An Interview with Alexa Bigelow, COM '27, and Brooke McLaughlin, COM '27
Alexa Bigelow and Brooke McLaughlin are first years at UNE COM. They grew up in the Gardiner, ME area and are graduates of the University of New England.
Rarely do we have the pleasure of extending a warm welcome to childhood friends embarking on the same journey at UNE COM. We are delighted to introduce Alexa Bigelow and Brooke McLaughlin, inseparable companions since a chance encounter at a sleepover in 5th grade. Their bond has weathered the years, marked by shared experiences such as Lexi's memorable role as a tree in the 6th-grade play and stargazing during the Perseid meteor shower in Brooke's high school backyard. Now, we have the privilege of delving into their joint venture into medical school to hear what they have to share about their extraordinary journey.
You two have been friends since middle school. At what point did you realize you both wanted to become doctors?
A: I think Brooke knew she wanted to be a doctor well before I did since her mom worked in the hospital. I found my way towards it a little later into high school. However, I think it really
clicked for both of us in high school anatomy. It would get to the point where we were the
only students answering questions in class. More humorously, both of us loved watching Grey’s
Anatomy together (despite its medical inaccuracies) – so much so that we had each other saved
as “Grey” and “Yang” in each other’s phones.
B: Freshman year of high school, Lexi got me hooked on Grey’s Anatomy, and I think talking about and bonding over that show was when we realized both of us had interests in medicine and we began having conversations about being doctors together.