From Auto Mechanic to Medicine: Tri-C Graduate Receives Outstanding Alumni Award

Dr. Carl Allamby honored by the American Association of Community Colleges

Dr. Carl Allamby is the embodiment of a nontraditional student achieving a lifelong dream.

Before he became a doctor, Allamby owned and operated an auto repair business for 25 years. Now, the Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) graduate is an attending physician at the Cleveland Clinic's Hillcrest Hospital — and a recipient of the American Association of Community College's (AACC) 2024 Outstanding Alumni Award.

"It's an honor to represent community colleges with this award," Allamby said. "My experience and pathway have been unusual with going from an automotive career to the medical field. But Tri-C played such an integral part in my becoming successful. The College made this career change possible for me. With class times geared toward working folks trying to do something different, I realized I could complete the rigors of pre-med and medical school."

Presented annually since 1982, the Outstanding Alumni Awards recognize community college alumni who have excelled in their chosen fields at national or international levels.

"In community colleges, many students see the pathway to their future clearly for the first time, and their lives are transformed," said AACC President and CEO Walter G. Bumphus. "This year, AACC will recognize three alumni who experienced that transformative power and who, in turn, are now changing the lives of others. These Outstanding Alumni are truly deserving of the term ‘outstanding.'"

Growing up in East Cleveland, Allamby enrolled in Tri-C's auto tech courses. He owned two shops and spent 25 years under the hoods of cars before earning a bachelor's degree in business at Ursuline College.

Realizing he wanted to pursue a career in medicine, Allamby returned to Tri-C and completed an Associate of Arts. Professors Arthur Barnes and Ormond Braithwaite pointed Allamby toward a pre-med program at Cleveland State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in health science.

"The class sizes were smaller at Tri-C, so professors were able to dedicate time to make sure that you understood the material," Allamby said.

Allamby earned his medical degree in 2019 from Northeast Ohio Medical University at 47 and began a three-year residency at Akron General Hospital in emergency medicine.

His story has been featured on numerous news outlets, including cleveland.com, the Akron Beacon Journal, NPR, CBS Evening News, Fox News and the Daily Mail in London.

Allamby will be honored at AACC Annual in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 5  ̶  9.

February 15, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu