HAMILTON -- Some of the stars of Colgate's athletics and academics reputation were on display here recently for the 2016 Michael J. Wolk '60 Conference on Medical Education.
 
The Michael Wolk Heart Foundation funds the event, which offers Colgate students a chance to learn more about the medical field from alumni and friends of the Colgate community.
 
Joining Wolk on this year's panels were Drs. John Marzo '80 and Megan Ballard '06. Marzo quarterbacked Colgate football teams in the late 1970s, while Ballard played basketball for the Raiders from 2003-06.
 
Wolk himself was an All-America swimmer for the Raiders and received the 1960 President's Cup as Colgate's outstanding graduating senior. He is in private practice in New York City with New York Cardiology Associates, P.C., and a clinical professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical Center, also in New York City.
 
"Coming from Colgate with the academic background, the core curriculum and the pre-med opportunity there, I was fortunate," Wolk said. "I got into Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, which is among the top five medical schools in the country."
 
Wolk earned All-America honors at the 1958 NCAA championships in the 440 freestyle, 1,500 freestyle and 200 butterfly. He remembers head coach Mark Randall leading Colgate to just five losses in Wolk's four years as a Raider, and he hasn't forgotten the meaningful classes he took that really laid the foundation for his success after graduation.
 
"Had Colgate not had a core curriculum, I would have spent all my time on physics and math and chemistry and biology, and I never would have had an education," Wolk said. "The opportunity to take philosophy and religion and Russian world affairs and read War and Peace – that was the best thing for me.
 
"I was blessed that Colgate guided me to a wonderful medical school, which jump-started my future."
 
'You Are in the Right Place'
Individual awards for Marzo were hard to come by since there was no Patriot League when he played. But Marzo did enough in 1979 to not only be named captain but also earn AP All-East honorable mention and the Andy Kerr Trophy as Colgate's most valuable offensive player.
 
That season, despite missing three games with a dislocated shoulder, he accounted for 1,005 yards of offense and nine touchdowns for a Colgate squad that was 4-2-1 with Marzo at the helm. The year before, Marzo threw for 1,337 yards and helped close the campaign with a 14-9 upset of Rutgers that was Colgate Football's 400th all-time victory.
 
The Endicott, New York, native graduated with a chemistry degree and attended medical school in Syracuse. After spending time in New York City for his fellowship in sports medicine, Marzo landed a position with the NFL's Buffalo Bills at 32 years of age.
 
Soon after that, Marzo became the Bills head team physician. He just relinquished that part of his practice a season ago after 23 years.
 
"I say it was my second job but it was a great distraction from the grind of being an orthopedic surgeon," Marzo said.
 
Marzo told the students at this year's conference that they could be in no better university setting than Colgate, and that his time as a quarterback paid extra dividends.
 
"The students wanted to know what to expect in med school," Marzo said. "I found myself saying, 'Let me reassure you. You are in the right place; you're going to get very well prepared here.' That's how I feel about it.
 
"As I look back, especially being a student-athlete, time management was so key. I was a chemistry major, so I had labs all four years that interfered with football practice. The academic part gave up a little bit and the football part gave up a little bit, and I had to figure out all those things."
 
Marzo says his gridiron days played to his advantage in many ways.
 
"In athletics, I learned how to lose and how to win," he said. "Time management, dedication, teamwork – as an orthopedic surgeon, my operating room is my team and it's like me being the quarterback in that operating room. We work as a team there and we game plan for every procedure.
 
"Colgate really put me on good footing for what I ended up doing in life."
 
Better Student In-Season than Out
Ballard made the All-Patriot League Rookie Team in 2003, was Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year in 2005 and a member of the All-Patriot League First Team in 2006. In between those individual awards, she helped the Raiders win the 2004 Patriot League championship for the first time.
 
The Atlanta native was a first-time attendee at this year's conference. She's currently in the third year of her pediatric residency at New York University.
 
Ballard believes without a doubt that Colgate put her in position to succeed. Being a successful Raider student-athlete forced her to stay focused on the work.
 
"There are no two ways around it – Colgate is a tough school," she said. "So no matter what you go into, whether it's the medical field, economics or law school, it definitely prepares you.
 
"But being a student-athlete was really what helped me manage life as well as studies. I learned how to manage my time early on with going to practice and preseason training and postseason; all while going to class and then going back for shoot-around. Time management was the biggest thing I was able to learn from my experience.
 
Ballard disagrees with those who say she limited her abilities to shine further in the classroom by participating in Division I athletics.
 
"I don't think I would have been a better student if I wasn't playing basketball," Ballard said. "Maybe in my 7 a.m. chemistry class I would have done a little bit better. Offseason, there was so much free time that I was way less productive and I would put things off.
 
"Knowing that I had to get things done made me a better student and gave me a good balance. I loved the classes I took at Colgate. I was a religion major and took as many of those classes as I could. I wouldn't have changed it at all.
 
Miller Knows First-Hand
Dr. Merrill Miller, who serves as director of health services for Colgate's 2,800 students and as team doctor for Colgate Athletics, knows first-hand how a collegiate sports career looks on a résumé.
 
"When students are applying for health-care careers, employers really do look at their out-of-classroom experiences," Miller said. "It's easy to see academic ability from grades and standardized tests, but they are looking to see their passion about going into a health-care career, which is usually shown by interactions with other people or through volunteer work.
 
"But when they see that someone's been a varsity student-athlete, they know that is very important. It means they understand teamwork, and medical care is all about teamwork."
 
Miller says you can't cut corners in the medical field; just as you can't take days off when playing for a championship.
 
"You have to have resilience because health care is a 24-7 profession," she said. "Even when you are not in your office or in an operating room or out at a clinic somewhere, you still have to be on top of everything that's happening.
 
"It also means you have to be very well-organized. Student-athletes know how to deal with diversity and with changing situations. And they also know how to manage when things don't go the way you want them to go. It's life-long learning.
 
Miller said the conference was very well attended, with students from all class years. They heard speakers from the fields of dentistry, physical therapy, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and all types of health-care specialties.
 
"And it was both alums and parents of current students," Miller said. "There's nothing like the Colgate connection, with presenters from all over the Northeast.
 
"Everybody spoke well, and it was particularly nice to see some of our elite varsity athletes who were able to show that you can be an elite athlete as well as an elite student."