’t even see in myself if my professor hadn’t told me that,” Allamby says.

And so, in 2015, Allamby sold his two shops and started medical school at Northeast Ohio Medical University. In 2019, at the age of 47, Carl Allamby became Dr Carl Allamby. He now works as an emergency medicine doctor at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital.

“How many people can do something new at such a late stage in their life?” he asks. “My kids look up to me, my community looks up to me. Whether it’s because of my age or my past career—these are all reasons why I shouldn’t be here. And yet, here I am.”