Forged by FAU - Alex Gitin
5/24/2021
As a third-year medical student, Alexander Gitin is conducting clinical work for the first time, utilizing the knowledge he gained from his first two years in a pediatric rotation. That experience, while “awesome” and “incredibly rewarding,” leaves him little time to study.
Luckily for Gitin, a former Florida Atlantic University tennis player, he’s used to maximizing every second.
“I remember hanging out in one of the tents in between my matches,” Gitin said, referring to a preseason tournament at USF in 2016. “Some of my teammates were on the court, and I would kind of be cheering them on, but at the same time going through my [organic chemistry] practice problems just because that was the only time I had to do them. So, [medical school] is similar, absolutely. Squeeze in a little studying at lunch or in the afternoon when you get out a little early, just whatever you can just to get it done.”
In 2014 Gitin began his FAU journey, joining coach Ricardo Gonzalez’s first recruiting class. Gitin loved the excitement of match days and spending time with his teammates, a few of which he still calls his “best friends.”
But though Gitin and his teammates were friendly off the court, that didn’t deter their competitive fire on it.
“One of the things I think we always did so well and kind of made us stand out from other teams is that we had a great attitude, great energy and brought the fire every time we competed,” Gitin said. “Teams, when they played against us, there’s no way they were going to break us. We were going to keep fighting until the very last point.”
That approach led FAU to one of its best seasons ever come 2016-17, Gitin’s third and final season. FAU stormed to a 17-7 (11-1 at home) record that year, its best since 2008-09. Individually, Gitin posted an 8-3 doubles record and a 2-0 singles record.
“I thought we would sort of get the ball rolling,” said Gitin, a 2016-17 Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection, “but to see the improvement so fast, in only three years, was really awesome.”
While Gitin was aiding his team’s improvement, he was also making personal strides. He began scribing at the Caridad Center in Boynton Beach in 2016 and grew to appreciate the connection between its health-care providers and their patients. That experience and his fondness for FAU’s science courses inspired him to enter the medical field.
Gitin, a biology major, earned his bachelor’s degree in fall 2018 and then enrolled in the University of Florida College of Medicine. Charles H. Hennekens, a Ph.D. and senior academic advisor in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, was integral to that process.
“He has been just the most instrumental person in my professional development,” said Gitin, who has co-authored five scientific publications with Hennekens. “He’s probably the kindest, most generous person I’ve ever met. He really goes out of his way to make sure his students succeed. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s an amazing man. I really don’t think that I would be able to get to med school, especially at a school like UF, without him.”
Gitin and Hennekens are still “really close” and will occasionally get coffee or play tennis together. It’s one of many strong relationships Gitin made at FAU, one of the reasons he calls it the “best school in the world.”
The opportunity Gitin had in building those relationships and starting his medical career, thanks to his FAU scholarship, isn’t one he takes for granted.
“Looking back on it, it kind of all started from there,” Gitin said. “That scholarship and the opportunity to come to FAU and play for the team there, and really kind of find my passion and my calling.”
