The road king: Luis Perez, D.O.
Former Harley Davidson engineer finds his true path in family medicine

By Natalie Cammarata

Every medical student knows the meaning of sacrifice, measured in heavy student loans, endless study and sleep deprivation. But very few have added two motorcycles—a ’95 Harley Davidson FXSTSB and a Kawasaki Vulcan LTD—to the list.

His investments will paid off June 7 when Luis Perez, D.O. ('08), earned his doctor of osteopathic medicine  degree from the OU-HCOM.

Before coming to OU-HCOM, Perez worked for nine years as an engineer, six of those for Harley Davidson in Wisconsin. The job at Harley was one of his first gigs after earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Marquette University. He hadn’t always planned to be an engineer, however.

Perez moved from South America—he was born in Peru and raised in Panama and Brazil—to the U.S. at age 18 with the intention of going to medical school. But after his first year at Marquette, Perez, overwhelmed by culture shock and the idiosyncrasies of American English, switched to engineering.

Not long into his engineering career, he realized he wasn’t in love with the work. “The other guys I worked with (at Harley) were so happy to be engineers. I wanted to be like that too, but I knew I couldn’t. That’s when I decided to go to medical school.”

At the time, Perez knew little about osteopathic medicine. “When my wife was pregnant with our first child back in Wisconsin, we saw an ob/gyn who was a D.O. … It appeared to me that D.O.s were more personable, listened better and had a better overall picture of things.”

That same obstetrician and gynecologist, Daniel Kopesky, D.O., supported Perez in his pursuit of becoming a doctor, recommending OU-HCOM to him. Perez said he chose OU-HCOM based on its innovative curriculum, early clinical contact and statewide consortium of teaching hospitals.

After his first year of medical school, Perez and his wife had their second child. He struggled to balance intensive studying with family time. “Luckily,” he says, “my wife is very supportive.”

Perez is pursuing a family practice residency at Sandusky Hospital. After that, he hopes to practice in an underserved area. “That was one of my other goals—I didn’t go to medical school to serve people in a big city. I’d like to make a difference in a small town.”

Perez’s future in medicine looks bright, but his Harley-riding days might not be over. “Who knows, maybe one day when my kids are all grown up I’ll be one of those fifty-year-olds riding around on my Harley.”